With His Consent (For His Pleasure, Book 13) by Kelly Favor

in disbelief.
    Scarlett didn’t know what to think. She knew even less when a group of about four people came into the room, and suddenly everyone was talking and making introductions. It was the exact opposite of the orderliness that had accompanied all of the other auditions.
    Kallie brought over Danielle and introduced her to Scarlett. A stylist was fussing with her hair as they said hello.
    “So you’re the new girl?” Danielle said, looking Scarlett up and down.
    “I don’t know. I guess so.”
    Bryson walked back in and came over as they were talking. He looked confused and annoyed.
    “I’ve told you about Scarlett,” Kallie said to Danielle.
    “That’s right. She used to date Hunter,” Danielle practically yelled, snapping her fingers. “And the guy—the crazy guy—“
    “Easy,” Kallie said. “Easy.”
    Danielle looked at Scarlett again. “You’ve got quite a history, don’t you?”
    Scarlett held back her annoyance. “I think we all have history.”
    “How true, how true indeed,” Danielle giggled.
    Some people were now bringing a tray of catered deli sandwiches and side dishes into the room, creating even more havoc and noise in the room.
    Bryson was watching everything with an unreadable expression. “What are we doing?” he asked.
    “My friend Danielle is going to audition during lunch,” Kallie said.
    “Oh, great,” he said, with faux excitement. “Your friend’s auditioning. Glad to hear that. I’ll go sit down and stuff my face.” He walked back to the deli trays and started loading up a plate.
    “What’s his problem?” Danielle sniffed, as her stylists tugged at her clothes and hair.
    “He’s just hungry,” Scarlett heard Kallie saying.
    Scarlett left them and walked over to where Bryson was putting sandwiches onto a plate by the trays of food.
    “Hey,” she said, standing beside him now.
    “Hey,” he mumbled, not looking at her.
    “Are you upset with me?”
    He glanced at her. “No. Why would I be?”
    “I don’t know. But it seems like you are.”
    He turned and held his plate as he looked at her briefly. “Scarlett, I’ve got a lot going on right now, in case you didn’t notice. Not everything is about you.”
    She hated the way he was looking at her right now. “I know that.”
    “If you know it, then deal with it.” He walked back to the desk and sat down.
    She was left by herself, feeling cold and alone and hurt. It wasn’t right that he was taking his problems out on her. Was he also mad because of what Danielle had said about Hunter and her having been together?
    Scarlett realized that Bryson really didn’t know anything about her past. She hadn’t told him about Hunter or Terrence or anything. But maybe it wasn’t any of his business, either.
    She got herself a sandwich and sat down again, trying to ignore him.
    Meanwhile, Danielle had finished being primped and primed and now she was ready for her close up.
    Hunter directed her to her mark.
    “What’s a mark?” she asked.
    Bryson snorted and bit into his sandwich.
    Hunter calmly explained it. “A mark is where an actor stands when they say certain lines. It’s called ‘hitting your mark.’ Otherwise, the camera might have trouble knowing where you’re going to be when you deliver your lines.”
    “Oh, yeah—I knew that,” Danielle said, waving. She was starting to sweat a little.
    Barbara raised her eyebrows and looked at her script, blinking, as if she’d never seen such insanity before.
    Danielle went to her mark and introduced herself. She had brought a headshot with her, but no resume. Scarlett looked at the picture. In it, Danielle was wearing a skimpy dress and smiling demurely in the foreground, while in the background, four handsome men appeared to be pining for her.
    Scarlett could hear the others trying to hold in their laughter as they looked at the headshot.
    “Well, it’s unique,” Hunter muttered.
    “Shhh….” Kallie warned him.
    “Okay, action,” Hunter