“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 living under his roof. All he had to do was find a way to control the hours when she wasn’t working or sleeping and since those would be few and far between until November, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
“I have it covered. And I’ll find out if she’s leaked anything and if so, how much.”
Five
Dana closed Max’s front door and locked it behind herself as quietly as possible, then she turned and spotted a big shadow in the dark foyer. She startled and fumbled for the security panel, intent on setting off the alarm if she had to.
The light flicked on, identifying the shadow as Max. She pressed a hand over her racing heart. The gate chime would have alerted him to her arrival. “Max, you scared me.”
“What did you tell Lewis about Honor?”
She smothered a wince. She’d been afraid he’d think the worst. “Nothing.”
“He works for Willow.”
She heard accusation in his tone, but until she had the script in hand and she was sure delivering it wouldn’t get Doug fired, she couldn’t give Max the whole story. Doug hadn’t had a copy of the script in the pile at his condo. She’d have to wait until he could look around the office when he returned from recce.
“Yes. He works for Willow. He’s been there a couple of years. And you might as well know now that I helped him get the job.”
“So that you could exchange information?”
“No.”
“Did you leak details of the Honor script to him?”
She pushed off the door and met his gaze straight on. “No, Max. Why would I do that?”
“You tell me.”
That he didn’t trust her ticked her off. “You think I sold information to our competitor?”
“Did you?”
The accusation stung. “I was trying to get information from Doug tonight, not give it to him. You wanted to know about Willow’s upcoming film. I’ve known Doug a long time. I was hoping he’d tell me what we needed to know.”
“Did he?”
“Not yet.”
“You kissed him.”
She shrugged. “Doug kisses everybody. It means nothing.”
“Yesterday you kissed me.”
Her mouth watered over the memory. She swallowed. “No. You kissed me. But I get that you didn’t know who…you weren’t awake or aware…that it wasn’t me you were thinking of.”
She was so uncomfortable with this conversation she could barely look him in the eyes.
“He’s your lover.”
She grimaced and curled her toes in her shoes. “He was. He isn’t anymore. That ended years ago.”
“Before or after he went to work at Willow?”
Why did he need to know this?
“About the same time. We didn’t want to be accused of a conflict of interest, so we ended our relationship.” By then they’d figured out they were better friends than lovers anyway. And yes, Doug had figured out she was looking for someone who could make her forget her boss. But Doug hadn’t been that guy. No way was she going to tell Max that.
“Did you promise to meet him again?”
Heat crawled up her cheeks. Not in the way he meant, but she wasn’t going to lie. “We didn’t set a date.”
“But you are going to see him again.”
“I might. He’s a friend.” If he got the script, they’d definitely meet. He was supposed to call if/when that happened and set up a rendezvous. Waiting a week or three seemed like an eternity.
Max moved closer until he loomed over her and she had to tilt her head back to hold his gaze. “I could fire you for that conflict of interest you mentioned.”
Her stomach sank. “You don’t need to do that, Max. I swear I’m not sharing company secrets. I’m trying to help, not hurt Hudson Pictures.”
“Will you sleep with him to get the information?”
She flinched and gasped. “No.”
“Will you kiss him again?”
This was a weird conversation for a man who avoided personal exchanges like he would stepping on a fire-ant hill. “Probably. I told you Doug kisses everybody.”
“Do you?”
She couldn’t gauge his mood. She’d never seen him like this…all edgy and male with a hint of aggression just below the surface. He wasn’t drunk. His words and eyes were clear and she didn’t smell liquor on his breath.
“No. I’m pretty selective who I kiss.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you?”
He closed the gap between them. Only an inch or two separated their torsos. Her breath stalled in her chest. “Max?”
“I knew who I was kissing yesterday. I always know who I’m kissing.” He lifted her chin with his knuckle and covered her mouth with his.
Dana stood frozen with shock. Fast on the heels of that hair-raising circumstance came a potent cocktail of heat, arousal and adrenaline. His lips pressed hers open and his tongue sought and found hers in a slick, hot caress. A whimper of need slipped up her throat. Her nails bit into her palms as she struggled for sanity and fought the urge to wrap her arms around him.
She didn’t have a clue what was going on or why he was kissing her. And she didn’t care. She’d dreamed of this moment too often to question or fight it. His chest pressed her breasts and their thighs touched, and then his arm hooked around her and yanked her against him. Her heart raced and her skin flushed.
His heat scorched her, winded her, aroused her. The pressure of his mouth on hers intensified, bending her back over his arm, opening her mouth for deeper possession. She dropped her purse on the floor and gave in to the need to wind her arms around his middle for support as the room spun around her.
The warmth of his palm splayed over her hip and rose with torturous slowness to rest on her rib cage with his thumb just below her breast. Her nipple tightened in anticipation. She wanted him to touch her, ached for it. But he didn’t.
His hold loosened and he stepped away. “Don’t see Lewis again if you want to keep your job.”
Dana struggled to catch her breath and unscramble her brain. “Wha-what if I can’t promise that?”
“I’d think long and hard before I refused if I were you. Your job won’t be the only one on the line.”
And then he pivoted and climbed the stairs, leaving her alone in the foyer. Dana sagged against the front door with her heart pounding a deafening roar in her ears.
If she did as he ordered, she wouldn’t get the answers Hudson needed. Surely once she had the script Max would understand and forgive her for ignoring his command?