Love in the Limelight (Astrid and Elio)

"What the heck?" Hank was baffled. "Change our name? Wasn't our old name pretty darn cool?"

Astrid rolled her eyes in disgust. "Are you for real? Your sense of style is as bad as Healey's. All the other secret organizations have these grand, prestigious names. What did Healey come up with? Tiger's Den!"

"It's not that bad... just lacks a bit of pizzazz without the actual tigers."

"So, what do you plan to change it to?"

With a slight arch of her brow, Astrid replied, "The Serpent Wranglers."

Hank was speechless. Seems like that's not much of an improvement.

After a second of stunned silence, Hank realized something. "Boss, are you planning to go head-to-head with them? If Jay's going after them, it's to take down Roman or Elio, right? So why wait for them to come knocking? We should take them out first."

"Exactly," Astrid affirmed. "You're on board then? But I'm telling you, the second hall might not agree, and we'll be in for a bloody battle." Hank heaved a sigh. "Boss, you shouldn't have agreed to take over for Healey. He's off enjoying the high life, and here you are, burdened with responsibilities you're too young for."

"Don't worry, Hank. If those second hall folks cause trouble, I'll just have to clean house. I may have never been back to headquarters, but Healey left me in charge. As the Boss, my word is law." Hank nodded silently, accepting Astrid's resolve. Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Rain started to drizzle outside as Astrid made her way home, taking ages to scrub off her makeup. Dale had helped her schedule a TV appearance, and in three months, she was slated to be on a parent-child show with Roman.

She was on the verge of recommencing her filming schedule - demanding, but rewarding. After a restless night on set, Astrid slept like a log.

The next morning, she was jolted awake by noise in the house. Her first thought was a burglar, but sitting up, she saw Gracie tugging at her blanket.

Gracie, exasperated at Astrid's

confused face, exclaimed, "My dear Astrid, do you even know what time it is? told you last night we have a shoot today, and you're still asleep! There's barely time to get ready!"

"You even put your phone on silent. Are you trying to miss it on purpose?"

Astrid offered a sheepish grin, scratching her head. "My bad, my bad. I'll get ready now. Chill, Gracie!"

Just hearing her lazy tone took the edge off her anger. "Hurry up, we can't be late."

"Got it," Astrid said, darting into the bathroom.

Leaning against the doorframe, Gracie teased, "Seems like that TV show's bringing you and Roman closer, huh?"

Astrid stayed silent.

"You know what I think? He's not that bad, Gracie stretched lazily. By the way, what's your take on that parent-child show? Do you even know who else is on it? It's like a

battle of the gods!"

"The moment the show was announced, the critics couldn't sit still. Saying you're piggybacking on Roman's fame, that you're so desperate you're using your newly acknowledged son to make a buck."

Astrid, who was brushing her teeth, couldn't help but roll her eyes. After rinsing her mouth, she stood up and said, "It wasn't my idea to do the parent-child show. I got played by Roman, I'm the victim here.

Gracie scoffed, "Roman's only four, and he played you? Saying that, Astrid, don't you feel a twinge of guilt for smearing the kid?"

Astrid was even more speechless.