“Television app.” Georgia tested the word. “Like for phones?”
“Phones, tablets . . . any electronic device, really.” Sharon grinned; Georgia didn’t share her enthusiasm.
“But there are already so many apps that do that.”
“Ah, but none that will have a hit show staring Georgia Evans.” Sharon grinned.
Lovely. Georgia got the feeling her agent was laying it on a little thick. “What kind of show is it?”
“Well, it’s a mashup. Some steamy sex, some noir, but at its heart it’s a romantic comedy.”
“A comedy?” Georgia dropped the folder onto Sharon’s desk, her eyes wide. “I can’t do comedy. That’s… I don’t know… It’s not like I’m Reese or Sandra! This won’t work!”
“You have no choice but to make it work.” Sharon leaned back in her chair and pulled a pack of nicotine gum out of the drawer. She waved the pack of gum at Georgia accusingly. “As soon as you stepped in the door of that rehab clinic, you became a liability. No producer wants a wild card on their picture. And until you prove yourself with a project or two under your belt, you’re still a wild card.”
Georgia ran a hand over her face and fell into her chair. “Then what you're saying is that it's either this independent…” She waved her hand in the air between them. “App thing. Or it's nothing at all.”
Sharon popped a piece of gum in her mouth and shoved the pack back into the drawer. “I’m saying you should feel lucky that this studio seems to want you so badly that they’d pull some crazy stunts to get your interest. Because unless you can call on some of your Hollywood friends to pull some strings and get you on one of their pictures, then this is it.”
Yeah, friends. When Georgia was a famous party girl, she had friends coming out of the woodwork. Paris and Kim had had nothing on her. Now that she was no longer a aprt of that lifestyle, those so-called friends had ridden off into the sunset.
“That won’t happen.” Georgia pinched her lips together, trying to dredge up some enthusiasm.
“Didn't think so.” Sharon let out a long breath. “Look, I commend you for cleaning up. I really do, but it has been a good two years since you've done anything in this industry. Two years with no credits, and you're basically starting over.”
“I know, you warned me. It's just. . .”
“You were hoping I was wrong.”
“Yes.” Georgia slumped her shoulders in defeat.
Sharon chuckled. “Honey, you should know by now that I'm never wrong. I wasn’t wrong when I urged you to go to rehab back then…” She put her finger on the folder, drawing Georgia's attention to it. “And I'm not wrong about this. This is the best opportunity that has come across my desk in weeks. You have a chance to get in with a famous producer, and a rising director. Both of them are well-connected and could make things happen for you.”
“Who's playing the male lead?” If it was a big enough name, then maybe there was hope for this project.
“Doesn't matter.” Sharon waved her hand in dismissal, but Georgia thought she caught a slight hesitation before her agent forged on. “What matters is doing this job and doing it well. Create some buzz and give me something to work with. Then I can go to these big production companies and get you the juicer roles.”
Georgia considered for a moment, then held out her hand. “Okay. I’ll take it.”
“Oh no, honey.” Sharon winced, handing her the folder. “You don’t have the part yet. This is just an audition.”
“What?” Georgia stood abruptly and stared at her agent, her eyes wide with shock. “I thought you told me I had the part.”
“You have an opportunity for the part. There’s a difference.” Sharon smiled sympathetically.
“But… I never audition.” Georgia closed her eyes, rubbed at her temples.
“Correction: you never used to audition.” Sharon sighed and pointed to the folder in Georgia's hands. “Look, here’s the thing. I've been working around the clock for you for weeks. No one is interested. Except the yogurt commercial, and Sunrise. And they’re making you audition, but trust me when I say they want you.”
Georgia stared at her blankly, then sucked in a deep breath. “So this is where I put on my big girl panties and deal with it?”
“That’s right, sugar plum.” Sharon made a shooing motion with her hands as Georgia blankly stared at a picture frame on her desk, one decorated with ribbons. “Sunrise is on the main floor of the building here. You’ve got three hours to prepare, so I suggest you go start reading.”
