I sat there on that plane, dwelling on him, alternately crying and touching up my makeup. Thankfully there was no one in the seat beside me. The stewardesses gave me curious sympathetic smiles, but mostly left me alone after I refused food and drinks about eight hundred times.
Yeah, I knew a lot of it was my fault. He was a great guy, but I had a career to think of. I was on the brink of superstardom. No screwing it up now.
I closed my eyes and leaned back against the headrest. I needed to get my mind on something positive. The concert, the fans, the applause, the thrill. Then Dad and Shiny Red. So much for positive.
Back to Alain. A guy that preferred a life lived in the shadows. A guy who worked for some agency that didn’t even exist. A guy that had proposed to me two months ago, and who didn’t bother to call me after surviving whatever so-called mission they did this time.
Yeah, Alain was a guy that was probably just as messed up as I was.
How could I live with a secret agent and become a famous actress? How could I live with a secret agent and not know anything about his work?
And now, my friend Tamara knew more about what Alain and his cohorts were up to than I did. When was he going to tell me we didn’t need to worry about getting shot or blown up any more? When was he going to tell me that jerk Colonel Johnson was responsible for all that misery, and now he was dead? Wow. It boggled my mind.
I looked out the window at the tops of clouds that looked like cotton candy. That was one weird organization. They had American military guys at the top—that much I knew. I was pretty sure they also had foreign military guys in charge too. Then there was Alain and his friends—an odd group of recruits. Alain was French, Jimmy was American, Eduardo was Spanish, and David was Austrian. The four of them had obviously been to hell and back numerous times. Now they were in charge of training. Of course, they still went off to save the world from time to time.
Alain would only say they were in international law enforcement. From what I could see, they sure had a lot more clout than Interpol. I mean, who could get away with shooting a colonel? I figured they answered to the little old men who ran the world.
***
I pulled my shiny black sport sedan up to the gate. It took every minute on the plane to whip myself into shape to confront Alain. But I was ready.
Then I noticed the guard. I couldn’t help but groan as I realized my misfortune. It was the very same guard I had encountered before. The rifle slung stiffly over his shoulder, the sneering lips, the firm jaw, and the steely eyes. It was that very guard I loathed.
My resolve began to crumble. I put my head down against the steering wheel, and my brain returned to the day last fall when I’d first tried to cajole the guy into letting me through. Unfortunately, Debbie was hysterical in the seat beside me, and when I got out of the car to confront the guard, she drove off through the gate and into the side of a truck. Meanwhile, I’d tried to wrestle the guy to prevent him and his cohorts from shooting us.
Yeah, that was a fun day. As if that episode wasn’t bad enough, that was the day Debbie managed to learn about David’s secret agent girlfriend. Not one of our brighter moments. I took a deep breath.
I hadn’t come all the way from L.A. for nothing. I formed a determined smile, tossed my hair back, and confidently opened the door.
Yeah, this guy was doomed. I know I sound smug, but I pictured how my legs would look to the guy as I got out of the car. I always made sure my pedicure was impeccable. Kind of a quirk of mine, I guess. My legs are one of my best features, so I wore strappy black heels and a short black form-fitting dress topped with a fashionable jacket.
All those acting classes paid off—I learned early in life how to work it. I could see him checking out my legs. Yeah, this was going to be easy. He was doomed. I strutted toward him.
He gasped as he recognized me, and I didn’t give him time to speak. I was a little nervous—after all, he had a gun—so my voice was high-pitched again, and I couldn’t stop my hands from motioning with my words. “I hope you learned some English since last fall. Believe me, I’m in no mood for more aggravation. Verstehen sie? See? I learned some German, so I hope you learned some English. Now I need to see Alain Dusseault. Agent—Alain—Dusseault.”
He went to the phone while his colleagues stood by. They were all watching me—appreciatively, I would say.
Not that I’m stuck up or anything, but I’m well aware of the impact I have on men. As a former swimsuit model, I know that more than a few men fantasize over my photos. And women envy me. Okay, so I do brag from time to time—but I’m kind of a rarity in Beverly Hills. My curves are all my own.
Plus I have long sandy hair that sparkles with natural blonde highlights. And I don’t need contact lenses to have that shade of green eyes everyone wants these days. But I admit I take a lot of time to apply my makeup to accentuate them.
