Bright Lights Billionaire

by Parker, Ali

  I'd offered him friends with benefits? No fucking way. "Then tell me what you know I need to hear."

  He pressed his forehead to mine. "I'm fucking scared to say it. I've never said it to anyone but Liam and D. Never in the way that you want to hear it."

  "Then let me go." I moved up and pressed my lips to his, needing to taste him one more time in case it was the last time. "Take care, Ethan."

  "No. Don't go." He choked on a sob.

  "Please stop," I whispered softly as sadness threatened to consume me. I pressed my hands to my face and let myself cry again. He'd finally relented and told me that he loved me, but it was forced.

  I didn't want him to become something for me, or force a feeling he didn't feel.

  Maybe Jace was right. Time healed all wounds. Maybe it would work on my behalf to bring clarity. I needed to know my next steps, but without understanding Ethan's heart, I was going nowhere really fast.

  There was one thing I didn't need to think through. One thing I knew without a shadow of a doubt was true. I loved him, and whether we worked out or not, I would love him.

  Forever.

  Chapter 86

  Ethan

  I'd decided to take two weeks off, and Frank and Deza respected it and backed me up with the studio, which was a bit of a surprise. We were behind and most likely over budget for the film, but without me coming back, there wouldn't be a film.

  I would end up sued thanks to my contract if I didn't complete the filming, but I'd get it done. Eventually. After trying to text Riley daily for the first few days and getting nothing back, I stopped trying. There was only so much humility I could stomach.

  I hadn't done anything wrong, and over the fourteen days of sitting in my house and stewing on everything, she had actually been in the wrong more than me.

  Her and Clayton had something going on. The connection between them during that last scene we did was almost too much. Like she was a puppet on his string. That shit didn't happen overnight, and it certainly didn't happen without emotional connection underneath it all.

  What did she feel for him? Was there a battle raging deep inside of her as to who she loved more - me or him?

  The thought sickened me and made it a lot easier to stop trying to get her attention. It wasn't like my efforts were getting me anywhere anyway.

  After laying in my bed for as long as I could manage, I got up and walked to the kitchen naked. My stomach growled, and I grabbed a box of cereal, eating right from the box.

  It wouldn't be too long before Deza or Frank showed up and make me shower and get back on set, but until they did, I'd do what the fuck I'd been doing every day for the last few weeks.

  I'd watch sappy love stories, eat until I was sick and cry because I was by myself and could.

  "Which one are we watching today?" I set the box of cereal down and knelt in front of my flat screen TV, looking for the remote. I found it and dropped back on my ass. The Notebook came up, and I let out a sound of appreciation.

  Nothing like Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams to fuck up my three-day no-tears streak. They were good at it. Any cute girl or heartbroken man knew that.

  "Give it to me good, guys. Don't let up until I'm a puddle on the floor, alright?" I dropped down on the couch and picked up my cereal, leaning back and pulling a blanket over my lap.

  Everything hurt from my depression, and I wasn't even sure the monster worked anymore. He'd been flaccid for fourteen days. It was a new record.

  "Call Guinness, honey," I yelled out and chuckled, hating myself and everyone else.

  The movie started, and I took my time eating the cereal, enjoying the love story. There was something so good, so right about falling in love, but that shit never panned out. Not even in the movies where screenwriters had the opportunity to force it to.

  A knock at the door a little while later had me groaning. "What?" I called out like whoever was on the other side could actually hear me.

  Standing, I let the blanket fall and reached for the remote, but my favorite part was coming. The part that always got me the most. I turned the volume up and echoed the lines as Ryan and Rachel spoke them.

  "You're leaving, and I'm staying here. And I'm so happy that you're doing it. You're going to have a million things to do. You have so much ahead of you."

  "Don't talk like that."

  "It's true!"

  The knock got louder, and I hit the pause button.

  "What? Shit. Can't even jack off and watch a love story without interruptions." I pulled the door open, not caring who it was.

