Risk Taker by Sonia Stanizzo

Chapter 23

Ethan buzzed with excitement as he drove into the studio car park even though he wasn’t needed on set. After his meeting with Chloe, he couldn’t wait to tell Holly the good news. For all Chloe’s complaining about not wanting to work with family, and after he’d told her about the movie that Ralph had lined up for him that read like a porno, she’d scored him an audition for a role he’d been dreaming of. She’d made it clear she’d only help this one-time; he had a feeling he’d eventually win her over and they’d have a working relationship.

He wanted Holly to be the first person he’d share the news with. Less than two weeks ago, Ethan would’ve quietly celebrated with a drink, now he wanted to share everything with her. Was Chloe right? Was this love? Whatever it was, it felt good.

When he walked into makeup, his mother raced between three actors. “Where’s Holly? Is she on set?” he asked.

His mother paused. A deep frown creased her forehead. “No, she’s not.”

“Where is she?” Something about his mother’s sombre expression told him he wasn’t going to like what she was about to say.

She rubbed a hand across her cheek, like wiping away invisible tears. Actually, her eyes looked red and puffy like she’d been crying. The pit of his stomach dropped. He asked again, “Where’s Holly?”

“She got fired this morning.” She sniffed and her eyes started to water.

“What the fuck for?” Whose arse did he need to kick?

“Sally, you’re done,” she said and the actress got up to leave. Sally didn’t stop to have a quick chat like she normally did. She hurried from the room. His mother held a hand up to him and said, “Hang on a minute.” She gave a few more swipes of the brush on the remaining actors and waited for them to leave, then she fell into a chair like she was exhausted. “It’s my fault,” she said sadly.

“What? I’ve been away from work a few hours, what the hell happened?”

“I walked in on Shaun giving Holly a hard time while she was doing his makeup. I told him I wouldn’t let him talk to her like that. He didn’t listen.” She drew in a deep breath.

Anything involving Shaun wouldn’t be good. Ethan’s hands clenched into fists.

“I had an appointment. When I got back, she was gone. Trudy told me Shaun accused her of being sexually inappropriate towards him. They argued, Trudy called Duncan and he fired her.”

“The fucking piece of shit. I’m going to kill Shaun!” Rage boiled like hot acid through his veins and he spun on his heels.

His mother sprang from the chair and wrapped her arms around his arm trying to stop him from leaving, he easily shook her off.

He barged onto set and found Shaun in the middle of a scene. He propelled himself toward him, shoved his forearm against his neck and crushed him against the wall. The wooden prop shook with the force.

The crew gasped in surprise and paused in what they were doing.

Victoria ran to him and wrapped her hands around his arm. “What are you doing? Stop!”

Ethan shrugged her off.

“I’m going to tear you a part,” Ethan growled.

Shaun’s eyes bulged and his face turned red. Someone called for security and he could hear feet shuffling behind him.

The director raced up to him and yelled, “Let him go, Ethan.”

Ethan pressed harder. Stan pulled at his arm, but he didn’t budge.

Then, two security guards hooked their arms through his and pulled. He put up a fight but he was up against two beefy guys and eventually his grasp on Shaun gave way.

Shaun doubled over clutching his throat, drawing deep breaths into his lungs. The colour in his face slowly returned to normal. “You’re fucking crazy,” he wheezed.

Ethan went to go at him again. Security held him back.

One guard said, “If you don’t calm down, we’ll escort you out of the studio.”

Ethan dragged in ragged breaths. His racing heart dropped to a slower rate.

After a few moments of Ethan and Shaun glowering at each other, he stopped making moves to attack.

“If we let you go, will you leave Shaun alone?” the other guard asked.

Ethan spotted his mother near the director’s chair wringing her hands together with a panicked expression. As much as he wanted to plant his fist in Shaun’s face, he was just calm enough to know he didn’t want to upset her.

When he nodded, the security guards let go.

Just as Ethan was about to turn and leave, a smug smile spread over Shaun’s face. “Holly’s feisty, she must go off like a firecracker in bed. You’re a lucky man.”

A red haze obscured Ethan’s vision and before anyone could stop him, his fist flew and connected with Shaun’s nose. Blood sprayed over the timber floor.

Security dragged him away and out of the building. Fuck what might happen to him. Seeing the damage to Shaun’s face was worth the repercussions of his actions.

