The Hudsons: Max, Bella and Devlin. Maureen Child

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СКАЧАТЬ made her gasp. She couldn’t possibly ask for any more. “Will that get you in trouble?”

      “I don’t think so. I’ll test the waters first.”

      “I don’t want to get you fired.”

      He winked. “I don’t want that, either.”

      “I could kiss you, Doug.”

      “Please do.”

      That stilled her for a moment with a twinge of discomfort. “But you know—”

      “Dana, just shut up and kiss me. I know it means nothing. But it raises my value to be seen with a hot chick.”

      Chuckling, she rose and leaned over the table without bothering to argue about his “hot chick” comment. She gave Doug a quick peck. It was like kissing her brother only Doug wore pricier cologne.

      “Celebrating something?” Max’s voice said behind her.

      She froze an inch away from Doug’s lips and then straightened and turned. The icy look in Max’s blue eyes made her uneasy. “Uh…hi, Max.”

      Max wore his black Jack Victor suit with a white shirt and a black-and-white patterned tie. He looked delicious in a forbidding way.

      Doug’s chair scraped as he pushed it back and rose. “We’re celebrating Dana’s promotion. I’m glad you were finally smart enough to recognize her worth.”

      She shot Doug a warning glance. Doug ignored her and offered Max his hand. “I’m Doug Lewis. We met a couple of years ago at the Legions premiere.”

      Max gave him a brief, hard shake. “I remember.”

      Max no doubt did. Dana didn’t think he ever forgot a name or face. But at the time Doug hadn’t been working for Willow. Should she tell him Doug had promised her a copy of the Willow script? No, better not. She didn’t want to get Doug in trouble, and she didn’t want to raise Max’s hopes in case Doug couldn’t deliver.

      “Thanks for stopping by to say hello,” Doug added in clear dismissal. “We won’t keep you.”

      Aghast, Dana stared. Did the man have a career death wish?

      Max’s cold eyes found Dana’s again. “My appointment is waiting. Don’t stay out late tonight. We have a full schedule tomorrow. I’ll meet you in the kitchen at six.”

      Having dropped that bombshell, he strolled across to the dining room. Her gaze followed him to a table where he joined his older brother.

      Dana turned on Doug. “Are you crazy?”

      “Whoa. He’ll meet you in the kitchen?”

      She sighed. “Until Honor is finished I’m staying at Max’s house. It allows us more working hours if I don’t have to commute.”

      “You’ve had it bad for him forever.”

      Her cheeks warmed. “He is my boss and I like and respect him.”

      “It’s more than that and you know it. Opportunity is knocking, babe. Why not see if we can stir up a little heat?” He reached for her.

      Groaning, she evaded him and sank back in her chair. “That’s why you asked me to kiss you? You saw Max coming?”

      He shrugged. “Maybe.”

      Doug had stirred up something all right. Max’s anger. Max had looked furious to find her out partying when she should be at home working on Honor. She had a mountain of work on her desk and not enough hours in the day to get it done.

      She prayed the copy of the Willow script came through. Only then could she fully explain to Max why she was consorting with the enemy.

      “You look ready to breathe fire,” Dev said as Max joined him at their table.

      “My assistant is wining and dining when she should be at home working.” That was the only reason seeing Dana kiss the guy had pissed him off. The urge to knock the kid back into his chair had nothing to do with the fact that she’d been kissing Max thirty-two hours ago.

      For God’s sake, she worked for him. The kiss had been a mistake—one he shouldn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t repeat. Had he learned nothing from his marriage? Business and pleasure were a volatile combination.

      “You’re out tonight, too.”

      “This is work. We’re here to develop strategy to counteract the Willow competition. Damn, this time crunch is killing us.”

      “Rushing the film through production and postproduction has definitely added some pressure. But you can’t expect her to work around the clock.”

      “Until this film is done we’re all working around the clock. She knew what she was getting into before she signed on as associate producer, and she’s being paid accordingly. If she’d wanted nine-to-five, she should have kept her old job.”

      Dev looked beyond Max’s shoulder and his eyes narrowed. “How well do you know Dana?”

      Obviously not as well as he’d thought given the discoveries he’d made in the past few days. Had he ever seen her smile the way she’d been smiling at her date? “Why?”

      “Her dinner date is Doug Lewis.”

      “I’ve met him.”

      “He’s Trey Jacob’s assistant.”

      A knot jerked tight in Max’s midsection. “Lewis works for Willow.”

      “That’s right. And we have a possible leak. Think there’s a connection?”

      Instant denial sprung to Max’s lips. He’d trusted Dana with everything for the past five years. But Dev had planted a seed of doubt and tendrils of mistrust took root. Would Dana betray him? Would she betray Hudson Pictures? If so, why? What possible motive could she have?

      Money? He’d seen no signs of excess spending in her apartment, and she drove a four-year-old economy car. She wasn’t into jewelry or designer shoes and handbags like so many of the actresses he dealt with.

      A promotion? She’d have less of a chance of producing anything at Willow than she had with Hudson, and she was smart enough to know it.

      Max scrolled through his memories. The Legions premiere hadn’t been the only time he’d seen Dana with Lewis. “She’s been dating him for at least two years.”

      “I’d say that needs looking into.”

      “I agree. I’ll talk to her tonight.”

      “Tonight?”

      He wished his brother hadn’t picked up on that. “When I get home.”

      “You’ll call her that late?”

      “No. I’ll СКАЧАТЬ