“But you have to take the case! Oscar said he’d leave your firm if you don’t.”
Creigh responded, “I’ll make some calls in the morning. In the meantime, I’m going to take you back to your hotel so you can make your plans to return to L.A. tomorrow.”
Melinda asked, “Go back? I think I need to stay here so that we can work more closely together.”
“Melinda, even if I do stay on as your attorney, you and I are not going to work closely together. If I need to speak with you again, it will be by telephone.”
Melinda didn’t comment either way. If Lila was going to be in Bentley and her attorney was going to be in Bentley, then she was going to be in Bentley as well. After all, she had to keep her eye on things, didn’t she? As an extra bonus, she decided to get Creigh in the sack and show him what a real woman could do between the sheets. It would be kind of be like getting the chance to be with Julius.
After Creigh dropped her off at her hotel, Melinda crawled into bed without even taking off her makeup. She was dying to see what was happening next in her romance.
After her very unsatisfying encounter with Baron Bratwin, Isabelle decided to stroll through the gardens. She was in no hurry to return to the ball and watch Julius waltz with that dried up spinster, Vivian Ashwood. What could he be thinking? The Duke’s daughter would have no idea what to do with a man of Julius’s passionate nature.
Isabelle was lost in her own world when she heard two rough sounding masculine voices coming her way. The first declared, “I heard she was a hot piece o’ arse.”
The other man replied, “Yeah, well no hot piece o’ tail is worth gettin sacked o’er. Let’s get back to the stables.”
“You go. I’m gonna get me another look.”
Isabelle hid behind a hedge to see the men that were invading her privacy. From the sounds of them they were probably coachmen. She smiled and wondered what hot piece of tail was worth losing their positions over. When they turned the corner, Isabelle gasped. These were no coachmen but a couple of randy young stable lads. They couldn’t be a day over eighteen. Isabelle realized that she might be able to salvage her evening yet. She hurriedly ripped the fichu from her bodice, once again baring her enormous breasts and then she strolled out of the shrubs, “Looking for me boys?”
The first one whistled, “Holy shite! I ain’t never seen such a wonderful site in me whole life!”
The other one unzipped his pants and declared, “Even if you ain’t the Countess, you’re who I’m lookin fer now.”
The threesome quickly proceeded to a distant spot in the Japanese garden and Isabelle salvaged the remainder of her evening as only she could.
Chapter 13
After another restless night sleep, Creigh rolled out of bed to face the day. By nine o’clock he had showered, dressed and was on his way to see Will Montgomery. Hopefully the two of them could work together to resolve this situation with Melinda. Creigh knew that Will’s reputation as a litigator was one of the best and he would much rather work with the man than against him.
Creigh knocked on the Montgomery’s front door to no avail. By the second rap, he finally heard a voice call out, “Hang on, I’m coming!”
After a few moments of fumbling, the same voice asked, “Did you forget something?” Then the door swung open and Creigh was greeted by a sight that made his mouth go dry. Lila was standing in front of him wearing nothing more than a skimpy little robe, which if he wasn’t mistaken appeared to be damp. The wet fabric clung to her generous curves and rendered him incapable of coherent thought. Seeing Lila in her current state made him feel as awkward and aroused as a teenager. Trying to steer his thoughts away from what she might or might not be wearing under her negligee, he finally managed to utter, “Hello.”
Lila stared at Creigh before slamming the door in his face. She barely slept the night before because she was tortured by images of him with a million different women. She didn’t know why she should care at all except for the fact she had lusted after this man since she was in high school. She even made him the model for the hero in her first romance novel! And how does he repay her? By being as common and typical as every other man in Hollywood.
Before the door could slam, Creigh stuck his foot out to keep it open and inquired, “What did you do that for?”
Astounded, Lila replied, “Why wouldn’t I?”
Creigh answered, “Lila, what did I do?”
She screeched, “What did you do? You represent that Jezebel, Melinda Forrester, that’s what!” With that, she turned on her heel and stormed off toward the kitchen.
