Unconventional Fling (A Working Girl’s Guide, Book 1) Read online

  “Here.” The guy in line slapped down a joker from a deck of cards with Brandon’s character on it.

  *

  Jade drummed her finger against her leg, her gaze flitting from spot to spot without stopping. What was he doing behind a table? With a line leading to it? And why did he have to look even better than she remembered, laughing and joking with each person he talked to? Had she misinterpreted simple friendliness as flirting this morning? No. There was no way she misread the barely veiled innuendo about watching versus being watched.

  A couple of people—if she had to guess, they were probably in their late twenties—stopped to wait for the elevator. Maybe they knew.

  She nodded toward the crowd in the hotel lobby. “What’s the line for?”

  They both looked up from their heads bowed together, their eyes wide. “Are you talking to us?”

  She looked around. Who else would she be talking to? “Yes.”

  “Autographs.” The girl—the plastic strands of her blue wig were starting to suffer from the Nashville humidity—made it sound like it was the most obvious thing ever.

  “Right.” Jade felt funny asking for more information after a brush off like that.

  “They’re voice actors.” The male half of the duo offered. His hair looked like it was his own, and his white bodysuit with a blue miniskirt showed off pretty much everything else of his as well. “For that show everyone loves on Adult Swim.”

  Cable cartoons, right. One of the developers at the home office was really into that stuff. He’d freak if he knew she’d met—flirted with, right?—a member of the cast. “The dark-haired guy. Who’s he?”

  Blue-hair giggled. “Hottest thing ever to hide his face behind a microphone.”

  Bodysuit guy nudged his friend playfully. “Right? I’d turn gay for that.”

  Jade looked between the two, her confusion growing. “How does a voice actor have a famous face?”

  Blue-hair seemed to be gaining confidence as the conversation continued. “He’s at almost every con. Or like, the important ones. No clue why he’s here.”

  They both giggled again.

  Jade tried not to cringe at the shrill pitch and stepped onto the waiting elevator with them.

  “And he’s got a reputation,” Bodysuit offered.

  “I wouldn’t mind being his weekend distraction.” Blue-hair’s gaze was glued to the back of the elevator and the view below.

  “I don’t think I’d like the…you know…” Bodysuit trailed off.

  Blue-hair shrugged and turned back to him. “If you know he doesn’t actually like you and that he’s going to dump you at the end of the weekend anyway, you just have to ignore him when he insists the two of you are meant to be together forever. Right?”

  “I guess.” Bodysuit held the door for Blue-hair as they stepped onto their floor. He turned back to Jade. “You need to get out more. Really.”

  Jade blinked as the doors closed between them. She’d almost been some cult-following celebrity’s one-night stand. Absolutely disturbing. It was a good thing she’d left for work when she had.

  Right?

  Chapter 3

  Jade wandered toward her room, keeping to one side as more costumed and non-costumed people rushed here and there. Yup, a real good thing she hadn’t been sucked into the flirting. She pushed into her hotel room and latched the door behind her. It would’ve been horrible to have a fling with an attractive, intelligent man who was just looking for a way to get off for a night or two. To be pressed under that solid body…

  The images danced in her thoughts again, and a tingle grew in her belly and moved lower. She shook her head and stripped off her work clothes. The cool air brushed her hardening nipples. Her thoughts were far more alluring than they probably should be. And she didn’t mind at all.

  The red numbers on the clock glared back with the early evening hour. She hadn’t been the only traveler in the office that week—she rarely was—and everyone else had needed to leave by three to catch flights back home. On the other hand, she decided to spend the weekend, see some of Nashville, and maybe hit up a few bars for the local music before heading toward the next leg of her trip.

  She still had two weeks left of her business trip. If she went back home for the weekend, she’d have a day or two alone in her empty apartment before she had to head out again. Instead, she’d decided to enjoy that time in a city with a rich culture.

