“Would it make you feel better if most of the time I’ll be the one keeping an eye on you? Unless you go home because you’re sick of my company. Now that Emil’s with you, you can do that if you want.” Remi turned her around, not letting go of her hand, and walked Dallas to her office. Once the door closed, she pressed Dallas to her and kissed her.
Dallas could immediately tell Remi had let go of whatever was holding her back and kissed her like she wanted her in her life. “You’re safe for now, since I’m not quite ready to go home. Not that I’m afraid of anything, but I don’t want to give up the time with you. The one thing we have to talk about, though, is this cigar-smoking thing,” she said, looking at the smoldering cigar in an ashtray on Remi’s desk.
“I’ll try to keep that in mind, but bad habits are the worst to break.” Remi led her to the sofa in the office and offered her a seat while she put the cigar out. “The fact you’re here is a good sign you’ll renew your contract.”
“You had doubts about that?”
“After dealing with people in this business, I’m learning anything’s possible.”
“I want this part, so no worries from this talent. Bob might not be so easy on you, but I’m going to enjoy having you as one of my bosses.”
“It’s good to know someone likes me. I’ve made more enemies in the last week than I have since I started working for my father, and that’s going some. Let me walk you to the conference room and get you squared away on the paperwork, and we can take off early.” Remi kissed her forehead, then ran her thumb over Dallas’s lips. “Can I interest you in a quiet evening at home with me?”
“Best offer I’ve had all day.”
When Remi led Dallas into the conference room, all the occupants looked up. Dallas had never known Bob to appear so full of hatred, but it oozed off him as he watched Remi pull out a chair for her.
“Since you’re talking about her, I thought I’d let her come listen in.”
Bob forced a smile and held his hand out. “Hi, Remi, nice to see you again. I’m looking forward to working with you on the upcoming project.”
“We’re looking forward to having Dallas on this project,” Remi said.
He let his hand fall since Remi never accepted it. “I also wanted to apologize for any misunderstandings between us. This is a generous offer you’ve proposed for Dallas, and I don’t want any of my attempts at humor to stand in our way.”
“If you’ve been trying to be funny, your act needs work. Guys, take care of the paperwork and call me if you need anything. Once you’ve gone through all the fine points, we’ll arrange to have the contract delivered to Dallas for her signature, but unless you need us we’re taking the rest of the day off.” Remi held her hand out for Dallas, who readily accepted it.
“Self-righteous bitch,” Bob hissed under his breath, though loud enough for Dwayne and Steve to hear him.
“If you’d like any contract signed with this studio in the near future, you’ll keep your opinions to yourself. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Bennett?” Steve asked from his side of the table.
“Crystal.” Bob enunciated the word clearly, making it obvious how he felt about Remi. “As long as Remi understands that anything to do with Dallas comes through me.”
“I’m sure she has Dallas’s best interests at heart,” Steve said. “Maybe that’s something you can learn from her.”
“Is advice part of the contract?”
Steve shook his head and twirled his pen through his fingers.
“Then drop it. It’s not like you and your boss are lily white.”
“That might be true, but we’re worlds apart from you, Dickey.” Dwayne pushed the contract back in front of Bob and pointed to where they’d left off. “Do you have any questions so far?”
“How do we lose the big ape following Dallas around? She said she doesn’t like it, and I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“The studio hired him and he’s a reality, so learn to live with it,” Dwayne said. “Think of it this way. Dallas will have to get rid of you before she gets rid of Emil.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“There’s your answer then,” Steve said. “Everyone’s staying put for now.”
Chapter Forty
Muriel had been watching the monitors they had trained on the building where the feds were housed. She wasn’t surprised that Shelby came out right after Cain, but she was surprised that she still missed Shelby. “Learn anything at the cafe?”
“So much I could take the rest of the day off and still feel like I accomplished something,” Cain said in a joking tone. “But right now we need to get to the bat cave and go over a few things.”
“What, no hints?”
“Better yet, I’ll give you the whole story, but first, Lou.” She glanced back at him.
“Name it, boss.”
“I need Katlin in here.” They stepped into Cain’s office and she pointed Muriel into a chair. “Before she gets here, are you sure you want to be included? I won’t stop you from doing something you need to, but once you cross the line you can’t turn back.”