Following after her, Creigh tried to explain, “Listen Lila, I’m not representing her because I want to. Believe me. If I had a choice in the matter, I’d pawn her off on someone else, but I don’t have a choice, so I’m stuck with her.”
Lila went to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice. She was bound and determined to ignore Creigh even though his presence filled the entire room. He was wreaking havoc with every nerve ending in her body. Never in her life had she been so infuriated and so turned on at the same time. She wanted to throw herself at him and rip his clothes off.
Creigh was irritated by Lila’s childish behavior. How could she think for a minute this was a plan of his choosing? So he asked, “Are you going to respond?”
Pretending he wasn’t two feet away, Lila poured herself a glass of juice and then returned the carton to the refrigerator. She slammed the door with such determination that the belt of her robe got caught. Consequently, as she spun around to walk back to the counter, the sash pulled free of its loops and she wound up facing Creigh with her cover-up wide open. Being that she had just gotten out of the shower that meant she was stark naked underneath.
Creigh feasted on the sight of Lila’s curvaceous form. Her breasts were magnificently high and firm and so gloriously full! Her waist was tiny and her hips were rounded and womanly. Mesmerized by the bounty before him, Creigh took a step forward, then another until all he had to do was reach out and touch her. Incapable of rational thought, he uttered, “My god, Lila…” just before his hands slid inside her robe. He held on to her waist only long enough to pull her closer.
As though hypnotized, Lila allowed Creigh to pull her into his arms. As he did, her robe opened further. The feel of his hard masculine form against her sensitive flesh left her gasping for more. Lila groaned as his mouth descended on hers in a ravenous branding. The kiss was beyond anything that she had ever experienced. It was an all encompassing sensual assault that left every part of her body aware of the man claiming her. For a brief moment she thought if her first love, George, had kissed like this, she would have been married with twelve kids by now.
Creigh moved his hands from Lila’s waist to her bottom in order to pull her closer still. Then he slid them up her back and around her neck. While holding her close, he let his right hand drift around and cup her breast. Oh god, he was going to explode if he didn’t have her soon. Creigh pushed Lila backwards until he had her up against the counter. With one quick motion he lifted her up until she was sitting on the ledge, leaving her magnificent breasts right at eye level. Creigh leaned between Lila’s open legs and licked the tip of her nipple just as the phone rang.
Creigh jumped back as though he had tripped an invisible burglar alarm. When he finally came out of his haze and realized that Lila’s breasts weren’t actually wired for trespassers, he shook his head and uttered “What have you done to me?”
Lila came to her senses as soon as Creigh moved away, the cool morning air immediately reminding her of her nakedness. She replied, “I didn’t do anything to you. You did it to me.”
Creigh amended, “We did it to each other then.”
The telephone kept ringing and Lila finally hopped off the counter to get it. Breathlessly, she picked it up, “Hello? Oh, Hi Jilly. No, no, just a little out of breath from running to the phone. Sure, twenty minutes, I’ll be ready.” She hung up the receiver and looked at
Creigh, “That was my friend Jilly. We’re going shopping today.”
Creigh took a step closer to Lila, “Call her back and tell her you can’t make it.” When she looked at him questioningly, he pulled her back into his arms and trailed kisses up her neck. Then he whispered in her ear, “I think you should stay here and get to know me better.”
Creigh continued his assault on her neck. It was a good thing Jilly called when she did. Lila had no doubt that left uninterrupted she and Creigh would already be on the way up to her bedroom. She managed to push him away and whisper, “Not like this. Not with you representing Melinda.”
Creigh took a deep breath, “You’re right. Legally, you and I shouldn’t have any contact at all without your lawyer present.”
With a nervous laugh, Lila replied, “I’m a little relieved that my attorney wasn’t here for this. I mean, I’m not sure my dad would have been okay with what we just did.”
