Wanda’s makeup job had held beautifully, and other than a few stray hairs that had come undone when I’d danced to the music, I looked ready for the meet and greet. I eyed the pair of leggings and a comfortable tunic and black leather jacket Harrison had delivered, and I draped over the couch. I was ready to get out of the slightly itchy floor length gown.
I cut him off. “Could we speed this up? I’d like to change into something more comfortable.”
“Need any help? I’d be happy to get that zipper at the back for you,” Preston said suggestively.
I threw him a disgusted look in the mirror. “No thanks. I’ve had plenty of experience stretching to get all the knives out of my back from the likes of people like you, and I promise, if you try, you’re going to get my very bony knee embedded in your groin.”
“Fine, fine,” Preston said, holding his hands out like he was surrendering again. “I wanted to talk because I was watching you perform, and while it was decent, I feel like I could really help take your career to the next level.”
“How’s that?”
“I think I should be your manager.”
I turned around in my seat and narrowed my eyes at Preston, who looked like he’d just won the lottery. “Be my manager?” I asked, my voice nearly cracking.
“Yeah. Think of it. You’ll be a larger than life superstar. We’ll ramp up ticket sales, and get your music into movies.” Preston snapped his fingers, and his eyes lit up. “Better yet, we’ll get you in the movies as a lead actress. Crossover stardom is all the rage these days.”
“Preston,” I sighed, “What are you talking about? I already have three songs that are on movie soundtracks, and I’ve been headlining my own shows for a couple of years now. As for movies, no thank you. Music videos are enough of a headache for me.”
“C’mon, Kiki,” Preston said, strolling toward me and putting his hands on my bare shoulders. I shuddered but he misunderstood. Leaning down he spoke in a husky whisper, his words curling around me like a snake trying to capture its prey. “Where’s your vision.”
I cut Preston back, knowing exactly how he worked. “George is doing a fine job with my career, thank you very much. Besides, you have Monica.”
“Monica,” Preston said with a laugh. “She’s a tangenital matter at this point.”
A snort that shot out of my sinus cavity started me on a giggling fit. “I think you mean tangential.”
“Whatever. Monica was just a way to get my foot in the door. Like I said before, she’s never going to be a star. She’s too timid and clumsy and ditzy to amount to much of anything.”
My head throbbed like my temples were caught in a vice, and I felt sick to my stomach, hearing Preston speak about Monica like that, as if she were merely a pawn in his strategic game.
“Get out,” I said quietly.
“Kiki, I think you need to think—”
“Get out!” I cried, shooting up from my seat and slapping his hands away from me.
Preston’s face darkened, though he held his lips in a malicious smile. “You’re making a big mistake.”
I grabbed the vaseful of flowers he’d bought and shoved them into his chest, sloshing water all down the front of his Ralph Lauren polo. Ramming my finger into him so hard it hurt, I snapped, “You are not ever allowed to proposition me with career or personal plans ever again.”
I’d pushed him all the way to the door, and he reached for the door knob but hesitated. “If you’re not going to be with me, then I’ll personally see to it that your career shrivels up and blows away, like dust in the wind.”
I barked out a laugh and crossed my arms. “I’d love to see you try. A flea on a dog might be an annoyance but one little flick and they’re gone.” I held my fingers up to Preston’s face and made a flicking motion. “Get. Out.”
Before Preston could open the door, Josh forcefully opened it, sending another wave of water splashing onto Preston.
“Everything alright in here?” Josh asked. He looked like he was ready for a fight if he needed.
“Is the hired help allowed to eavesdrop?” Preston asked snidely. “Guess your bodyguards are getting their kicks living through you to get their fill of drama. Seriously, man,” Preston said, looking straight into Josh’s blue-gray eyes, “catch an episode of The Young and The Restless if you need some entertainment.”
I wished Josh would let a punch fly and finish Preston. He certainly deserved it. I could see Josh’s muscles flexing beneath his clothing, a clear indication that he was thinking about it.
“Preston was just leaving,” I said tightly.
