“Why?” I snapped, my temper flaring. “You don’t need to look at her.”
Mitchell sighed. “I need to see the pictures to assess any legal angle I can exploit. Do you want me to take care of this or not?”
I ran my hand down my face and cursed under my breath. “Fuck.”
“I’ll just look up her name. I’m sure I’ll find them that way,” Mitchell said, obviously trying to placate me. “Just give me some time.”
“Get back to me by the end of the day and you can triple your hourly rate.”
I hung up the phone, and took a deep breath. Mitchell was one of the few people that I trusted, so I knew he’d find a way to come through for me.
Thinking along those lines, I made another phone call. The phone rang and rang, and I was starting to think that it was going to go to voicemail when it was finally answered.
“Hello?” Sam’s voice was groggy, like I’d woken him up. “Bowen? Why are you calling me so early?”
“It’s almost ten o’clock,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“And it’s Saturday. I like to sleep in on the weekends. Why are you calling me?”
“I want to know what you’ve found out about the movie, the one you sent me the script for.”
“That professor thing? I made a call to the executive producer. They want you to do a reading with the director and the head writer in LA when you get back from your vacation, but it’s really just a formality. You’re in.”
Excitement surged through me. “Are you sure?”
“Hey, B-man, you know me. I get things done. You said you wanted this, and I made it happen.”
I couldn’t help chuckling. “Okay, fine. But I want to get all the scripts that come across your desk from now on. I’m ready to take charge of my own career and make my own choices when it comes to various projects, and I need you to follow my lead on that.”
“You got it. Just do me a favor and stay away from horror movies, okay? If you’re tired of being typecast, the last thing you want is to become a scream queen.”
This time a full-bodied laugh bubbled up out of my throat. “Aren’t those usually women?”
“You know what I mean. Now, I’m gonna go back to sleep. Are you still planning to come back to the states Monday?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed. My mind wandered to Marlee, still laying in my bed. “This vacation was exactly what I needed.”
“Glad to hear it. So... are you going to tell me about the girl in the picture?”
I stifled a groan. “Goodbye, Sam.”
“Alright, fine. Keep your secrets. I’ll call you Monday to set up the reading.”
As we hung up the phone, a small smile stretched across my face. Everything was falling into place for me, and I almost couldn’t believe that I’d been bitter and fed up with my job when I arrived here at the beginning of the week. Now, I had a new role lined up that I was actually excited about and an unexpected romance with a woman I could see a future with. I had come here with the intention of escaping from stress for a little while, but I felt like I’d changed my life for the better.
Heading back inside, I returned to the bedroom and found Marlee sitting up in the bed, stretching with her arms up over her head. Her hair was a tangled mess and her eyelids were heavy, but she looked completely edible as her shirt lifted, exposing her flat stomach. I licked my lips and moved closer.
“Good morning,” she said, her voice thick with sleep.
I stopped beside the bed and cupped her cheek. “Good morning, baby. Do you want to start the day off right?”
I raked my eyes over her, and she grinned, but there was no heat in it.
“Normally, I would love to, but I have a wedding to go to today and I really should start getting ready.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense.” I hesitated, then asked, “But tell me, are you allowed to bring a plus one?”
A slow, delighted smile appeared on her face. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”