  Except it wasn’t even four, and the bars wouldn’t be worth visiting until at least eight. What was she going to do for the next four hours?

  She pulled on a fitted T-shirt and a pair of jeans. The thin spots in the seat and along the legs were familiar and comfortable. Clothes she’d never dare wear in the office, even on casual Friday.

  She grabbed the remote and sank onto the edge of the bed. She could watch TV. Maybe catch one of the new movies on pay-per-view…maybe find a way to run into Brandon, see if he was still looking for a weekend distraction.

  No. She flipped through channels, not really registering anything. If he was what Blue-hair and Bodysuit implied, he’d already found a replacement. Which was fine. She wasn’t that girl. The only reason she wasn’t attached was because men tended to be put off by how much time she spent on the road.

  But that didn’t mean she slept around. She had seen enough by watching her colleagues make asses of themselves in bars to be interested in being on the receiving end of their tacky pickup lines.

  Then again, none of them are Brandon. Who had probably forgotten about her since that morning.

  She snarled at herself and stood, trying to chase away the circular thoughts. It wouldn’t hurt anyone if she wandered with the crowds for a little while, and the ambient noise might override her teasing thoughts.

  She slipped on her walking shoes, grabbed her key, and left her rambling thoughts behind. As she stepped into the hallway, the crowd gathered in front of the elevator made her wince. Squeezing into a tiny box with that many people looked like a one-way ticket to claustrophobia. She headed for the stairs instead.

  She stepped into the lobby, still not sure what she was doing. The line to see Brandon, and she assumed his co-cast, wasn’t as long as it had been. Before she could talk herself out of it, she took a spot at the back.

  “Excuse me.” A man a few inches shorter than her wearing a black polo shirt stretched over broad shoulders and a round belly stepped in front of her. “Your badge needs to be visible.”

  “My…badge?” Jade stared back, trying to keep her expression neutral. Sure enough, he wore a lanyard with a brightly colored card at the end proclaiming his name was “Death Demon”. Or maybe that was his title? She should have guessed it would be like any other convention in that regard. Even though nothing else was, of course they’d need people to prove they’d registered to get in. “Right. Sorry. I left it in my room.”

  “You’ll have to get it. I can’t let you stand in line without it.”

  “Sure. Totally understand.” She wandered away. It had been a stupid idea anyway. What had she been planning to do? Wait for an hour so she could stop in front of him and say “funny meeting you here”?

  The compulsion wasn’t ready to give up on her as quickly as she wanted to push it aside. She stopped a few feet back from a group of people scattered on couches, chatting and laughing. She only needed a badge for an hour or two…

  “See something you like?” One of the girls looked at her, eyes narrow and lips pursed.

  “Does one of you want to loan me your badge for two hours?” Jade spit the question out before she could have second—or was it third at this point?—thoughts. “I’ll pay you twenty bucks.”

  “It only cost forty to get in,” someone said.

  “I’m not giving you my badge. Total scam.” The way they were grouped, it was difficult to track who was talking without giving herself whiplash.

  “I will.” The first girl crossed the distance between them, holding out her badge.

  �
�Andie.” Someone’s warning cut through the noise.

  She glared at the guy. “It’s not like we’ve decided what we’re doing next. Besides, now I can afford that plushie in the dealer’s room.”

  Jade had no idea what that meant, but it seemed to be working in her favor. She handed Andie the money and hung the lanyard around her neck. “I’ll be right over there.” She nodded at the autograph line. “Feel free to stalk me the entire time, and I’ll give it back as soon as I’m done.”

  Andie pocketed the money with a snort. “He’s not worth it.”

  “Excuse me?” An edge slipped into Jade’s question. She should dial that back.

  “Nothing.” Andie dropped back into her seat. “I’ll be right here.”

