Love United (Hollywood Series Book 3)

by Avery Michaels

  “Katie, it’s Roxy Royce. I was just returning Jackson’s call about a work matter. Sorry to bother you. Thank you. Bye-bye, now,” I said, hanging up before she could respond. I didn’t think I could hold a lie together for her.

  I vibrated with anger at the thought of having to put on a show with Logan, but I got dressed and headed over to his hotel anyway. It was pointless to call. He would demand for us to be seen together. That was the point of this ruse, after all, wasn’t it?

  His hotel was only a couple of blocks over, so I walked. The closer I got, the angrier I became, and I let it show. I was hoping that it would give me an edge and maybe, just maybe, the world would see through this crap that Logan was trying to pull, even though I knew better. People loved a good story—even if it wasn’t a good story. They loved feeling involved, I guess. When I arrived, the paparazzi would speculate, but they would be left outside. It proved nothing except that we were in the same hotel…again.

  I grabbed a keycard from the desk. After all, the room was in my name. When I swiped to enter, I found Logan sitting in a chair, two women making out on the couch in front of him.

  “Am I paying for this too?” I asked. They didn’t even stop to look up at me.

  “Yes, you are,” he said, not sparing me a glance. “Thank you.”

  “You’re disgusting.” I began snapping photos with my phone. That got them moving. Then I remembered why I’d come over here and attempted to adjust my attitude accordingly, but I was no actress.

  “So have you decided to go along with my plan?” he asked.

  “I’m thinking about it,” I told him. “But this,” I said, motioning to the tramps getting dressed hastily, “just won’t do. You can’t be a cheating, asshole, pretend boyfriend. It’s all or nothing.”

  He considered me. “Fine. But we’ll be staying in the same hotel room—”

  “Hotel, not a hotel room, Logan.”

  “Okay, okay. I can compromise. I heard you were going back to your hometown tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  “Should I come?”

  “I think it’s best for your safety if you don’t. My brother would probably drink your blood for this.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “We’ll have a polite, amicable breakup when I get back into town.”

  “We’ll kiss at least once for the cameras.”

  “No way in h—” I said as I was standing up to walk out.

  “Fine!”

  “Fine. You’ll sign a confidentiality agreement, as will that woman who owns that club. What was her name again? Stella…something?” He didn’t say anything. “Anyway, you’ll sign, she will sign, you’ll take your fifty thousand, and leave me alone. Got it?”

  “Yeah.”

  I pretended to be typing a text. “I need the name of that club and the owner for the agreement.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Where is it?”

  “I don’t know that either.”

  “You better come up with something, Logan, or I’m done.”

  He rolled his eyes so hard that it looked painful but got up and walked over to his duffel. From there, he produced a card. I took it from him greedily.

  “They won’t let me go there anymore, but I’m sure we can find another place if you want to…”

  “Shut up,” I said, studying the card. It was a deep purple card with a seven-digit number. No area code. “What’s the area code?”

  He shrugged, completely uninterested. “So, do you want to go get some lunch or something?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Great, let me get dressed and we can go grab something.”

  “Okay.” I smiled. As soon as he closed the door to the bathroom, I walked out. What a douche.

  I dialed Trase. “I need every area code for New York State. Text them. Oh, and I need to borrow your car.” I was on a mission and wouldn’t be detoured. I wanted this solved before I boarded my flight tomorrow for Alabama.

  When he sent me the numbers, I began dialing, but I wasn’t sure what to ask. It wasn’t as if I could just say, “Hey, I’m looking for the private sex club, ’K, thanks.” No, this situation was going to take more finesse. I was amazed to find that there were about fourteen different area codes in the state.

  I started at the top of the list and worked my way down. “Stella, please,” I said to each one. Of course, I got a wrong number several times, but shockingly on just the fifth one down, the person who answered stammered. It was a clue.

  “Um, Stella? Ah…” Long pause on the line. “Nope. No Stella here.” Another long pause as if the man were waiting for me to use another name, but I didn’t have one. Maybe she used a fake name. I did.

