Lissa jolted, every instinct screaming at her to tell this prick to go to hell, talking about her like she wasn’t in the room. He was either a misogynist, a dick, or a racist at the sight of her black skin. Why hadn’t Chad warned her?
Grant held up a hand. “Now, Ethan. This is good publicity for us. They want to take our picture for—”
“No picture,” Ethan growled. There was really no other way to describe it. He growled.
Lissa was no stranger to people who were opposed to having their picture taken. It happened a lot when she took photos for the newspaper, but she hadn’t expected this here. At all. Grant had reached out to the newspaper for an article, so she’d assumed everyone would be okay with her presence.
Not so much.
She needed to take control of the situation, so she stepped forward with her hand out. “Hi, I’m Lissa Kingsman.”
He stared at her hand like it would poison him. Finally he reached out and clasped it, shaking it firmly, never taking his eyes off her camera, as if at any minute, it would begin to snap away. He said with hesitation, “Ethan Talley.”
There was something familiar about his voice, and Lissa wracked her brain trying to place it.
He dropped her hand and moved to sit down beside Grant. “I’m not comfortable with this.”
“Ethan,” Grant said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Let’s just talk to the reporter first and then we’ll deal with the picture thing, okay?”
Ethan nodded with a jerk of his chin.
Lissa stepped back, wishing she could blend into the walls behind her, because Ethan was still watching her, like she was going to steal something from him. Like his picture.
O-kay. Forget considering him for her project—this was like dealing with a startled deer. She shoved her hands into her pockets so they weren’t anywhere near the shutter button. He relaxed a fraction but still kept her in his line of sight.
Apparently, Steven had done some of the interview over the phone and was now asking some follow-up questions.
Lissa concentrated on Ethan’s deep voice, which lost some tension as he talked about Gamers and something about finding a personality to be the face of the company on social media sites like YouTube.
Wait a second…
Just like that, Ethan’s identity hit her like a brick to the chest. He was E-Rad, the video game commentator her younger brother had listened to non-stop as a teenager. E-Rad had made millions recording himself playing video games and putting the videos up on YouTube. His good looks and charming personality won him a huge following—both male and female—and even Lissa had a crush on him all those years ago. She hadn’t recognized him when he’d walked in, maybe because of his scars or because he was a decade older than he’d been when he stopped making videos and disappeared from the gaming community.
It took all her strength and willpower not to point at him and yell, “Oh my God, you’re E-Rad!” The guy hated her already because of the camera she wore around her neck.
And what if she was wrong?
But the more he talked, the more sure she was that he was E-Rad. If he would only let her take his picture… He probably had an amazing story to tell. Did those scars have anything to do with his vanishing act all those years ago?
Determination fired on all cylinders in her gut, and she swallowed. She would find a way to get this guy to agree. A high-profile person like him would garner attention for her project. And the more attention she got, the more money she would raise for the scholarship in honor of her sister.
So she straightened away from the wall and smiled her most charming Lissa Kingsman smile. Ethan’s eyes narrowed on her, and she geared up for battle.
…
She was like Aphrodite with a hissing cobra wrapped around her neck.
Ethan wasn’t sure what he wanted to do more—kiss her or throw her camera through a window.
His glare, his do-not-touch posture, had been honed for over a decade. It was incredibly effective to everyone but the gorgeous woman who stood in the room with her smooth dark skin, crimson lips, and short curly hair that framed a beautiful face.
It had been…too long to even mention since a woman had stirred his libido like this, and of course she had to want something from him. Something he hadn’t been willing to give for a very long time.
Ethan shifted in his seat and scowled. It was bad enough he had to see his scars in the mirror every day. The last thing he wanted was photographic evidence of them, a tangible portrait of what he looked like to everyone else. Hell no. He also worried someone would recognize him from the days he made his fortune in front of a video camera. No one but his close friends and business partners knew about his past, and he preferred to keep it that way.