Beautiful Trouble (Dirty Hollywood Book 2)

by Claire Raye

  “I just…” I start to say and then I’m hit with Sadie’s words, don’t go away. I picture the reporter from the Guardian and all his efforts, I think about all the women Noel has worked with that have been silenced by his money and I remember what it was like to be on that movie set. It was only for a short time, but in that short time it was terrifying. I can’t even imagine what it would’ve been like to have the shot the entire movie: walking on eggshells, wondering when his next explosive rant would begin.

  “Do it,” I announce, my words as firm as Lewis’. “You’re right. He can’t keep doing this, but he does because no one stands up to him. Even if we have nothing, even if the lawyers can’t do anything, we can at least be a thorn in his side.”

  “That’s my girl,” Lewis says, pulling me in for a kiss.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Lewis

  “We can certainly release a statement and file paperwork for the libel suit,” Jason says, as he looks up.

  I glance at Ava, who sits beside me on the other side of Jason’s desk, which dominates the huge office whose glass windows frame an impressive view of London Bridge.

  Ava nods at me and I turn back. “Yep, okay, let’s do both,” I tell him. “And what about Noel Robinson?” I ask. “Can we do something about him?”

  Jason taps his pen against the desk blotter before sitting back in his chair, his eyes moving between Ava and me. He’s been my family’s lawyer for nearly fifteen years, handling everything that’s ever needed handling with the family business. I’m not sure he’s ever been faced with something like this though.

  “The problem is,” he says, choosing his words wisely as he lays the pen down. “We can’t actually tie any of this to him specifically.”

  “He accosted Ava,” I quickly say, reminding him of what happened when she went back to the set last week. “Threatened her via text and to her face. Threw a fucking book at her.”

  Jason holds up a hand. “I understand what you’re saying, Lewis,” he says, a sympathetic smile on his face. “These are serious issues and not something we are dismissing, but we also need to be careful. We need to make sure that if we’re going to take on someone of this caliber, that we have everything in place, all our ducks in a row, so to speak.”

  I look at Ava who gives me the same sympathetic smile that Jason just gave us. “It’s okay, baby,” she whispers, her hand squeezing mine.

  “I’m not saying we’re ignoring it,” Jason repeats, as though sensing my frustration. “And the more we have on him, the easier this will be.”

  “So we need more dirt?” I ask.

  Jason nods. “Yes,” he replies, cautiously. “But it needs to be directly linked to Noel too,” he adds. “And not in any way that can be tied back to either of you.”

  “Huh?” I ask, confused.

  “Don’t go baiting him, Lewis,” Jason says, his words firm as his gaze locks with mine. “Don’t taunt him or push this trying to look for something that will only hurt your case.”

  I nod, even though going after that prick is exactly what I want to do. But I also know Jason’s right, that if I go after him, it will only inflame the situation and put all of this at risk.

  “And Joanna?” I ask.

  Jason tilts his head, glancing quickly at Ava before turning back to me. “Same situation,” he adds, giving me a rueful smile. “No more speaking to her either,” he adds, his tone almost fatherly, as though he’s telling me off.

  A small smile tugs at my mouth. “Sure,” I concede. “But you’ll get her to stop talking too?”

  “I’ll do my best,” he says, nodding. “Leave it with me, okay,” he adds, standing now. “I promise I’ll keep you both informed.”

  Ava and I stand and I reach across the desk and shake Jason’s hand. “Thank you,” I tell him. “I know this isn’t the type of thing I normally ask you to look after, but I really appreciate your help.”

  Jason smiles and it’s warm and genuine. “It’s no problem, Lewis,” he says.

  When we walk out of Jason’s offices, there’s a small group of paparazzi waiting for us. I feel Ava squeeze my hand as I slip on my sunglasses and try my best to ignore them.

  “Ava, Lewis!” they call, the click of cameras sounding even against the late afternoon traffic.

  “Any comment on the latest story?” someone else calls.

