“If Janice can just touch up around the bandage, I can do my first interview for the show,” Ember announced, slowly getting to her feet.
The sexy as sin security guard hadn’t left her side. Ember was trying not to read too much into it. He was probably only sticking around because he needed to make sure that she was safe and that the lot was secure. It had nothing to do with her.
That didn’t explain why he was gravitating toward her. When she took a step away, he took two forward. Ember had a tiny head injury. Maybe one of the symptoms of getting a light fixture to the head was imagining that gorgeous men were into you. Was that a thing? She was probably just confused from the hit to her brain.
Kai didn’t look like a security guard. He looked like he belonged on the cover of a magazine or as the leading man in a romantic comedy. Ember tried really hard not to get away with herself. Was she already writing a fantasy where Kai was going to protect her from more falling debris and kiss her passionately while off in the distance, someone started a slow clap?
Yup.
What the hell was wrong with her?
She had bigger and better things to worry about than sexy security guards who lingered. He was not devouring her with those beautiful eyes of his. He was not licking his lips while looking at her because he wanted to lick her like an ice cream cone.
He was just assessing the situation for his employer.
The zings up her spine and in her panties were a symptom of her headache. That was it.
“You want to do your interview?” Ashleigh gasped, her eyes going wide and sliding toward Greg.
“No, absolutely not,” the security guard’s words surprised everyone, including himself, judging by the scowl on his face.
“Well, I don’t want to hold up production because of a tiny mishap.”
Kai narrowed his gaze at her. She couldn’t tell if he wanted to kiss her or spank her, but she would be up for both. The image of it filled her mind with such a vivid force, she felt her cheeks heat. Yikes, Ember, cool the tingly vagina-fueled lust.
“You’re being ridiculous,” Kai growled at her. “You’re in danger if you continue on with this charade.”
“Charade?” Ember repeated, the naughty thoughts evaporating because of the judgment in Kai’s voice.
“Now, hold on,” Greg said. “This is actually a good idea. It would be quite the twist to have this be part of the show.”
“Absolutely not,” Kai and Ember snapped in unison.
Kai studied her carefully, making her dizzy. What did it matter that Kai Mason was the hottest man she had ever laid her eyes on? So what if he had luscious light brown hair that matched his short-cropped beard perfectly. Who cares if he had pretty brown eyes that always seemed to be flashing one emotion or another. There were other tall, muscular men she could drool over later.
Not this grumpy one who seemed dead set against letting her compete for her dream job.
“I want to be just like every other contestant,” Ember explained. “I want my shot at the bakery, but I don’t want there to be this underlining story. It makes it seem like I’m here for all the wrong reasons, and I hate that. I hate when reality TV does that. Let’s just keep it under wraps while—” she motioned toward Kai without looking at him. “While this man figures out who is after me. If someone is after me.”
“Someone is after you,” Kai growled.
Growled.
Again.
He was always growling at her like some kind of animal. Ember understood that he was a burly macho man, but that didn’t give him the right to behave like a beast, choosing to rumble through his sentences.
“Yes,” Ember said. “I know that is a possibility, given the letters. But are we actually positive that someone did cut the wire? Nope. We aren’t. We’re jumping to conclusions. We’re all assuming that the letters and the light incident were related.” She turned toward Kai, rolled her shoulders back, and took a tone she reserved for her suppliers when they brought her the wrong fruits or the wrong brand of flour. “Now, you do your job and find out if it was an accident. Meanwhile, I’ll stay here and compete like Roberto and all of the other contestants.”
Greg sighed. “It would be really good for ratings to add in the letters and everything. Of course, we could pay you for agreeing to deal with it. We could even get some of the writers to draft you some lines for your interviews.”
Ember narrowed her eyes at Greg. It was embarrassing to realize that she was actually contemplating his words. If the network was willing to pay her for the danger of adding her would-be killer on the show, who was she to stop them?
But that was not how she wanted to get her bakery. It was low and underhanded.
Not to mention just how stressed out she was about the whole thing. Was someone after her? Who? And why couldn’t she find it in herself to walk away and try to find another solution to getting her bakery? She couldn’t bake if her stalker ended up killing her.
She should walk away.
She heaved out a sigh, saddened by the realization.
“What if we use me as bait? To catch the attacker?”
“Okay,” Greg said at the same time that Kai growled out a resounding, “No.”
Kai stepped away, leaning down to the light. He picked the heavy object and inspected the wire. Ember saw his shoulders tense and his nostrils flare. The look he gave Greg could have curdled milk. “You asshole.” His voice was cold and full of anger. “This was not cut.” He showed Ember the wires.
They were not cut smoothly, as she had been expecting. Instead, the metal wires were twisted pulled taut while the protective rubber sleeves were all jagged. The wires had been frayed over time.
“Oh. So they weren’t cut,” she exclaimed, turning toward Greg. “But, you said they were cut.”
Greg paled and opened his mouth to deliver an explanation. He didn’t get the chance. Kai pushed past him to retrieve a workman’s ladder that was pressed up against the wall across the room with a wide array of other tools, all of which had been used to build the soundstage and adjust the lights and audio equipment.
Kai arranged the ladder right under the spot where the light had hung.
Ember was truly ashamed of herself when she caught herself staring at the man’s butt. Oh, what a butt it was. His legs were long and powerful. With his arms up over his head to fiddle with the fixture equipment, his shirt raised up an inch or so, giving her a clear view of his smooth, tanned abs. It made her breath catch and her mouth water.
She had never, not once in her life, seen a man this good looking in person. It wasn’t fair to the rest of the humans. It led her to distraction, making her forget that someone had sent her threatening letters and that a heavy light had fallen on her head, nearly braining her.
“Just as I suspected,” Kai said from above them. “The light didn’t fall because someone cut the wire. These weren’t installed properly. The bracket that is meant to hold it in place isn’t the right size. This one,” he pointed to the ceiling, “This one is only rated for fifteen pounds maximum. This light was bound to fall. It was just really bad timing.” He climbed down the ladder and went to stand in front of Greg.
His arms were crossed, making his biceps bulge and pull at the sleeves of his shirt. A nerve ticked in his neck as he aimed an angry and terrifying look at the production assistant.