“I don’t care. We’re a team, and I’m not letting him bully you into more awkward situations.”
“He didn’t bully me. He tricked me.”
“It doesn’t matter. We do it together, Webb.”
She takes a deep breath and slowly releases it. Some of her tension eases and she nods. “All right, fine. I can agree to that.”
“From now on, no matter what, we don’t do anything with Cowan alone. Do we have a deal?” I shove my hand out at her and she hesitates, but she shakes it.
I hold on for a moment too long. She notices and she feels it, but she doesn’t say anything. I feel that skin against my palm and I want to bring her finger to my lips. I want to press my thumb against her tongue and make her suck it as I fuck her and let her moans play through my ears like candy. I want her so badly it’s like a demon screaming in my skull.
I release her and she rubs the back of her hand in slow circles.
“Where do we go from here?” she says finally and clears her throat. “With Cowan, I mean.”
“Lawyers. Paperwork. We’ll need to find some plausible reason for that cash you spent today.”
“Can’t claim crack on our taxes.”
“Unfortunately.” I run a finger around the rim of my coffee cup. “But there’s something else I wanted to ask you about while I have you.” I hesitate and meet her eye. “While you’re here, I mean.”
“What’s that?”
“The other morning when you came over.”
“Which time? The redhead or the blonde?”
“Redhead.” I grimace slightly. Fuck, has it really been more than once? I’m worse than I thought. “You seemed off. Angry, almost.”
“If you’re asking if I was jealous, I wasn’t, and that’s inappropriate.”
“I’m asking if you’re okay, that’s all.”
She chews on that and nods. “I’m fine.”
“Good. I’m fine too, thanks.”
“Great.” She pushes back from the table. “This was supposed to be my day off and instead I’ve spent it with you and that insane asshole. I gotta say, Baptist, not my idea of relaxation.”
“I apologize for interrupting your sensual afternoon of bubble baths and a long date with your vibrator.”
She turns pink. “Baptist.”
“Webb.”
“Inappropriate.”
“Just because we aren’t mixing business with pleasure doesn’t mean I’m going to swallow all my best jokes. You’ll get used to it.”
“Truly, Baptist, you remain the king of all pricks.”
“Thank you, my royal subject.” I give her a little bow and she rolls her eyes and stalks away.
I watch her go with a knot in my gut.
What the hell is Cowan’s game?
I was warned about this. A friend of mine that worked with the eccentric director a few years back said that Cowan liked to fuck with the people in his orbit. Producers, actors, anyone working his sets, he liked to press buttons and see how far he could push. I expected something like this—but making her pay gambling and drugs debts to a bunch of gangsters is way too fucking far.