Anyway, it’s not just looks that matter—it’s attitude. And when I make up my mind, there’s no stopping me.
So, momentarily, I was escorted to General Pearson’s office.
“Glori, so nice to see you again.” Pearson clasped both my hands in his. “How was California? I really miss it, you know.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean, General. The weather sure is a heck of a lot nicer. I don’t know why you guys don’t just build a place there.”
The General chuckled and smoothed short white hair that stood at attention on the top of his head. I thought he was still a very handsome man, even though he was pretty old—probably late fifties. He was kind of like a father figure.
“General, I need to see Alain.”
Pearson looked at his watch. “Well, of course, Glori. He’s probably done for the day. I’ll take you to his office.” Pearson led me down the hall and left me to meander through the small space. There was an open door that led into Jimmy’s empty office.
As I went to close that door, I noticed a photo of Aubrey Rose on top of a pile of files on the mess that was Jimmy’s desk. Alain’s desk was practically sterile. The framed photo I’d given him was nowhere in sight. My eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t help it. I looked out the window. Damn mascara.
“Glori.” His voice brought me back to the day over a year ago when Alain first uttered my name. I remembered his tone, his sexy French accent. I turned to see the man I loved with all my heart. Tall and muscular, handsome as ever, he seemed unscathed by his latest mission. I froze in place. He strode into the room and took me in his arms.
“Alain, you never called.” My voice betrayed me again. I was a friggin’ actress. Why couldn’t I be cool when I needed to be?
“I’m sorry, Glori.”
That was it? Sorry. Well, I do have a temper, and it got the best of me. I couldn’t modulate my voice, and I didn’t think before I spoke. “Sorry? Sorry? I’ve been on so many planes for so long—I don’t even know what day of the week it is. I thought something happened to you. And that’s all you can say? Sorry?”
As I stepped back, my heel slipped on the tile, and I started to lose my balance. I noticed Eduardo and Jimmy outside the open door, grinning at each other.
Alain righted me as he exhaled a heavy sigh. “Glori—I—I just did not know what to think when I found you went back to L.A. I don’t want to stop you from your career. But you’ve been recording here with Paulo. And we were just there for the music awards. I didn’t see a need for you to go back to California.”
I could hear Eduardo. “Whoa. This is gonna be good.”
I didn’t care who was listening—I went ballistic. “You didn’t see a need? What are you talking about?”
Alain’s silence made me even madder. I extracted myself from his arms, and my voice rose higher. “And I have never seen a need for you to disappear for weeks at a time to go save the world! So what? Did that ever stop you? Or even slow you down? You can’t get enough of that shit. And did I ever say no, Alain, you can’t go save the world? You’d have thought I was crazy. And I must be. To think
you never even called me to tell me you survived. Again! And I’m thinking I have a real future with you?”
I backed into the side of his desk. Maybe it was that little jolt that turned on the light bulb. “And I just realized when you changed your mind about me. It was that night I told you about Christina.”
Eduardo’s voice echoed in the hall. “Who’s Christina?”
Jimmy answered, “I dunno. You think she’s…”
Alain slammed the office door shut, never taking his eyes off me.
Yeah, I was seeing red, all right. My insides felt all squished, like I couldn’t even breathe. I was so damned worried over him, and he had the gall to tell me what I should do. While he was free as a bird to do whatever he wanted. The bastard. I’d given him my heart. I’d even confided in him about Christina.
He stepped toward me. “Glori, I’ll never forget that night. I’ve never loved you more. And I still love you. I’ll always love you. I don’t want to stop you from your career. I know it’s important to you. But I know I’m selfish. I need to have you there for me. I need you now.” His steamy voice lowered to a faint plaintive whisper. He started with the kisses.
That was it. There was no resisting the urge. Yeah, I was hooked. I didn’t even mind the laughter from the hallway when Alain whisked me onto the desk and stuff went crashing to the floor. Agent Alain Dusseault had my heart, and I couldn’t seem to do a thing about it. That was a new experience for me.
***
The Redemption Series:
Book One: Killer Cupid
Book Two: Fame, Fortune & Secrets
Book Three: In the Name of Glori
Contact: [email protected]
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Fame, Fortune & Secrets (The Redemption Series: Book 2) Page 25
