Josh Tanner pushed out a breath as he jumped the steps up to his trailer door and slipped inside. How the hell was it only noon? It felt like he had been awake forever. Then again, he supposed getting up at three in the morning for hair and makeup made the day feel that much longer. And he had, what, another seven or eight months of this shit? Whose bright idea was it for him to contract into a damned franchise? Oh, right. His. Because Mackenzie had begged him to do it. He was a sucker for those adorable bright green eyes. A picture of his daughter caught his eyes and he grinned. Nine years old and nothing but trouble. No regrets; he would sign that damned contract again in a heartbeat to see that smile.
Regardless of how tempting it was to take a nap during his filming break, he dropped down onto the couch and pulled up his laptop to fire off an email to his daughter. At the end of the month, she would be coming to visit and he could not wait! They were going to have a blast; Kenz hadn’t been up to Canada yet. Niagara Falls, the museum, the science centre - weird Canadian spelling included - the tower thing, the aquarium!
If he had a normal ex, he could have sent Kenz a message with all the details. But Mel had access to Kenz’s phone. So Josh had set his daughter up with an email account without her mother’s knowledge.
Almost the second the laptop started up it acted weird, though. The mouse pointer thing went everywhere but where he told it to go, every click felt like wading through molasses, the email app closed almost the second he opened it….
“The fuck is going on,” he muttered. What was he supposed to do with this? Computer shit went well over his head, hell he could barely type with both hands, even then he had to look at the keyboard. How the hell people did that without looking baffled him. What was the old joke? Have you tried turning it off and on again? It couldn’t make the damned thing worse.
The trailer door opened and Kris’s voice hit his ears, “No, I think he’s good, thanks, Annie!”
Rebooting the laptop, he lifted his head and grinned at Kristian as he closed the door on the poor girl. By the look on Kris's face, he'd be tempted to guess he had been fending off a pack of lions, not one teenaged intern.
“Honestly, Josh? I can’t tell if she wants to date you or go full Misery on you,” Kris said as he dropped down next to him.
“Maybe she wants to date you,” Josh said, teasing him. God, he was so glad he managed to convince Kris to be his assistant all those years ago. They had known each other since they were kids, practically inseparable since kindergarten. He couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone but his best friend.
Kris snorted a laugh. “She’s 19, Josh, almost half our age.”
“No judgement, man,” Josh said with a laugh. “Long as you’re happy.”
Kris levelled him with what he’d come to call ‘the look’. “I have twice as many options as most people, dude. I’m not hard up for a date.”
“You telling me she’d be a worse option than Jeff?” he teased. From the moment Kris had introduced him, he hated Jeff. It was obvious the jackass was only in it because he wanted to meet the celebrities in Kris’s friend circle. What an asshole.
“Don’t remind me,” Kris muttered, wincing.
Josh smiled. “If I’m not allowed to live down Emily, you’re not allowed to live down Jeff.”
“I’m pretty sure she dumped you the second you introduced her to Harris!” Kris laughed.
“Not my finest hour,” Josh admitted. As soon as he got back into the laptop the weird behaviour started up again. “Dammit!”
“You break it? Again?”
“Funny,” he grumbled. “Just trying to send Kenz an email, but the damned thing is…here, see for yourself.” He handed the laptop to Kris, frowning as he pulled out his phone. Sending emails on his damned phone was a huge pain in the ass. Then again, he supposed he could send her a voice note instead and surprise her when she got there. If he was lucky, she’d send one back. Even thinking about hearing her voice again made him smile.
“Jesus, Josh,” Kris said. “You shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near technology, man.” Pushing the lid closed, he sighed. “I’ll call Oli, see if he knows how to fix it.”
When they first met, Oliver Lucas worked as an attorney for Josh’s talent agency back and had left to form his own private practice when his wife got pregnant. They had become friends while Josh was filming his first movie and he had worked hard to convince him to sign on as his personal attorney. While Oli had refused, they had remained in contact with Oliver occasionally taking on one-off jobs to review legalese for him. The bonus was his wife had some sort of IT job and some of her skills had rubbed off on Oli. That meant whenever they were in Toronto, they had their own personal IT support. In exchange for a few open bar nights at whatever place Josh was renting. “Thanks, man. I need to let Kenz know what I have planned for her visit, see what she thinks.”
Kris smiled. “She won’t give two shits as long as she’s with you, Josh. You know how much she looks forward to seeing you.”
