L.A. Cinderella

by Amanda Berry

  “We need to talk.”

  Chase set down the script. He hadn’t been able to read it anyway. The image of Natalie half-naked on his desk kept interrupting his train of thought. “What’s on your mind?”

  “Are the rumors true?” Robert slumped into the chair.

  “Which ones?” Chase looked up at the ceiling. He should have stayed home, but every room smelled of her. Her smile followed him. Her words haunted his steps.

  “Well, let’s see. How about the ones that include a certain accountant?” Robert had been his friend for years. Part of the reason they became friends was his no-nonsense attitude.

  But Chase didn’t want to talk about Natalie. He tightened his lips and leaned back.

  Robert shifted. “Okay, how about damage control? You know, the other employees are talking about how she slept with you to get the CFO position.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  Robert held out his hands. “I’m only saying what they’re saying. You need to figure out how to handle this and quick. There are leaks in this company that would make a sieve jealous. The press is going to find out about Natalie, and it’s going to blow up in both of your faces unless you do something about it now.”

  Chase dropped his head into his hands. “I know, but what am I supposed to do?”

  “Don’t tell me you love her? I thought you were just getting over Alexis.” Robert held up his hands again.

  Chase stopped glaring at Robert, but he still wasn’t happy. It would be a while before he was happy again. “We’ll deal with it when we deal with Martin.”

  “We should also consider changing who she reports to.”

  Chase slammed his hand down on the desk.

  Robert stood up. “She’ll start reporting to me. We’ll start interviewing for the CFO position tomorrow. I already told Anne to call recruiters.”

  “We’re not together anymore. She can still report to me.” Chase rubbed his hands over his face, feeling his hard-earned control slipping.

  “It doesn’t matter if you are still together or not. We have to maintain appearances. And maybe if she isn’t reporting to you, she might actually stay with the company. If you hadn’t noticed, she has a good mind and a knack for numbers.”

  “I noticed.”

  “Good, then we’ll move forward with my plan.” Robert moved to the door and looked back. “Man, you must have it bad.” He slipped out. Chase’s pen hit the closed door.

  The whole morning he stayed in his office trying to get through the script. Every few minutes someone else would knock on his door. By noon he was a mess of tension.

  He’d finally managed to put aside the disaster his life had become and get into the script when a tentative knock on the door brought him out of it.

  “What?” Chase bellowed at the door.

  The door opened a crack. “Um, if now isn’t a good time, I could come back later.” Natalie stood in the doorway, looking like she’d prefer to run down the hall than come in and talk with him.

  “Why are you here?” he snapped. Chase’s heart beat un-steadily in his chest. The smell of strawberries wafted between them, making him want to grind his teeth together.

  A tinge of pink covered her cheeks and neck. She slid her glasses back up her nose. “Robert asked me to meet him here.” She glanced toward Robert’s office. Her uncertainty and discomfort made him feel a little better, but it also annoyed him.

  He’d covered her blushes with his kisses. Brought smiles and sighs to those lips. Slipped his hands around her waist and held her body against him.

  “Maybe I should wait in the hallway….” Her voice brought his attention back to her face.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Have a seat. I’m sure Robert will be here in a minute.”

  Natalie considered turning tail and running for the door. Chase’s intense gaze turned her knees to water, while it caused her battered heart to leap up in her throat. She glanced once more toward Robert’s office and then at her watch. He’d said noon. It was five past.

  She couldn’t make any more excuses. Her legs were stiff as she walked into Chase’s office and perched on the edge of the chair. Her cheeks were on fire, even more so when his gaze dipped down to her breasts. Having not gotten the memo, her body responded instantly.

  She pressed her knees together and straightened her skirt. Her hands turned white from clutching them together, and her stomach started to churn, just like the last time she’d been in here.

  “Relax, Natalie. I’m not going to pounce on you.”

  Her gaze jerked to his eyes. She remembered him saying that to her before. She couldn’t place when, but it raised the ghost of Saturday morning. The things she’d said. Her gaze dropped to her lap.

  The urge to run out the door raced through her, but she stayed. Chase didn’t say anything else, but she could feel his eyes on her. The silence relentlessly continued. Maybe she could come back later? Or he could call her when Robert came in. She raised her head to suggest it, but stopped before saying anything.

  Pain. For a moment, his eyes seemed like an open wound. A wound she’d caused. But then it was gone like she’d imagined it. Maybe she had. He couldn’t possibly love her. It just didn’t make sense. As soon as the next actress crossed his path, he’d be fine. He probably wouldn’t even remember her name. A pain stabbed through her heart at the thought.

  “Sorry, I got caught up on a phone call.” Robert swept into the office and closed the door. “Wow, you could cut the tension with a knife in here.”

  Chase broke their eye contact to glare at Robert. “What is this about, Robert?”

  Robert smiled. “Well, I figured if we were going to ruin this woman’s life she should be prepared.”

  “What?” Natalie’s hand began to shake.

  Robert gave her a sympathetic smile and reached over as if to take one of her hands. A growl from the other side of the desk stopped him.

