One person, though, had his own reasons for wanting to humiliate Anna. John had been on enough sets to recognize when delays were being manufactured. Disgruntled crews were notorious for slowdowns when things weren’t going their way. Largely, it wasn’t a problem on Anna’s set. The crew had worked well together after they’d arrived. There was only one person who had held out, had placed his needs over those of the shoot, and had generally just been a condescending, belligerent ass.

After reflecting on it through the rest of the grueling day, John walked into the hotel bar. His instincts were usually right, but he wanted confirmation from the source before going to Anna with his suspicions.

Cole sat at the bar, nursing a beer and scrolling through his phone.

“Long day?” John asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He pulled up a chair next to the other man.

Cole nodded, not removing his eyes from his phone.

“Checking to see who picked up the story?” John asked, careful to keep his tone neutral.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“You saw that?” Cole asked.

John was impressed with the man’s ability to feign surprise. “Everyone saw that.”

Cole laughed. “What did she expect? Running this place like it was her own goddamn kingdom.”

“That is literally her job.”

Cole rolled his eyes. “It was bound to get out. Everyone was unhappy.”

“Really?” John asked. “I haven’t heard any complaints.”

“You wouldn’t, would you?”

John tensed. Cole smirked at him, taking another sip of his beer.

Christ, what an asshole. John knew that his running around with Anna was a badly kept secret. There were only so many closets. But usually, as long as the shoot was running smoothly, the cast and crew turned a blind eye. There was often gossip, like any other situation where a group of people were thrown together for a period of time, but it wasn’t this vicious.

Cole set down his beer and looked like he was about to open his mouth for another smartass comment.

“Whatever you are going to say,” John said, “keep it to yourself.”

“Not like I give a shit.” Cole shrugged. “You two can do what you want. We have less than a week to go.”

“So why leak the story now?” John asked. “Why all the delays and setbacks?”

“That bit—” Cole looked over John’s shoulder.

#

ANNA ENTERED THE HOTEL bar. John sat next to Cole. Anna was flummoxed by the sight of them together, drinking a beer. She reminded herself that John wasn’t like the others. He was trustworthy, and he’d never lied to her.

“It took me a while to figure it out,” Anna said as she approached the two. “But I confirmed with Matteo.”

Anna, Sofia, and Matteo had stayed late after Cole had left for the day to discuss the situation. Matteo had explained the manufactured delays.