The producer from the premiere.
Even drunker now than he'd been earlier.
She could smell it.
Bourbon. Heavy. Stale.
He moved into her space.
Cornering her between the bar and the service hallway entrance.
"I've been looking for you."
His eyes tracked over her.
Predatory.
Making her skin crawl.
'It's people like you that I trained so hard not to get my ass handed to me by my father or anyone else.'
"Mr. Chen."
She kept her voice neutral.
Professional.
But stepped back slightly.
Creating distance.
He closed it.
"Call me Richard." His hand reached for her waist. "We're friends, aren't we?"
She dodged.
Smooth. Practiced.
Years of judo training made the movement instinctive.
"I should get back to work."
"Work?" He laughed. "Sweetheart, you're wasted on makeup brushes."
'Sweetheart.'
The word made her stomach turn.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but—"