On cue, the dark shadow passed from Preston’s face, and he looked past Josh to Monica, who was strolling down the corridor to her dressing room.
“Monica! These are for you.” He shoved his way past Josh and handed the flowers over to her.
Her eyes lit up, and she looked at him like he’d handed her a Tiffany’s engagement ring. That one-on-one talk I’d been putting off couldn’t come fast enough. How could she not know that Preston was an imbecile with a wandering eye and an insatiable lust for fame and fortune? I suppose I could have looked myself in the mirror and asked the same thing of my younger self.
“What happened to you?” Monica said after she pulled her nose out of the middle of the flowers. “It looks like you were in a water balloon fight. That or you had a really wicked time wetting your pants.”
Josh and I snorted, hiding our laughter behind our hands. Even Bert cracked a smile.
“No,” Preston said without the slightest hint of offense, “the water in the vase sloshed out when I was fetching them from Kiki’s dressing room because the arrangement is so massive. Can you believe they delivered them to the wrong room? Not everything is about Kiki, now is it?”
Monica shot me an apologetic look, but I reassured her with a shrug that Preston’s low blow had rolled off my back. Preston wrapped his arm around Monica’s shoulders, and he steered her toward her dressing room.
Before he shut the door, he looked over Monica’s head and grinned sinisterly at me. “Let me help you slip into something a little more comfortable.”
Chapter Fifteen
Though I was bone-weary after everything had wrapped up on the set, when I got back to the hotel, I stood in a blisteringly hot shower and let the steam rise around me. I hadn’t let on as much, but Preston had found a chink in my armor. I was good at pretending like I didn’t care that I was alone, but Preston seemed to be finishing the job that Ramiro had inadvertently started and that I’d never truly recovered from. On top of it, Preston had made me feel incredibly dirty. How I’d ever let such a scuzz take up so much of my time and happiness, I would never know. I was just thankful I’d realized it when I did and had the nerve to call it quits.
After the makeup had all melted off my skin, and my fingers and toes had turned into raisins, I turned off the water and dried off, falling exhausted into bed but unable to sleep. I tossed and turned until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I sat up in my bed, surrounded by a sea of plush down pillows and swung my feet to the floor. Throwing back the thick drapes, I could see the faintest sliver of sunlight etching along the Paris skyline. By the time I got dressed, it would cast enough light over the city that I could see where I was going without the streetlights, but the city would still be quiet enough that there wouldn’t be a lot of gawkers wondering if I was who they thought I was.
I rummaged through the chest where my clothes had been unpacked and found my favorite pair of running capris and laced up my shoes. Slipping an old baseball cap over my still-damp hair, I tucked in the loose strands behind my ears. Without any makeup, I looked like an average woman out for a jog.
Cinnamon was still sound asleep on the bed, snoring softly as I snuck out of my room. I was almost surprised not to see Josh slumped over in a chair, sleeping outside my room. I had to give him kudos for his dedication to his job. I had yet to have a morning where he wasn’t waiting for me.
But this m
orning was different.
I hadn’t told Josh or Bert or any of the other bodyguards my plans because I didn’t know I was going to wake up at the crack of dawn to go exercise when I’d bid them goodnight the previous evening. Mostly, I needed some time alone. Time to think and sort out my feelings and reevaluate what I thought could happen between Josh and me, if I were ever brave enough to express interest.
I silently thanked my lucky stars that there was a rug that ran the length of the hotel corridor, otherwise my tennis shoes would have been squeaking like an obnoxious rubber ducky all the way to the elevators. Pushing the down button, I held my breath and bounced on my toes, willing the elevator to move faster. I was pretty certain everyone was still asleep, but I would have a hard time explaining myself if I was caught trying to sneak out.
I let out the breath I’d been trying to hold when my feet hit the pavement outside the hotel. My lungs were already burning, and I gasped in a few deep breaths, but the excitement of being anonymous and out in one of my favorite cities on my own was invigorating. Between a few other buildings, I could see the tip of the Eiffel Tower, glowing in the periwinkle dawn. The hotel was only about a mile away, but I decided I wanted to take a larger loop that would really let me stretch my legs.