  My brother glanced down at my junk and rolled his eyes, pushing me back into the house. "It's worse than I thought. I go away for a couple of weeks, and your whole damn life falls apart."

  "I was making breakfast. There's some left on the coffee table if you're in." I shrugged and offered him a cocky smile that felt almost foreign on my face. "All I need is milk. Mine is coming out in thick chunks."

  "Ugh. You're so gross." He pointed to the bedroom. "Go take a shower and get dressed. Deza called yesterday and said I needed to have you in San Diego."

  "I'm not ready." I put my hands on my hips and glanced back at the TV screen. "Let me finish the-"

  "No. Go get in the fucking shower." My brother's lack of humor was concerning. Nothing bothered him, but he seemed a little shaken.

  "Fine. Shit." I turned and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me for good measure.

  "And wash your hair." He pounded on the bathroom door.

  "Sit on a dick and fuck off." I turned and leaned over, starting the water as emotion raged through me. I was beyond weary from thinking too much and maybe a little too much alone time, but I couldn't help it. Riley hadn't called, and nothing was resolved. Until that moment where I knew without a shadow of a doubt if we were moving forward or if we were over, I was stuck.

  I needed resolution and the one good thing that had come from the last two weeks was that I knew without a doubt that I would accept whatever outcome. I might not be thrilled about it, but I'd figure it out. She would welcome me into her life as her man, and we could start building our dreams together, or she would reject me, and I'd call Jazz, buy a bottle of KY and get back to living.

  The hot spray felt good against my skin, and I let out a long sigh and ducked my head under it as memories rolled through my mind, some of them so good it brought tears to my eyes.

  Our first night together at my place. She'd wanted me to kiss her, hell, half-expected it from what I could tell. And I'd denied her. I smiled at the memory and held onto it.

  "All right. I'm sorry for being a dick in the dressing room yesterday. I was wrong, and I shouldn't have said you were unprofessional." I slid my hands over her taut hips, her body so fucking hot it hurt. "It was me that was being unprofessional."

  "We were both a little high on the scene we'd just wrapped up. Good art always stays with you, lingering in a way that leaves you edgy." Her eyes move down to my lips, and she lifted to her toes. Her movements were more than obvious, and yet I was trying hard to respect the professional relationship we were going to have.

  I captured the sides of her face in hopes of controlling the situation a little better. She pressed toward me, but I shifted and pressed my lips to her forehead, breathing her in and falling in love a little bit. She was so damn perfect.

  "As I said, we'll have each other's backs for the next few years, regardless of how pissy we get." I moved back and forced a smile. What a dick. Why hadn't I just kissed her? Right, because everyone expected me to be that guy. "You ready for dessert?"

  Her expression fell, and I could see the hurt in her eyes even on the dimly lit porch. She righted herself quickly, nodding and giving me a tight smile. "Only if you have strawberries to go on it."

  "Of course. Can you eat it any other way?" I laughed and turned, walking into the house as my stomach soured.

  "Fuck." I paced around in the kitchen as my body ached for the girl outside on the patio. Tha
t she had lifted up to kiss me left me breathless, confused. I wasn't in a fucking movie. I was standing in real life faced with a hard decision. It was the type of situation that I kept myself out of, and always had. I never slept with my co-workers, never.

  Some girl on the set, a pretty whore from the crowd, a slut from a fan club? Absolutely. But the beautiful woman that I would have to see every day for ten months? Never. Besides... what would she think when we got hot and heavy, and...

  "And I didn't fit?" I pressed my hands to my face, growling softly as hard emotion ripped through me. I hadn't wanted a woman in years as badly as I wanted Riley.

  "Hey! Hurry up in there. Deza needs you in San Diego by eleven. Let's go. Seriously. Scrub a fucking dub and make sure you clean your shit. You never know who you might meet." He laughed as I rolled my eyes.

  It was good to have my brother there. Maybe he could help pull me out of my funk. I needed someone to. A ray of sunshine or fucking something.

