Jennie

My phone lights up as Ryder discusses the schedule for the Lake Bellis renovation project.

"Excuse me." I step out of the conference room and answer my agent's call.

"You're not going to believe who I just got off the phone with!" Jamie squeals.

I hold my phone at a distance to protect my eardrums from rupturing. "Who?"

"DreamStream!"

"The Song Company subdivision?"

"Yes! You've heard of them?"

"Is there someone who hasn't?"

Jamie laughs. "True. Well, they reached out to me, asking if you were available for a show idea they have."

"They contacted you?"

"I know. I'm equally shocked. Not that you're not amazing, but DreamStream contracts are huge. You'd become a household name with a company like that producing your show."

I lean against the wall before my knees give out. "What kind of show are they thinking?"

"Well, that's the best part. They're willing to go along with whatever you want, wherever you want, so long as you let them produce and stream it."

"You're joking." A deal like this seems too good to be true.

Probably because it is.

No. I shut down the anxious thought before it has time to fester.

But still, something about this deal seems too convenient.

Who cares? If they're letting you take full creative control of the show, does it matter?

But I can't help wondering how a deal like this came about in the first place.

"Who reached out to you?" I ask.

Jamie doesn't miss a beat. "Mino and Callahan Song."

"Both of them?"

"Yes. Callahan Song is doing some consulting work with DreamStream. Said he found out you were pitching a show from a town local and knew his brother would want to get involved since his wife is a big fan."

A town local?

It doesn't take me more than a few seconds to piece everything together.

Holy shit. This is really happening.

I must have said the words aloud because Jamie laughs and says, "Yeah. It is."

I smack my chest to get my lungs working again. "How soon can we meet with them to go over everything?"

Jamie goes into greater detail about the offer, and I diligently listen, my excitement growing with every minute. She hangs up ten minutes later with a promise to send me the revised contract once it is ready.

Now I need to find the town local responsible for all this, and I have a strong feeling I know where she is.

When I decided to move back to Lake Chrysanthemum, I expected Lisa to resume her usual position in the business, but I was surprised when she kept true to her original plan. She only works out of her office three times a week now, while she spends the rest of her time managing builds and helping at the sites.

Plus, we're taking on the Lake Bellis house together as project co-leaders.

I haven't seen her look this happy since…well, ever.

I open our text thread and send Lisa a message.

ME: Are you still in a meeting?

She responds only a few seconds later.

FIRST CHOICE: Nope

I head to Lisa's office, only stopping to greet Sam before walking inside the private suite and shutting the heavy door behind me.

Lisa leans back in her chair. "I thought we agreed not to see each other until lunchtime."

It was a valiant effort so we could get some much-needed work done before Christmas break next week, but Lisa blew that plan to hell the moment she intervened in my life.

I forgo the seat across from her desk and choose her lap instead. Her arm hooks around me, and I curl mine around the back of her neck before crushing my mouth against her.

Lisa groans as I glide my tongue across her, earning the slightest shiver as a reward. Her fingers press into my hips as she deepens the kiss.

No matter how many times she claims my mouth, it always feels like the first time with the way my toes curl and my spine tingles.

Shw reluctantly pulls back after another minute. "As much as I love the unexpected visit, I have a call in ten minutes."

I clean the lipstick mark staining the corner of her mouth. "No problem. I only wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"Whatever you did that landed me a deal with DreamStream."

Her arms tighten. "I didn't—"

I press my finger against her mouth. "Don't lie to me or play the humble-girlfriend card." It's the first time I called her my girlfriend, and the shock on her face made it worth the wait.

"Girlfriend?"

"Don't let the title go to your head."

"A little too late for that. Does it come with a lifetime membership?"

I pinch her between the ribs, making her jolt. "Start talking or else." I reach to repeat the move, but she traps my hands against her thigh.

"I wanted you to make a decision that was best for you, not based on my influence in the process."

"So you admit you played a part?"

"If by played a part, you mean merely making sure the right person heard about your availability and interest in filming a new show, then yes. Guilty as charged."

I swat her shoulder. "I knew it!"

"How did you find out?"

"Well, it was solely based on a hunch, but a good one given your connection to Callahan Song and you being the only person in town who knew about me pitching a new show."

The tips of her ears turn pink. "He owed me a favor."

"And you used it on me?"

"I know how much you loved having your own show."

The Songs rarely owe any favors, so the fact that Lisa used her to pitch my show means the world to me.

My chest squeezes. "I can't believe you got me a deal with DreamStream."

She cradles my head between her palms. "All I did was speak with Mino and tell him about your idea for a show. His company offering you a deal was all thanks to you and your years of hard work." she pauses. "And probably the fact that Mino Song's wife might be your second biggest fan."

"Who's the first?"

"You're in love with her." She slides her fingers through my hair and steals another kiss.

The phone on her desk rings, and we break away with a groan.

"I should get that."

I brush my lips across her. "You should."

She sighs. "Don't make this harder for me."

I run my hand down the front of her pants. "Not sure that's possible."

"Jennie," she groans as I trace the tip of her cock.

The phone rings again, and I slide off her lap. Her dark gaze trails down my body as I walk toward the door, and I'm hit with the same rush of butterflies in my stomach that never seem to go away no matter what.

I glance over my shoulder. "See you in an hour."

"Make it thirty minutes. And ditch the underwear."

"Deal."