  “Wait!” I yelped. “I’m sorry. It’s urgent that I get in touch with a woman I met several years ago. I only know her by Stella. Please. This is regarding a matter with, um, Logan Mason—”

  “Who is this?” A woman’s voice came on the line. It was her. I would never forget her voice, her look, her confidence.

  “I can’t say, but please don’t hang up. I need to speak with you in person.”

  She sort of huffed out a laugh. “Well, that isn’t going to happen.”

  “I’ve been to your place, just once. I don’t remember the way. I…I experienced, well, you.” I wasn’t sure what to say or how to say it. I couldn’t be sure I wasn’t being recorded, and I sure didn’t need any more drama. “Stella, I’m not a reporter. Logan is threatening me—”

  “Roxy Royce.”

  Shit. I’d given up too much…again. “I need to speak to you in person.”

  “Come to me, Roxy Royce. Let me give you my address. Are you in town?”

  “Yes.”

  She spouted off the address, not waiting to make sure I’d gotten it correctly. “You’ll be here in an hour. Lunch will be served. Oh, and I think it should go without saying, but it would be unwise of you to bring reporters here,” she stated before hanging up.

  I looked at my phone, feeling dominated. I didn’t care for it at all, but what choice did I have?

  An hour later, I was pulling down a long drive to the mansion that I would never forget. I felt fidgety and uncomfortable coming alone, but I didn’t trust anyone else to accompany me. I’d had Trase and Kimmy create a distraction just so I could get away without being followed. Trase was very uncomfortable with my venturing off alone. He knew that I never drove when I was in New York, but it wasn’t a discussion that I was willing to have with him.

  I parked Trase’s personal vehicle in the roundabout driveway and got out. The door opened as I walked up the front steps. It gave me pause, but I continued. I’d put on a wig and had my sunglasses pulled down over my eyes just in case I was being followed, photographed, or filmed. While I hadn’t ever meant to deceive my fans into believing I was a pristine princess, I didn’t want to be associated with a sex club either. There was a happy medium there somewhere, I was sure.

  A young, masculine man in a tuxedo escorted me inside in silence. It was so cliché. I saw the hallway I’d taken when I’d been here before, but much to my relief, we didn’t go that way. Instead, we went through a den out to a garden beside an outdoor infinity pool.

  “Please be seated. Madam will be with you, momentarily,” the young, handsome gentleman said.

  I half expected Stella to appear in the nude, swimming up from the deep of the pool then slithering up my leg. That was not what happened at all.

  “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting, dear,” a woman said, walking out from another door on the other side of the pool. Her hair was short and brown. She wore a tank top and a long lacy skirt with sandals. She reminded me of just anyone. There was nothing exceptional about her.

  “Hi, um, Stella?”

  “Well, yes, I suppose so.” She smiled. “Roxy, it’s so nice to see you again.”

  At the use of my stage name, I produced a confidentiality agreement from my purse and placed it on the table. She glanced at
it, sat down, signed it, and slid it back to me as if she did this often.

  “Now, may we speak freely?” she asked.

  “I only came here for one reason. Is there a tape?

  “No.”

  “Let me rephrase: Could there be a tape?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked as salad plates were being laid before us.

  She thanked the gentleman with a wink and took a bite. “So good,” she hummed. “The berries are fresh from the garden.” I was becoming angry. It must’ve shown. “There’s no tape, dear. Now relax and enjoy your salad.”

  “Thank you, but—”

  She placed her hand on mine gently. “I insist.”

  I nodded, picking at the greenery. She must’ve been lonely out here all alone, with only paid servants as company. The place was about an hour outside of the city. While it did offer seclusion and privacy, it was also isolating. It just proved that money couldn’t buy everything.

  “Logan lost his membership to the club some time ago for non-payment. But after he recently came around asking questions about the clientele, he was banned from the premises. My clients’ privacy is of the utmost importance, you understand. That’s why there are no media devices allowed beyond the front door and absolute nudity beyond the double doors. No place to hide anything. Well, you remember,” she said, pointing her fork at me.