  My cock was fully erect as I glanced down, and a smile spread across my face. I reached down and stroked this huge thing. "There you are, boy. What the fuck? I think about Riley, and you decide to wake up from your hibernation?"

  Another memory ran through my mind, her taking my dick so well, so much better than any other woman did, and my hormones raged to life, leaving me a little dizzy.

  "Yeah. Let's stay here." I pressed my back against the cold tile wall and used both hands, working my shaft hard and fast as pleasure danced from my chest to my sack. I had to get her back. I was in love with her, completely lost to her, but there was another reason it was so damn important.

  She could take me. All of me. Deep inside of her, and she didn't cry out in pain. She was the one woman that was obviously made for me. My soul mate.

  My silly thinking was all I needed to throw myself over the edge into orgasm. I cried out, hitting my head on the wall as I shook violently.

  The moment was needed so fucking bad. It woke me up, restarted my drive to get her, lifted the fog and made me desire another chance.

  "You almost done?" Liam sounded pissy.

  "Just jacking off for the first time in two weeks. Finish up that movie. I'll be out in an hour. I'm not letting this moment go too soon."

  "Ugh. You're so gross."

  "Yep. Just like my older brother." I turned toward the hot spray and dove into another memory, fucking myself for the next half hour until my legs wouldn't work.

  I half-crawled out of the shower and dropped down on the toilet, water dripping off of me as I panted loudly. I assumed filming would begin again later that day, and Riley would be there. She had to.

  She had a contract too.

  The thought of seeing her left my heart racing, my body on edge. I had to have her as my own. Nothing else would do, no matter what neutral bullshit I kept chanting to myself.

  There was only one woman for me.

  Time to get her back.

  Chapter 87

  Riley

  "Thanks for coming." Frank stood as I approached the small table just outside on the restaurant's patio. Deza glanced up, her expression solemn.

  I'd spent the last two weeks moping around my apartment and jogging until my legs shook beneath me. With no job to go to, I was losing my grip on reality. Ethan had texted a few times and tried to call once, but I needed some space, and Jace had been right, Ethan needed it too. Although I loved him, we were miles apart in our maturity levels.

  He was a playboy with his head in the clouds, and I was a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks. What looked like a great love affair only had one way of working out in my mind... if someone scripted it to. Maybe seeing him over the two weeks would have changed my mind, or helped a little, but I hadn't let myself.

  He was pulling everyone's strings at Eon from what I gathered, and when he finally decided to put on his big-girl panties and bring his ass out of hiding, we would all get back to work.

  Not me though. I was having breakfast with Frank and Deza to tell them to find someone else. I was done. They could sue me or do whatever they needed to, but I wasn't willing to put myself through any more emotional turmoil. My life had been nothing but strife. To put myself right back into the center of the heartbreak I felt around Ethan was stupid. Masochistic.

  "Sure." I sat down and kept my attention on Frank. "I need to be straight forward with you, though. I'm not someone that beats around the bush. Life is too short for not being truthful the first time around."

  He smiled and reached over, patting my hand. "I couldn't agree more, but before you leave us, let me explain a few things and try my damnedest to win you over?"

  "I don't want to waste your time, Frank." I pulled my hand slowly from his as not to offend him and dropped my hands into my lap. "I'm not working with Ethan again." I glanced over at Deza. "And I'm not working with you either. An agent is supposed to have my back. Darren did nothing for me and left me rotting on the vine, but at least I trusted him not to slide a knife into my back."

  "Riley," Deza started, but I cut her off.

  "No," I barked and turned back to Frank. "Get to the point so we can go our separate ways. I've had two weeks to think long and hard about everything that happened, and I'm not working with Eon anymore. I'm sorry if that means you're taking me to court, or anything else. I'm broke and don't have shit to my name but the money you deposited in my account a few weeks ago. It's still there. Most of it at least. Take it back. It's all I've got."