  Jade took her place in line again, giving the security guy a big grin and flashing the borrowed badge when he approached. And then slowly crept forward with the rest of the group. Andie stood at the edge of her sight, her expression growing more impatient as the time ticked away, and every once in a while Jade tried to send her a reassuring wave. Wow, this is taking forever.

  Her heart dropped into her shoes when she realized she’d reached the front of the line. What was she supposed to say? She shifted her weight from one foot to the other while the actors took pictures with the person who’d been in front of her. And then it was her turn.

  Brandon’s eyes grew wide when she stepped forward, smile quickly spreading. “I didn’t know you were a fan.”

  She couldn’t help returning the pleased look but made sure to tuck away most of her giddiness. “I didn’t realize you were famous.”

  He grabbed a small poster off a nearby stack that sported the cartoon characters she figured were him and his cohorts. “No more than you are.”

  “I’m not famous.”

  “How much do people pay for you to fly from city to city visiting them?” His Sharpie hovered over the print, but he didn’t write anything. “I’d say that makes you famous.”

  “Or a good negotiator when it came to my employment contract.”

  He scribbled something, holding it at an angle so the glare of the lights above kept her from reading it. He nodded to his left. “Who’s your friend?”

  She followed his gaze to Andie, who stood at the edge of the line, almost hopping with irritation. Jade’s smile faded to embarrassment. “That’s who I borrowed the badge from.”

  He grabbed another print. “I’m flattered. What’s your plan now that you’re here?”

  “I hadn’t gotten that far,” she confessed.

  “Hey, people are still waiting,” an irritated voice from behind cut through the banter.

  “Sorry.” He looked like he meant it. “I need to get back to this.”

  “And I should probably give Andie back her badge.” So much for this being a brilliant idea. Jade didn’t know what else to say. “Are you in town the rest of the weekend?” she blurted out before she could talk herself out of it.

  “Hey, bitch. You’re holding up the line.” The insult carried distinctly over the chatter of the hotel lobby, bringing most of it to a stop.

  Heat flooded Jade’s cheeks, but before she could figure out how to respond, Brandon had jumped over the table and was standing in front of the impatient line-dweller. Jade whirled so quickly as she followed the movement, it made her head spin.

  “Is there an issue?” Brandon stood toe-to-toe with the shorter man, his voice a low growl.

  Any conversation that hadn’t stopped before ground to a halt. An eerie silence blanketed the packed room.

  Line-dweller had to crane his neck up to look at Brandon. “I’ve—that is—I mean—I’ve just been waiting in line for a while.”

  “So have a lot of people.” Brandon’s quiet response echoed in the still room. “Apologize to the young lady.”

  Line-dweller turned his head toward Jade, the rest of his body staying rigid. “I’m sorry.”

  “For?” Brandon prompted.

  “C-c-calling you names. I’m sure you’re very nice when you’re not holding up a line.”

  Jade would have laughed at the qualifier if her emotions weren’t already torn between appreciation and mortification. “It’s okay.”

  Death Demon stepped into the middle of the tension. “You need to leave,” he said to line-dweller.

  Line-dweller shot Jade one last look. “Sorry again.”

  For as hot as her face was, she had to be bright red. Jade forced a smile, her hammering pulse making it difficult to speak.

  “I’m sorry.” Death Demon turned to Brandon. “We can shut the whole thing down if you want.”

  Brandon shook his head. “No, it’s all good now.”

  The room erupted in chatter again as though a switch had been flipped.

  Brandon climbed his way back behind the table, taking the time to walk around this time, and dropped back into his chair. He tugged Jade’s hand. “Sorry about that.”

  Her head was still spinning, but she found her voice enough to reply. “No, thank you. It was really sweet of you to do that.”

  He flashed the same slow, crooked smile that had captivated her that morning. “What else was I going to do?” He handed her a print and nodded at the now wide-eyed Andie. “For your new friend.” Then he handed her the second one. “For you. Don’t get them mixed up.”

  Jade gave him one last smile. “Thanks.”

