by Julia Bright
Cam
Julia Bright
Rylie Roberts
Cam Copyright © 2017 Julia Bright and Rylie Roberts
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Created with Vellum
Contents
Trademark Acknowledgements:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
I. Chapter One of Roan
About Julia Bright
About Rylie Roberts
Also by Rylie Roberts
Trademark Acknowledgements:
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following trademarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Bo Peep: Sockeye Media, LLC
Cheetos: Frito-Lay North America, Inc.
Coke: The Coca-Cola Company
Facebook: Facebook, Inc.
Oreo: Intercontinental Great Brands LLC
Pepperidge Farm & Sausalito: Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated
Realtor: National Association of Realtors
Saint Laurent: Luxury Goods International (L.G.I.) S.A.
Sharpie: Sanford, L.P.
TMZ: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Twilight Zone: CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Uber: Uber Technologies, Inc.
Wendy's: Oldemark LLC
Chapter One
Working in Hollywood wasn’t what Rose Underwood thought it would be. Of course, she was working the lunch shift off Hollywood Boulevard in some stupid diner that didn’t get big name producers. Hell, they didn’t even get small name producers or directors or actors, at least they hadn’t until Mike, the owner, had created a burger that won some stupid award. The award hadn’t helped much yet, but Mike seemed hopeful since a virtually unknown daytime soap opera actor had come in. As far as Rose was concerned, making it in Hollywood was more difficult than trying to catch blue crabs back home out of the Intracoastal Waterways with a spoon…a plastic spoon that was broken.
The door opened and two men dressed in suits stepped inside, looking a little out of place. Maybe the ultimate hamburger Mike created had drawn these men into the diner. She didn’t know and didn’t care as long as they left a tip—well, a decent tip. Rent was due in two days, and they’d lost one of their roommates last month, leaving the three of them to cover her part of the bill. Somewhere between working at the diner and trying for parts, she had to come up with an additional one hundred sixty-six—um, sixty-seven—dollars along with the five hundred she owed for rent. They had to find another roommate and soon, but right now, all that mattered were the two men taking a seat in her section.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m Rose, and I’ll be helping you today. What can I get you to drink? We have a good passion tea, or there’s always coffee, soda, and sparkling water.” Rose placed menus on the table and smiled big, leaning over just enough so her cleavage was visible. Both men looked up and then their eyes were drawn to her chest. Maybe just maybe she would get a double tip. If she played her cards right, they might become repeat customers. Dollar signs flashed through her thoughts as the men smiled back at her.
“Hey, doll, we have two others joining us in a few minutes. How about you bring us some sparkling water and all four of us want the award-winning hamburger.” The guy had a hard time meeting her eyes. Though disgusting on a higher, more intellectual level, the act might bring her money, and on a much lower but more desperate level of need, she identified with the idea, and silently encouraged them to look. The prospect of an awesome tip made her feel warm and fuzzy toward the men currently occupying the booth.
“Sounds great. You want the burgers cooked medium?” She smiled sweetly, trying her best to look amazing, wonderful, kind, sexy, and anything else that would bag her a huge tip.
“Sure, medium for all of us.”
“The onion rings are great too. For only a dollar more, I’ll add them in. How about that?”
“Sure, doll, you fix us up and I’ll make sure you’re rewarded.”
Rose let her rear swish a little more than she usually would as she made her way to the counter to put in their order. Four burgers and four orders of onion rings as well as four sparkling waters. This had the possibility of being her best day yet. Heck, she would—nope, she wouldn’t think anything nasty. She wasn’t going to start trading flesh for cash, though showing cleavage was doing just that, but she had no intention of dropping her drawers for either of those men. Her panties always stayed firmly in place, because she wasn’t willing to sell herself, ever.
After keying in the order and grabbing four bottles of water, she turned and almost dropped the tray. Zach Harris and his brother, Cameron, who went by Cam, stepped into the diner. Both of them had on their trademark black sunglasses, dark hair styled perfectly, and killer smiles in place. They looked like sex walking, better than ice cream smothered in chocolate, and better than a million dollars. Okay, the money comparison might be stretching it, but they looked good, and her previous thought of never dropping her panties for money would be in question if someone like the Harris brothers were offering.
