Lulu slipped her arm around Ian’s and started leading the way up the red carpet to the interior of the theater with Gideon and Dante taking point. Noah drew up the rear, his eyes moving around the crowd trying to assess any possible threat. He’d placed extra security throughout the crowd and felt Lulu was relatively secure, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
He wondered how he was going to get through the rest of the evening. Lulu had planned a cast party after the premiere at a local restaurant. Noah didn’t like the idea of having her out in the open so exposed.
Chapter Nine
The premier had been a rousing success. The after party had gone on until the wee hours. No one wanted to go home. Lulu was still jazzed and couldn’t get to sleep.
Lulu sat at the kitchen table, digging into a red velvet cupcake. She’d set a plate on the table across from her with its own cupcake and an empty cup waiting for Noah to show up. The coffee maker gurgled behind her filling the kitchen with the rich aroma of her favorite blend. They’d gotten into the habit of a midnight snack. Lulu was starting to enjoy meeting him so late at night with no one around.
Noah was yawning as he walked into the kitchen. “Sorry,” he said as he reached for the coffee carafe and walked to the table. He poured coffee into the cup and set the carafe back on the heating element of the coffee maker.
“Tonight was a night well done,” she said. “I can sit back and enjoy a red velvet cupcake and savor the evening, even after my near brush with death.”
“How are you feeling about that?” He peeled the paper from the cupcake and bit into it.
“I’m feeling rather foolish to think there is actually someone out there who wants to hurt me. I can’t figure out what I did.”
“I can give you a list of reasons why people don’t like you.”
“Do I really want to know?”
“You’re a grownup. You can handle it,” he said after a long sip of coffee.
“Hit me right between the eyes.”
“You’re rich. I know you work hard, but you inherited the money.”
“Contrary to popular belief, keeping money is almost as hard as making it.” She took another bite of her cupcake.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
Her eyebrows rose. “There are thousands of beautiful women out there. Beauty is nothing special.”
“I’m not talking about the outside. I’m talking about what goes on inside you. You’re generous, compassionate, self-confident, fun to be around and very down to earth. You’re a regular person, only better dressed.”
Lulu was genuinely touched by his statement. She could feel a blush starting on her face. She couldn’t remember the last time a man made her blush.
“Now that I’ve said all that, why did you have to wear that dress tonight?”
“What was wrong with it?”
“You didn’t need that dress to get attention.”
“Tomorrow that dress and I are going to be on websites, TV shows, and newspapers all over the world. In a week, I’ll be in all the weekly magazines, even the ones I don’t own. My film is going to be mentioned along with the photo. People are going to talk about that dress for days along with my film. All of the buzz about my first film cost me the price of that sexy little number. Bottom line, that dress was cost effective advertising. Which is almost as good as how hot I looked in it.”
“I don’t want that to make sense to me.”
Surprise flooded her. “You really don’t understand what being a celebrity is all about.”
“I’m not sure I want to.”
“You work in a profession where you are judged by how well you do your job.”
“Most of the world is.”
She paused for a moment thinking how to phrase her words. “I’m judged not only by what I do, or how well I do it, but how good I look doing it. Celebrity is a contact sport. Very few people in our business are judged solely by their work alone, especially women. They have to be on a stage every time they walk out of their house. How many times have you seen a photo of a woman not looking her best? She’s lambasted for leaving the gym looking sweaty or in some cases just being human. Actresses are taken to task for being anorexic and at the same time accused of being fat.”
“You were a model. You used to be one of those women.”
She felt sadness. “I have some karma to make up for. How many children have I harmed by falling into that trap and perpetuating it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I spent almost seven years modeling. I did everything models did to maintain my perfect size. I drank the Kool-Aid. At one point if a doctor told me putting uranium on my face would stop aging and keep me a size four I would have been out there digging it myself and so would have a lot of other women.” She ran her finger across the top of her cupcake and then licked the icing off her
“Why did you quit?”