* * *

An hour later, Ethan found Holly in her hostel room with bloodshot eyes and a red nose. It wasn’t hard to miss she’d been crying. What had him frozen for a beat was the open luggage bag on her bed and Holly tossing clothes inside.

“You going somewhere?” he was almost too scared to ask. He’d hate for Holly to go running back to Melbourne, especially now he’d opened himself up to the possibility of a relationship with her.

“Can’t afford to stay here anymore,” she said while throwing a pair of shoes not so gently inside the bag.

“You don’t have to leave. I’ve gotten your job back,” he said.

She turned to look at him, eyes round with surprise. “What? How?”

“I spoke with Duncan, explained there was a misunderstanding, and he changed his mind.”

That and the threat of a lawsuit if he didn’t re-hire her. “You can come back tomorrow.”

She went to a small dresser, opened the draw and pulled out a few items of clothing. They too got dumped into the bag. “I’m not going back.”

“You can’t let an arsehole like Shaun stop you. Unfortunately, you’ll meet a lot of them in this industry.”

“Shaun’s not the reason I’m not going back,” she said, moving to the wardrobe and taking out a couple of dresses.

He was confused. “Then what is?”

“You.” The dresses were thrown in without being folded.

“What the hell did I do?” He threw up his hands.

“You convinced Duncan to give me back my job.”

“I didn’t convince—”

“Oh, please. I’m a nobody. Replaceable with the snap of his fingers. I mean nothing to him. But you…” She waved a hand up and down his body. “Are the star. He’d listen to you. What did you say to get him to change his mind? Threaten to sue?”

He tucked his hands into the pockets of his trousers and glanced away.

She gave a mirthless laugh, “Unbelievable.”

“I was trying to help.” Shouldn’t she be grateful?

She blew out a breath and her shoulders sagged. “Ever since I met you, you and your family have helped me.”

He scrubbed a hand behind his neck. “What’s wrong with that?” She wasn’t making any sense.

“I came to Sydney to prove to my parents I could take care of myself and not once have I done so. Then when it all went to shit, your family stepped in.”

“We wanted to help.”

“I’m grateful but I can’t let you do it anymore.”

“You’re not going back home, are you?” It would only be a step backward.

She shook her head. “Not yet. I got a job at a café down the road where I’ve been buying my coffee. After talking with the owner, I found out she had a room to rent under her house. It’s cheap and perfect for what I need.”

Ethan wanted to tell her to stop living like a poor person and ask her parents for help. Only that would defeat the purpose of her wanting to make it on her own.

“Stay with me.” It was moving their relationship to the next level and fast, but it felt right in a way he couldn’t explain. All he knew was he liked the idea of waking up with her every day in his bed. It was something he wanted.

She smiled. “Haven’t you listened to what I’ve said? I don’t want you taking care of me. Anyway, I don’t think we’re at that stage. But thank you.”

The emotions pounding in his chest every time he looked at her were telling him he wanted to be at that stage in the relationship. How could his feelings grow so strongly in such a short time?

If he offered for her to stay at his mum’s or Chloe’s place, she’d see it as a handout and shut him down. She had determination and that was another reason he loved—no, he hadn’t reached that stage yet. His pounding heart contradicted him.

Her gaze fell onto his hand. Reaching for it, she examined the broken skin and bruising. “What happened?”

“My hand had an accident with Shaun’s face.” Remembering the cracking noise of his nose filled him with immense satisfaction.

Holly gasped, “You hit him?”

He nodded and with the frown on her face he was worried she was angry with him.

“I don’t like violence but the jerk deserved it,” she said.

Ethan chuckled with relief. “If the security guards hadn’t stepped in, he would’ve more than a broken nose.”

She held a hand over her shocked mouth. Her eyes danced with delight. “I guess he won’t have any close ups for a while?” she giggled.

And he loved the sound. He wanted to see her smile and laugh more often.

She nudged her shoulder against his. “So, was there lots of blood?”

“He bled like a stuck pig.”

“Excellent. He might think twice about treating another woman that way. I only wish I was the one to do it.”

Ethan laughed. “For someone who doesn’t like violence, you sure are vicious.”

She smirked. “Only when I have to be.”

“I hope I’m never on the receiving end of your temper.” The way she eyed him, he knew she wanted to get vicious in a more fun and with fewer clothes on kind of way.

“I wouldn’t want to ruin your gorgeous face.” Then she placed her palms on his chest and pushed. They landed on the mattress in a tangle of lips, arms and legs.