Fire and Honor

by M. S. Parker

  I almost rolled my eyes, but remembered that I needed to keep it professional, no matter how unprofessional the questions were. “No.”

  “What were the circumstances surrounding your first sexual encounter?”

  One side of my mouth quirked up. “I was fifteen and my boyfriend and I did it in the back of his car.” I raised an eyebrow as if to ask him if that was all he had.

  “And your most recent sexual encounter?” He didn't react to either my answer or my change in facial expression.

  “I hooked up with a guy at my friend's burlesque club. I think his name was Frank.” If that didn't tell him I had no problem being honest, I didn't know what would.

  “Do you make a habit of fucking strangers?”

  Okay, so that's how we were going to play it.

  “I do it sometimes, but I wouldn't consider it a habit,” I admitted. I'd never been ashamed of my sex life and I wasn't about to begin now.

  “But you refused to join me yesterday.”

  “That's not a question,” I retorted.

  This time, his lips definitely twitched. “You're right. My question then: what was the reason for declining my invitation?”

  I almost cringed. He wanted me to be honest, but I knew he wasn't going to like my answer. “Two reasons. One, I don't fuck my boss, or potential boss. Two, you were being an asshole.”

  He did smile this time and it was all I could do not to smile in response.

  “Have you ever slept with someone you worked with?”

  I nodded. “Co-workers, yes, but never someone in a position above or below me.” I bit back a laugh at the obvious joke there.

  “Have you ever had sex with someone in exchange for a favor?”

  I frowned. “Does sleeping with my college tutor count?” When DeVon didn't answer, I clarified, “That wasn't how I paid him. It was more like a bonus...for both of us. But, no, I don't ask for things in return for sex.”

  He nodded, but I couldn't tell what he thought about my answer. “Have you ever dated a client?”

  I noticed the change in verb but didn't ask about it. “It depends on your definition of client.”

  “Spoken like a true lawyer,” he said.

  “I haven't slept with or dated anyone who was my direct client,” I answered. “But I have had relationships with men who were clients of other lawyers in the firm where I worked.”

  “You understand that this is not acceptable at Mirage,” he said, his tone almost scolding.

  My temper flared. How dare he talk to me like he was on some high moral ground? I didn't snap at him, though. Instead, I said, “Completely. I would never consider propositioning anyone involved with the company or accepting a proposition from someone Mirage represents.”

  A flash of amusement crossed his features and I knew he'd understood my dig at his behavior yesterday. “Do you consider yourself sexually adventurous?”

  I couldn't quite stop myself from being a bit saucy in return. “I'm always open to new experiences.”

  “Good to know.”

  I shifted in my seat as I felt a sudden zing of arousal. Dammit. I didn't care how sexy his voice sounded when he'd said that. He was going to be my boss. And he was an asshole. Both reasons why I hadn't slept with him yesterday were still applicable today.

  “Do you have any problems taking orders?”

  That question made me blink because I wasn't entirely sure if he was still asking sexual questions or if he'd switched to more job relevant inquiries since he was satisfied I was telling the truth. Something in his dark eyes told me that his question wasn't entirely innocent.

  Two could play at that game.

  “It depends on who gives them,” I answered coolly. “I'm no pushover, but I also don't have a problem obeying someone in charge. If he's worthy.”

  This time, DeVon was the one shifting in his chair. He made it look like he was just switching legs, but I had a feeling it was actually something else. The air had a thickness to it that hadn't been there a moment ago.

  “Are you willing to accept...consequences for wrong behavior?”

  “As long as the required behavior and all possible consequences are spelled out beforehand.” I was now very sure that he was lacing his questions with double meaning and I fed my answers out the same way. “I don't think it's right to expect behavior that isn't explained.”

  He nodded, and I could see that he agreed. He leaned forward and rested his hands on his desk again. “It seems to me that you were indeed telling the truth. I have to consult with Mr. Duncan, but we will have answer for you tomorrow before you fly home.”

  Once again, my mouth decided to act before my brain could intervene. “Who's being dishonest now? You told me if I went along with your interview, you'd tell me yes or no at the end of it.”

  He smiled, and I wondered if that had been another test, one to see if I was willing to hold others to the same standard to which I was being held. “I did promise that,” he said. “Perhaps I was too hasty. What I can tell you is that your answers mean you're still in the running. Had I not been pleased with what you said, I would've just told you no and sent you home.”

  He picked up his paper again and I knew the interview was over. I stood. I would just have to be satisfied with what he gave me. My stomach gave a little twist as my brain automatically translated my innocent statement into an innuendo. Shit. His questioning had got me thinking that way and now it was going to take forever to stop.

  I really disliked that man.

  9

  I was considering heading back down to Sunset Plaza for lunch again but as soon as I stepped into the hotel lobby, I knew I was going to have to go somewhere else, just to avoid the awkward moment I was currently experiencing as Taylor beamed at me from where he was leaning against the front desk.

  “Krissy.” He took a step forward. “I just got an invite to this fancy party in the Hills tonight and was wondering if you wanted to come with me.”

  I was shaking my head before he'd even finished speaking. “No.”