“Even at my thinnest, I was told I was fat. I had my girls,” she touched her breasts, “and my rear end, but this one designer I was working for told me I had to lose another ten pounds. I only ate once a day trying to maintain the illusion that I was beautiful, but I looked terrible. I looked so bad that even I didn’t recognize myself. One day he pats me on the butt and says, ‘let me fix you a little something to help.’ He came back with rubber tubing and a syringe. He was going to shoot me up with heroin because that’s how all the top models keep thin. He tied the tubing around my arm and was getting ready to inject me when I freaked out. I fulfilled the contract I still had for another designer for Fashion Week and then I left. I hopped the first plane back to New York and spent the next three weeks with my Aunt Julia crying my eyes out.”
“Why did you want to be a model?”
“I probably could have answered you fifteen years ago, but not anymore. Whatever drove me then isn’t there anymore. God, I sound so shallow.”
“You have substance,” Noah replied.
She felt a warmth flood her at the statement. Yes, she knew she had substance, but she was also a realist. She had great fans. They liked her the way she was because she was honest. “I didn’t turn my back on the modeling world, it just wasn’t for me. Damaging myself wasn’t worth the price. I knew I had other things to offer. I went to college and somehow I ended up in a psych class with a great professor and I’d found my calling.” In that class she’d learned that she could be more than a pretty face. “I was unhappy. I don’t know why, but that professor helped me rediscover myself.”
“What did you find out about yourself?”
“I needed to like who I was, the way I was. And now I feel beautiful the way I am and don’t see myself as a product with nothing to offer, but as a person with my own needs and desires.”
“One of the criticisms I’ve read about you is that your actions are interpreted as people should be overweight.”
She smiled at him. How often had she heard that? “I tell people it’s all right to be happy no matter what you look like. I nearly killed myself to be thin. I have never told anyone to abuse their health. I’ve been there. Even with all my great medical insurance and great doctors, I needed several years to recover my health. I want women to feel good in their skin no matter what. Oh my goodness, I feel like I’m taping a show and I’m the guest being grilled by you. And you’re dragging things out of me that I’ve already dealt with while I was in therapy.”
He simply grinned at her. “Dr. Pamela Klein.”
“You did check me out, didn’t you?”
“I know twice a year you fly to Paris to order bras and panties from Carney Gilson.”
“I’m impressed. You really did your homework. So when do I find out about Noah Callahan?”
“I don’t want you to think I’m easy,”
“How deep and dark can your past be?” She wanted to probe him more deeply, but he seemed to draw away emotionally. His eyes grew distant and cool.
“Nothing interesting in my past that you need to know about.”
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“Inquiring minds want to know.” She drained the last bit of her coffee.
“Inquiring minds will have to wait. I didn’t get where I am by not being patient. I have something else in mind.”
“Really?” she said.
He rose from his side of the table and skirted it. He brought her to her feet and then kissed her. His mouth was soft and smooth on hers and she leaned into the kiss.
Lulu was on fire. He splayed his hands along against the sides of her breasts, his thumbs gently caressing her nipples through the thin fabric of her silk robe.
“You have the most beautiful mouth,” she said pulling back slightly.
His eyes widened. She traced a finger around his lips. She kissed him again and suddenly he drew back.
“We can’t do this right now,” Noah said, his voice husky and low.
“Just so long as we do eventually,” she replied. She stepped away, picked up their plates and cups, rinsed them at the sink and put them in the dishwasher.
Noah brushed his lips across the back of her neck. “You can count on that.”
She smiled as she walked up the stairs to her bedroom. Long after she’d turned the lights out, she lay snuggled up in her comforter watching the street lights outside her window. She thought about Noah and the sweetness of his kiss and the way her body flared into heat at his touch. She fell asleep remembering the feel of his hands on her breasts and the warmth of his breath on his cheek.