A half-assed laugh escaped him. “Maybe if she had a mom who cared more about her than the child support checks….” The only damned reason Mel wanted to keep Kenz - the thousands of dollars he paid out a month in child support. Better than a full-time job and with none of the work. What the hell he had ever seen in that greedy woman he would never know….
“Speaking of,” Kris said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. “Court’s agreed to a hearing in your request for sole custody. Bad news is the court date is after you wrap here.”
Josh sighed and had a quick read over the letter from the courts. It was an uphill battle, he already knew that. Judges tended to favour the mother and he worked long, hard, exhausting hours acting. Before Kenz had basically guilted him into signing for this role, he had been ready to give acting up to raise her. But she said she’d never speak to him again if he did that. Manipulative little shit. “She’s gonna hate this,” he groused.
“She’s made it nine years, Josh, she’ll make it another eight months. Kid’s as strong and stubborn as you,” Kris teased, nudging him in the ribs with an elbow.
“Anything we can do to speed this up?”
Kris shook his head. “Unfortunately not, man. I know you’d throw your entire fortune at this if you could, but we’ve gotta play by the rules here.”
“This sucks,” he sighed, dropping the letter on the small table beside the couch. Lolling his head back, he scrubbed a hand across his face and let out a frustrated groan.
“Yeah,” Kris said. “It does. But you got that weekend to look forward to at the end of the month. Kenz is gonna have a blast! Maybe we can get her out here during the summer too - they have that exhibition thing!” Josh was pretty sure his excitability had rubbed off on Kris years ago - the exclamation points were almost audible as Kris spoke.
“Yeah.” The Canadian National Exhibition - a giant-ass carnival thing with animals, rides, and all kinds of neat shit. Rock climbing walls, rodeos, hell, he seemed to recall reading the thing had an ice rink. Or was that a one-off? Either way, Kenz would love it. If he could convince his ex to let her come visit. What a pain in the ass.
A knock at the door interrupted his train of thought.
“Mr. Tanner? They’re ready for you on set again,” a woman’s voice called through the door.
“He’ll be right there,” Kris called back. “Come on, time to go save the planet from an alien invasion.”
Josh laughed a little at that. “You’re not saving shit, you’re watching me do all the hard work.”
“Someone’s got to get your prissy ass those lattes you love so much,” Kris shot back, grinning as he pushed off the couch and walked to the door. “Let’s go, fly boy.”
“You know, technically I’m royalty,” Josh said, following his friend out the door.
“This movie’s going to your head.”
With a smirk and a salute, Josh followed his friend.
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At a break in filming, Josh dropped into his chair and let the hair and makeup crew fix him up. His co-star, Ashley Reed, was relatively new to acting, but the studio had decided to give her a chance in this series. It was hardly the first time they’d taken a relatively unknown actor and shot them up to fame. But Ashley just…he struggled to get through lines with her. Their characters were supposed to become romantically involved and compared to how they got along during the auditions, it was like acting with a sheet of paper as his co-star. At first he had chalked it up to nerves, but now? It was a pattern. The frustration, from both himself and the crew, was palpable. He had tried to be helpful and kind, and every time he did, she mistook it for interest in her.
He let out a frustrated sigh as his makeup was reset for the umpteenth time that day.
After Josh reassured the crew that his irritation was not aimed at them, Kris appeared in his field of vision and he waved him over. His friend was clearly bothered, shuffling and nervously rubbing one of his arms as he slowly approached. “Hey, man!”
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“Hey.”
Josh waved everyone but Kris away, and as soon as they were out of earshot asked, “You okay?”
Kris pushed out a slow breath. “Oli thinks your laptop’s been…compromised or some shit. He says to leave it as is, don’t touch anything, and he’s gonna reach out to the agency, give them the name of someone who can help. Assuming everyone signs off and the contracts can be set quickly, Oli says they can meet us at yours tomorrow.”
That did not sound good. “What the hell does ‘compromised’ mean?” Josh asked, frowning.
Raising an eyebrow, Kris asked, “What part of our friendship makes you think I’d have any idea, dude?”
A sigh escaped him as he rubbed a hand across his chin, the only place free from any makeup. “How?”
The only response he got was that arched eyebrow.
“Fair,” he conceded. “Tomorrow?”
“Oli says they can be at yours by 10am,” Kris said with a nod. “And change your password. Oli’s orders.”