  “Lewis, why were you at Joanna Walter’s house?”

  “Are you two getting a divorce?”

  I force myself to stay calm, to not react as they shout their insane questions at us. “You think they’re following us?” I ask quietly as I glance down at Ava.

  She looks up at me, her eyes sad. “Yes,” she says with a nod.

  I exhale a long breath, knowing that it’s probably due to Noel too, not that we can tie it to that fucker of course. “Okay,” I say, lifting her hand to my mouth and kissing the back of it. “So let’s not give them a story to write about.”

  Ava smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “They’ll get bored of us soon enough,” she says, as we both turn and start to walk toward the tube station. “I promise.”

  I glance down at her, see her face filled with a mix of sadness and regret. I know she feels like all of this is her fault, that I’d never have had to put up with this if she wasn’t a part of my life.

  “Ava,” I say, as I let go of her hand, slip my arm around her shoulder and pull her close. “It’s okay,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “We’ll get through this.”

  She nods but says nothing and I can only hope she believes me.

  “You ready to go?” I ask, as I walk upstairs with two bottles of wine.

  Ava nods, her eyes flicking to the bottles before she looks up at me. I put them on the table and reach for her, pulling her into my arms. She slips hers around my waist as she rests her cheek against my chest.

  “Are they still down there?” she asks.

  “Yep,” I say, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “We’ll get a taxi over, okay?” I suggest, gently easing her back.

  She looks up at me, that same sad look on her face that’s been there ever since we walked out of my lawyer’s office. “I’m sorry, Lewis,” she says, placing a hand on my chest. “I know this isn’t what you signed up for and it’s…”

  “Ava,” I say, silencing her with a quick kiss. “I signed up for you,” I add, smiling. “All of you.”

  Her hand slides up my chest, fingers curling around my neck. “Yeah, but you did so before you knew about all of this,” she says. “This isn’t good for you or your family or your business. You don’t need this level of crazy in your life.”

  I chuckle. “Trust me, I’ve dealt with crazy,” I tell her, thumb brushing against her cheek. “And none of this scares me, Ava,” I tell her. “None of this makes me regret anything, baby. Not you, not us, nothing.”

  She smiles up at me and I want so desperately to convince her to believe me. To tell her that some arsehole big shot movie director or a couple of paparazzi don’t scare me. That no matter what, none of it makes me wish she wasn’t part of my life.

  “Come on,” I say, smiling. “Let’s go have dinner with your girlfriend,” I tease. “I know you’ve missed her.”

  Ava swats at my chest but finally laughs.

  Outside the pub, a group of press are staked out on the footpath. There must be half a dozen of them and their cameras start flashing as soon as we walk out onto the street. Questions are shouted at both of us, but we ignore them, Ava holding my hand in a vice like grip as I open the taxi door for her.

  Inside, the driver shoots us a curious glance in the rearview mirror as though trying to work out if we’re famous or someone he should know. Ignoring him, I reel off the address of where we’re going.

  It takes forty minutes to reach Chelsea, but when the taxi finally pulls up to a gated property, set far back from the road, the streets are quiet. After handing him some cash, I open the door and slip out, holding a han
d out for Ava as she follows me.

  At the gate, I watch as Ava punches in a code, the sound of a low buzzing, followed by a click, signaling that it’s unlocked. She glances up at me, a half smile on her face when she sees the questioning look on mine.

  “Old habits,” she says, shrugging.

  We walk up the tree lined path that blocks the front door, creating a sense of peace and security that’s unusual for central London. It’s weirdly calm and something neither of us has had living in the flat above my pub. When we reach the door, I watch as Ava rings the buzzer.

  “You’re here!” Julia cries the second the door opens.

  I watch as the world famous movie star pulls my wife in for a tight hug, both of them smiling, and not for the first time am I reminded of just how normal Julia is.

  “Lewis, hi,” she finally says when she’s let Ava go.

  “Hi, Julia,” I say, stepping inside as I return the hug she gives me.

