The Director (Hollywood Nights)

by North, Cara

  “You don’t…”

  “I’m taking you home,” he said it with such finality she didn’t argue. She pulled the sweatshirt on over her gown and searched without success for her underwear. She followed him out the front door and to the car where he opened the door for her.

  Chapter 4

  Jed drove her home. It was difficult to open the door and let her out of the car. He extended a hand and she took it. She had no idea how the touch sent electricity through his veins. He was alive around her. The feeling at once so comforting and frightening, he barely knew how to manage it. He helped her out and said, “Can I at least get your number?”

  “No.” She smiled. “I think it’s best we just go on like this never happened.” She must have seen the hurt in his expression though he tried to mask it the best he could. He wasn’t an actor anymore. His emotions were as real and raw as they came. She explained, “I mean…I will never forget it, Jed. I just don’t want to ruin anything for either of us.”

  “You are hideous,” he said as his hand stroked her cheek longingly. Her eyes opened wide in surprise. “You told me not to call you beautiful. I was hoping if I called you something else you would reconsider giving me your number.”

  She snickered. Her face leaned into his palm and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her. He could not explain how desperately he wanted to remain near her. It was just a basic instinct. She was a broken soul, much like him. She had no idea how badly he wanted to know her. She kissed his palm and said, “Goodbye, Jed.”

  She walked towards the building. He closed and then leaned on the car door to watch her as she walked away. He called out, “I’m not giving up that easy, just so you know.”

  She was almost at her door when she stopped, turned, and said, “Maybe next time you should just ask for coffee.”

  He could not express the relief in his lungs, the lightness of his heart, or the joy suddenly building inside of him. She stepped into the door and looked at him through the glass. She lifted a hand and waved. He held up his hand and then let it fall as she smiled and turned away. He knew where she lived. He knew who had her phone number, and he was going to get a proper date out of her. He was going to make it clear to his family he didn’t need anyone’s approval, least of all his little brother’s new bride.

  ***

  Shay didn’t bother to shower, she simply landed on her bed and pulled the hoodie he had given her up to her nose to inhale the warm scent of him. How could she let this happen? She was bound and determined to make a clean break, but once he called her hideous while caressing her in such a way that let her know he thought she was anything but, she couldn’t help it. He had her sick humor. He had that darkness in him. He wasn’t going to give up. She wasn’t sure she was ready to bare her soul to anyone. She had only recently uncovered it for herself.

  She looked at the picture of her grandparents hanging on the wall and said, “You would like him. He doesn’t care what I’m made of.”

  The next morning she called Alex. She needed to meet with him. She dressed in a conservative, yet professional outfit and waited at the coffee shop rather than meeting him at his office.

  “I’d like to audition for Sleepers,” Shay said and passed him the script.

  “Why?” He didn’t bother to look at it. He motioned for the waitress. She arrived before Shay could get another word out. “I’ll have the usual. What are you having?”

  It was a test. This whole meeting was another Alex Harvey test. She was auditioning for him to prove she was ready to audition for anything he could book for her. Shay smiled at the waitress and said, “I’ll have a cup of tea please.”

  The woman walked away and Harvey said, “Good choice. I’m glad you stopped ordering water. You don’t like coffee?”

  “I do,” Shay said confidently. “But ordering coffee in a coffee shop won’t plant a little seed of difference. Ordering tea might make someone remember I ordered tea when they ordered coffee.”

  “Interesting,” Alex looked at his cell phone.

  “I think I am a good fit for the part.”

  “Desperation,” Alex said and then made a tisking sound while waiving his finger.

  She took a deep breath. He was right. He knew what they were there for. He ordered something to drink and was sitting down. That meant she had some time to get to business. There is an entire courting process people have to go through when they are in her position. There are a ton of desperate people aiming to get face time with anyone who might have a moment to hear them. The challenge was to get them to listen.

  He asked, “What is the difference between listening and hearing?”

  “Anyone can hear me talk. I can hear everything going on in this coffee shop, but I am not listening. My attention is on this conversation. And your attention was on the phone when I said that, so you couldn’t listen to me when I mentioned it.” She tried not to sigh audibly. In all the years her parents had carted her off to auditions and to casting calls they never invested any time or money into the business aspect of Hollywood. They thought she looked good so she should naturally be successful. There was a considerable amount of work to be done behind the scenes.

  He was pleased with her answer. “I already set up the appointment. You read for them tomorrow. I also believe this would be a good role for you. More importantly, my father is out of town and cannot talk me out of it. He doesn’t like the brothers, says they have just as many hits as they have disasters.”

  “I’ve never known them to have a bad movie,” Shay said as the drinks arrived.

  Alex made a grunting noise then sipped his coffee. He sat the cup down and said, “Well, my dear that is because those don’t make it to production. They are brilliant. No one is arguing there. When they are on the same page it works well. When they get their heads butting it is disastrous.”

  “Don’t they know if they agree or disagree before getting to the set?” Shay didn’t understand.