  He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “It's not a date. I was just thinking that you might want to come because there are going to be a lot of actors and potential clients. It'll be a great chance to mingle.” He added, “Think of how good it'll look when you get the job if you already know the names of clients as they come in.”

  He had a point. I crossed my arms and gave him a stern look. “All right,” I said. “I'll go.” He opened his mouth to speak and I held up a finger. “Only if you stop flirting.”

  He grinned. “I can't promise anything one hundred percent, especially if I get some alcohol in my system, but I'll do my best.”

  A try was probably the best I could hope for. I nodded. “Okay.”

  “Great!” He turned and did that thing where he was walking backwards and talking to me at the same time. I'd seen it on movies but didn't think anyone actually did it. “I'll pick you up a little before eight. We want to make an entrance, after all.”

  I couldn't believe I was going to my first Hollywood party! I smiled so widely that it hurt my mouth. This was going to be amazing! I took two steps towards the elevator and realized that I didn't have anything to wear. I'd brought a business outfit for a second interview, comfortable clothes for the flight home tomorrow and two cute dresses for sight-seeing. None of those were going to be right for a party in the Hills. I should've brought my green dress, the one Carrie referred to as Christmas ribbon.

  I looked at the concierge. “Is the car available?”

  He nodded. “Any specific destination in mind, Miss Jensen?”

  I smiled again. I was going to fulfill another of my fantasies. A Beverly Hills shopping trip.

  When I told the driver where I wanted to go, my day got even better. His sister worked at Barneys. That was exactly what I needed. Someone in the know of what was hot in Hollywood right now. On the ride over, the driver told me all about Jamie and how she was working towards becoming a fa
shion designer. Like I'd said before. Hollywood was where everyone wanted to be something else.

  The moment I stepped into the store, I felt like I was in heaven. I'd gone to one of the most elite boutiques in New York with Carrie, but that had been different. Even though Gavin had bought me something, we'd been shopping for her. Today was all about me.

  “Miss Jensen?” A cute little thing with strawberry blond curls came bounding up to me. I could tell she was one of those people who always had too much energy and never walked anywhere. She also looked like she was twelve, even though I'd been told she was nineteen.

  “Jamie.” I smiled at her.

  “My brother said you were going to a party in the Hills?”

  I nodded.

  “I have just the thing.” She motioned for me to follow her. “We just got this in today. In fact, we're not even technically done putting them on the floor yet.”

  I was starting to have my doubts about the young woman's ability to pick a dress as we passed gorgeous dress after gorgeous dress. Then she stopped in front of the most beautiful dress I'd ever seen.

  “I had a couple in mind since I didn't know what your coloring was, but as soon as I saw you, I knew this would be perfect.”

  I had to agree. If it looked as good on me as I thought it was going to, Jamie had just outdone herself. She handed it to me and pointed me to the dressing rooms. I maneuvered into the slinky garment and zipped up the side. It fit like a glove.

  I turned so I could see my reflection. The hem hit me at a little above mid-thigh, high enough that I knew I was going to have to be careful how I moved or I'd flash someone. The neckline plunged down between my breasts, revealing quite a bit of flesh without being tacky. The color was a rich purple that brought out the blue-black highlights in my hair. I'd never been so in love with a dress in my life.

  I stepped out and Jamie voiced her approval. Then I saw the price tag and my stomach sank. Four hundred dollars. I couldn't afford that.

  “I'll give you my discount,” Jamie said, correctly interpreting my expression. “It's thirty percent off.”

  I made a face. That was still a lot of money.

  “You look amazing in that dress,” Jamie said. “I can show you other ones that will look good on you, but nothing like that one.”

  She was right. I looked at the number again. I had spent more than that on shoes before. I made up my mind. “I'll take it.”

  Jamie let out a squeal of delight and I couldn't help but laugh. She was adorable.

  We chatted as she rang me up and continued to talk on my way out to the car. She talked to him then for several minutes before he was able to remind her that they were both still working. She took his gentle reminder in good stride and waved at us as we drove away.

  “Back to the hotel,” I said. I would order room service so I could take my time getting ready. I was going to make sure that I was nothing short of breath-taking tonight. It would be my first impression on some of Hollywood and I wanted it to be a good one.

  10

  I had to admit that I was a little nervous. New York was big and busy, full of interesting and exciting people, but LA was different. I knew I was hot. I'd had men and women telling me that since I hit puberty, but this was the place where all of the beautiful people gathered. But, when I saw the expression on Taylor's face when I met him outside the hotel, my confidence was bolstered. Jamie had definitely picked the right dress.

  Now I just had to focus on not looking like the wide-eyed newcomer, completely mesmerized by the glam and glitter. When we pulled up in front of a pair of massive iron gates, it was more difficult than I'd expected not to gawk. I'd grown up with money, but there was a huge difference between the elegant old money of Chicago high society and Hollywood money. I mean, my family had a couple maids and groundskeepers, and we had a driver because my mom hated driving herself, but the way high society showed their wealth was in art and with charity. This was definitely flashier. First of all, there was a valet waiting.

  Taylor grinned. “It's typical for parties in the Hills to have valet service, especially the ones on these windy, narrow roads.”

