Chapter 17

Miles' POV

After her transfixing metamorphosis into that avant-garde psychodrama, I settled back and regarded Hailey with newfound calculation.

The girl's unruly tresses hung disheveled around her brow, dampened curls of chestnut clinging to the sheen of perspiration.

Her chest still heaved slightly from exerting the full, unrestrained force of her talents into that disquieting exploration of the id.

For all appearances, she seemed nearly as spent and disoriented as I felt from the experience of witnessing it.

The perfect opportunity to yank the figurative stage floor out from under this ingenue.

"Not bad, girl. Not... bad at all," I drawled, trying to bleed my tone of any inflection whatsoever. "You managed to summon the most miniscule flickers of conviction; I'll grant that much."

Rising to my feet, I favored her with a contemptuous lip-curl as I tossed the next script into her lap. "But let's see how you fare with somethi