Typecast (19 page)

If she were sitting here in her office rewinding every moment with Logan, what was he doing? Was he recalling her making some weird orgasm face? What if, besides the begging, she had made a strange noise? Did she do something that maybe wasn’t a turn-on?

Adrenaline coursed through her, and she shot up out of her desk chair and put her hand over her mouth.

“Did the footage of your last interview spook you?” Julia entered her office with Craig at her heels.

“Julia.” Craig’s tone let out a halfhearted warning.

“What? I just want my assistant back.” Julia motioned toward her.

Right now would be the perfect time for Logan to show up with one of his lines. A quick glance at the time told her Logan was running late, or maybe he’d decided he needed to get a better gig. In all the research she had conducted on him, he had never been linked to any woman. He always said he didn’t get the girl, but maybe he ditched the girl instead.

“I got the first interview where Erin Holland spoke about
Hollywood Stardust
.” She focused on Craig. Something had to be said for the mention of Drew and the confirmation of the off-set love triangle everyone speculated about, though the thought of Logan and Erin together wanted to make her ill.

“You did well.” Craig squeezed past Julia.

Ivy exhaled.

“I need you to dig a little deeper.” He put an art board on her desk.

“I would have had all the questions out there by now.” Her nemesis put her hands on her hips. “Are you too scared to ask what the world wants to know?”

“There is something to be said for letting the story unfold. What about some buildup? We have plenty of time.” She glanced down at the graphic. “Between the Vines?”

“That’s the name of your show.” He cleared his throat. “The art department made an animated version of it.”

“My show?” She stared at the black piece of cardboard with the name of her show written in ivy tendrils.

“You need to get Ryder right away, no more delays.” Craig leaned over. “I need you to push, Ivy, really push. You can make or break it now.”

Julia crossed her arms. “Now she’s getting a show? She does a handful of interviews without running off set and she gets her own show?”

She propped up the art on her computer, hoping Logan arrived with enough time to show it to him. Where was he anyway? She couldn’t lose. Since Logan entered her bed, her mind was cluttered, but she also knew that no matter what, she had to get to the bottom of all the mysteries surrounding him. The Logan who spoke of losing count of days with her and the Logan who played the sharp-edged mouthpiece for the movie were two different people.

“She has a few more weeks before the anniversary, and the show needs some consistency.” Craig tapped the art board.

“Thank you.” Once more, she stared at the piece, the sensation weighing her down in the pit of her stomach. Not because of Craig or Julia or her job, but because of Logan’s obvious tardiness.

“Your numbers are up.” He finally smiled. “People like you with Logan. They like the banter and the fact you’re a fan of the movie.”

“At last, the public has some taste.” Logan’s voice interrupted the conversation.

She took a breath before turning to catch sight of the man who matched the voice. Damn, if he didn’t make her heart and everything else flutter. He wore a pair of dark jeans and a sky-blue button-down and entered still wearing his sunglasses.

Craig turned. “Mr. Alexander.”

“Pardon me.” He glanced at Julia and didn’t even bother acknowledging Craig as he made his way around to her side of the desk.

Her breath caught. They never really spoke about how to act in her office, but with the way she needed to grab on to the edge of the desk to keep standing, she knew she wouldn’t refuse if he kissed her. Of course, he didn’t acknowledge her either.

“They made a graphic for the show.” She pointed behind her, not sure if she was upset or relieved there was no kiss or anything else.

He nodded. “At least they didn’t do a play on your initials, but the vine reference is pretty obvious.”

“Mr. Alexander.” Craig tried to get his attention.

“Please don’t interrupt when I’m studying something important.” He stared at the graphic a bit longer and straightened up. “Now, what is it?”

“You’re almost late for your broadcast.” Craig tapped his watch.

“It’s not like they’re going prime time.” Julia spoke through clenched teeth. “My numbers are still larger.”

“Almost is only good in horseshoes and hand grenades.” He sat down in her desk chair. “I guess that could also apply to your other reporter there. She almost got the gig. Thank God that was ‘almost’ averted.”

Well, at least Logan came through with his line for Julia.

“I need to prep for my report, now that I don’t have anyone to help me with research or scheduling anymore. I guess I’ll do everyone’s job.” Julia spun on her heels and walked away.

“I don’t know what the fuss is over. She didn’t take advantage of Ivy’s skill set.” Logan rocked the chair back.

Craig crossed his arms. “Speaking of which, we’re hoping for some more meaty interviews.”

“Good. The next interview Ivy and I do will be at a steak house.” He chuckled. “If you don’t mind, I need to talk to my cohost alone before the broadcast.”

Her throat constricted at his words. In an attempt to show no reaction, she bit the inside of her mouth.

“All right, you have about five minutes.” Shaking his head, Craig left.

She faced Logan, wanting him to spit out whatever he had to say.

“May I?” He reached for the bottle of water on her desk.

Almost beyond her control, she nodded.

Without saying a word, he reached into his pocket and took out a tiny plastic bag full of white capsules.

“Logan?” She balled her hand in a fist. The night at his brother’s restaurant she had spied a similar bag. One that he had scurried away rather fast.

Right as he opened his mouth, a buzzing from his other pocket interrupted them.

In all the time they had spent together, she had never heard his phone do anything. He retrieved his phone out of his pocket, held up one finger, and answered. “Yes.” After he took two pills out of the bag, he popped them in his mouth and swallowed with a swig of her water. “Yeah, I wanted to make a quick drive-by, but I ran out of time, between getting a late start and having to get to my so-called job.”

Well, she supposed she was sorry for being a time waster. Last time she checked, he had joined her in the bathroom for a little fun.

