Jason Read online

  Mallory walked into the room before him. A little gasp of wonder escaped her lips. So this was how the other half lived. The room was beautiful, with an en suite bathroom, a big, four-poster bed, and most importantly, a view of the ocean and the storm raging over it. “Oh my God, Jason. This is gorgeous. Is this your room?”

  “Nope. This is a guest room.” He put her suitcase on a luggage rack. “I’m going to grab a shower, too. I’ll meet you downstairs?” He smiled at her again. He’d smiled at her more tonight than he had the whole year she’d worked for him.

  So Mallory smiled back, and it felt as if their smiles crossed and hung in the air between them. “Thanks, Jason.”

  “Yep.” He paused at the door, his hand on the handle. “Mallory…I’m really glad you’re here.” He went out, closing the door behind him.

  Mallory turned a slow circle, taking in the room, then fell onto her back on top of the bed. She felt like Elizabeth Bennet must have felt when she finally saw Pemberly in Pride and Prejudice.

  She was really glad she was here, too.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CLEANED and showered and properly dressed for Mallory’s sake, Jason pushed aside some files on the kitchen table, opened his laptop, and pulled up the headshots the casting agency had sent him.

  Mallory appeared a few minutes later looking refreshed. She was wearing yoga pants that fit her almost too well, and a plain white T-shirt beneath a gray hoodie. Her hair, still wet, was slicked back behind her ears. She smiled sheepishly at him. “Wow, look at you. You have on a shirt.”

  “Anything to make your stay more enjoyable. Come take a look.”

  He’d pulled a pair of chairs around so they would view the files together. He had also refreshed her drink. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything.

  Mallory took a seat next to him, picked up the drink, and sipped. “Whisky is growing on me,” she said. “Okay, what have we got?”

  “A dozen headshots of actors who are currently available. I want to get a couple of them in to read for the part right away. We start shooting in a little over a week.”

  He pulled up the first headshot. A young blond man stared thoughtfully back at them. “Too young,” he said instantly.

  “Too pretty,” Mallory said.

  The next one had potential. Mallory leaned forward a little to study him, her head near Jason’s. She smelled sweet, like flowers. Like the sort of bouquet he would send to a woman to make up for some sin.

  Mallory tapped through to some different shots of the man. She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know. He’s got a dad bod.”

  “What?” Jason turned his attention away from the study of her delicate ear. “No he doesn’t. He looks good.”

  “Trust me. No one wants the object of their fantasy to have even the hint of a gut. This is the lead, you know. The character all the woman should fall for, and he can’t have a dad bod.”

  Jason looked down at his belly.

  Without even looking at him, Mallory said, “You’re not starring in a show. And you don’t have a dad bod.”

  How did she do that? He clicked on the next one. “How about this guy?”

  Mallory cocked her head to one side and studied him. “He has possibilities. But he looks a little effeminate in the chin, don’t you think?”

  “No.” He looked like a regular guy to Jason.

  “Seriously, look at him,” she said, nodding. She picked up her whisky and sipped. “There is nothing wrong with his looks, but he doesn’t look hard enough for this role. We need someone grizzled.”

  Jason laughed. “Have you ever met Darien Simmons?” he joked. “He has never looked grizzled a day in his life. He looks like he’s just finished afternoon tea.”

  “I always thought his look was wrong for the role, you know? Bad Intentions is so gritty. More True Detective than Pink Panther. Imagine if we had someone like Woody Harrelson or Russell Crowe in the role.”

  Interesting she would say that. When they’d done the original casting for the show, before Mallory had come on board, he and Cass had decided that a more sophisticated actor was better for the part. Frankly, Cass had been insistent and Jason had bowed to his experience. But he saw Mallory’s point.

  He flipped to the next actor. This one had a scruff of a beard and lines around his eyes. A true character actor, fully weathered. He looked to be in his fifties. “What about him?”

  She was already shaking her head. “Cheekbones aren’t right.”

  “Cheekbones?”