Sharon looked Georgia up and down, taking in her disheveled appearance. “And maybe comb your hair or something first, okay?”
“Three hours?” Georgia’s eyes widened. That wasn’t nearly enough time to prepare for an audition.
“It was the best I could do, Georgia. I’m sorry. They’re on a really tight production schedule.”
“Okay.” Georgia swallowed the lump in her throat and glanced at her folder. “I'll try my best.”
Sharon winked at her and put her glasses back on. “You can do this. Trust me, they want you.”
Georgia clutched the folder to her chest and headed to the elevators. A comedy? She’d never done comedy before and didn’t know if she could pull it off. A romantic lead was even worse.
Georgia hadn’t been with a man since Cole. What did she know about romance?
Her stomach lurched as the elevator descended. She didn’t have a choice—she was going to trust Sharon and give this project her all.
The sleek glass doors of the Black Towers elevator opened and Georgia stepped out into the bustling lobby. Standing on her toes, she looked across the expanse of marble and glass to where the doors of Sunrise stood.
In three hours, she’d be walking through those doors, and hopefully when she walked out of them she’d have an actual job again.
She had to do this.
Georgia closed her eyes for a moment, trying to channel some kind of inner zen that still eluded her, even after years in California.
When she opened them again, her eyes zeroed in on the back of a tall, lean man with shaggy golden hair and broad shoulders emphasized in a snug leather jacket. Something about the way he moved had alarm bells clanging in her head as the man walked out the front of Black Towers, a suited security guard in tow.
Surely that hadn’t been Cole. Georgia hadn’t come face to face with him since they’d broken up, and what were the chances that they would just run into each other on the day that their sex tape had broken loose?
As soon as the thought zipped through her head, Georgia shook it off. Cole wasn’t here, this was just her mind playing tricks on her because half of the world had just seen one of their more intimate moments played out on smart phone screens.
She needed to focus on getting this job, and that meant she had to clear her mind. No sex tape, no negativity, no self-doubt.
And especially no Cole Anderson.
***
The ride to Camden Heights was short, and as the limo pulled into the familiar gated community, every muscle in Cole's body tightened in anger and frustration.
Breakups could get nasty. This was not news to him. But what Regina had done by releasing the sex tape… that was a whole new level of low.
“Regina!” Cole channeled his pent-up rage into his voice as he tugged open the front door to the apartment and stormed inside.
Regina was home—he could feel her presence in the charged air. Stalking through the immaculate foyer and contemporary sitting area, he found nothing. Fisting his hands, he stormed into the kitchen, then turned and went the opposite direction to the bathroom and bedroom.
Still nothing.
When he emerged out into the hall, soft weeping could be heard from the direction of the second bedroom. His gut instinct was to soften, to feel bad for the woman he’d lived with until last night.
Then he remembered what she’d done. Plus, he knew Regina, and he knew that she was like a shark. Any hint of s
oftness and she’d be out for blood. Grinding his teeth, Cole shoved through the door. What he saw made his mouth fall open with shock.
This bedroom was his man cave. A large, mahogany desk sat along the far wall, with framed posters of his more popular movies behind it. Along the right wall sat a large potted plant and a bay window, and along the left hand wall lined were shelves stacked with scripts, awards, and trinkets he had picked up from various projects.
The room was a gold mine for anyone who was into film, and Cole had taken great pride in acquiring each artifact in his collection. They each held memories of the career that had consumed his life since he was a kid.
Regina was naked, her wheat-colored hair drawn up on the top of her head, red lipstick smeared as though she’d had a long night, which he supposed they both had.
She was in the process of methodically throwing his artifacts one after another out the bay window and onto the side-lot below. When he stepped in, she was in the process of removing a large poster of his movie Jungle Heat off the wall. The poster was huge, and she was having difficulty lifting the thick paper with her skinny arms.
