Capture Me: Alpha Billionaire Romance (Hollywood Dreams) by C.J. Thomas

finance right now. Besides, any company I go to will want a six month minimum internship.”
    “But you’ve already done that.”
    “Doesn’t matter. Why pay for someone freshly out of college when you can get them for free?”
    “Jerks.”
    “Welcome to the business world.” I sighed. “I need to find something for Dani and me to live on in the meantime.” I took another sip of water. “You don’t seem near as concerned with money as you used to.”
    “Liam pays really well. One of the best in the business for anything not high fashion. He’s loaded thanks to his family’s company, and I mean loaded .” She gave a sour face. “Oh sorry, didn’t think that one through.”
    “Didn’t take it that way.”
    Sadie nodded. “Anyway, if he likes you, the work’s pretty consistent.”
    “Are you trying to sell me on modeling or on him?”
    She gave me that same grin, making me wonder if this place delivered more eye candy than she could handle. “You need money right now and you’ve got the body for it. I’m pretty sure Liam’s noticed.”
    I crossed my legs. When I was younger, I’d been self-conscious about how long my legs were. Even now, dresses were miniskirts on me. Most pants ended above my ankles. Some things weren’t easy to change perspective on.
    Over the last year, Sadie had bugged me to model a couple times, but I never seriously considered it. After work and school, if I had free time, it would be to do something fun—and I barely remembered what “fun” looked like. It wasn’t like I needed the money.
    At least, I didn’t used to.
    “I have a shoot scheduled tomorrow with Liam. Come with me.”
    I picked up my glass, drank the last bit of water and said, “He hasn’t called me since the funeral and that was days ago. Maybe asking him to come was a little much.”
    “Not with the way he looks at you every time he sees you. Trust me. You’re good. I know it’s not numbers, but look at it as adding a bit of variety to your career.”
    “Shouldn’t we let him know that I’m coming or something? I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”
    “Trust me, if anything, you’d be a distraction. One I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind.”
    Our waiter set down our dishes. “Two fettuccines with extra cream sauce.”
    Sadie smiled. “Distractions can be a very good thing.”
     

CHAPTER 19
     
    Liam
     
    “Blue, red . . . Sadie’s doing pink again today.” I frowned at the screen, trying to picture the rainbow and what color I’d missed. The screen of half-naked women blurred. “Gotta keep better records and get more sleep, apparently.” Rubbing my face, I groaned, needing to slip back into work mode before Sadie arrived. At least, I thought Sadie was today. I double-checked the calendar. “Wednesday, check.” I groaned again. “I’m even talking to myself.”
    The downward stress spiral had begun.
    “Better make it official.” I reached for the takeout bag, going for another slider, only to find it empty. My stomach expected another bite and growled in protest. Crushing the bag between my hands gave me a small sense of pleasure until my palms came away covered in grease. “Dammit.” Before thinking about it, I smeared a trail of hamburger and onion juice across my mouse.
    This whole ICE thing really brought out all my vices. Except for sex. And that was the one thing I could really use right about now. Hot, frisky sex.
    Sure, I had a number of models I could call up, but seeing where things went with Tessa came first. The more I thought about her, the more Paisley seemed to call. Reality had its cruel way of twisting things around to bite you in the ass.
    I didn’t even bother scanning through the black corset pictures. Paisley wore two different styles and I skipped right past them. She’d left another message this morning before seven. Who messaged anyone that early and expected a response? At least this time I had an excuse for not answering. It was one thing to