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As the car pulled up past the hospital and turned down the road that led to the Bridle Path, Beck Kendall levelled a look at her brother-in-law. He had referred her to some sort of talent agency and helped her sign a contract and NDA quickly. But somehow in all that he failed to mention whoever this client was they could afford to live in the Bridle Path, the richest neighbourhood in Toronto. If she thought Burlington was expensive, the Bridle Path was utterly unattainable. From what she heard, one of the houses there even had a damn golf course in the backyard. Who the hell needed a golf course in their backyard? Probably some rich studio asshole with more money than sense.
“Oliver,” she muttered, watching the mansions out the window. “Who the hell is this client?”
“You’ll see,” he replied, grinning to himself as he followed the road.
Beck huffed a laugh. “Starting to think I should’ve left the contract at the first rate instead of making it more reasonable,” she said to herself. The first rate in the contract had been…a lot. About five times what she would normally charge. She made Oliver put in a more reasonable, but still high rate before she would sign it. Looking around, she was starting to regret that choice. Whoever this rich asshole was, he could afford the extra. Holy shit.
The car pulled up to a gate and Oliver rolled down his window to request entry. Beyond the gate Beck saw so many trees it was practically a forest, and a weird looking building poking through the green. It was short, flat, and lifeless. Honestly, it resembled a nuclear bunker more than a house or a mansion.
They came to a stop out front of a large door with a golden knocker in the centre and glass panelling all around it. The entrance to the soulless cement bunker. Oliver hopped out of the car and Beck followed him to the door, a little surprised when he just opened it and walked in.
“Shouldn’t you knock?”
Oliver grinned, ushering her inside. “Nah, they’re expecting us.”
Somehow the inside was almost worse than the outside. Despite the excessive plant life, it reminded Beck more of an office building than a place where people lived. At a stretch you could argue it looked like a hotel, but that would be reaching. Everything was white, sharp angles. Silver handrails everywhere. It was too pristine to be lived in. When she glanced up, the various floors all had the same white paint and silver guardrails. It reminded her of photos of open plan office lobbies. Who the hell had designed it? Oliver led her through the building, but she couldn’t stop staring at the ridiculously boring features.
“Is this a house or an office building?” she asked.
“I told you!” a voice shouted in front of her. “I told you, Kris!”
Beck most certainly did not jump. And she definitely did not scream.
When she realised what was happening, she blinked in surprise. Josh Tanner was standing in front of her, smirking. Josh Tanner. The actor. Six foot two, all muscle, dirty blond hair, light scruff on his jaw, a friendly smile, the bluest eyes, and holy shit did he ever fill out those jeans. Yup, he was hotter in person than in the movies. And here she was in grubby jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. She was going to kill Oliver. Shit.
“Sorry,” he said, ducking his head to hide his grin. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
Beck looked down at his outstretched hand and back up to his face, then down to the hand again. Right, he expected her to shake it. “It’s okay,” she said, accepting his hand. “Your house, not mine. Shout all you want. Beck Kendall.”
“I’m -.”
“I do leave the house to see movies sometimes,” she said, smirking back at him. “I know who you are, Mr. Tanner.”
The colour that rushed to his cheeks was the last thing she expected. Did she just make Josh Tanner blush?
“It’s Josh,” he muttered. Maybe the flush to his cheeks was from exercise? “Not Mr. Tanner. So what’s Oli told you?”
“Sweet fuck all,” she muttered, glaring at her brother-in-law. Why in the hell did Josh Tanner of all people need her help? What, he wanted to consult on a new role? Then it hit her that she had said ‘fuck’ in front of a total stranger. An incredibly hot and famous total stranger. “Oh, uh, sorry, I didn’t -.”
“It’s fine,” he said, still smiling. “Heard somewhere that swearing makes people trust you more.”
Oliver laughed. “I think Beck’s said that to me. I can hear it in her voice.”
Now it was her turn to fight the burning in her cheeks. Luckily another man stepped forward and held out a hand. Almost as tall as Josh Tanner, he had red hair and friendly brown eyes. “Kris Jensen. Nice to meet you, Becky.”
Scratch the friendly. She tried to hide her distaste for the name with a firmly pasted on smile, and reached out for his hand. “It’s Beck, not Becky,” she corrected.
“You’re gonna have to work to recover from that, man,” Oliver laughed, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder.
“He can start by not calling me Becky ever again,” she grumbled. Every time someone called her ‘Becky’ it reminded her of her school bullies. Not a pleasant memory. She much preferred Beck. It felt more like her anyway.
“Sorry,” Kris said, grimacing. “I didn’t mean any offence. It’s…not a very usual name.”
“Is ‘Beck’ short for anything?” Josh Tanner asked.
