They smiled at one another for a few beats before Harrison said, “You’re not even in a relationship with Rowan, are you?”
She lowered the smoothie from her lips as she laughed. “Glad I hadn’t taken a drink. It might have come out my nose!” Wiping her mouth, she said, “I just met him last night.”
“Figured as much,” Harrison said. “A publicist trying to ship you two?”
“Agents.”
“Ah.”
Riley gulped down the rest of the smoothie, rinsed out the cup, then put it in the dishwasher.
“I think I need help.”
“I’m here for you.”
She flashed him a grin. “Thank you. But not about drinking or anything.”
He returned the smile. “I know. You said you’re sober and I believe you. I didn’t know one way or another coming over here. That’s why I wanted to chat with you. From one person who understands to another. But I still want to help however you need me to.”
Riley filled her lungs with air and held her breath for a moment before slowly releasing it. Her hands were shaking. “It’s my agent. She wants me to be this bratty bad girl. We’re in agreement that the DUI was the best thing to ever happen to me. But for totally different reasons. Rita thinks it boosted my career and that I need to lean into it. I think that’s disgusting and sets a horrible example. Plus, who tries to profit off someone else’s addiction?”
Harrison shook his head in distaste. “There are some real vultures out there. But it sounds like you need a new agent.”
Riley steeled herself. This was the part she hated to admit. It wasn’t that Harrison didn’t know her secret. Obviously, he was okay with the fact that she was a Little.
But saying this out loud terrified her. She’d trained herself not to even think about it.
It needed to be confronted, though.
“That’s just the thing. Harrison… she’s blackmailing me. She knows I’m a Little.” She sighed, closed her eyes, and then dropped the final bomb.
“And she has a picture.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Tell me you’re going to take the weekend off.”
The words came from Athena, and Briggs lowered his paintbrush and turned around just enough to look down at her from his perch atop the ladder.
“You don’t want me around tomorrow and Sunday?”
“Oh, we want you around. But we’d rather you be doing something fun instead of working so hard,” the Auntie told him.
Briggs liked the sound of that. But he wanted to get the mansion finished as he had three jobs lined up after that. After thinking it over, he said, “I am a day or two ahead of schedule. It wouldn’t kill me to take some downtime.”
Athena shot himthelook she was so good at giving Littles—the one that said they better listen to their Auntie because she knows best. “You know, taking weekends off is a good thing. It should be your rule, not the exception.”
“Whoa. Are you going to get that infamous paddle of yours out after me?” he asked with a cocky grin.
She laughed. “Don’t tempt me. Even Bigs need a good booty-busting every now and then.” Surveying the work he’d just done cutting in around some of the decorative molding, she said, “That looks so good. You’re an artist.”
“Thanks. But it helps that I’m working with such a beautiful old structure. The mansion is gorgeous all on its own. A new coat of paint just highlights that.”
Athena shook her head. “Hey, if I tried painting this, the colors would all run together. It would look sloppy. And I’d just have to call a professional to undo everything I ruined. Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a true craftsman.”
“I appreciate the compliment.” Briggs carefully stepped down the rungs of the ladder, laid his brush across the mouth of a can, and said, “But I get the impression there is something else you want to talk about.”
She nodded. “I wanted to check on you. With the news last night. It was… sort of crazy.”