My feet lightly tapped the pavement as I pushed myself, taking long, floating strides. It felt good to be breathing in the cool morning air. I ran for several blocks before turning left and continuing. I didn’t really care where I was going—I had my phone and could call the company car to come pick me up if I got too tired and ended up too far away.
The rustling of pigeons’ wings from behind caught my attention. I glanced behind my shoulder to see the flock of birds landing atop the edge of a building roof. It shouldn’t have been disconcerting, but I didn’t notice anything in particular that would startle them, and being one of the dumber birds, they were too stupid to startle easily.
I shrugged off the incident but felt an uneasiness growing in my gut. I took a right at the next corner to be safe, but the street dead ended in construction. I skidded to a stop, turning a full circle to see if there was another way out of my predicament. Without seeing any obvious detour, I backtracked.
When I made it back to the original street I’d been on, I noticed a man leaning against a building, one knee bent with his foot resting against the wall. He kept his chin down, pretending not to look my way, but I could feel his eyes on me. A shock of adrenaline shot through my body, and I knew I had to run.
Without hesitation, I exploded in a flat-out sprint, hoping that I’d come across someone who could help me. I cursed myself for my stupidity. Why hadn’t I told someone where I was going? I moved my legs as fast as I could, but they were already wearying from fatigue. There was only so much more I could take.
Taking a sharp right, I hoped that getting closer to the Eiffel Tower would mean more people. I had my phone but had made a fatal mistake in leaving my mace in the hotel room. If it came to it, it would turn into a physical struggle, which I knew I wouldn’t win. I couldn’t compete with my pursuer’s sheer size.
Looking back at him, a wave of relief engulfed me. I was distancing myself from him, but when I turned back around, another man stepped out from an alleyway, and all too late, I saw his arm reaching for me. Skidding to a stop, I wriggled free and stabbed my pointer finger into his eye. His grip loosened immediately and he dropped to his knees while I sprinted past.
I glanced behind me, and a woman stepped out of the door, crouching down next to the man.
“What are you doing?” she shouted. “My boyfriend was trying to help you!”
“Sorry!” I shouted over my shoulder and she returned it with a slew of unkind words in French.
Valuable time had been wasted when I’d been stopped, and the original assailant was nearly upon me as I continued to run. I turned once more and could see the Eiffel Tower in view and a few early-morning patrons who were taking photographs or simply admiring the magnificent structure. I only needed them to hear my screams, and they could help me.
I felt the man’s fingers brushing my hair and a scream erupted from my lungs. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another man running diagonally at me. Tears started choking me up, constricting my lungs. I knew I was a gonner. There was no way I could escape a two-on-one assault.
Right as the man reached for the collar of my shirt, the other man dove and tackled him, rolling across the grass with a hold on his waist. I ran a few more feet away, then turned to see who had been my rescuer.
Josh was on top of the beady-eyed man, and with one fantastic right hook, my attacker was knocked clean out. A trail of blood oozed from the man’s nose, and he slumped over, barely moving as Josh pushed himself off of him.
“How did you—?” I asked through panting breaths.
Josh looked up at me, like he was seeing me for the first time. “C’mon. We can’t stay here. It’s not safe.” He grabbed my hand without permission and dragged me to what he deemed a safe distance.
“Shouldn’t we call the police?” I asked, turning to see if the man was still lying motionless on the grass.
“Don’t worry, he’s still down,” Josh said, flipping me back around. “And I already called the police. They’ll be here in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
Despite myself, I chuckled. “Where do you come up with these sayings?”
“I told you, small town Kansas. That and spending every summer on my very Southern granny’s plantation.”
I could hear the faint sound of sirens growing louder until two police vehicles skidded to a stop by the lawn. The officers jumped from their cars and honed in on the assailant, who was sitting up, holding his head, probably wondering what force of nature had knocked him out. The officers ran at the man and tackled him back to the ground, where he didn’t bother putting up a struggle. I didn’t envy him the headache he was going to have by the end of the day, if he didn’t already have one.