Still holding onto to her, Creigh responded, “Lila, I need to talk to your father so we can make this case go away.” Then he kissed her very tenderly on the lips before stepping back. “I’m guessing he’s not home?” Lila shook her head to confirm his suspicion. “Have him call me when he gets in, okay?”
Lila nodded her head, “Okay, I will.”
Creigh grabbed Lila’s hand and walked to the front door. Just as he crossed the threshold, he looked at her and smiled, “Little Lila Montgomery, who would have guessed.” And with those words, he got back into his car and drove off.
Lila watched until Creigh’s car pulled onto the road before shutting the door. She wrapped her arms around herself and savored the erotic feelings that Creigh made her feel. She thought of the scene in She Sins at Midnight:
Vivian was shocked to her core as Julius’s penetrating gaze ravished her. She felt her insides turn to liquid and her knees weaken as he leaned down so that his mouth was only inches from hers. His hands slid down her back toward her bottom as he pulled her close. Then his mouth was on hers and she could feel his hard…”
Lila’s thoughts were once again interrupted when she heard her cell phone ringing in her room. She ran up the stairs to get it but before answering she checked the caller I.D. It was a two one two area code which left her no doubt who was on the other line. She tentatively answered, “Hi Mitzi, what’s up?”
The woman on the other end inquired, “Dawling! Are you feeling any better about things?”
Thinking of the lawsuit that has been filed against her, she responded, “If possible Mitzi, I feel worse. Did you find out anything from Marsupial?”
“I did, but you’re not going to like it.” Mitzi told Lila that one of the other books that had been nominated had just been disqualified because the committee learned that the author plagiarized some of her love scenes from a novel that had been written twenty years earlier. They were therefore convinced that She Sins at Midnight was a shoo-in for the award and they were adamant that Lila appear to receive the honor in person.
Lila groaned, “And if I don’t?”
Her agent answered, “Marsupial will sue and they’ll win.”
As Lila hung up the phone she wondered how she could have lived life on the straight and narrow for thirty-two years and still find herself as the defendant in two separate lawsuits? It seemed incredibly cruel. Plus she was sure if her publisher sued her, it wouldn’t make her look any less innocent in Melinda’s case. There had to be some way she could receive the award without her family ever knowing. Maybe she could wear a disguise or something.
Chapter 14
“What happened to being ready in twenty minutes?”
Lila looked up to see Jilly standing in her bedroom. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even hear her friend come into the house, let alone up the stairs. She answered, “You are never going to believe the kind of morning that I’ve just had.” And being that she couldn’t tell her best friend about her romance novel worries, she told her all about the scene at the country club the night before and about the goings on in the kitchen that morning.
Jilly exclaimed, “You mean Julius Ceasar is really Creighton Ashwood? He’s hot! Every time I see him at the club I remember that crush you had on him our senior year in high school. So how does he kiss?” The look on her friend’s face was all the answer she needed. Switching topics, she asked, “Why would Melinda Forrester be suing you of all people?”
Lila answered, “I have no idea. I called the office first thing and left a message for Cynthia and Josh to call me back. I’m just waiting to hear from one of them. Then she remembered her run in with Jessica Bowman. She told Jilly all about it including the fact that Jessica seemed genuinely nice and that she had asked after Jilly.
Jilly panicked, “Holy shit! What did you tell her about me?”
“Only the truth. I told her that you married your college sweetheart, that you have a beautiful house on Eton Hill and that you have three gorgeous, perfect children. I explained that you were living every girl’s fairy tale.”
Jilly gasped, “You big liar!”
Lila questioned, “What part of that is a lie?”
“Living a fairy tale? Isn’t that stretching it a bit?”
Lila answered, “Well it looks like a fairy tale from where I’m standing.” Then she added, “Plus it sounds better than saying, her clothes are stained with baby vomit and she wears them out of the house anyway.”
Jilly laughed, “You’re right, let’s stick with your spin. It sounds much more glamorous.”