  “We have to make this go away, and the only way to make something go away in Hollywood is to be up-front and honest so there is nothing to find. Then wait for some huge, new scandal for them to sink their teeth into.”

  Natalie’s heart tightened, and her gaze flitted to Chase’s stern face. His lips were pressed into a thin line.

  “Natalie,” Robert began, “we have to put all the facts out there. Chase has already said your relationship is over, which will make the press only wonder why it ever happened and probably make them back off. Especially if they think it was just another boss-banging-the-worker story.”

  Natalie winced at the harsh words. Chase had told Robert they were over? She’d known when she left Saturday there’d be no turning back, but it didn’t stop the shooting pain through her heart or the upheaval in her stomach.

  “You’ll be reporting to me from now on and the new CFO when hired. I suggest that both of you—” Robert’s fatherly stare went between them “—stay away from each other. The less you are seen together the more seriously our statement today will be taken.”

  “That won’t be a problem. I’m going to help Reggie in Ontario later this week. He’s been having issues with some of the scenes.” Chase brushed his hand through his hair.

  Her fingers itched to smooth it back down. Something she’d never do again. He was leaving? For how long?

  “That’s a good idea. With you gone, the focus should go with you. What about the luncheon next week? Our nominations?”

  Chase stood and walked to look out the window. “I’ll be back for it.”

  Natalie could feel the tears rising, and her stomach rolled, as well. She cleared her throat. “If that’s…if that’s all, I’ll go to lunch.”

  Robert gave her a sympathetic look and nodded. “Sure, Natalie. Why don’t you go home for the rest of the day? I think after the news conference this afternoon things are going to get crazy here.”

  “Thank you.” She rose and walked to the door. She glanced back at Chase’s profile. “Have a good trip.”

  �
�Are you sure?” Rachel eyed her as if she’d gone out of her mind.

  Maybe she had. Maybe she’d lost it the moment she’d run into Chase that first day. If not her mind, she’d definitely lost her heart.

  Natalie set her pizza down on her plate. More comfort food that just wasn’t comforting. She shoved the plate across the coffee table and pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders.

  “I’ve got to know what they are saying. I need to be prepared for tomorrow.” Natalie’s eyes were dry, too dry. The kind of dryness that only happened after all the tears were gone.

  Still watching her, Rachel clicked the remote for the TV and turned her laptop on. The bright light from the TV hurt Natalie’s eyes, but she didn’t care. Chase had caught a flight out in the afternoon, that much she knew.

  “In a surprising turn of events, Pandora Productions in the news again shortly after their nomination for Best Picture for their production Night Blooming. The company has brought charges of fraud against their former CFO, Martin Morrison.”

  A picture of Mr. Morrison being escorted from the building appeared on the screen behind Ryan Seacrest.

  “Shortly after his arrest, Morrison leaked to the press that Chase Booker, co-owner of Pandora, had been having an affair with one of his staff.”

  A shot of her escape from Chase’s house Saturday came up on the screen. She curled tighter into the corner of the couch. Clips of Alexis and Chase started to show on the screen.

  “Alexis Brandt stated today that she and Chase never really got back together, and she was as shocked as everyone else by this turn of events. This afternoon, Chase Booker and Robert Addler spoke with E!”

  The screen cut to the news conference. Chase stood behind Robert as he spoke to the crowd. “We have turned all our evidence on Martin Morrison over to our lawyer and the police. We were sad to see Martin go as we had always considered him an asset before all this came to light.”

  Robert glanced back at Chase before returning to the microphones. “We are currently looking for a replacement CFO. We will not be promoting anyone within the company. In addition, we have shifted the accounting department to be more fully under my direction. This will enable Chase to spend more time in the field and to star in more films.”

  He shifted behind the podium. “Martin also claimed an ongoing affair between Chase and one of our staff. Chase was trying to protect the woman from the misguided attention of the paparazzi. Regardless, the affair is over, and the woman would prefer to remain anonymous. I would hope that the press would respect her and Chase’s privacy in this matter. Thank you.”

  The TV cut back to the studio. “We were also told that Chase would be going to Ontario to help work on Pandora Productions’ filming. Meanwhile, Britney Spears—”

  Rachel hit Mute on the remote. “Okay, here’s what the entertainment news is saying. Some say you were a rebound and the real reason he’s going to Ontario is to see Madeline Stark, who recently dumped Andre Pratt.”

  “Do you think that’s why he went?” The tears began to burn at the back of her throat again. Had she really just been a rebound?

  “I don’t know, sweetie.” Rachel rubbed her hand on Natalie’s leg in a comforting way.

  Natalie fought down the tears. “What are they saying about me?”

  “Let’s see.” Rachel’s eyes roamed the page as her hand moved the mouse. “Here’s something. They suspect you are the woman in the picture, but no one will confirm it. A source, one of your stupid coworkers, claims that you and Chase worked late for the past two weeks and seemed very chummy in the office.”

  Natalie picked at the threads coming out at the end of the blanket. She needed to know more. She needed to know why Chase had picked her. She needed to know why he’d been with her. “What else does it say?” she choked out around the held-back tears.

  “Natalie, I don’t think you want to know.” Rachel shut the lid on the laptop. “It’s just the normal catty stuff.”

