I waved a hand dismissively. I didn’t fall for such lines anymore, especially after my last dating fiasco reminded me that LA was the city where the most beautiful women gathered to try their luck in acting, singing, or modeling. But when I turned to look straight at Carter, something in his expression told me it wasn’t a line.

Or maybe I was just too naive.

One of the organizers noticed me and motioned that she needed to talk to me. Carter saw her too.

“I’ll go see what she needs,” I told him. “Then I’m going to do the rounds. I have a list of about twenty people I need to talk to.”

“Go ahead. We’ll have plenty of time to talk later.”

The event was every bit what I had expected. Three hours into it, I was almost used to the constant chatter as background noise. I’d already spoken to quite a few of the celebrities I’d wanted to approach for a campaign I was putting together for the spring releases.

After a particularly productive conversation with a young, rising pop star I wanted to feature in our spring campaign, I looked around for a bench or a chair. If I could just sit for five minutes, I was sure the balls of my feet wouldn’t feel raw anymore. I had no problems walking in heels, even though I didn’t have Hailey’s stamina. But standing rooted to one spot was problematic.

I didn’t see any empty chairs, and just when I was about to head to one of the smaller rooms to check if the couches there were full, a mountain of a man cornered me.

“Hey, you,” he said.

“Hi, Gus!”

We’d spoken earlier in the evening. He was one of the models I was courting for a marketing campaign. He’d gained in popularity over the last year, and he could be going places. I wanted to snatch him before he became too expensive.

“Want to grab a drink?” he asked.

“Thanks, but I have yet to finish my rounds.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t be a spoilsport.”

He seemed to have already had a few drinks. His footing wasn’t too certain. He was looking at me as if I was something to eat, and I didn’t appreciate it. I usually got out of this type of sticky situation by flashing what Hailey liked to call my scary face, but this one wasn’t budging.

“Not being a spoilsport, but duty is still calling.”

The guy cocked an eyebrow, and instead of backing off, came even closer. Oh, hell, no. I didn’t want to cause a scene, but if this guy didn’t take a hint, I’d have no choice.