He blew out a rough breath and ran a hand through his hair. He hated seeing his little sister suffer. “Look. How about this? I’ll ask her to come in and see if she’s willing to create something as an audition piece. It’s better than just a sample tape of her work, and I’ll give her top priority in my schedule, okay? And if the team goes for it, I’ll hire her. It’s the best I can do.”
Daria jumped up and down, squealing. “Oh, Chris, that’s awesome! Thank you thank you. You’re the best brother ever!”
Gali stepped in to the kitchen just then, followed closely by Minh, and for a second he could have sworn that Minh was looking at him like he was some kind of monster, but then the hot, intense weight of her gaze was gone, replaced by a bland, disinterested expression.
Damn, she made him crazy.
“How’s it going?” Gali asked.
Chris made the mistake of glancing at Daria.
“Perfect. It’s the perfect apartment for me,” she replied, but her eyes were practically drilling a hole in Chris’s face as she spoke.
Fuck. He was going to have to say something soon or she’d probably melt into tears in front of everyone.
He looked back at Minh and gave her a small nod. “Actually, uh, this is a little off topic, but Daria and I were talking about how I’m looking for a composer to put together a film score, and I thought you might want to audition.”
She was trying not to be interested, he could tell. Her body went tense, but she visibly held herself in check, craning her neck toward him just a fraction of an inch. But it was enough to make him wonder what it would feel like to stroke his fingers over that warm, delicate skin. She was so snobbish and…prim, almost. Would she unravel under his touch? Or recoil in disgust?
He hated that he couldn’t control these thoughts about her. It made him feel like a sheep being led to slaughter, not someone with his own mind, who blazed his own trail. This exposed feeling she stirred in him wasn’t something he’d experienced since he’d fallen for Kendra…who had dumped him for the guy she’d been cheating on him with.
Kendra had been an aspiring actress who spent her free time chatting up his contacts in the film industry. He’d thought she really loved him. But when she’d landed an opportunity—a bigshot studio exec who offered her a movie role—she’d proven just how good an actress she’d been all along, dumping Chris without a second glance. And she’d taken a few of his ideas for better animation software along with her, just for good measure.
Since then, he refused to be caught in that trap again. He went for laid back girls who knew how to have a good time, who didn’t have any expectations about…well, anything. He didn’t change—didn’t conform—for anyone. But most importantly, he didn’t open himself up to that kind of hurt anymore, personally or professionally.
So why the fuck had he asked Minh to audition for the composer job?
Because you love your sister.
Right.
Except he should have known Minh wouldn’t bite so easily. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Why do you want a film score? And why would you ask me when you obviously already know so much about composing?”
Fine. Maybe he deserved that. He wanted to taunt her back, but he could see Daria’s face out of the corner of his eye, reminding him to behave. He took a deep breath. “I started a small animation studio last year. We’re finishing up our first feature-length work and need a score for it.”
She eyed him warily. “Are you being serious?”
“Yeah.”
Her eyes took on a bright gleam that he identified immediately. Excitement. Even though she didn’t move a muscle, those eyes said everything.
No doubt she saw this as an opportunity to get some work under her belt and then move on. Fine. Fair enough. But the way Kendra had done it had left him raw and wary. He still couldn’t believe she’d fooled him for two years. He’d thought she loved their nights in front of the TV with beer and a pizza. He’d thought she loved his unconventional appearance. He’d thought she loved him.
At least he knew where Minh stood when it came to things that were different. She seemed like she had a ready-made mold for everything—probably even for a perfect dude who was nothing like him. How could a girl like that make him feel like she could see into his soul?
There goes that crazy thought again. Maybe you need to take a rest. Cut back on your work hours.
Except then who would pick up the slack? They were already running as lean as they could. His lip curled up. “We can’t pay a lot. We’re on a tight budget, so—”
“It can’t be that different from what I’m earning at my part-time job.”
Damn. He tried another tactic. “It’s an animated action adventure film. Probably not your thing.”
This time, he was trying to annoy her on purpose.
Her nostrils flared and her lips tightened, but before she could say anything, Daria grabbed his arm, fingers digging into the muscle, to silence him. “Listen, Minh, what Chris didn’t say is that because this is their first film, there’s a lot of artistic freedom there. They don’t want it to sound like every other thing. Right?”