#CassiNova

by Lori G. Matthews

  Alex gave a warm smile. “Well, blue eyes are pretty great too. I hope your boyfriend appreciates them. It was a pleasure meeting you.” She offered a hand.

  Sam took it, feeling the strength in Alex’s grip, the calluses from hard work—and feeling her insides turn to mush.

  Alex walked away but turned back. “I am a fan of your show.”

  Another hot rush of pleasure shot through Sam’s body. “Oh yeah? What did you think of this season?”

  “The ending sucked.”

  “I know,” Sam said. “I wish it would have turned out differently.”

  “So does my sister and her wife. They were depressed.”

  “Not you?”

  Alex winked. “I guess I’m made of stronger stuff.” She turned and continued walking, not looking back, but waving a hand in the air. “Goodbye, Samantha Cassidy.”

  Sam couldn’t wipe the stupid-ass grin off her face as Alex walked down the driveway. Such a tight ass. She could have eaten Alex up with a spoon. When the truck disappeared through the gate, Sam closed the door. A cold shower topped her to-do list.

  * * *

  On the drive home, Alex processed the events of the past hour. The Samantha Cassidy. Wait until Lenna and Sophia heard about this. No wonder she’d looked so familiar. And now Alex had a chance to interact with her every day. She was as gorgeous in person as on TV, if not more so. And she blushed like a champion. A serial blusher. Which was hard to fathom, since the woman lived in the public eye. Boyfriend my ass. Alex could sense sexual interest a mile away, and Samantha Cassidy was interested. She’d felt the spark between them when they touched, like a small jolt of energy. Alex wanted this job. Alex wanted this woman.

  When she walked into the house, she found Sophia in the kitchen wearing an apron. Being an excellent cook, Soph was the self-appointed family chef.

  “Perfect timing, I have the filets in the broiler, and we’ll be ready to eat in a minute.”

  “Smells delicious.”

  Shortly after Alex arrived home, Lenna came into the kitchen and gave Sophia a kiss on the cheek. “How was everyone’s day?”

  “Great!” Alex could barely contain her excitement as she set the table.

  As they sat down to eat, Lenna asked, “So how was your meeting in WeHo?”

  “Interesting to say the least.” Alex reached for the vegetables.

  “Oh yeah, why?”

  “Because of whose house it was.”

  “Whose was it?” Sophia asked.

  “Guess.”

  “Whoopi,” Lenna mumbled with a mouth full of potatoes.

  “No.”

  “Ellen. Ellen has a secret cottage,” Sophia said.

  “No.”

  “The Queen of England,” Lenna said.

  “No,” Alex said evenly, ignoring Lenna’s sarcastic tone.

  “Give us a damn hint.”

  Alex snickered at Lenna’s exasperation. Patience was not her strong suit. “Let’s see. She’s blond.”

  Lenna rolled her eyes. “You’ve narrowed it down to a million women in LA county.”

  “She just got laid a couple of months ago on TV.”

  Both of their mouths dropped open. “No!” they responded in unison.

  “Yes.”

  Lenna jabbed a fork in the air. “That blonde on Real Housewives of LA?”

  “No, you shithead. Callie, your favorite character.”

  “I know, I was kidding. So holy shit, you met Sam Cassidy?”

  “I did.”

  “What was she like?” Sophia asked.

  Alex recalled the rosy, pink cheeks of a blushing Sam. “She ah, she was pretty…pretty beautiful actually.”

  “Listen to you!” Sophie teased. “You sound smitten. Smitten like a kitten.”

  “What else? Was she nice? Was she funny?” Lenna asked.

  “Oh, she was sorta funny, I guess. Oddly shy. Her manager was there—she’s a bit of a wingnut. They were uncomfortable and acting strange. And I know you’re gonna think I’m cocky, but I think they were hitting on me.”

  Lenna’s eyebrows shot up and the fork paused on its way to her mouth. “Both of them?”

  Alex nodded.

  The fork arrived at its destination. Lenna slowly chewed and swallowed. She put the fork down and cleared her throat. “Both of them were hitting on you.”

  Alex sensed Big Sis wasn’t buying it. “Seemed that way.”

