by Stacy-Deanne
“Ian doesn’t hate you.”
“That’s news to me.” She licked the fork. “I didn’t know there wasn’t a lead actress for the film.”
“Yeah, Olympia pulled out. Hugh didn’t tell you?”
She scratched her foot. “He had specific orders from my father not to let me anywhere near the movie.”
“What?”
“Don’t act so surprised, Dash. If Dad could erase me out his life, I’m sure he would.”
CHAPTER TEN
“You see any light at the end of the tunnel because I sure as hell don’t.” Sierra tossed the fork on the table. “How did my life get to this? How did I go from being the ‘it’ girl and now people won’t even let me clean the toilets?”
“You’re a damn good actress.” Dash wiggled his leg. “You worked hard to conquer alcoholism and you’re doing great.”
“They don’t care. All they remember is how I screwed things up.” She played with her ponytail. “If I were a man, I wouldn’t get this treatment. You got actors on drugs and running women and they still get A-list parts. Athletes beat their wives and make sex tapes and they stay on the team.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “Let me fart and I’m blacklisted. What did I do that was so wrong? I crashed some parties, said things I shouldn’t have and acted a little reckless but I’m an alcoholic. I was sick.”
He nodded.
“All they see are my actions and not what caused them.” She put her elbows on the table. “It hurts to have people make fun of you when they used to worship you.”
“Stop letting these Hollywood dicks define you. Who cares what they think?”
“I gotta care if I want a shot again.”
“No one works harder than you, Sierra. I’ve always respected how serious you take the craft. How dare Ian not see that?”
She smiled.
“I respect him as a producer but as your father he’s lost points with me.” He pushed the cheesecake box out of his way. “Sometimes I sit at home and I wonder if fame is worth it. You don’t realize how much you lose.” Brightness left his eyes. “I’m so lonely, Sierra.”
“Lonely?”
“I don’t have friends. All I have are people who want to be around me because of who I am. If I didn’t have money or fame, then they wouldn’t care.”
“Welcome to Hollywood, Dash.”
“It’s funny I worked so hard to get to this point, and I’m not happy.” He took the shades off his head and looked at her. “I’m grateful for the fame, money, and opportunity but it’s not enough. I can’t trust getting close to anyone because they always want something from me.”
She touched his leg. “I didn’t know you felt this way.”
“That’s why I miss you, Sierra. I could talk to you about anything. I’ve never been that happy and all the money and fame in the world can’t compete. That’s why I can’t let you go. I’m miserable without you.”
“Dash—”
“I love you.” He moved closer, caressing her jaw. “I know you miss me too.”
She moved when he tried to kiss her. “We can’t.”
“Please, don’t turn me away.” He laid his forehead to hers. “We need each other. Hugh’s not the man for you.”
She pushed at his grip despite desiring his hold.
“Hugh can’t make you happy the way I can.” He tried to kiss her again, bottom lip extending.
“No.” She closed her eyes, fighting to keep fighting. “We can’t go back, Dash. Not to how it was before.”
“Why not?” He got on his knees in front of her. “Please, come back to me.”
“Stop.”
“Please?” He held her head to his. “We can be so happy. Please—”
“I can’t, Dash.” She pushed him away and stood. “You’ve got to stop torturing yourself and move on.”
“I can’t.” He stood, grabbing her. “I want you back.”
She walked from the table. “Unless you commit in front of the whole world, then I’m never coming back to you.”
“You’d rather be miserable with Hugh than happy with me?”
“I don’t wanna be your lover in the shadows. Can’t you get how it makes me feel as a woman to know you’re ashamed of me?”
“I’m not ashamed of you.”
“You are. You can admit it. I’m ashamed of myself and what I let my life become.”
He walked toward her. “I am not ashamed of you.”
“Then call the media right now and tell them you love me.” She pointed to the doors. “Shout it from the rooftop. Put it in the fucking newspaper. That’s what you have to do if you want me back. Can you do that, Dash? Are you willing to do that?”
“I love you with all my heart.”
She sighed, rubbing her head. “Guess I got my answer, huh?”
“You’re just as lonely as I am.”
“Maybe so but I won’t put myself in the position for you to hurt me again. I got too much other shit to deal with.” She got her iPad and sat on the sofa. “Thanks for the cheesecake.” She sniffled, trying to put her earphones in with shaking hands. “But, I want to finish meditating now.”
“Sierra—”
She turned away from him, sitting Indian-style. “Please leave.”
“Fine.” He went to the doors. “But, you’re hurting yourself as much as you’re hurting me. I hope you can live with that.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Gabrielle traveled the empty hallway of Brannix Studios, stopping at Hugh’s office. Her stomach twisted in knots at seeing him again.
“Stay strong,” she whispered to herself. “Stand your ground and don’t fall for that charm and that devilish smile.” She sighed. “What’s wrong with me?”
She stood tall and tapped on the door.
“Come in.”
She walked in, overtaken by bitter cigarette smoke. “Mr. Macintosh.”