“What the hell are you doing?” His mouth fell open in disbelief.
“Taking out the trash.” She grinned at him, her sky blue eyes more than a little wild as she tilted the poster on its side and scurried toward the window, naked skin gleaming in the slanted sunlight.
“You can't do that! That’s a priceless artifact. There are only ten in existence.”
“Nine.” She sniffed and crumpled a corner of the paper in her hand. Cole rushed toward her, but was too late. The massive, limited edition print was crumpled up on the pavement below.
“What is wrong with you?” He whirled on her, throwing his hands up in the air. “Are you high?”
“Maybe you’d pay more attention to me if I was.” Icy daggers shot from Regina’s eyes as she turned, planting her hands on her hips. Her long, lush body was on full display in the sunlight, round tits, slender waist, long legs and naked pussy.
Under his scrutiny, she shifted, swaying her hips back and forth. Cole turned away abruptly—she’d always used sex as a way to deflect when they’d fought before. But now? There was no going back from what she’d done. His body would never respond to her again.
“Are you listening to yourself? Do you know that I struggled with drugs in the past? What the hell would make you say something like that?” Cole slammed a hand into the wall, furious.
“Yeah. Drugs. Your little thing with her.” Regina gestured out the window to where the poster lay—the poster, he realized, of the movie he’d starred in with Georgia Evans.
“Our little thing.” Cole repeated this with disgust, looking at her through new eyes. “Are you seriously referring to a destructive dependency problem as our little thing?”
“Drugs. That poster. That fucking video.” Regina balled her hands into fists at her sides. “It all comes back to her, doesn’t it?”
“What?” Cole’s reply was brusque and instant, but as he spoke a pang rippled through his chest.
Regina lifted her chin and crossed her arms over her naked chest. “You always loved her more than you loved me.”
“Regina.” He didn’t deny it. He couldn’t. Georgia Evans had blazed through his life like a rocket that he’d never quite been able to catch hold of, and he’d never been able to quite recapture that feeling. He suspected he never would.
“You say her name in your sleep, you asshole.” Regina shook her head as tears started to roll down her cheeks. She swiped a hand over her face, and her lipstick smeared. “That bitch is like a ghost following you around. You can't shake her.”
“Don’t call—”
“Save it.” Regina held up her hand. “Look, let’s call this what it is. I hooked up with you because I wanted to further my career and because you’ve got a big cock. You took up with me because you wanted to shed the party-boy rep and because we were good when we fucked. It’s my fault I got feelings.”
“Georgia is my ex.” Cole narrowed his eyes.
“And now so am I.” Smirking, Regina flipped him the finger, then moved over to the next poster.
“You are batshit crazy.” He watched her movements, not able to bring himself to stop her. Maybe because… maybe because he felt more than a little bit guilty?
She wasn’t wrong. She wasn’t wrong about any of it.
“If I’m crazy, it’s from months of trying to compete with a ghost.” Her face blank, Regina moved to the desk, glanced down at the laptop sitting open on it. Biting her lip, she moved the screen so that he could see and pressed a button. Immediately the sex tape he had made with Georgia started playing.
All sympathy he felt for Regina fled out the window along with his possessions.
“I can get you in a hell of a lot of trouble for doing that, Regina.” His voice was quiet. “Did you think about that? Georgia wasn’t even eighteen in that tape.”
“You’ll never prove it was me.” Regina shrugged , then turned back to the task at hand, seemingly unbothered by the moans and pants emanating from the laptop. And in that second Cole realized that she didn’t actually care—she wasn’t hurt because she loved him.
She was pissed because she’d been rejected.
Shaking his head, Cole turned and headed from the room. He paused in the doorway to cast one last look over his shoulder at the woman he’d thought he had some genuine affection for.
She was smiling to herself as the sounds of Georgia’s climax poured from the computer. And with that, all remaining threads of pity he held in his heart for her snapped.