  “I mean, he’s fine in real life, but for this show, we need defined cheekbones. There was this whole study done on the facial features people respond to.” She spared him a look from the corner of her eye. “Didn’t you read it? I put it on your desk.”

  “No, I didn’t read it,” he said, mocking her voice.

  Mallory smiled pertly.

  “Come on, his cheekbones are fine,” Jason said, and resisted the urge to touch his own chin. “Makeup can build that up.”

  “I qualified it. I said not in real life.” She smiled at him. “You’re taking this too personally. You have perfect cheekbones.”

  He rolled his eyes. “We’re not talking about me.”

  “Don’t feel bad, Jason. It’s natural to compare yourself to the actors.”

  He gave her a withering look. “I don’t compare myself to the actors,” he said, trying to sound bored.

  “Everyone does.”

  “Next,” Jason said. He was not going to discuss how he compared himself to every actor on set. It was impossible not to. There were men in this world who were unbelievably fit and handsome. It was astounding, really. He realized Mallory wasn’t moving and glanced at her.

  Her eyes were sparkling with delight. She was loving this. And when she looked at him like that, he loved it, too. More than he should.

  “Here’s one,” Jason said, forcing his attention back to the screen. The man had curly hair, crinkles around the eyes, and a wry smile.

  “Now there is a man with sex appeal.” Mallory jotted down his name, then took another sip of her drink. “He oozes sex appeal.”

  Jason looked at the picture again and shook his head. He wasn’t getting it. “What is sex appeal, anyway?”

  “You know.”

  “Not really. Explain it to me.”

  Mallory took another sip of her drink. “Sex appeal is…” She took another sip, then twisted around in her seat. “It’s attitude. Confidence. And it’s the way he looks at you, you know? Like he could have you if he wanted, and you know that he could.”

  Jason looked at the actor’s headshot. That guy could have them if he wanted?

  “It’s also a deep voice and a masculine frame.” She wasn’t looking at Jason or the headshot. She was looking at the window. “It’s all of those things. Sex appeal, to me, is a man who has power and desire…but wrapped into a package that makes you feel safe.” She looked at Jason again. “Like Russell Crowe.”

  “Russell Crowe is the standard of sex appeal now?”

  “He’s an example.” Mallory leaned forward and looked at the man on the screen. “Yep. This guy has it. We should bring him in.”

  “So where were you when we did the original casting?” Jason asked as they began to scroll in search of a second candidate.

  “I was about to take a job as a clerk in a tax office.” She smiled at him from the corner of her eye. “But if I’d been working for you, I’m sure I would have been manning the phones.”

  Jason smiled. “Probably so. I’m sure I wouldn’t have believed you knew anything, much less the mysteries of sex appeal.”

  “Even after my interview?” Mallory laughed. “I was pretty proud of myself that day. I got my act together in a couple of hours and nailed it.” She gave a little fist pump.

  Jason smiled. He remembered her interview. He’d been desperate to fill a slot after Holly had quit in a flurry of tears and a list of disappointments with him. His disorganization had struck again. “All I re
member is that you seemed competent.”

  “I seemed competent? That’s it? That’s all you remember?”

  “I remember you had your binder. Does that count?”

  “Jason!” she said loudly, and picked up her whisky again, sloshing a drop onto the table. “You really don’t remember? I told you I wanted to be a director. We talked about making films.”

  “Yeah, well, everyone who comes through that door wants to be a filmmaker or an actor.”

  “Well, I meant it. I want to be a director. I’m working on my own short films.”

  “You are?” Jason pulled up another headshot of a man who was so crusty looking, it was surprising he wasn’t holding a giant fish aloft.