  We follow her through the large entryway and down the hall to a gourmet kitchen where Aiden stands opening a bottle of red wine. I watch as he also hugs Ava, before reaching over and shaking my hand.

  “Drink?” he asks, as I hand him the wine we brought.

  “Absolutely,” I reply, nodding.

  He grabs us a couple of beers from the fridge, handing one to me before Julia passes me a plate that’s piled high with steaks and a matching plate of chicken to Aiden.

  “You want me to start now?” he asks her.

  Julia smiles and nods. “Yeah, I think so.”

  Aiden smiles and then tilts his head toward the door leading out to a huge patio. “Help me out?”

  “Sure,” I reply, following him out to the equally gourmet outdoor kitchen that lines one side of the patio area.

  Putting the steaks down, I glance around, noting the large outdoor table that’s currently set for six people. The area to the side has a huge corner couch and open fire pit, all of which looks out to a lush green garden that’s completely enclosed by what have to be at least eight foot high walls.

  “Nice place,” I say, taking it all in.

  Aiden grins, as he fires up the barbeque. “Thanks, it’s pretty great, nice and private, which is exactly what we wanted,” he says. “And needed,” he adds, giving me a sideways look.

  “Yeah, we could do with some of that,” I murmur, taking a sip of beer.

  “How’s it all been going?” he asks, hip propped against the bench as he waits for the grill to heat up.

  I shrug. “Pretty shit to be honest,” I say, taking another sip. “This Noel guy’s a real fucking piece of work.”

  Aiden nods. “Yeah, I’ve never worked with him, Julia either,” he adds, glancing at Julia and Ava who look deep in conversation inside the kitchen. “But I’ve certainly heard a lot about him.”

  I take a deep breath, shoving a hand through my hair. “It just shits me that he can get away with all of this, you know,” I say, exhaling. “I mean sure the fucker has money and whatever, but fuck, he’s practically breaking the law.”

  Now it’s Aiden shrugging. “I know, I get what you’re saying,” he says. “But unfortunately, this is how the movie industry works. It’s dirty and shit and filled with open secrets that nobody ever talks about.”

  “How the fuck do you stand it?” I ask, finishing off my beer.

  Aiden indicates the small bar fridge tucked under the bench and I reach down and grab us a couple more. “I can’t,” he says, taking the beer I hold out to him. “And I really struggled with it at first,” he adds. “It’s a world that you and I just don’t understand, but the thing is, you’re a part of it now, whether you like it or not.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I say. “And I’m totally okay with that, with supporting Ava and being there for her and everything. I just…”

  “You just wish it didn’t have to be like this,” he says.

  “Yeah.”

  Aiden smiles before he turns back to the grill and starts laying out the meat. “Can I give you one piece of advice?”

  “Sure.”

  “Don’t react to it,” he says, eyes on the barbeque. “Don’t give them any ammunition to bait you with and definitely don’t provoke them.”

  I chuckle. “You sound like you speak from experience.”

  Aiden laughs. “Trust me, I do,” he says, shuffling the meat around. “Nothing like a picture of you flipping off a paparazzi as he photographs you eating dinner with your girlfriend to really drive home how shitty the situation is. Or how fucking stupid you look.”

  “So how’d you get through it?”

  Aiden glances over at the kitchen, his eyes on Julia as she and Ava sip their wine and move about the kitchen. Turning back to me, he offers a quick smile. “I realized pretty quickly that she was worth putting up with anything,” he says. “And like I said, I stopped reacting, stopped pushing things.”

  “Sounds like good advice,” I say, smiling, even as I wonder how the hell I can do that.

  “Oh, and one other thing,” he says. “Get yourself a place, somewhere safe and secure and most importantly, private,” he adds, gesturing with the tongs to our surroundings.

  I nod, just as the door opens and a guy walks out, grabbing Aiden in a giant bear hug from behind. It takes me a second to realize what I’m looking at.