Aiden stood in the hallway outside the conference room. They’d just finished filming the Valentine’s day show and he was wiped. It was barely 10:30 in the morning and he was ready to go home. At least the show went off without a hitch. He tried to keep his attention on what Lulu was saying, but he was too distracted as he watched the man everyone called the Geek. He sat at the conference table, bent over his laptop, a frown on his handsome face.
“Sweetie?” Lulu snapped her fingers in Aiden’s face.
“What?”
“Lulu’s talking here. Did you hear anything I said?”
“I’m listening.” Well kind of.
The Geek stood up for a moment, flexing his shoulders and raising his hands in the air before bending over, stretching. Aiden couldn’t take his eyes away from the tattoos that littered his arms or the tight leather pants that molded to his ass like a glove. His long hair was pulled back into a pony tail and Aiden was mesmerized.
Lulu giggled. “If you like this guy, why don’t you talk to him?”
“He’s a little rough around the edges.” Okay he was trying to talk himself out of being attracted to him. He was so different from the men he tended to run with.
“I like the whole Goth biker thing, and he’s very nice. You shouldn’t let his looks worry you.”
“I like his looks,” Aiden admitted, “that’s what bothers me. I never knew I was a closet leather daddy.”
Lulu chuckled. “Sweetie, there’s nothing wrong with a big macho man.”
“Speak for yourself, sister.” The testosterone level had quadrupled since the bodyguards had shown. They made all the boys in the office excited. “Which makes me wonder how things are going for you and Mr. Callahan?”
She didn’t say anything. But the look on her face said it all and Aiden felt a twinge of sympathy. Lulu didn’t often come up against a brick wall she couldn’t charm into falling down at her feet and be grateful.
Noah Callahan was different from any man Lulu had ever shown interest in, the same way Mark ‘The Geek’ was different from anyone Aiden had ever been attracted to. He was a little uncomfortable around him. Aiden hated stepping out of his comfort zone. He knew he tended to go for a certain type of man and the Geek just didn’t fit Aiden’s list.
“You should ask him out. I’ll bet he has fascinating stories.”
Aiden arched his eyebrow. “I’ll bet Noah Callahan has fascinating stories.”
“I’m trying to get to those stories. He is the most close-mouthed person I’ve ever known. He’s so frustrating.”
She looked like she intended to stamp her foot. Instead she looked at her watch. “I’ve got to go. I have a fitting for my ball gown for the charity event.” She pushed Aiden to the door. “Go, talk to him. Take him some lunch.”
“It’s not noon yet.”
“It is somewhere in the world. Just go down to the cafeteria and get a sandwich for him and bring it back. I’ve never known you to be so shy.”
Aiden wasn’t shy. He knew what he wanted and when he wanted it. Aiden liked men similar to himself. Most of the men he’d dated had been in either the fashion or the magazine industry. What the hell was he going to say to this guy? Mark was just so beautiful. He was tall, muscular, and exotic. Maybe there was something about these ‘rough around the edges’ guys.
Lulu walked away and Aiden stood in the hallway watching him. Finally he walked into the conference room and the Geek looked up.
For a second Aiden was speechless. Think of something to say he told himself. “Hi.”
Mark looked him up and down and gave him a slow seductive smile as if he liked what he saw. “Hello.”
Aiden hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m going down to the cafeteria to get a sandwich and wondered if you wanted some lunch. I’d be happy to bring it up for you.”
Mark stuck out his hand. “Aiden, right?”
Aiden shook the other man’s hand and felt a little spark that made him jerk back. “I’m Lulu’s personal assistant.” Why did I say that, he thought? Of course this man knew who Aiden was and what he did.
“I know exactly who you are, Hector Benavidez from Norco, California.”
Aiden drew back in surprise. “Oh my God!” His heart pounded in his chest.
“That’s okay, nothing wrong with a little name change.” He leaned back on his desk.
“How did you find out?” Aiden whispered trying not to hyperventilate. Only a few people in New York knew who he used to be.