  “The stuff you enjoy?”

  Rachel brushed a stray piece of Natalie’s hair behind her ear. “Only when it’s about someone ridiculous, which you aren’t. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it? I swear I won’t leak it to the press.” She smiled softly.

  “I know you won’t.” Natalie tried to return her friend’s smile but wasn’t sure if it came across. “I just…I want to understand, is all.”

  “Understand what?”

  “Why me?” A tear slipped over the edge. The rest of the tears, seeing the escapee, pressed forward.

  Rachel handed her a tissue. “Why not you, Natalie? You’re bright, intelligent, loving, pretty. You take care of anyone you care about. What’s not to love about you, Natalie?”

  The tissues kept coming as Natalie’s vision blurred behind the tears. “He said he loved me.” She sniffled. “He said he loved me, and I said he didn’t.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The week that followed was the hardest of Natalie’s life. From the guy digging around in her trash to the car that followed her to work, at first she wondered if she was just paranoid. When a camera flashed as she left the grocery store, she knew she wasn’t.

  It was so subtle she barely noticed it at first. Rachel kept showing Natalie pictures of her when she hadn’t even known anyone was around. The receptionist held all calls to Natalie’s phone.

  Robert had been especially nice to her and had even had a meeting with the staff informing them that the new CFO would start in two weeks. Natalie buried herself in the piles of paper. Eventually the strutting down the hall picked up again, and people didn’t stop talking when she came into the room.

  Her heart ached every time she passed Chase’s empty office. It had to be easier than actually seeing him every day. Rachel stopped informing Natalie of Chase’s comings and goings when she continued to break down into tears and run from the room.

  Natalie sighed with relief as the hour turned to four. One more hour and then she’d have the whole weekend to lock herself away with tubs of ice cream and her favorite mov—

  Pushing aside the folder on her desk, she realized she couldn’t watch her favorite movie. The constant ache in her chest throbbed. Maybe she’d rent some horror flicks instead, or a good chick flick.

  Her phone rang, and she didn’t think twice about picking it up. “This is Natalie.”

  “Natalie, Jared Anderson. Before you hang up, give me a minute of your time.”

  She held the phone to her ear instead of slamming it down. “I’m listening.”

  “Good. Why don’t we meet somewhere? You could get your side of the relationship on record. It could launch your career. At least get you on a reality show.”

  Her mind blanked. “Is that all you people think about? Do you really think I like having my name in headlines or my face in your papers? Well, I don’t. I don’t want to be any part of this industry. I’m an accountant, for Pete’s sake. Not someone waiting for her big break. I’ll thank you to never call me again.”

  She slammed the phone down and felt better than she had all week.

  “Nice job.” The voice stilled her heart.

  She couldn’t look up. She wasn’t ready. She couldn’t see him. She couldn’t resist. Her gaze trailed up the jean-clad hips to his black T-shirt, the planes of his body as familiar as her own.

  Her heart pounded within her chest. His lips were curved into a wary smile and his eyes… Why did they have to be so green? “Chase.” His name slipped out of her mouth on a sigh.

  “I heard what you said.”

  Had she been talking? His eyes appeared tired, and there was a strain around his lips.

  “Sorry?” Her brain had flown out the window when she’d heard his voice again.

  “The reporter? I couldn’t have said it better myself.” He pointed toward the phone and her gaze followed, completely dumbfounded.

  Heat rushed into her cheeks as his words sunk in. “Oh.”

  “I’ve got to…” He gestured down the h
all with his thumb.

  “I hope you had a good trip.”

  He nodded and disappeared down the hall. She dropped her head down to the desk. So much for being intelligent. What was he doing back? What had he been doing? Did he hook up with that actress up there?

  She lifted her head and grabbed her cell phone. If any one person knew all the goings-on in Hollywood, it would be Rachel.

  Chase closed the door behind him and leaned his forehead against it. It had to be the best performance of his life. Pretending he wasn’t falling apart without Natalie. If he could convince her, he could convince everyone else.

  Her eyes had been wide and tired. Good. He hoped she wasn’t getting any sleep, because he wasn’t. When he would finally drift off, he’d reach out to pull her close, and she wasn’t there.

  He dropped his briefcase inside the door and collapsed into his chair. His head in his hands, he ignored the knocking on his door.

  The door opened. “Why did you come in at all?”

  “Leave me alone, Robert.”

  The door shut. “The director called to say you left earlier than expected.” Robert was trying to lead Chase, but Chase didn’t feel like discussing the real reason he’d left early. He’d been drawn back like a moth to a flame.

  He wanted to see her before the weekend. When he’d walked in and seen her behind the mountain of paper, his heart had lifted. Then he’d heard her on the phone with the reporter, and he remembered.

  She didn’t want to be in the public eye. She had no intention of ever being in the public eye. There was no future for them. But he’d managed to stand there and act as if his chest weren’t ready to explode.

  “So you aren’t going to say anything?” Robert sank into the chair. “Are you going to ask about the new CFO?”

  Chase leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes on Robert. “You sent me the résumé. We did the interview via conference call. Is there something I missed? You called every day.”