“It’s more than that and you know it. Opportunity is knocking, babe. Why not see if we can stir up a little heat?” He reached for her.
Groaning, she evaded him and sank back in her chair. “That’s why you asked me to kiss you? You saw Max coming?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
Doug had stirred up something all right. Max’s anger. Max had looked furious to find her out partying when she should be at home working on Honor. She had a mountain of work on her desk and not enough hours in the day to get it done.
She prayed the copy of the Willow script came through. Only then could she fully explain to Max why she was consorting with the enemy.
“You look ready to breathe fire,” Dev said as Max joined him at their table.
“My assistant is wining and dining when she should be at home working.” That was the only reason seeing Dana kiss the guy had pissed him off. The urge to knock the kid back into his chair had nothing to do with the fact that she’d been kissing Max thirty-two hours ago.
For God’s sake, she worked for him. The kiss had been a mistake—one he shouldn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t repeat. Had he learned nothing from his marriage? Business and pleasure were a volatile combination.
“You’re out tonight, too.”
“This is work. We’re here to develop strategy to counteract the Willow competition. Damn, this time crunch is killing us.”
“Rushing the film through production and postproduction has definitely added some pressure. But you can’t expect her to work around the clock.”
“Until this film is done we’re all working around the clock. She knew what she was getting into before she signed on as associate producer, and she’s being paid accordingly. If she’d wanted nine-to-five, she should have kept her old job.”
Dev looked beyond Max’s shoulder and his eyes narrowed. “How well do you know Dana?”
Obviously not as well as he’d thought given the discoveries he’d made in the past few days. Had he ever seen her smile the way she’d been smiling at her date? “Why?”
“Her dinner date is Doug Lewis.”
“I’ve met him.”
“He’s Trey Jacob’s assistant.”
A knot jerked tight in Max’s midsection. “Lewis works for Willow.”
“That’s right. And we have a possible leak. Think there’s a connection?”
Instant denial sprung to Max’s lips. He’d trusted Dana with everything for the past five years. But Dev had planted a seed of doubt and tendrils of mistrust took root. Would Dana betray him? Would she betray Hudson Pictures? If so, why? What possible motive could she have?
Money? He’d seen no signs of excess spending in her apartment, and she drove a four-year-old economy car. She wasn’t into jewelry or designer shoes and handbags like so many of the actresses he dealt with.
A promotion? She’d have less of a chance of producing anything at Willow than she had with Hudson, and she was smart enough to know it.
Max scrolled through his memories. The Legions premiere hadn’t been the only time he’d seen Dana with Lewis. “She’s been dating him for at least two years.”
“I’d say that needs looking into.”
“I agree. I’ll talk to her tonight.”
“Tonight?”
He wished his brother hadn’t picked up on that. “When I get home.”
“You’ll call her that late?”
“No. I’ll see her. She’s staying with me.”
Dev’s eyebrows shot up. “She’s living with you?”
“No. Staying with me until Honor is completed.”
“Same difference.”
“Not at all. It’s business. Working from my home office means fewer interruptions and a way to squeeze more hours out of the workday. She’s downstairs in the guest suite. It’s nothing personal.”
That kiss had been pretty damned personal. His reaction to seeing her with bed head, no makeup and in her skimpy pajamas had felt personal. Why else would he have been dreaming about her when he crashed on her sofa? A seriously hot dream.
Planting one on her when he’d still been in that hazy half-awake state had not been one of his finer moments. He’d be lucky if she didn’t cry sexual harassment. That would give the PR department a serious issue to work on.
“You’re sharing a house. Trust me, women have expectations when that happens. Everything changes.”
“Dana knows the score.”
“I hope you’re right.” Dev got an ah-ha look on his face. “I get it. This is about Karen.”
“No,” Max denied quickly.
“Yes. You don’t want Dana on the road late at night because of what happened to Karen. It’s the same reason you always make your bimbos sleep over after sex instead of kicking them out like a smart man would. Better yet, you could go to their place, leave when you’re done and avoid the messy mornings after.”
“You’re trying to connect unrelated incidents.”
“Liar.” But the insult was hurled in a brotherly tone. “The accident wasn’t your fault, Max.”
He didn’t want to rehash this. Not now. Not while they had so much other garbage on the table. “I need a drink.”
He scanned the area, searching for their waiter. It was because he’d had too much to drink that night while he was wheeling and dealing that he’d made Karen drive.
Is there a lesson here, buddy?
A familiar knot of tension balled between his shoulder blades. Forget the drink. “I shouldn’t have let her drive.”
“She was old enough to make that decision herself, Max.”
“She was tired.”
“Karen could have called for a driver. Wouldn’t be the first time one of us has done that. Or she could have had a couple cups of coffee. God knows she had guts enough to speak up for what she wanted on the job. That night shouldn’t have been any different.”
Another reminder not to get involved with someone he worked with. He and Karen had had a great marriage most of the time, but when they had one of their rare arguments the bad mood had followed them into work and hung over the entire studio like a dark cloud. She’d been his executive assistant until he’d convinced her to quit, stay at home and try to get pregnant.
“Forget it. That’s history. We have a current crisis to manage.” He didn’t need to be raking over old, cold coals tonight. If he did he’d end up drinking too much. Again. His pity parties didn’t happen often, but when they did, they weren’t pretty. That’s why he usually carted himself out of town for the event. This year his tight schedule wouldn’t allow it.
“You’re right. Max, the similarity between Willow’s film and ours might be coincidental. Congruity happens. And if it were any other film company I wouldn’t think twice. But it’s not another company, and if we have a leak then you have to consider Dana as the source.”
He’d already come to that conclusion. “If I fire her, I’ll never get the editing done on time.”
“Then you won’t fire her. Yet. You’ll just watch her like a hawk. Can you handle that?”
She was already