“Ryder. My office, now,” he barks.
“Someone’s in a bad mood,” I mumble. I’ve never heard Matt sound so fucking angry. What the hell is his problem? I rack my brain for things I might’ve done to piss him off, but I come up empty.
I grab my keys and leave right away—not because I don’t want to make him wait, but because I’m curious as to what this is all about.
I knock on his door and then let myself in.
He’s sitting at his desk, glaring at me.
“What?” I say, sliding into my seat.
“What?” he growls. “What the fuck, Ryder? You promised an exclusive interview to The Daily fucking Telegraph? You can’t do that, Ryder. You’re locked into exclusivity with The Mail for the next six months—or did that slip your mind?” He pauses dramatically. “Do you understand the point of a manager? I’m being serious here, because I don’t think you do. Why wouldn’t you come to me before agreeing to this? You know I’m on your side. They’ll sue the arse off you if you do this interview.”
Oh. Shit . . .
Anna.
Fuck. She is going to kill me if I don’t give her this. But Matt’s right: I could be sued for all I have if I do. I’m fucked either way, because if there’s one thing I’m sure about, Anna is not a person I want to fuck with.
I pull out my phone and call her. I’m hoping like hell it goes through to voicemail, because I really don’t want to speak to her. Unfortunately for me, she answers on the first ring.
“Hey you.” Her tone is friendly, but I know that’s about to change. “Are you back yet?”
“I am,” I confirm. “Listen, can we talk?”
“Okay, but it’ll have to be at my place because I’m on my way out.”
I hesitate, because I’m not sure I want to put myself in that position—but I also know I need to speak to her face to face. And after tonight, she’s bound to find out through other avenues anyway. Hell, I still have no idea how the hell Matt knew.
“Yes or no, Ryder? I don’t have all night,” she says impatiently.
“Yes, fine, what’s your address?”
“I’m in The Viatel, just down from the Town Hall. Flat four-zero-five.”
She opens the door and barely even looks at me before she’s walking back through the living room. My jaw twitches and I stare at the floor, because she’s wearing a pencil skirt, a black lacy bra, and nothing else.
“You’ll have to follow me. I’m still getting ready.”
I groan and shove my hands in my pockets, but follow her. She’s standing in her bedroom in front of a mirror, straightening her hair, when I catch up.
&nbs
p; “What’s this about?” she says, raising her eyebrows. He eyes are on mine. She smiles as my gaze inadvertently rolls over her body.
I flush, and focus on her face. “I can’t do your interview.”
She pauses and then sets down her straightener, turning around to face me. “We had a deal, Ryder.” She scowls at me as her hand finds her hip. “You can’t negate on this. I won’t let you.”
“I don’t have a choice. I can’t do an interview outside of The Mail. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I know exactly what you were thinking with.” Her gaze falls on my crotch. “Fine. You’ll have to repay me in other ways.” She walks over to me. Her hand slips behind her back and unclasps her bra. She shrugs it off and takes my arms, wrapping them around her waist before I can even process what’s happening.
“No. No. Not going to happen,” I mumble, yanking my arms free. I take a step back and reach for her bathrobe, throwing it at her. “I’m sorry, Anna, I really am, but I can’t.”
Her mouth drops open and her eyes widen. A smirk plays on her lips as she shakes her head, and I can see she’s pissed. She tosses the robe onto the bed and unzips her skirt. She’s standing there naked, her eyes all but daring me to resist her. My heart is pounding. I don’t want to piss her off any more than I already have, but there is no fucking way I’m going to do this to Scarlett.
“You’re really saying no to me? Because I don’t like hearing no, Ryder, especially when I’ve gone out of my way to help you.” She moves back, her lips forming a pout as she climbs onto the bed. “Come on. She’ll never know. I want to feel your big cock inside me again.”