T.A. (Biker Bitches 6)

“If I can eat a piece of her birthday cake and meet T.A., then it’ll be worth the two-hour flight.”

“I told you she wasn’t your type.”

Dax gave him a curious look. “Don’t you want me to go?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

Dalton could tell his son was blowing the brief meeting he had with T.A. out of proportion and couldn’t understand where it was coming from. It wasn’t like he had talked about it after the first and only time they discussed it when he arrived in St. Louis.

“Then why don’t you tell me what you are saying?”

“Nothing. I’m too tired to talk about it tonight. We can talk later, when you’re willing to open up to me.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’m going to bed. Good night, Dax.”

Dalton walked to the door that led to his private room. They used the suite that Dax had booked as a makeshift office; it was spacious enough that he and Dax had their own private space and yet had a separated room, where they set up several computers to work during the evenings.

Turning the shower to hot, he stepped inside after taking his clothes off. His aching muscles tensed then loosened under the steamy spray. Slim the movie’s stunt coordinator and Dax had both been keeping him busy. Slim was overly cautious about the stunts that Dax added to the script, and Dax had raised his hands up and turned it over to him to deal with.

Zeke was a good actor who was at the height of his fame, and he was trying to use any excuse to break his contract. If he hadn’t signed Zeke to a contract before his last movie became so popular, they would have never been able to afford him on their budget.

Zeke was making no pretenses that he regretted signing the contract, and that he and his manager were trying to get him a role in another movie that had every actor vying for a chance to audition was no surprise to him. You couldn’t turn on a TV without hearing rumors of who would be chosen.

Shutting the water off, Dalton dried off. Wrapping a towel around his hips, he called the desk for a wakeup call, then set his watch as a backup. Going to his suitcase, he took out a fresh pair of pajama bottoms.

The impersonal room was beginning to grate on his nerves. After the movie wrapped up, he needed to decide if he wanted to buy another home in the States or return to the home he had shared with Oceane in France.

He was about to get into bed when he heard a knock at his door.

“Come in.”

Dalton turned as the door opened and Dax came in.

“Zeke texted me that he’s got a stomach bug, and he won’t be able to do the scene tomorrow.”

“I was wondering when DeMour would finally get around to ask him for an audition.”

“You’re not surprised?”

“No, he wants that part. We can shoot around him tomorrow, but if he’s not back by Monday, I’ll have another chat with him.”

“If the chats you’ve been having with him aren’t working, what makes you so sure the next one will?”

“I can be nice when thousands of dollars of my money are riding on the line to get the job done, but when he starts fucking with other artists and crew time, then he’ll be the one paying the price, not us. I don’t like hardball, but that doesn’t mean I won’t play. DeMour won’t hire him if rumors come out that Zeke is being temperamental on the set.”

Dax’s scowl turned to one of amusement. “And how would DeMour find out?”

“Fire Carla and book her a seat back to L.A. tonight.”

“Why would I do that? She’s the best makeup artist in the industry.”

“That’s why DeMour will hire her. By Monday, DeMour will know exactly how Zeke has been acting on the set.”

“I’d rather give them Zeke than give Carla up.”

Dalton gave Dax a complacent grin. “That’s why I’m letting you be the one to fire her. Tuesday morning, I’ll call her and hire her back.”

Dax grinned back. “Zeke will be furious when the rumors come back to him.”

“And they will. I’ll make sure of that. He will be angry, but he’ll only have himself to blame. He wants that part, so he’ll behave until we’ve finished shooting, or DeMour chooses who he wants for his movie.”

“What if DeMour picks Zeke?”

“He won’t. Zeke isn’t right for the part. DeMour already knows that, or he would have already asked Zeke to audition.”

Dax’s head tilted to the side. “Who would you hire?”

“Not Zeke. Whoever he hires to play the part of Leon is going to be strong enough to live up to the demands DeMour is going to make on him. He says he has a vision of the actor he wants, but he hasn’t found him yet. No one is arguing with him for taking so long to decide as his visions tend to be very profitable.”