  “No,” Alex said with a laugh. “They direct it together. Until the directions don’t match up, they have no idea they are not aiming for the same goal. It’s tragic really. Fortunately, they know rather quickly if it will work or not. It’s why they like working with the same people.”

  She nodded. “I was excited to see I got a few lines in the second of the series.”

  “They like you over there. It’s a good thing. If this doesn’t work out with Sleepers, in a few years I know a director who will be free and willing to work with you. He has to finish up these movies with Jonas, but he has already told me he wouldn’t mind working with you again,” Alex said as his phone began to buzz. He looked down at it and said, “Okay, kid. I gotta go. My Aunt is pissed at me for missing a wedding.”

  “It’s that time of year,” Shay commiserated.

  He nodded, “I’ll send you the details on the meeting time and place. Work on your lines. This is a good choice of outfit. Wear it there. You’re doing good, Shay.”

  It was the small compliments that meant a lot to her. Alex didn’t pull any punches. He couldn’t fire her. She was his project. He had to make her a star if he wanted to take over the family business. The Harvey Agency was the crème de la crème of talent agencies. They represented some of the highest earning actors in Hollywood. Harvey had not taken on a new client in years.

  Then he found her, and he saved her. She was his last project he told her. He needed to believe Alex could do more than manage those already established. He needed to know the Harvey legacy would carry on when it was his son’s turn to run the show. What better way than to take a nobody wanting to be a somebody and make her a star? Alex had been ruthless. He had created a 12-Step program not unlike the ones used in addiction rehabilitation. He said a lot of famous people become addicted to a variety of things.

  Shay wasn’t famous, but she was addicted to a considerable amount of things. Among the ones she discovered was self-hatred and self-destruction. Those were the hardest two to accept, but once she did, they
were the easiest to work on and overcome. The hardest to overcome was the addiction to shopping. Things had become her drug of choice, high priced fashion labels to be specific. She had blown through most of her inheritance trying to look like she was already successful rather than figuring out how to be successful.

  Shay finished her tea and picked up the script. The rehearsing should help her keep the lingering thoughts of a certain already famous person out of her head.

  ***

  As the days passed and the auditions were over, Shay found herself disappointed that Jed Gunner had lied. He said he wasn’t giving up easily, yet she hadn’t heard from him. It was her first exercise in controlling the impulse to make herself feel better in the absence of acceptance. She didn’t shop. Instead, she organized everything she had ever bought into sections and categories in the main bedroom of her modest home. It took almost a week to complete the task.

  The next day…

  Shay was returning from a jog when she noticed the car. She slowed as she approached her building and the man sitting on the stairs leading to her front door. She was torn between anger and excitement. She was mad at him because this was the first time she had seen him since he dropped her off at the break of dawn and said he wasn’t giving up. He never called her.

  She came to a stop in front of him and he stood. Jed Gunner was six foot some odd inches tall with wide shoulders, a muscular but not bulky chest, long lean legs, and stunning blue eyes that made her heart melt just looking at them. He had two cups of coffee in a carrier in his left hand. He said, “I couldn’t wait any longer.”

  “Wait for what?” She started stretching as though he were not there. Her body ached from the run, but it was aching in all new places at the sight of him. It was unreal the effect he had on her.

  “I was hoping to catch you going in or coming out of work. I have been waiting morning and night, but you never showed up. Yesterday, Jonas came back to work so I had a real reason to be there. I realized a little too late that they were just starting the second film…”

  “I’m not there for another week or so.” She looked at him. She believed him. He was blushing under all that hair. “I’m not sure how I feel about this.”

  “About what?” he frowned.

  “About being stalked by a celebrity.” She smiled. She had missed him. Insane as it felt, she did actually miss him.

  “If it is any consolation, I’m apparently not very good at it. I remembered that you wanted to keep it a secret and realized too late everyone I knew to get the number from was someone you wouldn’t want to know why I needed it. I drove by here a few times, but I didn’t want you to get freaked out, so I never stopped. I didn’t want to keep stalking you here, and thought you would be less likely to say no if people were around.” He held up the coffee and said, “Can I ask you in for coffee?”

  “Can you ask me in to my own house?” She bit her lower lip and tried not to get too excited. She was flattered he had been through all the trouble of trying to see her while still trying to keep her secret.

  “Well,” he said. “By the time we got back to my place it would be cold. I think it’s lukewarm at best. I’ve been sitting here for almost an hour.”

  She reached behind her and fished the key out of the zipper pocket on the back of the running shorts. “Well, I do enjoy lukewarm coffee.”

  She moved towards the door and he let her past him but not before reaching out to touch her hip with his free hand and saying, “You look extremely unappealing to me in that outfit. I can barely stand the sight of your abs.”

  She laughed. The touch sizzled through her in that dark, dangerous, yet sweet way he had. “I do aim to repulse.”

  He heaved a heavy sigh. Lust was as clear an emotion as any on the man’s face. She heard him whisper as she opened the door. “I’m repulsed, trust me.”

  The moment the door clicked and she turned the lock the air in her townhouse had changed. She turned to find him staring at her. The coffee had been placed on the table near the door where she now dropped the key.