  “Jesus,” I say, glancing at my beer. “Either this beer is really strong or there really are two of you?”

  Aiden laughs. “You are seeing double, but yeah, it’s not the beer,” he says, punching his clone in the side. “Lewis, this idiot here is my brother, Marcus. Marcus, this is Lewis.”

  “Hey,” he says, reaching over to shake my hand before moving to grab himself a beer from the fridge.

  “Lilly here?” Aiden asks as he flips the steaks.

  “Yeah,” Marcus replies. “She’s in the kitchen trying really hard to not to fan girl over the fact she’s at a movie star’s house.”

  Aiden laughs as we all glance to the kitchen where three women now stand, talking and laughing.

  As I watch them, I’m reminded of what normal feels like. Of how this is where we can get back to as soon as all of this shit with Noel is over.

  Chapter Thirty

  Ava

  It feels so good to have Julia back even if it’s just for a short time. She was the one person I worked for that I kept in touch with after finding another job, and I still even sometimes pick up work with her. Despite retiring to help focus on her relationship with Aiden, she still does work. In her field working doesn’t always mean being in front of the camera. She has always played a large role in the behind the scenes aspect of things. She on occasion will fund movies, loan her name or likeness to products and she’s even working on partnering with a high-end athletic clothing line to design clothes for them. And some of these times I slip in and help with emails, phone calls, setting up meetings, and reviewing contracts with her lawyers.

  All of this is the reason I’m not panicking about quitting my job with Noel. I always have Julia to fall back on and I know if I asked, she’d bring me back on fulltime. But for now I have the small jobs I pick up through her and I have Lewis and the pub to keep things going.

  “So I hate to tell you this,” Julia starts as we stand around the kitchen island drinking wine and waiting for the guys to come back inside. “But the tabloids have been reaching out for comments and story verification about things that happened like a million years ago.”

  “What things?” I ask, feeling the panic and the anger burn hot underneath my skin; my heart racing and my brain searching for what they possibly could be interested in.

  “Remember that time we were at that club like seven years ago and that asshole threw his drink on you? They were asking about that. Eluding to the fact that there was more to it than the guy just being a dick.”

  “Oh my god, seriously? Noel is crazy and so are his people. I can’t even believe they’re digging around for old gossip,” I say, trying to blow it off but knowi
ng it’s eating away at me.

  “That’s what they do. I’m sure they’ll start in on your family too, especially if you don’t back down soon,” Julia states, but it’s not a threat or advice to me to stop what I’m doing. Her words are almost encouraging.

  “I’m not backing down,” I insist. “Lewis and I talked with his lawyer and we’re going to file a libel suit against Noel and the tabloids.” I don’t mention the reporter because even though I trust Julia, I don’t want more information getting out about something that could help end all of this.

  “The laws about stalking are much more strict here than in the States,” Julia confirms. “I would guess it would all happen rather quickly.”

  “I hope so.”

  I look over at Marcus’ girlfriend Lilly and she’s still staring at Julia, watching her talk and taking in her every word. I remember what that was like. When I first started in this industry it was hard not to get star struck, but after too many encounters with the harsh side of the celebrity status, I learned they aren’t always what they seem.

  “Um, so…” Lilly starts and stops, her teeth tugging at her bottom lip as she folds her hands in front of her and unfolds them. “I was, I mean obviously I have no idea what you’re dealing with, but so…” Again she stops, her nervousness apparent, but adorable and endearing.

  I smile at her and so does Julia and it’s Julia who encourages her to continue. “Just because you don’t know what it’s like to be stalked and hounded at every turn doesn’t mean you don’t have something to share or advice to give.”

  “Okay,” Lilly says, nodding her head a little as if encouraging herself. “When I was a kid and I’d be in the checkout line at the supermarket, I loved looking at the tabloids.” She shrugs her shoulders, a sheepish look on her face. “I loved seeing the glamorous side of Hollywood, but I also loved seeing celebrities doing regular things like shopping or going out to dinner.”