Lila and Jilly left the house minutes later on an excursion to boost Jilly’s confidence by revamping her look before the reunion. The first stop was the Bentley Commons for a cut and color. After that the plan was to shop till they dropped for the perfect outfit. The outfit that would make Jessica Bowman believe that Jilly really did live the ideal life.
The friends dashed into the salon with five minutes to spare and as fate would have it, they wound up standing in the reception line directly behind none other than Jessica Bowman. Jessica turned and smiled at her high school classmates, “Hey, you two. What are you girls getting done?” Before Jilly had a chance to get all weird and nervous, Jessica cut the tension by confiding, “I’m getting my hair colored to cover the disgusting amount of grey I’m getting and I’m getting my chin and lip waxed.” Then she declared, “Without the wonders of wax, I could join the circus as the bearded lady.”
Jilly started to laugh at the description of Jessica’s beauty treatments. She immediately felt the same thing Lila had the night before. This was definitely not the same Jessica from high school. So before she had a chance to think about it, Jilly offered, “Listen Jessica, if we get out of here around the same time, why don’t you join us for lunch? We’re just going to pop next door to Luigi’s.”
Jessica smiled and announced that she’d be delighted to. Jilly and Lila shared a look and Lila realized that she was no longer worried her friends would judge her harshly for her single status. Now, if she could just keep them from finding out she wrote erotica, everything just might turn out okay.
Jilly and Jessica were led into the back room to start their procedures. With nothing else to do, Lila decided to have a pedicure. As she settled into the spa chair, she noticed a copy of “The Countrywide Inquisitor” sitting next to her. She didn’t remember to bring her book so she decided to flip through the tabloid to see what kind of trash they were trying to sell now.
The headlines on the first page read:
Sexy Star of the Silver Screen
Gets it on in the Coat Closet!
Melinda Forrester, Oscar nominated actress of “Running on Empty” has reportedly been shagging the janitor at her agency, Amalgamated Artists. Sources close to the actress say the star is keeping the affair quiet as she is also doing the nasty with Solomon Films owner, Oscar Solomon.
This reporter has learned the janitor and the mogul aren’t the only loves in this lady’s (?) life. She is also heard to be having an on again, off again, with he
r agent Josh Furber, senior partner at Amalgamated Artists. When asked about the nature of his relationship with the starlet, Furber was adamant that “It’s strictly, business.” However, we did learn that Miss Forrester now demands that all employees of the agency refer to her as, “your Highness.” This tidbit comes from Furber’s current assistant, Charlotte Belomey. Apparently his former assistant has been put on administrative leave for defaming Miss Forrester’s character. To which this reporter asks, isn’t Melinda taking care of that job on her own?
Lila felt decidedly nauseous. She wondered how in the world the press had gotten the story. Then it hit her, Franze LaBonge…that gossipy Nelly must have sold it to a reporter and now the whole world knew. Josh had to have been the source to report she had been put on administrative leave for defaming Melinda’s character, which, she decided, was most certainly why he wasn’t returning her call. She particularly liked the bit Charlotte added. But more than anything, Lila was curious as to why Melinda was suing Amalgamated. It seemed like she might have a case against “The Inquisitor,” but what could she possibly be hoping to get by suing her agent or Lila for that matter.
Lila ripped the article out and stuffed it into her purse to show to her father; but in the meantime, she was going to enjoy having her feet rubbed and she wasn’t about to let Melinda ruin that for her too.
Chapter 15
Cynthia Flynn walked out of a meeting with Josh Furber, Hayden Vince, Amalgamated’s president and Robert Felton, their legal counsel. They had just spent the last forty-five minutes discussing the Melinda Forrester Incident, as it was now being called. Cynthia came clean with the information that she was the one who started the rumor about Melinda and Jose´ in the coat closet. But Josh was still furious with his assistant and maintained, “Lila’s the one who started the ball rolling by calling Melinda ‘The Queen of Oral Pleasure.’ If it weren’t for that little comment, Melinda would have never been angry enough to sue.”
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