  “I am. I was working on it this week while you were away. It’s a short film about a woman who goes to get milk out of her fridge, and the carton is empty, and she goes into a murderous rage because it’s the final straw with her roommate, and she kills her. But then realizes what she’s done and has to dispose of the body and cover her crime.” She went on to explain the plot in a little more detail, and how the woman’s life was unraveling, and how in the end, the viewer would think she’d gotten it together, but the film ended with her going to the fridge and finding another empty milk carton, and we realize it wasn’t the roommate at all—the woman had lost her mind. She was animated—she had a passion for this project, which didn’t surprise him. He understood what it felt like when a story was clicking along and all the parts were fitting together.

  “I’m almost done,” Mallory said. “I’m submitting it to a contest.”

  No wonder she didn’t want to come to Maine. Mallory didn’t do anything halfway and she never left anything unfinished. “It sounds great,” Jason said. “I’d love to see it.”

  She gave him a pert little smile that made him feel a little buzzy inside. “I’d love to show you when I’m done. I think it’s really good. I’ve got three more scenes to shoot, and then of course it needs to be edited. This guy won’t work, by the way.”

  It took Jason a second to realize she was talking about a headshot. He’d been captivated by her energy and smile.

  “But this guy will.” She clicked on another photo. The man looked like an unkempt and older version of Keanu Reeves. Even Jason could see the sex appeal in this guy. He could also see him in the role of detective.

  “Yeah,” Jason said, nodding. “He looks good. Call Audrey in the morning and have her get these two guys out here at once. Fly them in.”

  Mallory jotted down a note. “And then what?”

  “And then, we call Cass and finalize two locations we’ve been a little iffy about. We have to be ready to go in a little more than a week.”

  Mallory turned in her chair so she was facing him. “So how long am I going to be here?”

  “Two days, tops,” Jason said without thinking. “Just help me get a new lead and the last two locations nailed down. Sound good?”

  Mallory looked out the window again as if she was pondering this. The rain was light now, the storm flashing brilliantly over the ocean. “Two days,” she repeated, which he took as agreement. “But I want to move to a hotel.” She slid her gaze back to him.

  “Absolutely,” he said. “Me, too. It’s easier to be near Cass and the crew.”

  “Okay, then,” she said. She sipped more of the whisky, then stood up, stumbling a little as she attempted to step away from the table. She laughed. “Uh-oh. I broke my cardinal rule and drank on the job.”

  “Uh-oh,” he said with a chuckle. “I think you’re safe. There were mitigating circumstances.”

  “Riiiight,” she said playfully. “But you know something Jason?” she asked as she swayed into the kitchen. “Tonight wasn’t as miserable as I thought it was going to be.”

  He choked on a laugh of surprise. “Umm…thank you? So I make you miserable?” He got up and followed her into the kitchen.

  “Well, sometimes. I mean, you’re my boss. Bosses exist to make people miserable.” She glanced up at him, and her eyes were sparkling in a way that made him sparkle, too. Mallory was so appealing to him. She wasn’t as beautiful as women he’d met in the industry, but she was pretty. And there was so much more to her appeal than her good looks. She was giggling at him. “Oh, I made you sad. I didn’t mean to make you sad. You shouldn’t listen to me, anyway, because I think I’m a little drunk.”

  “I think you are, too,” he said, and tucked a tress of her blonde hair behind her ear.

  “It’s your fault. Are you maybe a little drunk?”

  “I’m feeling pretty good.” He was not a little drunk on anything but lust, he feared. The woman turned him on.

  She turned on the faucet and reached for the plates, brushing against him. “Oops,” she said when she’d done it a third time.

  “Let’s leave it until morning,” Jason suggested. “I’m afraid you’ll drop something.”

  “I’m not that drunk. I’m not the night of the dailies drunk.” She paused a moment, her hand on the faucet. “That really happened, you know.”

  “Oh, I know.”

  She turned off the water and turned. “Hey, let me ask you something—did you really think you were responsible for what happened?”

  “Yes.”

  “Really?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. “Because I don’t see how you could. have. missed. it.” She poked him in the chest with each word.

  She was feeling no pain, that was for sure. “Missed what?”

  “That I really do have a massive crush on you.” The minute she said it, she put her fingers to her lips. “Did I just say that?”

