“So, you’re the one who got the pizza.”
“I am,” he says, gripping the two boxes tighter to his body. “I’m unfortunately stuck here working late.”
“I’m not supposed to have pizza.” I slump my shoulders, jutting my bottom lip out.
“Why not? On some special diet?”
“Yeah. It’s one of Lisa’s stipulations. She makes all of us eat the same thing.”
“Yeah, she runs a tight ship. That’s for sure.”
“You’re lucky.”
“Am I?” He arches a brow, setting the food on a nearby table and standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame.
“Yup. You get to eat whatever and whenever you want. I’m supposed to be cut off after eight p.m.”
He glances at his watch. “It’s ten minutes until nine.”
“Yeah.” I suck in a breath when he pulls out a stick of cheese bread from the smaller box. “That smells really good.”
He laughs, placing more food on a paper plate from the crafty station and sits down in front of a blank monitor screen. “You sure you can’t break the rules a little?”
“Pretty sure.” My stomach growls and I can almost taste the cheese melting on his tongue.
“I won’t tell if you don’t.” He cups his mouth with his hand.
I scrub the back of my neck, licking my lips, and he moans around his next bite.
“I . . . I’m not sure any more delivery guys will be willing to come back so late.”
“Probably not, but you’re welcome to have some of mine. I can never finish a whole pizza by myself, so you’d actually save me from wasting food.”
“I really shouldn’t.” I perch myself on the edge of the table, tugging the corner of my lip with my teeth.
“It’ll be our little secret, I promise. Besides . . .” He waves a slice of pizza in the air, the savory scent slapping at my nostrils. “You don’t want to go to sleep on an empty stomach anyway.”
“What makes you think I haven’t eaten yet?”
“I can hear that stomach of yours talking from over here, and I also saw the turkey clubs they were serving to everyone else today. I wouldn’t eat that shit either. The bread looked dry and the cheese looked like cardboard. Pretty sure they use the vegan stuff.”
“They do.” I huff out a laugh. “Why are you here so late anyway?”
“I could ask you the same thing. Aren’t you usually booked at some fancy schmancy hotel.”
“It’s not that fancy,” I push out, scooting back on the table, my eyes going from him to the food and back to him.
“A lot fancier than mine.” He snags a bite of his slice and spins from side to side in his chair. “But unfortunately, I had to fill in for someone last minute today, so it put me behind on other work I had to get done.”
“That blows. Lisa likes her actors to sleep on set. It’s another one of her—”
“Stipulations,” he finishes for me, using air quotes, and with a wide smile on his face. He has a really nice smile. It definitely adds to his already good looks. He’s not classically handsome, but more so in this rugged, unique kind of way. His nose is curved a little to the left, almost as if he’s had his fair share of broken noses. Was it from sports, a traumatic childhood, or bad fights? Why do I suddenly want to know more about him?
“Exactly.” I give in, pulling back the top of the pizza box.
“Finally deciding to take a walk on the wild side, huh?”
I shrug, tearing a small piece of one slice. “Maybe a tiny stroll.”