From a distance, I hear a snapping sound that pulls me back to reality. Our lips separate. My body shakes when I see a man on the sidewalk with a camera in front of his face. The flash clicks one after the other, followed by his footsteps pounding across the pavement.
“Get in the house,” Nico says to me, pushing me behind him. “I’ll deal with him.”
“Nico,” the man says. “Is that Willow Duvall?”
Harley owns this house, so it’s not like he would know where I live. Taking Nico’s advice, I turn on my heels and haul ass toward the front door. I open the door and stand in the entryway, leaving it open a crack to listen to their conversation.
“Was that your agent?”
He remembers me. The media photographed us at the Flashbang movie premier when Nico announced I’m his new agent. Burke will have my head tomorrow morning.
“Get lost,” Nico growls at him.
A few seconds later, Nico storms away. He pulls open the door and slams it behind him.
“Are you okay?”
I point my finger at my chest. “Me? What about you?”
“I’m used to getting harassed by these assholes.”
He cups the side of my face with his hand. “I shouldn’t have kissed you outside. I wasn’t thinking… It just felt so right. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
“If that asshole sells the pictures, Burke will fire you.”
“I know.”
“Willow…” He caresses my skin with his fingers. “I’m sorry, baby.” His eyes fall to the floor, and he sighs. “After everything you did for me, I fucked things up for you.”
“I’m a big girl, Nico.”
“You should know something,” he breathes against my lips. “This is real for me. You’re not a fling or just someone to pass the time with. I care about you. A lot. More than I thought I could ever care about a woman.”
“We haven’t known each other that long,” I point out.
“True. But I feel like we’ve known each other for years. I can tell you anything. And you accept me no matter what. I like who I am with you. You make me want to be a better man.”
His words bring a smile to my face. “Are you still going to like me when I’m a jobless loser?”
Nico laughs. “You’re still my agent, no matter what happens.”
“You think I could do it? Start a talent agency.”
He brushes his lips against mine. “You can do anything, agent girl.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Willow
The asshole paparazzi sold the images and Nico and me kissing within days of finalizing Nico’s deal for Savages. I got a phone call late last night from Burke’s assistant, telling me to be in his office at eight o’clock. Everyone in Hollywood has seen the pictures by now, maybe even the world.
They splashed my face across social media. The press is having a field day over a Brenton-Lake agent hooking up with a client. The headlines are the worst of all, some of them so rude I cried on Nico’s shoulder for over an hour last night.
When I stroll through the door, Ash is waiting for me in the lobby of our office building. A newspaper is in her hand, a worried look on her face.
“Dude, you’re so screwed.” She hands me a copy of Variety, the picture of Nico and me kissing in front of my house on the front page. “You and Nico are all everyone is talking about.”
I close my eyes for a second and sigh. “I didn’t mean for this to happen…”
“Hey, girl. No judgment here. I dated my brother’s best friend behind his back for years. I know what it’s like to keep a massive secret.” Ash hooks her arm around my back, crushing me with a hug that I desperately need. “You’ll get through this.”
“How?”
She smirks. “With alcohol.”
“I’m so fired.”
“If people will give Nico a second chance, you’ll get one, too.”
“I doubt that. Burke doesn’t tolerate shit like this.” I sigh. “I wasn’t thinking. When I’m around Nico, it’s like he sucks all the air from the room, and my brain stops working.”
“Is Nico worth it?”
“Yeah,” I say without hesitation. “There’s so much more to the man than the movie star.”
“Then you made the right choice.” Ash hits the button on the wall to call the elevator. “Look where I was a few months ago. Evicted from my apartment without notice, forced to live with my brother and Dylan. And since then, my entire life has changed for the better.”
The doors open for us, and we step onto the elevator. My heart pounds like a jackhammer as we ascend the floors to Brenton-Lake. Today may very well be my last day working for the agency. Weston Burke has a strict no fraternizing policy among agents, let alone the ironclad clause in my employment contract. Kissing my client is grounds for dismissal.
The air drains from my lungs when the doors open to our floor. Assistants are shuffling about, folders in their hands, and cell phones raised to their ears—just another day at the top talent agency in Los Angeles. And soon, to be my last.