  The sparkle in him was getting a little more intense. Maybe he’d had more to drink than he thought, because all he wanted to do right now was kiss her. “Yes you did. Which means I was right. You do have a thing for me.”

  “I shouldn’t have said that. Now it’s going to get all weird like it did the first time, isn’t it?”

  “Not with me,” he said.

  She smiled, her eyes bright behind her glasses. She swayed forward a little and he caught her by the elbow, righting her. She seemed not to notice. “So all and all, riding out the storm with you, which, you know, would be my worst nightmare, has been very interesting.”

  “You’re not exactly helping with my self-confidence.”

  “Don’t take it personally,” she advised, and laid her hand on his chest. “Since I’m laying it all out here in a whisky-coated haze, you want to know something else?”

  “Sure.” He was smiling, because he suspected Mallory was going to regret this in the morning, particularly the part about having a crush on him. He hadn’t believed her the night of the dailies. He’d chalked it up to their being drunk. But now that he knew she did, he figured she probably wouldn’t make eye contact for a month.

  “You have sex appeal, Jason Blackthorne.” She arched a brow, as if she were pleased with her assessment, then pushed him, so he bounced up against the counter.

  He couldn’t suppress a chuckle. He was going to enjoy teasing her about this. “I don’t think you should be telling me everything you’re thinking right now.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” she said, and moved closer to him, so now Jason was trapped between her and the countertop. “I have an idea, the perfect way to end this crazy day. Do you want to know what it is?”

  “Honestly? I’m a little afraid to know.”

  She leaned closer, her gaze falling to his mouth. She was going to kiss him. Jason curled the fingers of one hand around the edge of the countertop, and put the other one on her arm, forcing her to lift her gaze from his mouth. “I think you might regret this in the morning, Mallory,” he said softly.

  “You always think you know everything,” she murmured, and kissed him.

  He’d seen it coming, but Jason was just as surprised as she was that night in his office. Mallory so straight and narrow, so rule oriented. Except when she’d had a little to drink. She slid her arms up his chest, rose up
on her toes and pressed her soft, warm lips against his.

  Jason instantly put his hands on her arms and pulled her away from his mouth. His heart was beginning to race. He didn’t trust himself, didn’t think he had enough strength to stop this. “I specifically asked you if you were going to make a pass at me to tell me so I wouldn’t be confused.”

  “I forgot.” She smiled. “I’m making a pass. A big one.”

  Jason’s body was totally into the idea. But his head…his head kept whispering Darien. “Mallory, I just fired Darien—”

  “I know, that was awful.” She grabbed his head in both her hands and pulled it down, kissing him again.

  “I think you’ve lost your mind,” he said against her lips.

  “Maybe,” she murmured back against his lips.

  That was it, as much resistance as he could put up against her. Because maybe he had a bit of a crush on her, too. When her tongue began to tease his, he somehow managed to slide his hand up under her T-shirt and hoodie and find her breast. It was enough to fry his thoughts into nothing. Everything became instinct—he was moving, lifting her up on the countertop. She shoved her hands into his hair, pulling him closer, his body into hers. He didn’t understand why it was always so charged between them, why it always felt like there were magnets pulling them together, but the flame had been lit in him, and the desire was torching him.

  Mallory drew her knees up around him and pressed her body against his. He was ready to launch, ready to do the deed here where they stood. He was ready to make love to this woman in a way she would not soon forget. But that clanging thought about Darien in the back of his mind somehow pierced his thoughts. What was he doing?

  Jason managed to get a grip of his emotions and the sensations rifling through him. He pressed his forehead to hers, wiped her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “This is not appropriate,” he said roughly.

  “That’s what makes it so much fun,” she said dreamily.

  “We work together,” he reminded her.

  Mallory opened her eyes. “But we’re not working right now,” she said hopefully, and let go of his wrist that he hadn’t even realized she was holding until that moment, so intent was he on the sensations running through his body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.