Ah.There it was.
She laughed politely, dumbly, acting as if she didn’t know what he was talking about. “Oh? I’m sorry, I’m not sure I follow.”
He reached across the table and clasped his hand over hers. “What I’m saying is, we can have dinners like this, just you and me, far more often.”
Ugh.
“Thayer … I don’t know.” She swallowed nervously. She knew she had to tread carefully—she didn’t want to burn this bridge until she’d safely landed at the next gig.“I mean, yes, we should definitely keep in touch. And sure, I’d love to meet for a dinner every now and then to catch up. I’ve always valued your input.”
Suddenly, his entire demeanor changed, and his visage twisted into a cruel and nasty portrait of a man.
“You realize you owe me, right?” he asked with a mean sneer. “I was the one who gave you your big break. And now I’ve gotten you this. Isn’t it time you givemesomething in return?”
Aaaand Dane was right again,she thought.This guy is a sleazy, smarmy nutjob.
She dropped the polite and diplomatic tone—it was time to speak directly and honestly with this creep. “I don’t owe youanything. And if you thought you could bribe me into sleeping with you over some job, forget it. I’m beyond shocked you’d even suggest that, honestly. It goes againsteverythingyou’ve ever claimed to stand for and believe in.”
He laughed ominously. “Yes,youshould lecture me about hypocritical and shocking behavior.”
“Excuse me?”
“You really think I’m stupid, don’t you? You’ve underestimated me, Austen.”
She suddenly had a very bad feeling. Her pulse began to pound in her neck.
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about.” She wiped at the beads of sweat that suddenly appeared on her forehead. “God, this curry is hot.”
“I have to say, though, I’m surprised. I never would’ve expected it fromyouof all people.”
“Expected what?”
“Stop acting so damn stupid. It’s annoying. You know perfectly well that I’m talking about you and Dane DeHardt.”
“I don’t know what you think you know—”
“I know that you drove to his house late last night. Don’t even try to deny it; I know that your car is still there, in fact.”
“You’ve been keeping tabs on me?”
“How could I not? You acted like a dog in heat around that knuckle-dragging jock. Everyone thought so—Johnny, Frederick, Heather, GM Baumbach, everyone else who viewed the raw footage, too. It was disgusting to watch.”
“Then why’d you tell me about the gag order? What was the point of telling me all that if you didn’t trust me around him?”
“Because DeHardt has a big mouth. If he heard something from you, he would’ve ran to the media and screamed about it—especially after last night’s interview aired. And then, I’d know I had to cut you loose. I have to admit, I was surprised that DeHardt has taken all this abuse over the past twenty-four hours without saying a word. Ialmoststarted to trust you again … until last night happened.”
“So what now?” she asked.
“Well, right now, you don’t have a job. If you want the Texans job, I think you know exactly what’s expected of you.”
“No. Never. Gross—ugh, you disgust me. Never, ever.” She hacked and coughed to clear her throat. “So this was your genius plan, huh? You really thought you could bribe me into sleeping with you? All for ajob?”
“Apparently you like assholes, so I’m doing my best to act like an asshole. So? Is this working? Are you turned on yet?”
“Wow.” She shook her head. “You’re literally the worst person I’ve ever met in my life.”
“Hey, if you slept with a nice guy like me, at least you’d actuallygetsomething out of it. What good did serving as DeHardt’s cum dumpster do you? All you did was lose your dignity.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said with a laugh.
