“I’m just not sure this is what I want,” I say with a shrug.
“This is what everyone wants. How can you even be hesitant?” The irritation in his voice is evident.
“Maybe it’s just not what I want.”
He stands, taking an angry step towards me before he stops. “What is this about? Do you want more money?”
Gosh no. The role is already paying more than enough.
“I want more freedom. I can’t do anything, Tom.” I throw up my hands in exasperation. “Everywhere I go, people know me.”
“You can do anything you want. You have money. You have the resources to do more than the average person. So yes, people might know you wherever you go, but that’s a good thing in your profession.” He will never understand because he loves the attention and having people around him. In my case, I would rather be incognito. “You have two more weeks under this contract, then all the interviews and marketing that comes with it. You will have four months off before you need to start filming again. In those four months, you can do anything you want, go anywhere you want, and no one will bug you.” That’s just the problem, I can’t because everywhere I go, people seem to recognize me.
“I’ll get the contract back to you by Monday.” I don’t promise the contract will be signed because I really don’t think I can do this any longer. I haven’t got any friends, my mother hardly speaks to me, and I’m alone. All the money in the world doesn’t make me happy when I’ve got no one to share it with. Now that I have Dane, I want to make a life for myself—one that I’ll be happy with and not just living day to day.
“Good girl. Now off you go, I have a few calls to make.”
I nod, more than happy to leave. Eirik walks to the door, opening it so he can look out before standing aside to let me pass.
“Oh, and Freya,” Tom calls just before I step out, “make sure you leave the other security detail outside or Kane might decide to quit.” For some reason, I think it’s easier said than done, but I agree before leaving with Eirik walking out right beside me.
“Dane’s not going to like it, is he?”
“Nope,” Eirik replies without a glance at me.
“Will you accompany me, though?” I ask, and this time I have him stop and look directly at me.
“This isn’t a job for us any longer, sweetheart. You belong to one of us, and for that, we will always be there to protect you no matter what. Dane as your mate should be the one to protect you, but because of his temper, he will have to understand. It was good of you to intervene and stop that fucker from filing charges against Dane.” Eirik lifts his hand and I see that he has his phone in it. Looking down, he inclines his head towards the front doors. “Speak of the devil, looks like Dane is outside.”
I tense. How the hell did he know we were here?
“Did you tell him where we were?” I ask, turning to hurry down the corridor to the main door.
“No. But as his mate, he will always be able to find you no matter where you are.”
Oh great, another thing I didn’t know about this relationship. It’s like having a tracker up your ass.
“Can I do that, find him wherever he is?”
Eirik shakes his head, a grin transforming his formidable expression.
“Oh, I don’t see that being very fair, now is it?”
He shrugs, his grin widening further. Eirik opens the door for me to walk out. I see Dane and Dag sitting on their bikes just a couple of feet away. When I see him, it feels like all my anxiety just washes away.
“I didn’t think you were working today?” Dane says when we stop next to the bikes.
“I wasn’t, but I came in to speak to Tom.”
I see Dane raise his head and then he tenses. His eyes get intense when he turns to Eirik. “And that fucker, too?”
How the hell did he know that?
“They just spoke. She got him to drop the charges against you.”
“How do you know I spoke to him?” Dane looks back at me, his features still tense.
“I can smell the son of a bitch.” Oh, my goodness, how am I supposed to do the scenes tomorrow if he can smell when I’m close to Kane? I look over at Eirik and see a splitting grin across his face. He is enjoying this and I can tell he knows exactly what I’m thinking.