Muffin Top by Tabatha Kiss

Author:Tabatha Kiss [Kiss, Tabatha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-09-29T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 2

Dani

“Roxie!”

That’s not my name, but I’ve answered to it since I was seventeen. “Yes, Dad?” I twist around and Lena drops the makeup brush from my cheeks.

My father’s eyes trail me up and down to check my appearance. It’s the same hard glance he’s given me every day since high school when my looks started to matter more to him than they did to me. “Thanks again for doing this today,” he says. A navy blue pantsuit isn’t exactly my regular style, but he seems satisfied with it. “This means a lot to your stepmother.”

I throw on a smile. It’s not like I had a say in the matter. He makes my schedule. “I’m happy to do it.”

“After this, we have that meeting with Bruckberg.”

Lena raises the brush again to wipe a bit more rouge along my cheekbone. I cringe behind it, hoping he doesn’t notice.

“Roxie…” He does. “I don’t want to hear about this again.”

“I didn’t say anything, Dad.”

“This is a huge opportunity for you. You read the script, right?”

“Yes, I read the script.”

“And?”

“I hated it.”

“You hated it?!” He steps in closer and the anger lines on his face stand out even more, along with the speckles of gray in his black hair. “You don’t hate a Bruckberg script, Roxie.”

“Well, I did.”

He lets out an impatient breath. “Lola, could you not do that for a minute?”

She lowers her hand and steps away with a sour look.

“Her name is Lena,” I point out. “Be nice. She’s just doing her job, Dad.”

“Well, that makes one of you,” he quips. “What are you doing, huh? You trying to kill your old man?”

“No.”

“What could possibly be wrong with it? The role is perfect for you.”

“The role is too safe,” I argue. “I’m sick of making the same movie over and over again—”

“That same movie earns you twenty million a pop, Roxie.”

“I don’t care about the money—”

He rolls his eyes. “Here we go…”

“I want to take on more—”

“Mature roles,” he interrupts. “Honey, I get it. I do. You want to be taken seriously.”

“Is that so wrong?”

He sighs. “Of course not. It’s just not part of our plan right now.”

Our plan. The plan I’m not allowed to have an opinion on. I throw on a classic, sweet smile. “You’re right, Daddy. I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up again.”

“That’s my little star.” He leans in and kisses my forehead. “Get that girl back over here. Do something about the circles under your eyes.”

I watch him walk away, forcing the smile to stay on my lips until he rounds the corner down the hall.

“What an asshole.”

I spin around. “Lena!”

She shrugs. “What? You were totally thinking it.”

“He’s fired other assistants of mine for less.”

“Oh, you’d never tell him.” She pops open a bottle of foundation and smears a tiny drop under my eye. “You love me too much.”

I smirk. “You’re right about that. No one else does the smokey-eye makeup quite like you do.”

“Damn straight.” She smiles. “Got any plans for after your big Bruckberg meeting?”

“You tell me.

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