Beck blinked at him, realized she was being shirty, then allowed herself to relax and smile. “Surprisingly, it’s ‘Rebecca’. But don’t call me that either.”
“Deal,” he said. “Laptop’s this way.” He gestured down another lifeless hallway. “Started acting weird on set the other day.”
Trying to focus on Josh Tanner rather than the boring building he was living in, she moved to walk in step with him as he led the way. “Define ‘weird’.”
He sighed, scrubbing a hand across his jaw. “I don’t know. Just…the mouse pointer thing was doing its own thing. It was slow as hell. Email closed itself.”
“Okay, so what were you doing before it started acting weird?”
The boring hallway opened up into what she guessed was a living room. Not that it was obvious - her only clue was the TV. Apart from that it looked like any other room she had seen so far, including the hallways. There was also what appeared to be a dining room table, chairs, and a minifridge. On top of the dining room table sat a closed laptop. Who the hell had designed this monstrosity of a building?
“I was on set, filming,” he said, gesturing to the couch. “It was fine up to that point.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Oliver and Kris sit on the only other couch and turn on the Xbox.
“Any downloads you might’ve done?”
Josh Tanner shook his head. “No, none. I barely use the thing, except to email my daughter.”
“You don’t message her?” Beck asked. From what she remembered hearing, his kid must’ve been around ten. Why the hell would a kid that age be using emails to communicate with her dad? Most adults even preferred messaging, let alone what a kid would prefer. Not to mention she was pretty sure he was younger than her by at least a year or two.
“Long story,” he muttered, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Beck nodded and continued down the list in her head. “What about emails? Anything with links?”
“Nothing.”
Pushing out a breath, she glanced down at the laptop, then back up at him. He looked torn between annoyed and worried. Had it been too personal to ask about his daughter? Had she overstepped? Shit. “Who has access to it? Is it password protected?”
“I’m not an idiot,” he muttered with a wry grin. “It’s password protected. And I suppose anyone on set would technically be able to access it by just going into the trailer.”
Stop insulting him, dumbass! “Sorry, standard questions,” she said, offering him an apologetic smile.
The grin he gave her in return didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It’s okay. Keep going.”
“What’s the password like? How many characters?”
“Oh, it’s Mackenzie-oh-six,” he said, the smile becoming more genuine at the mention of his daughter. “It’s my daughter’s name and birth year.”
Beck felt her eye twitch and took a deep breath to stop herself from saying something stupid about the terrible password. “I….” Nothing helpful was willing to come out of her mouth.
“You’re in trouble, man!” Oliver laughed.
“Shut up, Oliver,” Beck hissed at him. Turning her attention back, she smiled at Josh Tanner and reminded herself that not everyone has had an education in security. “Okay, so…that’s a bad password.” There wasn’t really a way for her to sugar coat that.
“It’s long,” he grumbled. “And it’s got numbers.”
Nodding, she said, “Yeah, in theory it’s not bad - good length, not just letters. But your daughter’s name will be on a list of common words. If someone’s doing a brute force attack or even a guess, it’s not hard to connect the dots.” Pulling her laptop out of her bag, she put it on the table and opened it. “Let’s update your password. I can teach you how to make it good and easy to remember.”
“I just changed it yesterday,” he complained, lolling his head back to look up at the ceiling.
“I’m not even going to ask what it was,” she said, smiling and shaking her head. “Promise this’ll be painless.”
He sighed, then grinned down at her. “Okay, teach me, wise one.”
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Josh tossed his controller down onto the table as Kris’s character hit him with a grenade launcher on the giant flatscreen. The sneaky jackass caught him as he briefly left his cover to retrieve a health pack.
“And then there were two,” Kris muttered, focussing on finding Oli.
“Asshole,” Josh shot back, smiling. It was his own dumbass fault and, if he was being honest with himself, it gave him more time to study the woman sitting at the dining room table working on his laptop.
From what little he had seen of her so far, she was pretty sharp. And, hell, just plain pretty. Cute even. Sparkling green eyes, brown hair pulled into a braid that hung a little below her shoulder, and about a head shorter than him. And not remotely impressed with who he was. That was a first. She was currently hunched over the table, chewing on her lower lip and muttering to herself as she worked away. Yeah, definitely cute.
“Tanner!”
Josh jumped a little and turned to see Oli grinning widely at him. Busted.
“You ready to get your ass kicked again?” Kris asked, a matching grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. “Or do you wanna keep being weird?”
“Just give me the damn controller,” he sighed.