  “You look different,” I said without thinking. She laughed, touching her hair.

  “Oh, I go all out when I have guests. It’s a show. Just like you, I entertain people.”

  I laughed then. “Well, not just like me.”

  She smiled. “True, but it’s all relative.”

  “How did you know it was me on the phone? How did you know I’d ever been here? I wasn’t famous then.”

  “I knew who Logan was threatening. Everyone in the free world knows that. And as soon as I heard he was threatening you with a tape, I assumed that he was going to try to use the club to hurt you. He was a frequent flyer here. As for you, the first time I saw you in the spotlight, I remembered you. You have perfectly lovely breasts, dear.”

  I spit out the water I was sipping, “Excuse me?”

  “Your tits. They’re lovely. Most women aren’t blessed with a set so naturally beautiful.”

  “Um, thanks?”

  “You’re welcome. Now, rest assured, there’s no tape. You won’t have any trouble with any of my staff or clients, past or present.”

  “You’re still…in business?”

  “Yes, of course. Would you like to come and join us sometime?”

  “No,” I said quickly.

  “Well, I can see that you aren’t comfortable here, so let me walk you out.” She stood, and I did too. She hooked her arm in mine and walked toward the entrance. “Just know that you are more than welcome anytime.”

  Before she opened the door, she leaned in for what I thought would be a cheek kiss, but it wasn’t. She kissed my lips. I jumped a little. “I’m, ah, I’m not a lesbian.”

  “Me either. Labels aren’t necessary.”

  “Well, I’m with someone.”

  “That’s fine.” She smiled. “It was lovely to see you, Roxy. Go and tell Logan that I said to go fuck himself.”

  I laughed. “Gladly. Thank you so much. I really appreciate the reassurance.”

  I was so happy as I got into the car. A feeling of relief washed over me. He could say whatever he wanted, but Logan didn’t have anything.

  I thought I was going to have to call for reinforcements to get me back into the city. The traffic was awful. I was reminded of why I’d never driven here. What should’ve taken an hour took three.

  I called Trase and told him to meet me with the limo at an out-of-the-way place as not to be seen in this car or in this getup. I wanted to thoroughly cover my tracks. I’d seen those crime shows. If it hadn’t been Trase’s personal vehicle that I was driving, I may have ditched it in the Hudson along with the wig.

  I asked Trase to come get me because, frankly, I didn’t trust Bo, the former assistant, now driver, to do it. Trase had proven his worth in just a matter of a single day’s work. He’d made himself invaluable.

  After hours of sitting in traffic, I pulled into the parking garage in the Bronx, close to where Trase had told me he lived. The limo was waiting. I grabbed my purse and hopped from one car to the other.

  “Did you bring the stuff?” I asked him. He tossed a bag in the back and rolled up the partition so I could change.

  I changed clothes and flat ironed my hair in the limo on the way back to my hotel. I didn’t want to be seen in even the clothing I’d been wearing, just in case someone had photographed me at the club/mansion. I was taking every precaution before I told Logan to fuck off, because I knew he would retaliate one way or another.

  When we pulled back up to the hotel, the paparazzi were in a full frenzy. I could see that double the amount of photographers were there. I asked Trase what was going on, but he didn’t know. I pulled on my sunglasses, braced myself for whatever scandalous crap they were about to throw my way, and got out of the car.

  “Is it true?” some shouted. They were all talking at the same time. I didn’t know what they were saying. Trase pushed through them. The police had actually shown up because such a scene was being made. I didn’t even know I was this famous.

  As the crowd parted, I saw him there at the door waiting for me with a wide smile.

  Chapter 11

  He was there, waiting. I tried to keep my composure. I didn’t want to give the crowd anything to buzz about.

  “Hey, babe,” he said, sending the press into even more of a mania. “I’ve been waiting on you for hours. I missed you so much!”