He didn’t need this shit.
He had enough waiting for him back at Black Towers.
Chapter Three
“Next month: Reporter Liv Bremer will go in-depth on former wild child Georgia Evans’ surprise sex tape scandal.”
ELITE MAGAZINE
Georgia shifted in her seat and tried not to appear nervous.
“I'm sorry, I have no idea what’s going on.” Evan Black reclined in his seat behind the large desk. “Normally he's very punctual.”
“Despite his image in the media, our leading man is normally quite dependable.” The director, Kevin Hawke, agreed from his seat next to him.
Georgia folded her hands in her lap and forced herself to smile brightly. “It's okay.”
She nibbled her lip in thought. “Who did you say we were waiting for again?”
“This is so unusual.” Evan ignored her question. “Something must have happened.”
He stood and held out his hand. Georgia didn’t miss the way his eyes swept over her body—she was sure he’d seen the sex tape. Hell, everyone else had. At least he hadn’t commented on it.
“I can't force you wait any longer.” Ethan tilted his head, studying her. Georgia felt like a bug under a microscope. “I'm sure you're very busy.”
“It’s okay, really.” Ha. Not as busy as he seemed to think. “Maybe he'll be by in a few more minutes.”
And now she sounded desperate. Awesome.
Kevin glanced at his watch. “Unfortunately, we have another meeting—”
Suddenly, the door burst open to the office. “Sorry I'm late.”
Georgia froze as a sexy golden-haired man entered the room. Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no.
“Where have you been?” Kevin pushed his hipster glasses up on his nose and scowled at the new arrival, whose face was set in inscrutable lines. “We don’t have much time here.”
“I had something I needed to deal with.” And that’s when Cole turned the force of those long-lashed eyes onto Georgia for the first time in years. He held the gaze, and she felt the force of it like a punch in the gut.
“Hello, Georgia.” The corners of his lips curved up in a ghost of a smile, and Georgia felt her knees actually tremble.
No, oh no, she couldn’t do this.
“Well, I think we all know that you two, ah, know each other.” Ethan smirked at Cole, who ignored him, ke
eping his eyes on Georgia.
“It all makes sense now.” Turning to Ethan, she shoved the folder with her copy of the script against his chest. “Thank you for the opportunity. But I won’t be manipulated into a job.”
“Manipulated?” Kevin and Ethan spoke at the same time, but Georgia kept her attention focused on Cole.
“What is this?” She shook her head, her limbs trembling. “Some twisted way to get back at me for breaking up with you?”
“Do you honestly think I released that tape? That I would do something like that to you?” Anger pulled Cole’s features tight. “And news flash, baby. You didn’t break up with me. You fucking disappeared.”
“Wait.” Ethan scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I thought Regina released that tape.”
“Who the fuck is Regina?” Kevin’s youthful face was watching the scene playing out in front of him, entranced.
“I did not disappear.” Georgia faltered. She had, in fact, done just that. But Cole had no idea why.
She would never tell him.
“It doesn’t matter why you did it.” Georgia leaned in, lowering her voice. Cole’s heat hit her senses, the warmth of his skin and something else she’d never been able to identify but that drew her like a moth to flame. As she stared at him, she felt that little click that had always connected them snap back into place.
“That video was private.” She whispered this, and tensed when Cole leaned in closer still.
“It wasn’t that private the time we had Liam Carter holding the camera. Remember how hard he came watching us?”
Georgia’s mouth fell open with shock. “How dare you—”
“And it wasn’t that private when you invited Michelle Roddingham into our bed. I bet I still have that video, too. Should I check?”
“Cole!” Georgia barely repressed a shudder as his lips grazed her earlobe. “All of that. Every time we did something like… that. I was flying high on Ecstasy and drunk out of my mind.”
Caught on Camera (Black Towers Book 1) Page 3
