he and Meagan had some hashing out to do. Tonight. Alone. Still, he’d promised himself he wouldn’t touch her for all kinds of reasons. Work wasn’t the place to play. Smart people knew that bedroom games, and even simple romantic notions, could easily turn emotional and explode, no matter how covertly they began. He didn’t do complicated relationships. He did the uncomplicated, casual type. Namely because he’d seen far too many divorces, and tormented, worried spouses like his mother, when he’d been in the army.
Despite all these brilliant assessments about what he had going on, or rather not going on with Meagan, Sam couldn’t stop thinking about her. That had never happened to him with a woman before. And as he punched in the code for the private floor the studio had rented for the show, there was no mistaking the thrum of anticipation he felt during the twenty-floor ride, at seeing her again. A thrum he recognized could lead him to trouble. Big damn trouble.
The elevator dinged, and the doors began to slide open. In the same instant, a scream filled the air. Instinct sent Sam into action, darting out of the elevator to draw up short when he found a studio set almost directly off the elevator in the center of a large lounge area. One of the contestants, Tabitha, was lying flat on her face, her mouth bloody. Meagan was squatting next to her. Hovering above her were the twins, Ginger and DJ, who clearly wanted to help the situation, and didn’t know how. Kiki, the thirtysomething attractive redhead, stood in the background looking amused.
Sam grimaced at her behavior and headed for Meagan. “Does she need an ambulance?”
“Yes!” Tabitha screamed. “Yes, I need an ambulance. My front tooth is missing! My tooth is gone!”
“I called 9-1-1,” one of the crew shouted.
Relief washed over Sam. A tooth he could deal with. No one died from a lost tooth. But any relief he felt vanished when the cast of contestants emerged like a pack of wild animals onto the set, as a rumble of questions and panic erupted. The cameras continued to roll, panning the crowded lounge.
Sam’s gaze found Meagan’s, even as she helped Tabitha to her feet, a silent question in his stare. He didn’t want to screw up footage she needed for the show, but they didn’t need another injury, either. Fortunately, as usual, he read her easily—the look on her face said Please get them under control. The fact that they communicated without words was a testament to the natural connection they shared. That he agreed with her decision, that she confirmed what he knew already—that she wasn’t like the studio executives who put ratings above all else—were just more reasons why he wanted to be alone with her.
“Enough,” he called out to the group, holding up his hands. “My name is Sam Kellar, and I’m the head of—”
“It’s the curse!” Tabitha shouted. “It’s the curse.”
Screams erupted from the dancers. Sam and Meagan shared an exasperated look before, together, they went into damage control.
The studio wanted footage that fed the curse, and now, they were sure getting it, but not because he, or Meagan, were trying to deliver it. He and Meagan were just trying to survive and doing so together. Oh yeah, staying hands-off with Meagan was going to be about as easy as calming this group down. And that, it appeared, was damn near impossible.
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, EMS was gone and Sam and Meagan had agreed that Tabitha should go to the hospital, with one of Sam’s men escorting her to avoid the tabloid photographers.
His man, Josh, had just learned he would be that lucky man. “Josh’s an ex-SEAL,” he explained to Meagan. “If he can’t handle Tabitha, nobody can.”
Meagan snorted. “Neither of you know Tabitha or you might reconsider that statement. I can’t possibly let you take on this job by yourself. Believe me, you’ll want backup.” Before Sam could object, Meagan flagged Kiki over, and Sam didn’t miss the flash of interest across Josh’s face.
Sam leaned close to Josh. “I hear she killed her last lover.”
Josh, who had a way with the women, said, “I can think of worse ways to die.”
Kiki joined them, looking irritated at having been summoned. “I need you to please go with Tabitha to the hospital,” Meagan said and pointed at Josh. “This is Josh Strong, one of Sam’s men. He’ll go along with you for security reasons.”
Kiki looked disgusted. “Why is this my job?”
Sam arched a brow at Kiki’s blatant disrespect toward Meagan. It heightened his worries about Kiki, but Meagan responded with remarkable composure. “Because I need to review property options for the show with Sam, and I can’t risk any exposure, tabloid or otherwise, that might hurt us. In other words, I need you, my next-in-charge, who has pull and power. Josh here will offer muscle if you run into trouble. You deal with Tabitha and her injury.”
“Shouldn’t I be included in the property search?” Kiki asked, sounding a bit like a spoiled brat afraid of getting one less cookie from the jar, and not at all concerned about Tabitha.
“When I know where we stand, you will be,” Meagan assured her. “But right now, I need you to attend to Tabitha. Go, please.”
Kiki frowned and eyed Josh, motioning to her left. “This way.”
“Nothing like having a studio exec’s niece forced on you,” Sam said, imagining that Kiki resented having to work under Meagan.
Meagan turned to him. “How’d you know that?”
“I make it a point to know things,” he said. “And I’d watch my back with her. If a curse exists, it’s probably down to her. The last three shows she’s been on failed.”
“Yeah, I know,” Meagan said. “I’ve heard all kinds of rumors about her that I’ve tried to tune out. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt because I know how gossip grows. And really, it doesn’t matter anyway. She’s a mandatory part of this show, per my contract with the studio.”
Sam wasn’t going to tell Meagan everything he knew about Kiki, but he did want to alert her to keep up her guard. “I understand your position, but there is some truth to what you’ve probably heard. For instance, she did sleep with that producer who ended up fired.”
She laughed. “Well, I won’t be an easy target in that department, at least. She can’t get me into bed to manipulate me. You might want to warn your man, Josh, though.”
“I plan to.”
She nodded. “Good, because I’d hate to see him hurt when he’s just trying to keep us all safe. All I can say is thank God my director is an angel, so I have someone I can truly trust. She was picked for me, too, and she’s marvelous.”
Meagan could trust him, as well, but he knew she wasn’t ready to embrace that concept. Not now. But he intended to change that.
Fifteen minutes later, the contestants had returned to their rooms, and he’d ordered three more security personnel to keep them that way. The crew, who’d been put up in the hotel for ease of filming, headed to the lobby bar to “analyze” the day’s events over drinks and food.
Derek lingered with Sam and Meagan. “What about you two? Surely you both need a good, stiff drink or two, after that disaster. And here I thought football players were rowdy. Those kids are crazy.”
“You