The city was well on its way to waking up by the time the excitement of the morning was over with. I thanked the police officers, who’d taken my statement and mentioned they’d been looking for my assailant for the past several weeks. He’d been targeting young women and stealing what he could from them before disappearing. I sheepishly simpered at Josh, who had drawn himself to his full height and was ready at any moment to give me a piece of his mind.
“So,” I said casually. “What were you doing out so early this morning?”
Josh’s eyebrows shot up. “Me? I believe I could ask you the very same question.”
“Exercising. Isn’t that obvious?”
Josh’s mouth quirked up into a crooked smile, making my heart jump in my chest like I’d just out-sprinted fifty attackers. “Didn’t you agree to not do something rash like that?”
I pretended to think hard, tapping my finger on my lips, then removed my hat and raked my fingers through my tangle of hair. “I don’t know that I said it in that many words.”
Josh sighed, rubbing his eyes. “You are going to make it difficult for me, aren’t you?”
“I needed some time to clear my head, that’s all.”
“Why didn’t you ask me if I’d go with you?” Josh asked.
My mouth opened and shut, but when I couldn’t think of any justification, I leaned over to a nearby light post and banged my forehead into the pole. “I’m a horrible person, aren’t I? If anything would’ve happened to me, you’d have lost your job, I might have been sent to some far-off country where I’d be forced to become some tribal chief’s fifth wife, and then Harper Music would really be in trouble.”
“My granny would say that’s up a creek without a paddle.”
“Josh,” I groaned. “All these sayings are so cryptic.”
He laughed heartily, then stopped abruptly and cleared his throat. “Don’t panic, but it looks like you’re about a centimeter away from someone’s chewing gum.”
I yanked my head off the post and held my fingers to my foreh
ead, where I’d probably given myself a sizable bruise that Wanda was going to have to cover up. “I probably would have deserved to have gum stuck in my hair.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,” Josh said, resting his arm on my shoulder. “And seriously, next time, ask, and I’d be happy to go with you, even if it’s unnaturally early. I’ll even let you run in front so you can have some alone time without the risk of being kidnapped.”
“Maybe I’ll bring Cinnamon. Or I’ll ask Bert to come with me instead,” I teased.
“I think you’d have to do a lot of bribing to get him to go running. He prefers being the brawny bodyguard and leaving the chasing to me.”
“Fair enough,” I agreed. “For what it’s worth, thanks for saving me. It was quite the spectacular tackle.”
“Happy to help.”
“I’m still not entirely convinced that you weren’t following me the whole time,” I mused. “How is it that in this enormous city, you and I happened to cross paths?”
“I couldn’t seem to sleep either, and I figured, how many times does a person get to go jogging around the Eiffel Tower?”
I shrugged nonchalantly and said, “This is my eighth trip to Paris, between work and personal visits. I’ve probably done it a few dozen times.”
Josh shook his head in amazement and mocked, “Well, not everyone gets to be the globetrotter that you are. It was a special sight to behold for me.”
“It is for me, too. Every time.”
My stomach decided it’d had enough talk and gurgled, unladylike, refusing to stop even when I wrapped my arms around my waist.
“Hungry?” Josh asked.
“That or my stomach is threatening to implode on itself.”
Josh turned an entire circle. “Where’s a good place to eat?”
“The hotel,” I answered. “Where I can shower and put on some makeup and a decent outfit before I’m seen in public.”
Josh put his hands on his hips, and pursed his lips, rejecting the idea with a shake of his head. “Trust me, Kiki. You look great.” He draped his arm across my shoulder, making my knees threaten to buckle. He was probably sweatier than I was, but I didn’t mind. Slowly, we strolled away, and I made sure to keep myself close to his side. Being tucked in the crook of his arm felt the safest I’d been in a long time.
How a Star Shines: A Pop Stars Romantic Comedy Book 2 Page 12