The two men in her section slid out of the booth and stood. She feared she was going to lose her tip. Zach moved quickly, pulling one of the guys into a back-slapping hug before hugging the other man.
“Cam, Zach, it’s great to see you. We’ve already ordered. Come sit,” one of the guys said in a booming voice.
Rose waited until it looked like they were almost settled before she brought
over four bottles of sparkling water. A week ago, she’d told Mike it was a waste to keep this type of water around, but if these kinds of people came to this place—ones like the Harris boys—they would need more of the ridiculously expensive crap.
“Here you go. I’ve got those burgers in to the cook. They’ll be up soon. Can I get you anything else?”
“Well, hello there. What is your name?” Zach asked, at least she thought it was Zach. They looked so similar, so hot. She was dazzled and couldn’t think straight.
She stared blankly for long enough it was awkward. Somehow, she found her voice and spoke. “Rose, and what’s your name?”
The guy threw back his head and laughed. “You seriously don’t know who I am?”
She rolled her eyes and bumped the table with her hip, flashing them a huge smile before bending a little, letting her cleavage do its work. “You two almost look like twins. I don’t know who is who.”
“I’m Cam.” The man stuck his hand out for her to shake.
His brother slapped his hand away and then elbowed him, causing curse words to fly. “I’m Cam. That’s Zach. He’s the flirt.”
“And you’re the bad boy?” Rose asked. Cam Harris had broken more hearts than most in his rise to fame. He’d left so many starlets suffering in his wake that his reputation had taken a hit. Cam even had a Taylor Swift song written about him, which Rose had known would happen once the singer had started dating him—who hadn’t seen that coming a mile away?
Cam’s cheeks were pink, and he glanced at one of the guys in the suits. Zach slapped him on the back before leaning in and taking her hand.
“I’m the nice one. Just remember that later.”
Rose laughed and brushed away his hand before rolling her eyes. “I’ll go check on your burgers. Sit tight and don’t cause any more trouble.”
“Hey,” Zach said, his brows lifted as though he’d been hurt by her words. “I’ve been behaving.”
She shook her head and sashayed away, praying the flirting would increase her tip. The burgers were coming together as she approached the window. She gathered the condiments—ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, chipotle sauce, and thousand island—before stashing them in her apron and grabbing all four plates to carry them out to the table.
Before moving away, she checked her reflection in the polished chrome backsplash that covered the wall next to the service window. She looked like crap best she could tell. There was no way she was going to get a good tip now.
She turned with the food on her tray held at shoulder level and noticed two more couples had shown up, each taking seats at tables close to the Harris boys. Maybe this burger thing was a good idea.
With a smile on her face, she walked over, hoping to make a decent enough impression to not lose tip points. “Here you go, boys. Voted best burger in Hollywood. Enjoy.” After placing the four plates in front of the guys, she divested herself of the bottles in her apron, checking the table for salt and pepper. “You four okay?”
“It looks great. Thank you,” Cam said.
She winked and moved to one of the tables that had just become occupied. More people came in, some sitting at the counter. It wasn’t a madhouse yet, but they had customers, which meant tips. It took her about ten minutes to make it back to the table with Zach and Cam, and it looked like they were finishing up with their meal.
“That was the best,” one of the guys in suits said.
“I’d marry it if I could,” Zach stated.
Cam didn’t look too happy, and when he glanced up at her, he gave her an almost apologetic smile. She took their empty plates, wondering why Cam looked so weird. Of course, she didn’t know any of those guys, so she had no clue what was going on with them.
She didn’t have time to worry about other people. Her life was crazy enough without putting herself in the middle of other people’s problems. She set the ticket on the table, praying whoever paid the bill would be generous with the tip, and that was all she had time to fret over.
“I don’t think Mike is ready to marry off his burgers, but you’re welcome to come visit them.”
That got her a laugh and a few winks. She rushed off, serving the best burgers in Hollywood to another table before moving back to the table where Cam and Zach had been sitting. All that was left were the two suits who weren’t nearly as impressive as the Harris boys.
“So, Rose, we’re having a big party for Zach’s birthday, and we need some party girls there.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize he was having a birthday so soon.” She picked up the plates, stacking them on her tray.
“Well, it’s a month away. This is a pre-party for his party. This is quieter, more intimate. He said he would like you there.”