“I’ve got my eye on you.” Mark winked. “I hear you’re the guy who knows everything around here. You want to help me look at some surveillance tapes? I have some people I have questions about, maybe you could help me.”
Aiden resisted the urge to preen. “Well, I keep my nose to the grindstone. I have to know what is going on around here. I’m happy to help.” Double clutch my pearls. Daddy’s got a live one. What an interesting start. Lulu was right, I need to run with this.
“What does a personal assistant do?” Mark pulled out the chair next to his.
What a gentleman. “Anything she needs me to do, from keeping track of her purse to where she buries the bodies.” Aiden sat down and crossed his legs, he sat up straight hoping everything was looking right.
Mark’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Where does she bury the bodies?”
He rolled his eyes. “In that respect she’s pretty boring. She’d rather rehabilitate you.”
“She’s a fixer?”
“Lulu is a great believer in karma. She would never willingly hurt someone no matter what they’ve done. She had a P.A. just before me for two months. The girl just wasn’t working. Lulu’s life is chaotic and a P.A.’s job is to keep it running smoothly. When I was at a professional loose end, she found a better position for the woman, moved her into it and the woman is as happy as pie, and then Lulu hired me. I’ve worked for a couple of high-profile celebrities and trust me, Lulu is very low maintenance. The hardest parts of my job with her is just keeping up and keeping her organized.”
“Don’t you want more?” Mark tilted his head and his long pony tail feathered over his shoulder.
Aiden ached to touch his beautiful long hair. “Do I want more?” Aiden mused. “Not right now. Lulu pays very well and I love her. And she’s very generous. She bought me a car, which I almost never drive. She also gave me an apartment in one of her buildings. You do know Lulu’s grandmother was a deVries?”
“As in, ‘we own half of the city’ deVries?” Mark said his words followed by a low whi
stle.
“The very ones. So I have a little chunk of their real estate.” The luckiest day of his life was meeting Lulu.
“Did you know my family worked high construction for the deVries?”
“We have something in common,” Aiden said pleased.
He slipped his finger under Aiden’s purple and white paisley tie. “Other than our stunning fashion sense.”
“You do wear the leather well.” Aiden ran an appreciative gaze over him.
“Does that mean we’re going out on a date?” Mark asked with an almost sassy tone in his voice.
Aiden stared at him, stunned. This guy just cut to the chase. Aiden liked that he was that interested. “I can’t date while Lulu’s in danger.”
“Between you and me, we’re gonna figure this out. Right?” His eyebrows rose.
“All right, let’s get figuring,” Aiden said.
“Yeah, fine. After lunch. Figuring out puzzles makes me hungry.” Mark rose and stretched. He headed for the door and then looked back at Aiden. “Are you coming?”
Aiden gave a wide smile. Oh boy, was he coming.
A knock sounded on Lulu’s office door startling Noah. Locked inside the room with an angry woman had a way of doing that to a man, no matter how well he was trained. Ted the mail clerk entered, carrying a large white flower box. “It’s Wednesday, Lulu,” Ted said cheerfully, handing her the box.
Noah jumped up to take the box from Ted. Ted hung on, refusing to relinquish the box but Noah prevailed.
Lulu walked up and swiped the box from Noah. “Will that man never get the hint?” She dropped the box in the trash. “Thank you, Ted.”
Noah stared at the box startled at her reaction. “Why throw the box away? Who’s sending you flowers?”
Ted scurried out of the office without even closing the door. Lulu stood at the corner of her desk, hands on her hips. She looked like a vengeful angel in her elegant red dress. She was frowning at him tapping the toe of her low heeled black shoe.
He looked at that shoe smiling. Her wearing it meant that he’d won a round. Of course, she got a little revenge when she told her camera men not film those shoes. She had conceded to wearing the shoes he’d chosen for her, so he was okay with that.
Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) Page 11