  She was covered in sweat. She was sure he couldn’t be thinking what he was thinking, but the moment he stepped forward she knew he didn’t care how sweaty she was. He pulled her up against him as he leaned down to kiss her. She met his lips with eager anticipation. He was everything she remembered him to be. In two short steps she was pressed against the wall and lifted to better align their bodies.

  “I need a shower,” she said between breathless kisses.

  He ignored her and rocked his hips into her letting her know he didn’t care if she was a hot, sweaty mess, he wanted her.

  The slide of his tongue against hers, the feel of his facial hair tickling her flesh, the press of his hips, and the grip of his hands let her know they wouldn’t make it to the kitchen ten paces away, much less the bathroom for a shower.

  She slid her hands down and began unfastening his belt and then his jeans. Her hand reached in and found the hard length of his erection impossibly smooth to the touch. He was steel draped in the smoothest, softest velvet. Her body ached for him and everything she knew he would do to her. He sought her heat beneath the loose leg of the running shorts and pressed two fingers into her.

  They touched each other like that for torturously long moments until he adjusted their bodies once more. Holding the material of her shorts tightly pulled to one side he nudged the head of his cock against her entry.

  “Fuck,” he growled more than said. “I need you to get the condom out of my wallet.”

  She reached for it, her weight shifted and the head penetrated. He slid farther into her with a desperate moan of relief. She gulped. It was so good that way, but he wanted the condom so she was getting it for him.

  She pulled the condom out, tore the wrapper and then sighed as he pulled out of her. She made quick work of slipping it on. He made another quick adjustment and slid into her with a lusty groan.

  His mouth met hers and he began fucking her like that, against the wall in her home, still clothed. Desperately, passionately, they moved in awkward and rough motions until he came. He pushed hard into her and held tight. His lips pressed to hers pinning her to the wall with every bit of his body he could. She could not remember feeling so possessed by someone. Jed didn’t just fuck her, like a savage, he claimed her.

  By infinitesimal increments he slowly let her go until they stood there facing each other, breathless, bewildered. He blinked a few times and then said with a sheepish grin, “I really just wanted to have coffee with you. But you were in those horrible shorts and I kinda…lost control.”

  She laughed and leaned into his kiss as he wrapped her into his arms. They should not be so comfortable with each other, she thought. They didn’t know one another well enough for this, but it was undeniable that when it came to sexual chemistry they were explosive.

  “I think I can handle that shower now.” He circled his nose around hers and then placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

  ***

  Jed was officially losing his mind. He had spent the past week fighting with himself and the situation. He tried to convince himself that he was just a little lonely and that is why he was going so crazy. He smoked more on days he was trying to give up the idea of her and less on days he thought she wouldn’t approve of him smoking. He was mad at himself for even worrying about what she did or did not approve of.

  He tried to go out with a girl Janice had set him up with. He felt like he was cheating on Shay the entire time. It was weird. He didn’t love her, he could not possibly love someone he did not know, but he was obsessed with her. Infatuated beyond reasonable control and instead of throwing lukewarm coffee in his face, she had let him inside.

  His intentions to talk to her went out the window, and the next thing he knew he had her pinned against a wall. Now, he followed her up the stairs of the modest home to her bedroom and the bathroom located there. He looked around the room. He suspected the couple hanging on the wall was her father’s paren
ts. He decided she had several of her grandmother’s features. The woman looked familiar to him, but he didn’t know why. He was then distracted by the abundance of items placed in an organized fashion in a room too small to properly hold them.

  The bed was covered with handbags and shoes. They seemed to be set up in what he imagined was a pattern for mixing and matching easily. Nothing cheap about anything she owned. He wasn’t sure how much extras made these days, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t enough to cover the cost of all this.

  “Where do you sleep?” he couldn’t help but ask.

  “In what I suppose could be considered the guest room. It has a twin bed. It used to be my bedroom when I visited so I’m used to it. It’s just easier for me to keep my closet close to the bathroom lately.” She untied the running shoes and then tugged them off followed by her socks. He looked around the place again as she finished, and he started to undress. She noticed him looking and said, “It’s weird right? I know it is, but I won’t get rid of it since I haven’t worn half of it, and can’t afford a bigger place. This one was left to me by my grandma. I just pay taxes and utilities. I own it.”

  He looked without really looking at the labels on some of the items as he placed his clothes over the arm of a chair that was already home to an assortment of name brand sunglasses and wondered how she didn’t see how much money she had spent on these things. He didn’t say anything. He was treading on thin ice as it was and he wanted to eventually know why her bedroom looked like an extravagant display of excess, rather than a place she would sleep.

  “This is a good neighborhood.” He could comment on that.

  “Yeah,” she agreed. “There are lots of old people around. Some used to be in the business.”

  “Were your grandparents actors?”

  “No,” she said and shook her head. “My grandmother was a costume designer. She made custom clothes for some people. Talented woman, smart with money. I wish I were more like her and less like her son.”