  “So, what, pray tell, did you do, Alexa?” Lenna always reverted to Alex’s full name when annoyed.

  She shrugged. “I asked if they were interested in a three-way.”

  Lenna’s expression didn’t change at all. “Let me get this straight,” she paused for effect. “You go over to Samantha Cassidy’s house, famous actress.” She nodded at Sophia, who nodded back. “Emmy-award-winning actress, possible client, dates some actor?” She snapped her fingers at Sophia.

  “Brian Davis.”

  Lenna pointed. “Right, Brian Davis. You go to her house and ask if she’s interested in a three-way?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you a fucking moron?”

  Alex howled with laughter. “You weren’t there! They were acting strange.”

  “What was their reaction?” Sophia asked.

  “Well, Sam said, ‘Oh, my God,’ and Jade, the manager, said, ‘No, no. God no.’”

  “You say it like you just shed light on the whole thing,” Lenna snapped.

  Alex was still rolling. The serious expressions on Lenna and Sophia’s faces were priceless.

  “Wait, no wait. Jade admitted they were acting weird, and it was her fault, that she was, ah, that she found me super-hot, and she was sorry. For acting so weird.”

  Lenna’s eyes dug into Alex. “I can’t wait to hear what else happened.”

  “Well, Jade did ask if I’d ever had a three-way.”

  “Oh no, you didn’t.” Lenna covered her face with a hand. “Ugh.”

  Alex cracked up again. “What? She asked. I wasn’t gonna lie.”

  “And what was Sam’s reaction to your answer?” Sophia asked.

  “She choked on her water.”

  Lenna’s head bowed in resignation. “Needless to say, we won’t be getting that job.”

  Alex wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. “Trust me, I’ll get the job.”

  And the girl.

  Chapter Six

  Two days later, Sam and Jade sat in the office of Zach Barrett, Emma’s older brother. He worked at Creative Management Group and represented both Emma and Sam. Good looks ran in the Barrett family. Zach’s sun-streaked chestnut hair was slicked back from his forehead, and he shared his sister’s warm brown eyes. At thirty-two, he was an up-and-comer, already ensconced in a corner office with a view.

  Zach slid a contract over to Sam. “Sign this. It’s the Lancôme spokesperson contract we’ve been working on. They want you to start shooting these spots next week. And, what else?” He shuffled through some folders on his desk.

  Sam continued checking her phone for emails and texts. A certain brunette had her nervous and jittery. And anxious. And impatient.

  Jade snapped her fingers in front of Sam’s face. “Hey, pay attention.”

  “Sorry, I was checking my email. What did you want me to sign?”

  Jade gave Sam a playful shove. “Oh, just a multimillion-dollar contract, that’s all. Sign it. I need a new car.”

  “Oh great.” Sam absently signed the paperwork.

  Zach cleared his throat to bring Sam’s focus back. “I have this script for you too. Someone backed out last minute. Now, it’s not a big part, but the headliners are big. Read it ASAP because they want an answer by the end of the weekend. The director would love to have you. And it’ll only be a couple months in Vancouver, so it should wrap up before the series begins shooting again.”

  “Great, thanks.” Sam considered herself lucky to have Zach, especially right now since the only thing on her mind were green eyes and a hot body.
She had no clue what she was signing, but he was trustworthy.

  They had attended high school together. Zach was a senior when Sam was a freshman, and they were paired in the Big Senior/Little Freshman mentoring program. The two had bonded and kept in touch, so it was only natural she would hire her pseudo big brother to look after her career.

  “Have you heard from her?” Jade asked.

  Sam frowned. “No.”

  “Damn, I hope we didn’t scare her off. And when I say we, I mean you.”

  Sam’s mouth dropped. “Me? You asked her about three-ways for God’s sake.”

  “Well, I wasn’t the one who kept shouting, ‘I have a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend!’ You might as well have yelled, ‘Move along, nothing to see here!’”

  Sam had no retort. She had said that. Multiple times. Was it a turnoff for Alex? Maybe. But there had been that tiny jolt of electricity when their fingers touched while saying goodbye. She hoped Alex had felt it too and wasn’t put off by their shenanigans.

  “Well, it’s only been two days.”