  She trudged toward Andie, handing off the girl’s pass and the signed poster without another word, and then headed upstairs. So much for her brilliant plan to seduce the gorgeous stranger. Maybe she should just stay in her room the rest of the night.

  When she pulled out her signed print and turned it over to read the inscription, her embarrassed heat shifted to something new. Maybe it had been worth it after all.

  Chapter 4

  Brandon exhaled and resisted the urge to glance around him one more time. The phone call from his agent that morning still had him paranoid, especially since he was doing exactly what she’d told him not to.

  The incident that afternoon had to have made it to social media. If the animation companies hadn’t liked him before, this new run-in wouldn’t win him any popularity points.

  But at the same time, when he’d seen Jade standing in front of him in the autograph line, jeans hugging round hips and a T-shirt showing off perky tits, he’d lost any will to behave. And hearing someone insult her…It had taken all of his self-restraint not to threaten the kid.

  Of course, none of that mattered if she didn’t show up. He scanned the hotel bar, looking for her familiar straight black hair. Maybe she hadn’t seen the note on the back of the print asking if she wanted to pick up where they’d left off that morning. He knew she’d been interested. Otherwise, why go to the trouble of running into him again? It was obvious how out of her element she was with this crowd. But something told him she had just as much passion under the surface as any of the fans, even if she applied it to her life differently.

  His hesitation broke into a broad grin, and he cut a straight path to the gorgeous brunette sitting at the bar. Barrettes held her hair back from her face, and every few seconds she pulled her attention from her drink to let her gaze flit around the room.

  He dropped into the seat next to her, arm brushing hers. A tingle rushed through him. What is it about this woman? “I was worried you might not show.”

  Jade shifted to face him but didn’t break the contact. A soft smile danced on full lips. “Does that happen a lot? They don’t show?”

  He bit back his surprise. If she’d been anyone else—one of the attendees for instance—he might think the question was founded in the rumors. But there was no way she’d heard those. She hadn’t even known who he was. Which was kind of nice. “I don’t know. I haven’t made a habit of extending the invite.”

  Her brows rose, hazel eyes studying him. She shook her head and took a sip of her drink. “Thank you again for this afternoon. I don’t think I’ve ever been rescued by a knight in shining armor
before.”

  Pride rushed through him but wilted when something occurred to him. “Is that why you’re here?”

  She laughed—that was a beautiful, playful sound—and shook her head. “I mean, it certainly didn’t hurt. But I’m here to see you, not because I felt obligated.”

  “Good. Perfect.” He fumbled for more words. It was difficult to concentrate with all the blood rushing from his head and into his lower extremities. He was having a hard time thinking about anything but her gorgeous mouth, kissing those full lips, and if that was what her laughter sounded like, how incredible it would be to make her moan.

  He tucked the thought aside. He needed to focus on the conversation.

  “So, voice acting. How does someone get into that kind of work?”

  He could answer that question. It came up in every single panel he sat on, and yet it still sounded new from her. Besides, he didn’t have to filter his answer here. “Honestly? It’s all about who I knew.”

  She traced a finger over her bottom lip. “That’s it? Nothing about hard work, training, and studying how to make different sounds for years on end or anything?”

  “I had a fraternity brother who knew a guy who was looking for some extras in a cartoon. One thing led to another…” He’d never told the story that way before, but it was true. “What about you?”

  She winked. “I’d be a terrible voice actor. I don’t know anyone.”

  “You know me.” The banter was the same as he remembered from earlier. It made her that much sexier. “But I meant, what kind of work do you do that has you traveling so much?”

  “Boring stuff.” She leaned in, licking her lips. “People buy our software; I go to their offices to make sure it’s running on all their computers.”

  She was dumbing it down for him, he was almost sure of it. “Sounds technical.”

  “Only some of it. Most of it is knowing when to smile politely.” When she shifted her weight, her shirt moved with her, offering a fantastic view down the front.