  He grabbed me and pulled me into a kiss. Flashes went off like crazy. I shoved Logan as hard as I could manage. He was much stronger than I remembered and held me in his grasp.

  “Let go, Logan.”

  “Smile for the camera,” he whispered, “or all of the world will see me pumping into that sweet little pus—”

  I punched him in the lip. He stumbled back, touching his mouth and pulling back a bit of blood. Trase laughed.

  “Lover’s spat?” the invasive Mick Lennox asked.

  I let out a humorless laugh. “You all have been played, played, played! Logan Mason has been lying to all of you. He’s been lying to everyone! He’s the one who started the rumor about the sex tape, but there’s no tape. He also made up this story about us having a relationship. We aren’t together. Far from it! I can’t stand to look at him! He’s just trying to weasel his way back into the spotlight. He tried to bribe me, but he has nothing to offer,” I ranted.

  “I fucked you, and everyone will see it!”

  “So we slept together! Who cares? You’re a desperate little twit, and everyone has already seen that.” I leaned into his ear and whispered, “By the way, Stella said to go fuck yourself.” Then I kneed him in the nuts. He collapsed to the pavement in front of everyone. I took Trase’s offered hand and stepped over Logan, walking into the hotel.

  By the time I got to my room, I was exhausted. I’d leaned into Trase and cried in the elevator. It wasn’t that I was upset about Logan having told the world that we’d slept together, but rather, I felt it was unbecoming of anyone to discuss such personal matters publicly. Now my sexual escapades would be on the news. On the bright side, at least I felt confident that there wasn’t a tape.

  My phone dinged with a text from Trase reminding me of my scheduled call with Blake. I cleaned my face up and opened my computer, awaiting his call. I waited and waited until I dozed off.

  The sound of the Skype ringer awoke me a bit later. I opened the application eagerly.

  “Hey, beautiful girl,” Blake said, bringing a smile to my face. “Did I wake you?”

  “No, I was just waiting,” I lied.

  He licked his thumb and touched the corner of his eye suggestively. I could see where my mascara was smeared from sleeping.
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  “You don’t ever have to lie to me,” he said as I wiped the makeup away. “I think you’re gorgeous without all of that girlie stuff. Anyway, I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I was out of the wire on a mission.”

  “Escorting celebrities around the desert?” I smiled.

  “No, babe, it wasn’t that kind of day.” His face sort of fell, and I took that to mean he hadn’t had the best of days.

  “Are you okay? Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah, it’s just been a long day. It’s so hot here, and I miss my family and you. It gets hard sometimes.”

  “I imagine it does.”

  “I think, especially now that I have you to look forward to, I think about my family more and more. Before you came along, I tried not to think about how much I missed them, but that’s impossible now. I relish thinking of you, what I’m going to do to you when I get home, what things will be like, having you in my arms again, you know things like that.” I felt my cheeks pink up just thinking of what he meant. “So, of course, it’s impossible not to think about home.”

  I smiled at him. “I’m going tomorrow. First thing in the morning.”

  “Going where?”

  “To Alabama to see my family.”

  “Really? I’m so jealous!” He perked up. I could see the enthusiasm in his expression. His eyes lit up, and his smile widened. “I wish I was with you.”

  “Me too. Is there anything I can do for you while I’m there?”

  He thought long and hard for a moment. “Actually, my parents are huge fans. I know that Fort Payne is about a half-hour outside of Loblolly, but it would be awesome if you just showed up on their doorstep while we are Skyping so I can watch.”

  I laughed. “Seriously?”

  “I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to. I know it’s cheesy.”

  “No, I would love to! That will be great! What time? I get in around ten in the morning.”

  He fumbled some papers around off to the side. “I can Skype you around this time tomorrow afternoon.”

  I giggled. This would be fun. He made me feel like we were a couple and had been for a while, instead of what we really were: two people trying to build a relationship out of a one-night stand. He gave me the address. I typed it in my phone.