“Nothing,” she said quickly.“Mathews is headed to the helipad.”
Had she rearranged his kitchen again?No, something was different.He had a keen sense of observation and knew when his personal space had been disturbed.Douglas never did anything without consulting him first, and Lex might not use his kitchen except to brew coffee, but…
“Did you take my cappuccino maker?”he asked.
“I was sure you wouldn’t notice,” she said.“Do you know how hard it is to buy a birthday gift for a man who has everything?This cappuccino maker, Lex, came from the bottom of my heart and you never use it.I’m keeping it.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”He preferred his coffee black, but he hadn’t wanted to hurt her feelings.His sister and cousins loved their coffee smothered with milk and cream.“I love that machine.”
“Oh, you do?”
“Bring it back, Paula.”He grinned when she laughed and said she was on her way.
Lex disconnected the call and studied the folder.Part of him wanted to open it and read everything about Jillian Finnegan.A resume didn’t give an insight into a person’s character.That was the kind of thing you learned as you got to know them, and he meant to get to know Jillian in every possible way.He also had a rule about doing a thorough background check on everyone he did business with, except this wasn’t business.
Lex turned, walked to the coffee table, and dropped the folder on top of a pile of nature magazines.Anything he learned about Jillian Finnegan was going to come directly from her, not a resume.
~*~
Jillian threw the keys in the tray by her door and kicked off her shoes.She started unbuttoning her shirt before she reached her bedroom.She was still hurt and… really, really pissed.
She stood under the hot spray and swore, imagining her brothers cringing.She’d learned to curse from them, yet they acted like she was insane to copy them.
Well, screw them!
How dare they want to kick her out?They were supposed to stand up to their father.Be her champions.Even Ricky had said she was the best.She’d tried to guilt him into confessing, but he’d zipped out the door before she could say anything.Ricky could never keep a secret.Worse, her father had been asleep, leaving her no reason to linger by his bed.
Why didn’t he want her back riding?What was he thinking borrowing money from seedy characters?She screamed in frustration.
The shower didn’t make her feel better.She needed a plan, something that would make her father see that he needed her.Cash her stocks and bonds?Refinance her condo?She might get eighty.Maybe a hundred grand.But that wouldn’t be enough.Not by a long stretch.Chris had drilled into her to always save something for rainy days.In her line of business, sometimes it didn’t just rain.It poured.No stunts meant no pay.Or you could be on top of the world one minute, the next broken up like a China doll because some idiot stunt coordinator’s assistant made a mistake.
No, she didn’t want to cash in her retirement monies even though she felt like she was in the middle of a hurricane.She needed more work.Shorter gigs with huge pay checks.She tried not to overlap jobs, but she could work evenings and on days when she wasn’t filming.Then there were weekends when they weren’t shooting at a location.
She needed to talk to her agent.
Yanking on a bathrobe, Jillian left the bathroom and bent over to pick up her jacket from the floor, almost slipping on the wooden surface.One of these days, she was going to carpet the whole place instead of using area rugs.The problem was she loved her love nest the way it was.Bold colors on the windows, pillows, and rugs.Candles and canopy bed curtains.It suited her.She plopped on top of her bed and removed her cell.
She had missed a call from Greg.Nice.Maybe he already had something lined up for her.She got comfortable on her many pillows and swept a hand across the missed call.
“I’m happy you called back, Jill,” Greg said.He was a fast talker, who got excited even over the smallest of parts and always saw a silver lining in every role, which made him a great agent.His firm had over a hundred clients, most of them kids.
“That’s funny, G,” Jillian said.“I was just about to call you.What’s going on?Why are you whispering?”
“Am I?Oh, okay.”His voice returned to normal.“I have a job for you.Something you can do while filming your present segments.”
Jillian sat up.“No way.I was just thinking about that.What kind of job?”
“Acting.”
She sighed.“I’m trying to get away from acting, G.Doesn’t JLo or Beyoncé need a female security guard while in L.A.?Maybe an overindulgent pop star’s planning a birthday party and needs girls in bikinis to mud-wrestle?I need something that makes tons of money in the shortest amount of time.”
He laughed nervously.“You’re kidding, right?Tell me you’re kidding.”
“What do you think?People see me and assume I’m a defenseless female, until I disarm them.And don’t say I can’t handle a real gun because I’m licensed to pack,andI can dismantle and put one back together faster than most security guards these movie stars employ.”
Greg groaned.“Yeah, I’ve heard about the way you pass time at the set.Quit showing off and listen, Jill.We have a new client.Terms are negotiable, and the hours are flexible.The best part is he’s willing to work around your schedule.”
“You had me at anew client.”