  Frank's phone buzzed, and he glanced down and let out a long sigh. "Hold that thought. I'll be right back." He stood and walked off as I started to protest.

  The last thing in the world I wanted was to be sitting at a table with Deza. She should have had my best interest at heart, including some part of my personal situation, but she didn't. She'd been trying to turn me away from Ethan since day one. I should have thanked her because things wouldn't have worked out between us anyway.

  "Riley."

  "Don't talk to me." I picked up my menu and glanced down at it as my stomach soured. I was horrible at being a bitch to people. If I gave her too much room to explain herself, I would give in. It was the main reason why I wasn't going back on set. Ethan would stand in front of me and apologize, tell me that he did have feelings for me, and like a big idiot, I'd be back in his bed that night, giving him anything he wanted.

  No. It was time to grow up. Time to start living for myself and that meant choosing who got a spot in my life. I was done simply accepting fate.

  "Just five minutes." Her voice broke. "Just give me five minutes to explain."

  "Explain what?" I half-yelled, not giving a shit who was walking by or sitting near us. "Explain how you took advantage of the situation of being my agent? If anyone should have cared about me, it was fucking you."

  "And I do care about you." She reached up and wiped her tears, her hands shaking a little. "I didn't think that day. Darren has been the only man in my life that I have ever loved. I messed up years ago by not working things out with him, and my life has been a mess since. You guys don't see that part. You see me joking with Ethan and coaching you and other new actors. You don't see me crying myself to sleep because the one thing I want in my life isn't mine."

  "Ethan?" I bit out sarcastically, hating myself for making her cry.

  "No. He's like a brother to me. I told you that."

  "I don't think I would ever get caught in a situation where tonguing my brother in public would be appropriate. It just wouldn't occur to me." I lifted my eyebrow and tilted my head to the side. "What the fuck would possess you to do something like that besides love?"

  "Nothing would. It was love that drove me to act like an idiot." She dropped her chin to her chest and let out a long sigh. "And because of it, I've messed up everything. Ethan isn't the same around me, Frank's upset, and worst of all, you think I let you down." She glanced back up at me. "That I lied to you."

  "You did lie to me. You told me you didn't have feelings for Ethan, and ye
t I knew you did. You've tried to stop me from caring about him beyond the movie since I started."

  "For your own good. I knew one of you would end up hurt." She brushed her long, dark hair over her shoulder and leaned back. "I didn't expect both of you to end up heartbroken."

  "Well, yippee for you. You got a two-for-one." I glared at her. "Stop talking to me, or you can tell Frank why I'm not still sitting here, waiting for him to come back."

  "One more thing." She reached out and grabbed my hand as I started to get up. "It wasn't my love for Ethan that turned me into a fool that day. It was for Darren. He was there with some beautiful blonde woman with big boobs and a great smile. I overreacted when he insinuated that Ethan and I were together. He's been jealous of Ethan for as long as I've been his agent."

  "Why do you think I care about this?" I pulled my arm from her grasp as Frank walked back toward us. "You got what you wanted. Ethan and I are apart-"

  "But you don't have to be, Riley." She stood up. "He loves you, and he's a good man. He deserves a second chance. I fucked you both over by not thinking about it, and for that, I'm so far beyond sorry. But what Clayton did was vicious, and you fell for it." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't have to forgive me, and you don't have to let me be your agent anymore, but you need to reconcile this with Ethan. He doesn't deserve what is happening to him. Neither do you."

  Her words took the wind from my sails, and I dropped back down into my chair. Sadness washed over me, and I let out a long, painful sigh and leaned back. "I don't know what to think anymore. I keep wanting to believe something good can come from this, but I don't want any more heartache in my life. I can't handle it."

  "Hey. What did I miss." Frank sat down and gave me a fatherly look. "Hey. You okay?"

  "No." I pressed my fingers to my lips to keep them from quivering. "I just want to run away. As fast as I can for as far as I can go."