How dare he.

“Unfortunately, I got tied up at the last minute,” Jason continued, with no attempt to conceal his air of condescension. “Surely you understand . . . I’m a very a busy man, Ms. Donovan .” He emphasized the last two words, letting her know that two could play the last-name game.

Then he brushed their differences aside with a wave. “But I’m here now, so let’s get down to business.” He clapped his hands together as if this settled the matter.

“But see, now I’m busy, Mr. Andrews.”

Jason smiled patiently at her reply, like a teacher to a wayward child. He took a step closer, and Taylor noticed that he towered over her. She thought all actors were supposed to be short in person. Of course, he would have to be the exception.

Because Taylor refused to budge an inch, they now stood quite close. Jason peered down at her, his eyes boring straight into hers.

“Ms. Donovan,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “No one is too busy for me.”

He paused to let his words sink in. Taylor’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. Jason apparently took this as a sign of acknowledgment.

“Good, now that that’s settled . . .” He stepped away and gestured grandly to the courtroom as if issuing a command. “Why don’t you show me something . . . lawyerly?”

He looked around as if trying to get familiar with the environment. “The script has several scenes where I have to cross-examine witnesses. Start by showing me an example of that. But not the crap you see on TV—I want to look real.”

Taylor bit her lip and peered down at the floor to keep from laughing out loud. He was so ridiculously arrogant, it was almost amusing. Unable to conceal her smirk, she looked back up at him and folded her arms across her chest. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Jason turned around. “Why not?”

“For starters, I don’t have a witness.”

He pointed to himself. “What about me?”

And in that moment, Taylor was struck with sudden devious inspiration. She cocked her head in contemplation, then nodded agreeably for the first time since Jason had shown up.

“Okay, sure.” she gestured across the courtroom. “Why don’t you take a seat in the witness stand?”

Jason threw her an approving look—apparently glad to see she was back with the program—and did as she asked. She waited for him to get comfortable, then positioned herself directly in front of the witness stand.

Taylor launched into the first question of her “mock” cross-examination.

“Mr. Andrews—you are aware, are you not, that your assistant made arrangements for you to be at my office last Thursday?”

Jason smiled as if he found her challenge to be amusing. He eased back in the witness stand, getting comfortable. “Yes, I am aware of that, Ms. Donovan.”

“You did not show up for that appointment, did you?”

“That is correct.”

“And you are aware that after failing to show up for that first appointment, your assistant made subsequent arrangements for you to be at my office on Friday morning; is that correct?”

Jason stretched out and crossed one leg over the other, seemingly unconcerned with such a trifling line of questioning.

“That is also correct. As I indicated earlier, I got tied up unexpectedly with other matters. A film emergency.” As he said this, he casually turned his watch around his wrist.

Taylor raised an eyebrow incredulously. “A film emergency?”

“That’s right.”

She let this sit for a moment, and then walked over to the lawyer’s table and pulled her cell phone out of her briefcase.

“Let me show you what has been marked as Exhibit A.” She crossed back to Jason and held up the cell phone.

“Do you recognize Exhibit A, Mr. Andrews?”

Jason leaned forward and peered at the phone with mock uncertainty. “Well, now, I can’t be sure . . . but it appears to be a cell phone.”

“Do you own a cell phone, Mr. Andrews?”

“Three of them, actually.”

“And do you know how to operate your three cell phones?”

Jason humored her with a smile. “Of course.”

At this, Taylor eased back, sitting on the edge of the lawyer’s table.

It was time, she decided, to kick things up a notch.

JASON WATCHED AS Taylor casually crossed one high-heeled leg over the other. Unable to resist, his eyes flickered down to her legs for just the briefest second. Then he quickly glanced back up.

When his gaze met Taylor’s, he detected the faintest trace of a smug smile in her eyes. It was then he realized something.

She was toying with him.

She was toying with him.

Taylor paused until she appeared satisfied that Jason’s eyes were focused back on hers, then continued with her questions.

“By any chance, did you have any of your three cell phones with you last week in Las Vegas, Mr. Andrews?”

“Of course.”

“So you could’ve called my office to say you couldn’t make our meetings?”

Jason laughed as if this was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. “Like I make any of those calls myself.”

Taylor eased off the table and strolled casually toward the witness stand.

“Well then, couldn’t you have asked one of your numerous assistants to call me? Or were things at the Bellagio hotel—oh, sorry—your ‘film emergency’ ”—she made mocking finger quotes—“so crazy that you couldn’t get around to it?”