“You know better than that.” He studied something on his desk, but she sensed his smirk though she couldn’t see it. “Call me ‘Hugh’.” He looked up, the reading glasses adding an enigmatic aura to his handsome face. “Or better yet you can call me your future husband.”
She closed the door. “You should ditch directing and become a comedian.”
“I see you got my assistant’s message.” He threw his head back. “When you agreed to come, I died and went to Heaven.”
“I had no business sending Warner here earlier.” Gabrielle put her hands in the pockets of her beige, palazzo pants. “I’m a grown woman. I should’ve handled it myself.”
“What is it with you and Warner, anyway?” He hooked the cigarette in his mouth. “I’m sensing more than friendship.”
“What?” She stood on the blue and purple abstract rug.
The cigarette bounced as he spoke, “You and him ever had something going?”
“Romantically?” She shook her head, ponytail swinging. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. Warner is like a brother.”
Smoke swirled from his nostrils. “Something tells me he wants to be more than that.”
“What are you getting at, Hugh?”
“He’s in love with you.”
She laughed. “That’s ridiculous. What’s your angle with this?”
“Would it be so surprising if he wanted you?” He bobbed his head. “A man would have to be blind or crazy not to.”
“Warner is the best friend I’ve ever had, and I won’t let you pervert the nature of our relationship.”
He pulled his shoulders back. “Calling it like I see it.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong. Warner wants to protect me.”
“I hate you feel you need protection from me.” He set the cigarette in the tray, studying the storyboard.
Gabrielle meandered behind his desk, intrigued by the little drawings. “This for Fatal Honor?”
“Yep.” He scribbled on notebook paper. “Taking notes for changes. I’ve changed the boards a million times already, but I’m a perf
ectionist.”
She leaned over, the pearl pendant of her necklace hitting his arm. “The sketches are so detailed. How come you don’t do it on a computer?”
“I’m old school.” He took a drag off the cig and put it in the tray of ashes. “Don’t tell anyone this, but I’m a little intimidated by the tech stuff.”
“You?” She stood up, grinning. “Shocked anything intimidates you.”
“Cell phones and computers are necessities, I get it.” He sighed, looking up at her. “But, I don’t care for all that other stuff like those apps and junk. People rely on computers too much. That’s how mistakes happen.”
She walked to the front of the desk. “Another layer to HuMac, huh?”
“I have many layers.” He scribbled more notes. “You might find one you like.”
“I doubt it.”
“Why not?”
“You’re not the man for me, and I don’t want a man, anyway.”
“If I had a dime for every time a woman lied by saying that I’d be even richer than I already am.”
She squinted.
“Tell you what. Why don’t you save the energy it takes to lie to yourself and get to know me better?”
“What did you want to talk about?”
No, I won’t be in your movie.
“I wanna offer you the deal of a lifetime. I want to offer you the role of Dash Phillips’ love interest in Fatal Honor.” He smiled. “I know you haven’t acted before, but you’ll be fine. You can come in and read for the part to become comfortable, but, I want you in it.”
I knew it.
“Let me guess.” She rocked. “This is a rescue scheme. The plan is I’ll be in your film, it becomes a hit, and I’ll be ever so grateful for you saving my career that I’ll give myself to you, mind, body, and soul. You’re something else.”
“I’m hoping this gets me closer to you, but I also care about your career, Gabrielle.”
“Bullshit.” She blew a raspberry. “All you care about are my panties and getting me out of them.”
He snickered.
“I’m not doing your film so put that idea to bed right now.”
“Do you realize what being in a Hugh Macintosh film, produced by Ian Delfino and starring Dash Phillips would do for you?”
“I don’t need your help. Thank you very much.”
He sipped from his Coke can. “It doesn’t look that way.”
“You’re just another man trying to get me into bed.”
“Look at the bigger picture.” He slapped the storyboard. “Sometimes pride is our biggest enemy.”
“You’re doing this to bully me, and it won’t work.”
He grimaced. “Bullying?”
“And stalking.” She stomped to the file cabinet. “I’m getting a restraining order.”
“You’re gonna get a restraining order on me yet you came here on your own?” He rolled his eyes skyward. “Give me a break.”
“You think I haven’t been down this road with men a million times before?” Her wide-legged pants swung as she approached the desk. “Honey, I’ve been chased by far bigger and better men than you.”
His eyes sparkled. “Is that right?”
“I’ve been wooed by legendary actors, governors, senators, and even foreign leaders.”
Hugh poked his lips out in a mocking fashion. “You don’t say?”
“With all their power, money, and status they never got me into their beds and neither will you.”
“From what I hear it’s been quite a while since any man got you in his bed.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Just saying.”
“Fuck you.”
He cackled. “Name the time and the place.”
“See this is why I can’t deal with men like you. You don’t take women seriously. Hugh, I’m more than a model. Don’t you care about the woman inside? My feelings?”
He stared into her eyes, giving her a glimpse of someone human. “I do very much.”
“Then leave me alone. I will get a restraining order and embarrass your ass in the press.”
