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Overexposed
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Dani Monroe’s brothers had taught her long ago that a knee to the groin or a fist to the throat could bring any jerk down. So the fathead who’d just grabbed her was cruising for a one-two combination. She smacked at his beefy paw, which rested on her hip.

“Get your hands off me or you’ll be talking soprano for life.”

“Well put,” someone said.

It wasn’t until the guy let her go that Dani looked to see who’d spoken.

Oh, great. It was Josh Carruthers. “Must you always be around when I’m looking like an idiot?”

“You look perfect.”

Then Josh turned and leveled an icy stare on the bachelor. “If she doesn’t turn you into a soprano, I and the two security guards right outside the door sure as hell will. Now... get out.”

The guy nearly ran. Once he was gone, Dani said, “Thanks for the backup - not that I really needed it.”

“I know you didn’t,” he replied. “We need to talk.”

“Oh, great, that’s another one off our list!” Burt shouted.

Dani had almost forgotten Mueller was there. She looked at Josh. “Yes, we do. But first I have to talk to Burt.”

It was time to come clean, to say what she thought. That would be especially tough with Josh watching her with unexpected tenderness. What she had to say could hurt him.

But she had no other choice. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face her intimidating boss. “Burt, I have something I have to say, and it’s not going to be easy to hear. This,” she told the producer, “has got to be the stupidest reality show in the history of television.”

She held her breath, waiting for Burt’s reaction. And Josh’s.

To her surprise, Burt merely stared, puffing, as always, on his cigar.

To her greater surprise, Josh stepped to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. “She’s right,” he said. “Ms. Personality is a disaster.”

*** Josh hadn’t been sure what to do about the show, not until Dani threw the truth into their boss’s face. She’d been completely honest... how could he be any less? Having gone this far, he went all the way. “The whole thing’s a nightmare.”

Burt didn’t argue. Instead, he listened calmly while Josh and Dani pointed out the problems with the show. Eventually, the three of them went upstairs to Burt’s office to talk. There, the man surprised them by saying, “You’re not telling me anything I haven’t thought of. I didn’t want to pull the plug too soon, but I do have some other projects I’m developing.”

Josh and Dani exchanged a relieved look. This might just turn out okay for all of them.

“Hey, is this a private party or can anyone join in?”

Josh looked toward the doorway and saw a young woman. Her spiky black hair and dark clothes were a stark contrast to her pale - but pretty - face.

Burt grinned widely. “Jacey!”

The woman joined them, hugging the notorious producer.

“This is Jacey Turner. My daughter,” Mueller said to Josh. “She’s the best damn camera operator on the coast.”

Jacey rolled her eyes. “And you wonder why they called him the ‘King of Schmaltz’ back in the ‘70s?”

Their banter brought a smile to Josh’s lips.

Dani rose. “Hey, Jacey, good to see you again.” Motioning for Josh to join her, she added, “I’m sure you guys have a lot to catch up on. We’ll get out of your hair.”

“We’ll talk about the reality shows later,” Burt said with an appreciative look. “I’m hoping to convince Jacey to work with us.”

As Josh followed Dani to the door, he heard Burt’s daughter say, “If you think I’m ever gonna work on the set of another reality TV show, you’re whacked in the head, old man.”

Josh grinned, liking the sassy way Burt’s daughter treated him. Just before exiting, his boss called, “By the way, Josh. I’ve got something else in mind for you. How do you feel about crime dramas?”

How did he feel? Abso-frigging-lutely fantastic! Giving the man a nod of thanks, he pulled the door closed.

Now there was only one thing left to do: fix things with Dani.

*** “Let’s go,” Josh said, grabbing her hand as they left Burt’s office.

Dani stumbled to keep up. “Go where?”

“Someplace private.”

Considering she was still wearing the hideous red cat suit, private was good.

He led her to her own office, pulled her inside, then shut the door. She moved towards her desk, turning to face him as she perched herself on its edge. Before she could open her mouth, he said, “Now listen.”

She held her breath.

“I was a fool for not recognizing you. You changed, but the basic person was always there. Funny, sassy and sweet.” Josh shook his head. “To be honest, I think that’s why I looked at you but never really saw you. Because the sassy mail girl I worked with looked at me like I was pond scum.”

Dani’s jaw dropped. She’d feared looking like a lovesick puppy... and he’d thought she didn’t like him?

“Last night... when I recognized you, I thought you were punishing me or something with a weird head game. Because you believed the lies about me,” he explained.

“I didn’t really believe them.”

“Then why were you nice to everyone, but wouldn’t even smile at me?”

She smiled at him now. “Because I thought if I smiled at you, you’d see the truth. That I was crazy about you.”

This time, his jaw dropped.

Dani slid off the desk and stepped close, putting her hand on his chest, feeling the strength of his heartbeat. “Back then I had a goofy crush on you.” Taking a breath for courage, she continued. “Now it’s more than that. I’m in love with you.” Emotion flashed in his eyes, then he asked, “So why the games? Why did you hide who you were?”

That was a tough one. She explained as best she could. “I thought I’d been invisible before. So I tried to keep that girl invisible... maybe hoping you’d come to care for the woman I am now. The woman you’ve spent so much time with these past few weeks.”

He leaned down and tenderly brushed his lips against hers. “You were never invisible. I definitely saw you. And now that I know the woman in the mask is also the buttoned-up producer’s assistant... and the sassy redhead who drove me nuts for two years, I’m never going to be able to let you go.”

He was hinting at it, but Dani needed the words. “Why, Josh?”

He brushed a wisp of hair off her brow. “Because I’m in love with you, too, Dani.” She almost didn’t believe it, but the warmth in his eyes couldn’t lie. Dani threw her arms around his neck and tugged him close, pressing her mouth to his for a tender kiss that quickly turned hot and intimate. Dani moaned, loving the taste of him and the warmth of his hard body.

“We gonna stop playing games now?” she eventually asked, pulling back to look him in the eye.

“Yeah. You up for another date?”

“And this time you really will stay for... breakfast?”

Josh pulled her tight again, caressing her waist, her back, then the side of her breast with deliciously light strokes. “Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner,” he whispered. “Today and every day.”

“Then let’s go,” she said, already shivering in anticipation.

“Do one thing for me, okay?” Looking down at her clothes, he gave her an evil grin. “Keep the cat suit on.”

The End



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