  Zach’s brows crinkled in confusion. “What are we talking about?”

  “Sam’s potential fuck buddy. She needs to get laid. By a chick.”

  Zach groaned. “Okay, I don’t need to hear this. I’ll be right back. I want to make copies of these.” He stood and left.

  “Don’t you got a secretary to do that shit?” Jade called after him.

  “I think you made him uncomfortable.”

  “Why don’t you text her?” Jade asked.

  “No.”

  “Why not? Alex said you could.”

  “I feel stupid. I’m still embarrassed over the whole scene the other day. She probably thinks I’m a nutcase.”

  Jade snatched Sam’s phone.

  Sam’s heart jumped into her throat. “Hey, what are you doing? Give it back!” She tried to grab her bestie but whiffed.

  Jade scooted around the chairs and locked herself in Zach’s bathroom.

  Sam ran over to the door and pressed her forehead against it. “Please don’t do what I think you’re doing. Please, I’m begging. I’m sure she thinks very little of me already. Please don’t humiliate me.” It was too late. The telltale swoosh of a text being sent echoed through the door. “Ugh. I hate you.” Dejected, she slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

  Jade opened the door and tossed the phone into her lap.

  Sam peeked at the phone screen, half afraid to read the message.

  Hey Alex, if it’s not too much trouble please include a spa in your quote. Thanks, Sam.

  Heaving a huge sigh of relief, Sam leaned her head back against the wall. “Thank God. You scared the shit out of me.”

  “Hey, I’m not gonna make you look like a douche, okay? C’mon, I’m hungry. Let’s go find some place to eat.”

  They left Zach’s office, picked up Sam’s copies of the contracts, and said a quick goodbye before heading to the elevators.

  They both twitched when Sam’s phone vibrated and then read the text at the same time.

  Hey blue eyes, I was just thinking about you.

  The elevator doors opened, and Jade pushed Sam in. “Ha! I knew it. Success. Do you need me to answer?” Jade reached for the phone.

  “No.” Sam slapped her hand away. “In fact, I need some privacy.” She shot back out of the elevator. “I’ll call you later. I promise.” The elevator doors closed on a disappointed Jade.

  Sam snuck into an empty office, shut the door, and sank to the floor. With trembling fingers, she typed, You were?

  Absolutely. Been thinking about you for weeks.

  Sam stared at the phone for a second. You only met me two days ago.

  Wait, who’s this?

  Sam did a double take. Was Alex teasing? She had to be, right? Sam’s name was in Alex’s contacts. It’s Sam.

  Oh, Sam. I thought you were another Sam.

  Sam smiled. There’s only one Sam.

  Trudat.

  Sam giggled. Before she could reply, her phone dinged again.

  Almost have your pricing done. But now you’ve added to my workload, which means I have to stay up late.

  Sam mulled over a response. Guess you’ll have to pull an all-nighter.

  It’s gonna be hard to stay awake. Why don’t you come over and keep me up?

  Sam almost dropped the phone. She took a deep, calming breath. Be cool, Sam. Be cool. She had a brief image of Alex’s fingers flying over her phone as she texted, and from there, Sam pictured those fingers doing something else. She needed to get her thoughts out of the gutter immediately.

  Drink coffee, she typed.

  The reply was instant. But coffee ain’t beautiful.

  Sam blushed. You obviously don’t have the right coffee.

  Maybe you should bring me some beautiful coffee.

  Sam told herself to keep playing it cool. She typed, Maybe you should take a cold shower and call me in the morning. She was feeling it now. Why, she was almost cocky.

  Alex’s reply was quick. I like a woman who plays hard to get.

  Then you’re gonna love me. Mic drop. Sam put a fist in the air.

  LOL. Later, Sam.

  “I got an LOL,” Sam said out loud. One step closer to not being a complete dork around this woman.

  * * *

  On Sunday, Sam met Jade and Emma for brunch. They’d chosen a chic deli off Sunset Boulevard and were cozied up in a corner booth, sipping mimosas while waiting for their orders.

  “Zach said he gave you that script. You’re taking it I hope?” Emma asked Sam.

  “Yeah, it’s good. I told him this morning I would do it.”