“You’ll be in the movie if you know what’s good for your career.”
“For someone who can get any woman he wants you sure seem desperate.”
“Hold on.” He took off his glasses. “Who’s the desperate one, honey? I was giving you some much needed attention.”
“I don’t want or need some womanizing creep who uses his position to get women who don’t want him.”
“You judge people by what you hear in the media?” He stood, pushing his chair under the desk. “As a celebrity yourself, you shouldn’t put stock in gossip.”
“It’s not gossip. Your reputation is pathetic.”
“My reputation is my business.” He walked up to her, glasses in hand. “For someone who isn’t interested in HuMac, you’ve been paying attention.”
“You’re on the news more than the weather. How could I not pay attention?”
He smacked his lips, brows creasing. "You’re becoming less attractive by the moment.”
“Great.” She stuck her face in his. “Then leave me alone and I’ll get peace again.”
“How can I leave you alone?” He dug his fingers into her arm. “You still don’t understand the hold you have on me? How much I want you?”
“Hugh.” She touched his chest. “Let me go.”
“I wish I could stop thinking about you and dreaming about you.” He moved his hand to her cheek. “I can’t no matter how hard I try.”
“You need to.”
“Ever since the first time I saw you, something clicked. You make things happen inside that no woman has ever made me feel.”
“Let me go.”
“Give me this one moment, Gabrielle.” He swallowed, his eyes easing into slits. “Let me kiss you.”
“No.” She tried to shake her head, but he held it still. “Don’t.”
“You feel something.” The tip of his finger touched the back of her earring. “Be mine, Gabby.” He puckered his lips. “For this moment.”
She closed her eyes, panting.
“This second.”
She opened her mouth to receive his kiss but came to her senses. “Uh-uh. Let me go. Please.”
He let her go, growling as if to fight an urge deep inside of him.
“You have a woman, Hugh.” She brushed his touch from her cheek. “Concentrate on her.”
“I want you.” He snatched her hand. “Only you.”
“Why are you with Sierra if you want me so much?”
“Go out with me and if you don’t have a good time I’ll never bother you again. I promise.”
“No.” Her attention fell on his earring.
“What do you have to lose?”
“Myself.”
She left.
CHAPTER TWELVE
A Week Later
With the stacked picnic basket in her grip, Sierra walked through Hugh’s office door at Brannix to find Dash sitting in the recliner with his feet on the desk. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Dash sauntered toward her in a white blazer with the sleeves rolled up and beige pants. “Let me help with that.”
“No.” She moved the basket away. “I don’t need your help. Why are you here?”
“I needed to talk to Hugh about the movie.” He put his hands in his pockets and rocked on the heels of his leather loafers. “Why are you here?”
“I made Hugh some lunch. Thought we could have a picnic.”
He had a slight frown as if he were masking his displeasure. “Isn’t that sweet?”
“Where is he?”
“Running around like a chicken with his head cut off.” Dash sat on the edge of the desk. “I don’t know what smells better, you or what’s in the basket. Smells like your famous herb-fried chicken.”
She grinned; flattered he remembered her favorite recipe.
“I’ve dreamt of tasting that chicken again.” He gazed at her flowy, red and white summer dress that hi
t mid-thigh. “There’s another thing of yours I miss tasting.”
“And with that, I’m gone.” She went to the door. “Tell Hugh I stopped by and if he wants to join me, I’ll be in the park. He knows which one.”
“Eating a picnic lunch alone? Sierra.” Dash got off the desk. “You are too
amazing of a woman to ever eat alone.” He patted his six-pack. “Besides, I’m starving and your fried chicken is my kryptonite.”
“That’s too bad because you’ll never get a taste of me or my chicken again. Tell Hugh where I’ll be.”
“That would be a waste of time.” He clasped his hands, holding them low. “As busy as he is he won’t make it. Something tells me you’re used to that though. Gotta be tired of it.” His eyes flashed. “Right?”
“He’s trying to put a blockbuster movie together.” She straightened the basket. “I appreciate that.”
“You’re seething, Sierra. I know you. You crave attention.” He approached her, stopping so close his cappuccino breath grazed her face. “When we were together, you couldn’t get enough of me.”
“Contrary to popular belief, Dash, you aren’t the lothario you think you are.”
“I still get to you.” He peeked down her cleavage. “Your nipples are hard, aren’t they?”
“Not for you,” she lied.
“Then who for?” He moved back. “Come on. This game’s getting old. Why don’t we have our own little picnic at my ranch?”
“Your ranch?”
“You remember it.” He licked the corner of his mouth. “And, all the times we spent there.”
She looked away, clearing her throat.
“The first time we made love...” He nodded. “Was at the ranch. Surely, you haven’t forgotten that.”
“We could’ve spent our lives having more wonderful moments if you’d be man enough not to give a damn what people think of you.”
“Unlike you, not caring what others think is a luxury I can’t afford.”
“Dash, you’re a superstar.”
“I’m a superstar who’s worked damn hard to get respect, and I won’t let people use my choices against me.”