  I nodded. That actually made sense. It didn't make it less impressive, but at least I knew it wasn't just some sort of pretentious thing. Taylor and I walked up to the large, muscular man who stood in front of the gates. Bar or mansion, there was no mistaking a bouncer. Taylor gave the man his name and introduced me as his plus one. I bristled, but didn't contradict him. Now that I was here, I wanted to go inside.

  The bouncer nodded and the lock on the gates clicked. He pushed them open and we started up the driveway. It wasn't a long one, but it had a curve that kept the house from sight until we went around it. As soon as I saw it, I corrected my mental labeling of the place as a house. This was a mansion.

  In New York, the rich lived in expensive lofts and had homes in the Hamptons. In Chicago, it was very similar. My family owned a house in the city and three vacation homes that included a cottage in Maine, a beach house in North Carolina and a villa in Italy. Our main house was one of the bigger ones in our affluent neighborhood, but it couldn't truly be called a mansion. In fact, it was half the size of this one. All columns and arches, some impressive architecture that I had no name for, and landscaping that had to cost more than my entire firm made in a year. As Taylor and I stepped inside the mansion, we were treated to a breathtaking view of the city lights through a panoramic glass wall, and waiters carrying finger food weaving between all of the beautiful people.

  I was so busy staring at everything that I didn't see the waitress heading my way until her arm hit mine. I side-stepped, narrowly avoiding getting something that looked like caviar all over my dress. The tray crashed to the ground, spraying food across the floor.

  “I am so sorry!” The waitress was a cute little blonde who looked a little younger than me. Her face was red and her eyes were wide, one of those 'deer-in-headlights' expressions on her face. “Damnit! So stupid!”

  “It's okay,” I tried saying.

  “No, no it's not.” She was shaking her head and I could see tears forming in her dark eyes. She looked up at me. “Please don't tell my boss. I'm so sorry. Please don't tell him. He'll fire me.”

  “Hey, it's okay.” I put my hand on her shoulder, hoping the contact would break through. “No harm done.”

  A look of relief washed over her face and I started to smile.

  “Elise!”

  Her face fell and I turned towards the voice. A man was striding towards us, his face red with anger. He got in the girl's face, his eyes narrowed.

  “Go get your things, you're done!” He didn't even bother trying to keep his voice down.

  “It was my fault.” The words popped out of my mouth and I went with it. “I wasn't watching where I was going and I bumped into her.” I gave the man what I hoped was a sheepish-looking smile. “Sorry.”

  The man looked at me for a moment, as if trying to decide if he wanted to believe me, then he shook his head and turned back to Elise. He scowled at her, but his voice was back at a normal level when he spoke again. “Clean up the mess and get back to work. There are plenty more trays to be handed out.”

  Elise waited until the man was out of earshot, then said, “Thank you for covering for me.”

  I shrugged. “Anytime.” I shot a glance at the man's back as he disappeared back through the door he'd come through. “What an asshole.”

  Elise gave me a brief smile. “Good luck.”

  Before I could ask what she meant, she hurried away, presumably to find something to clean up with. Did she think the guy was going to come back and call me a liar?

  I didn't have time to think about it anymore, though, because the music had changed and Taylor grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the dance floor. If there was one place I felt comfortable around a bunch of gorgeous strangers, it was on the dance floor. Some of the women here might've been prettier than me, but I knew I could dance, and not just well, but go
od enough to have all of the straight men and more than a few women thinking about what it would be like to get me in bed.

  For an hour, I forgot about everything else but the club music pounding around me. I danced with Taylor, but let myself move around as well, turning around to move with one stranger, then another. Never touching, always just out of reach. The air was electric and I'd never felt so alive.

  “I need some air,” Taylor practically shouted in my ear.

  I nodded and let him lead me outside. For people who lived in rural areas, the one-acre backyard might not have seemed that big, but for someone who'd lived in Chicago and then New York, it was huge, and absolutely gorgeous.

  Taylor started down the stairs and I fell in step next to him. We walked along a stone path that curved through the grass, heading for the fence at the far end.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “It's beautiful,” I answered, craning my neck to see the stars. It was too bright to see them all, but I could still see them better than I could back home.

  “You're beautiful.”

  I looked over at him, opening my mouth to tell him that he couldn't say things like that.

  “I can't explain it,” he said before I could speak. “I'm drawn to you.”

  He reached out and grabbed my hand, his fingers warm as they curled around mine. I knew I should pull away, but I was frozen to the spot. Then he was leaning towards me and, for a brief moment, I was tempted. He was so hot and his lips looked so soft. I wanted to know if he was as good a kisser as I thought he would be. What harm would there be in one kiss?

  I sighed and took a step back, taking my hand from his. “You promised,” I said. I had to look away so he couldn't see how close I'd been to letting him kiss me.

  “Come on, Krissy,” he coaxed. “Why are you doing this? I know you want it, too.”

  Apparently I hadn't looked away fast enough. I turned back towards him. “Maybe I do,” I admitted. “But I can't. You're Mirage's client and there's a strict policy about not dating clients. You know that.”