He hated seeing her like this. Why couldn’t she just move past it and take a chance?
But he’d tried pushing her before, and it hadn’t worked. This time, he tried a different tactic and gentled his tone. “What about that piece you were playing the morning Daria came to look at the apartment? That was amazing. That’s what I’ve been waiting for. What I need.” There. He said it. He was trying to give her another chance to rise to the occasion.
She sighed heavily, and his heart dropped. He could already tell what was coming. “God, Chris. I can’t. I know you want that, but that wasn’t… I don’t write pieces like that anymore.” Her look was defiant, as though she were daring him to challenge her.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a slow breath. He hadn’t wanted to say it, but she deserved his honesty.
“I’m worried that this score isn’t going to be permanent.”
She sat up in the chair, eyes wide, and swung her head to look at him. “What? What do you mean?”
Fuck. He hated having to say this. He didn’t want to hurt her. But so far, nothing had worked. Maybe telling her this hard truth would light the fire that he knew was in her. “What I mean is, if all we get on these last two songs are the same old, same old…” He paused, watching her face. At least she was engaged now. Not slumped in her chair and looking resigned. “I’m going to have to find someone else to finish it up,” he finished.
But instead of the fire he’d hoped for, her voice got small and quiet, and she seemed to shrink into herself. “Are you—are you serious?”
He tightened his lips and nodded.
“Oh. I see.”
Damn it. Damn damn damn damn damn. Why couldn’t he seem to reach her? How could this woman get to him, reach him so deeply, while he never seemed to manage to say the right thing to get her to reach herself?
He sighed. “Look. This is the most important scene of the whole movie. Why don’t we talk about what you thought of the scene before you try something else? Make sure we’re on the same page.”
He expected her to argue or pout, given the news he’d just delivered, but instead she gave him a wide smile, and for a second he could only stare, transfixed, at the way she lit up the room.
“It was beautiful. I loved the way everything seemed to move and shimmer. There was so much excitement in those few minutes, lots of change and movement. I think a piece with mostly orchestral string instruments would—”
Wait a second. What? He held up a hand and looked at her curiously. “Did we just watch the same scene? Where the prince disguises himself to escape from his own castle? That’s not mostly orchestral strings! That’s maybe a viola. Or a bass. It’s intense and dark. Scary, not exciting. That’s an electric guitar, right there. Metal.”
At the start of the film, the prince’s father was shown on his deathbed, which was when the prince decided he doesn’t want to become king without having experienced a little more of the world. He wanted to live an ordinary life for a while, and snuck out of the castle. When he found the poor boy who looks almost like his twin, the prince paid the poor boy to take his place for a few weeks.
That all happened in the first ten minutes of the movie. It had to hook the audience, not put them to sleep.
“No, it’s a transformation. Hence the big music. It’s positive and exciting and—”
“I cannot believe we’re back on this! Is that the only world you know?” He ignored her hurt look. This was his company’s future they were talking about. “It’s edgy and daring. It’s—”
“It’s both.” Shen’s voice interrupted them from the doorway of the booth. Chris was surprised to find that he’d leaned so close to Minh, and she to him, that their foreheads were almost touching. They both jumped back in surprise.
Chris scowled at Shen. “Is not.”
Fuck, he sounded like a petulant child.
Shen snorted. “Yeah. It is. It’s both.”
“What do you mean?” Minh asked.
Shen grinned, and Minh smiled back at him.
Why was she smiling at Shen? Had he been right, that she preferred guys like Shen? Chris felt his chest tighten and his pulse race faster. Fuck. He was jealous. Over a woman who wouldn’t know different if it bit her on the ass.
“Chris is right. The scene is dark and intense, and edgy. The prince is taking a chance, and he’s doing it secretly. The music should reflect that.”
Minh flicked a glance over at Chris, but he was having to focus so much energy on tamping down his arousal that he couldn’t even gloat. He was upset today. Stressed. He knew he wasn’t being fair and yet, despite all of that, she was turning her on. What was it about her that he couldn’t seem to get enough of?