  “When do you start filming?”

  “Not for a month.”

  Emma took a selfie with her mimosa.

  “What are you doing?” Jade asked.

  “Sending a text to Logan.”

  Logan and Emma had met on the set of Gemini three years ago, but his character was killed off at the end of season one. After he’d left the show, their romance had blossomed and grown, and they were now one of Hollywood’s hottest couples.

  Sam fiddled with her phone.

  “No emails?” Jade asked.

  Her face drooped with disappointment. “No.”

  When Emma was finished texting, she put her phone down. “Who’s gonna email you?”

  “Sam’s potential fuck buddy.”

  Emma straightened in her chair. “Fuck buddy? Spill it.”

  “Sam’s gonna get it on with her landscaper, who’s a perfect sexy ten.”

  “Landscaper? When did this happen?”

  Jade took a quick glance around and lowered her voice. “We’ve been reading this fanfic, by Hearteyes, Sam’s future wife. So last week we did a little detective work—” Jade started.

  “We stalked her—” Sam corrected.

  “We kinda sat in her parking lot for a few minutes—”

  “It was hours. There was a cooler—”

  “And I went into her office to talk landscaping—” Jade continued, ignoring Sam’s commentary.

  “Where she drooled over her—”

  “And then she came to the house—” Jade continued.

  “Where we both drooled over her—”

  “So, we were sitting at the dining room table—”

  “And she asked if we wanted a three-way—” Sam cut in.

  “To which we replied no—”

  “Then Jade asked if she’d ever had a three-way—”

  “To which she replied yes—” Jade said.

  Emma was by this point completely agape with incredulity. “She had a three-way? Holy cow. With two other women?”

  Sam nodded.

  Emma sipped her drink. “Wow. Are you gonna have sex with her?”

  Jade huffed. “Well, if she doesn’t, I will.”

  “I’m sure Calynn would love that,” Emma said.

  “We have an open relationship.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “
Actually, I’ve been thinking,” Sam said. “I can do this. I think I can do this.”

  “Really?” her besties asked at the same time.

  “Yeah, I’m ready for some fun, some casual sex. No strings attached.”

  “That’s my girl,” Jade said.

  “I am so ready, baby. Cheers!” They all clicked glasses just as Sam’s phone rang. She glanced down and panicked. “Oh, shit, oh shit, it’s Alex!”

  “Answer!” Jade demanded.

  “I can’t. Oh shit, oh shit.” In a panic, Sam tossed the phone over her shoulder, and it bounced off the wall and hit her in the back of the head. “Ouch.”

  Jade retrieved it. “Oh, for the love of God.” She swiped and held the phone to Sam’s ear, forcing her to take the call.

  “Hello?” Sam timidly took the phone and held it like a live grenade.

  Emma and Jade gave encouraging signals while leaning in to listen.

  “Sam, it’s Alex.”

  She once again channeled her inner Callie. She could do this. “Hey girl, long time no talk. How are you?”

  Emma winked and gave a thumbs-up, but Sam could tell Jade was waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop, because she started giving the relax sign, motioning for Sam to take deep breaths.

  “I’m good, how are you?”

  “Oh, you know, living the dream,” Sam said nonchalantly, hoping for approval from her besties. Emma looked happy. Jade looked constipated.

  “Yeah, I guess you are. Hey, I have prices for you. Thought maybe I’d stop by and go over everything.”

  “That sounds great. When can you make out with me…it…uh… When can you make it out, this way? To me…with prices?” The proverbial shoe dropped on her head. A size sixteen, to be exact. Sam’s confidence was fading fast. She looked to Jade for some much-needed support, but all she got was Jade’s horrified face and a swirling finger in the air as she mouthed, “Wrap it up, wrap it up!”

  “How’s tomorrow night?” Alex asked.

  “Perfect. I’ll be home after five. Whenever you’re free, stop by.”

  “All right, cool. I’ll see you then.”

  Sam ended the call and put the phone down. “I am so not ready. I am so not ready.”

  “You’re fine,” Jade said.

  Sam covered her face with both hands. “Why am I acting this way?” She felt like a virgin. And just like that, Madonna was singing in her head.