Stunned didn’t even come close to how she felt. Why would Zach Harris want her? Her heart fluttered and her tongue stopped working. She could only nod when asked if she would like to attend and party with them.
“Okay, could you please write down your address? We’ll have a car there at nine on Friday. This is very hush-hush. We don’t need any reporters knowing about this party.”
“Okay,” she whispered, her voice still lost in shock as she stared at the guy, wondering if she was being punked. After a second, she glanced around, looking for cameras but she didn’t find any. “So Friday at nine.”
“Yes, and wear a short skirt. You have great legs.”
Rose noticed that she had more customers and needed to finish this quickly or she’d lose tip points with the other tables. After scribbling down her address, she nodded and turned away, still in shock. The man placed his hand on her arm and held her in place.
“Here, love, this is for you.”
She glanced down and saw money folded in with the bill. “Thank you. Do you need any change?”
The guy still holding her arm stood first then the other man stood too and shook his head. “No, thank you. Keep the change.”
The guy touching her was close and a shiver snaked through her. The Harris brothers she liked. These men made her skin crawl. “Thank you, and I can’t wait until Friday.”
Rose stuffed the money into her back pocket, deciding to take care of the bill in a bit. She refilled glasses and fielded questions from some tourists who’d heard the Harris brothers had been in. One of the women in her section had shown her a photo of Cam and Zach sitting in a booth currently occupied by another couple who were excited to be eating the same burgers Cam and Zach had eaten.
Mike hadn’t been prepared for the rush after getting two hot actors into the restaurant. She’d had to stay three hours late to get customers cleared out. The end of her shift hit before she remembered the money she’d shoved into her back pocket. She pulled it out, saw the unprocessed ticket first, and grunted, angry with herself for not putting the cash for the sale into the till. Mike would be pissed.
Rose flipped open the wad of money and began counting, but it wasn’t fives, tens, or even twenties. Instead, she held five crisp one hundred dollar bills.
“Shit.” Rose glanced around, praying no one had seen the money. They didn’t share tips, except they usually gave the busboy some cash. The guys were untipped and already making twice what waitresses normally were paid in hourly wage. Usually she’d toss in some percentage of what she’d made for the day, but she’d already divvied up their portions and felt odd going back to them. It weighed on her mind, but she really needed the money and they didn’t know.
Rose paid the till with her tip money and shoved the five hundreds into her pocket, pushing them deep. Five hundred extra dollars in tips would be more than enough for her to make rent, pay the extra, and maybe she could buy a new dress for the party if she had time to go shopping. She had clothes that would do for a normal party, but nothing special enough for Zach Harris.
Chapter Two
“She’s not your type,” Cam spit out as anger filled him. Zach was being more dangerous than normal. It was obvious the woman at the diner had no clue what she was in for,
but Zach wouldn’t listen.
Zach set his glass of water on the table and grabbed his crotch, pumping his hips. “She has a pussy. That’s good enough to fit my type.”
Cam slapped the kitchen counter, getting his brother’s attention. “No, she’s not some cheap trick looking to score a night with a Harris brother. That woman doesn’t know what she’s getting into. If you want to have that party, stick with pros.”
“Hey, what’s your deal? Calm down. Chip said she had no issue with being a party girl. She’s getting good money, and I’ll make sure she has fun.”
Cam shook his head in disgust. “This whole thing is a bad idea. Are you sure Chip explained everything to her?”
“It’s fine. Chip knows what he’s doing, and she agreed to party with us. And this party isn’t a bad idea. It will be great. Just because you’re trying to clean up your act and score some big role in a movie doesn’t mean I am. I like getting parts in movies that are just above porn. Not everyone is going to be a Brad Pitt or Matt Damon level of actor. They’re old and you’re young and that’s as close to getting a chance to make it big as you’re ever going to get.”
Cam drew in a slow breath, trying to keep his anger in check. Zach could be so stupid at times. Cam actually had a shot at getting a part in a family-friendly movie that only wanted him if he cleaned up his act. His agent had told him not to go to Zach’s bash, but how could he skip his brother’s party? It was his brother, the man who had helped him catch a break. They’d moved here when Cam was too young to live on his own, and Zach had looked after him. He owed Zach.