Still speaking into the phone, he strummed his fingers on the desk and looked over at her. “Yeah, I need some more of my fix. Come by tomorrow. I have enough to get me through today.”

With narrowed eyes, she stared back. Who the hell was on the phone?

“I need to run. See you tomorrow.” He furrowed his brow and hung up. “Everything okay over there?”

It took great effort not to look at the baggie full of capsules. Maybe part of her was in denial, but she didn’t want to believe he had any sort of issue in that arena, at least not anymore.

“Ivy.” He stood and returned everything to his respective pockets. “I am going to ask you again, are you all right?”

“Did you call Ryder to set up that interview?” No way would she tell him her concern and chose to redirect his question. “I don’t want to lose my job now that they gave me a graphic and everything.”

“Didn’t I tell you only yesterday that I would be calling Ryder sometime today?” With a bit of swagger, he leaned back on the desk.

She shrugged. The statement sort of stuck in her mind. “I’m just nervous about being on set and interviewing Ryder.”

“Did I not say that later tonight we would go to the bar and practice with Wilson?”

Well, for a man who was going to ditch her, they sure had a lot of plans together. “You did.”

“Then why do you doubt me?”

Doubts seemed to round every turn with Logan.

“However, I can promise you that I will not call anyone or step one foot on any set until I get an answer to what’s going on.”

“I . . .”

Apparently, he wasn’t in a rush now. He simply stood there tapping his foot waiting for her answer.

“I mean, like, I know you . . .” She huffed. Nothing she said would make any sense to him. “I don’t know.”

“I think I know.” A smile grew across his face. “It’s like the morning after.”

“Logan.” Sort of like avoiding looking at an accident or eclipse, she decided not to look directly at him.

He came over, standing right next to her. “I got caught up running an errand. I apologize if I was late.”

“It’s fine.” Unable to meet his eyes, she decided to study his shoes.

He hooked his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up to his. “I went to the drugstore to make sure the two of us were well stocked, and after I made my purchase, I got to thinking about the last couple of days and got a little riled. By the time I walked in here, I contemplated throwing you over your desk and having my way with you, but there was an entire entourage of garbage in here. I didn’t think it in your best interest to do this in front of everyone.” He treated her to a soft but lingering kiss.

She held on to him, her body relaxing after getting the acknowledgment she wanted.

“So, I see my lady requires lots of reassurance,” he whispered in her ear. “No worries. I’m up for the job.”

“Speaking of jobs.” Though it would be much easier and more satisfying to stay here with Logan, eventually they needed to get back to real life and get to the set.

“Yes, let’s go report some
Hollywood Stardust
news.” He motioned for her to walk ahead of him.

Yes, the news. The news she should be getting instead of kissing Logan and thinking about him. But with all the smooth words still came the doubts and questions. Her family went through the same thing with her grandfather. With stars it was sometimes hard to pry and ask the hard questions, but someone had to or it could end in tragedy.

“We have enough time between our broadcast and Logan’s school for broadcast arts to test-drive what I bought at the drugstore.” He winked. “Say, ‘Yes, Logan, I would love to.’”

Like she had done many times, she turned and took him in. “Yes, Logan, I would love to.” She might as well enjoy him while she had him. Somehow though, something told her she would be able to keep count of the days.

“All right, babe, we have this all set up like the set if the set were decorated.” Logan paused and guided her to one of the chairs. “Well, if it were decorated by me.”

Ivy had worried about him not paying her enough attention at the office, but after their quick taping, where he had done most of the talking, he had let the floodgates burst forth.

After going by her apartment and test-driving his drugstore purchase, they went to the bar. He and Wilson set up their classroom, while she and Giselle caught up on some gossip. As a bonus, she now knew way too much about Wilson. She wished she knew as much about Logan’s baggie of capsules.

He kissed her twice, held up one finger, and dashed over to Giselle. “You’ll be our interviewee.”

“I didn’t act in
Hollywood Stardust
.” Her best friend smiled at him.

Logan narrowed his eyes. He stared at Giselle and blinked a couple of times before answering. “While I thank you for clearing that up for me, this is just a practice round, you can pretend.”

“Can I be Erin?” Giselle took her seat.

“If you like. There’s nothing like getting into a role.” Logan glanced over at Ivy.

She bit the side of her mouth not to crack up.

“Oh, then I’m a bitch.” With a bounce, Giselle crossed her legs and faced her. “Isn’t that what you called her?”

Before she could go in for the save, Giselle finished her off.

“No!” Her friend pointed at her. “You called her a hussy first and then a bitch.”

Ivy put her hand over her mouth.

“What’s a hussy?” Wilson called over.

“An immoral woman.” Logan let out a laugh.

“No, she can’t live forever. Ivy was trying to call her loose,” Giselle clarified.

“
Immortal
is when you can live forever.” Ivy’s elementary school self bubbled to the surface, and she stomped her foot. “And you should talk—you slept with Wilson on the bar only two hours after meeting him. Twice!”

“And last night.” Giselle giggled through her words.

Logan turned to his brother. “Is nothing sacred? You already defiled the nuts.”

“Gee, I’m sorry. Gorgeous blonde with big boobs gets left here, we hit it off, and I’m not supposed to be with her?” Wilson motioned toward her. “To date, you have defiled Ivy’s grandfather’s home, your car, and the BMW because you knew Ivy wanted to make love in that car.”

“They also did it in both our kitchens—at the apartment and the one here because Logan wanted to compare and contrast appliances.” With a huge grin, Giselle nodded.

Silence took over the room, and they all looked at each other.

“For the record, the appliances here are better.” Logan took his seat on the other side of her.

“That’s because you picked them.” The laugh Ivy held back before came to the surface.