Extremely Famous

by Heather Leigh

  “The best day I’ve ever had,” I murmur back.

  “Me too.” He leans toward me. “And just think, we have two weeks and several countries left. The things I want to do to you in each of them.”

  I freeze in place, my heart pounding from his words. I know I’m blushing, but I can’t help it. Everything he says turns me on, especially when he says things like that. I sip my wine to distract me from the delicious tingling starting between my thighs.

  Quentin clears his throat, not missing that there’s something going on between me and Drew. Drew pulls away and sits back in his chair, laughing at my embarrassment.

  Bastard!

  I turn back to Chad, who’s sitting on my right. “Your home in Brentwood is beautiful, how long have you had it?”

  He puts down his drink and does some quick math in his head. “Hmmm, about seven years,” he says thoughtfully.

  “Well, I’m jealous. We don’t have anything like that in the city.”

  “No, I wouldn’t think so,” he responds with a laugh.

  I change the subject. “So, you’ve seen my mom since she left acting.” I say it as a statement, not a question.

  Chad seems a little flustered by my knowledge, his cheeks reddening. “Well, uh, yes. I ummm,” he trips over his words.

  I place my hand on his. “It’s not a big deal. She told me that you’re one of the few people she kept in touch with after we left California. How long have you known my mom?”

  Do they have something going on? If they do, she deserves it, and Chad seems like a great guy.

  Chad smiles, “A long time. I was an assistant on her first movie.”

  “Wow, that long huh?” I kid, gently elbowing him in the ribs.

  “Hey, I’m not that old. To you I’m probably ancient though.”

  “No, you’re not old. Either way, thanks for the vacation in St. Bart’s and for the mini-one today. I really needed it.” I look at Drew who’s talking animatedly to Zane on his other side.

  “I think you both did Sydney,” he says with a wink.

  We rejoin the conversation with the rest of the table and I find myself in a strange situation. I’m enjoying myself with these recognizable Hollywood stars in a public place, even with the other diners watching our every move.

  CHAPTER 13

  “Please?” I do my best poor me face and flutter my eyebrows at a very exasperated Bruce.

  “I just don’t think this is such a great idea,” he says to me as we stand next to Drew’s rented McLaren Spider at the valet stand outside the hotel.

  “Bruce, I’ve never even had a chance to learn. I’m almost twenty-five years old and don’t know how to drive. I can’t think of a better teacher than you.” I stick out my bottom lip to persuade the flustered man.

  “We really should check with Drew.” He clutches the keys to his chest nervously.

  Okay, now I’m mad. I’m a grown woman and I don’t need my fiancé’s permission to learn how to drive.

  I exhale deeply in frustration, narrowing my eyes at Bruce. “I don’t need anyone’s go-ahead to learn how to drive. If you won’t show me then I’ll just find someone else…” I pull out my cellphone and start scrolling through it.

  “Fine, fine. Don’t go anywhere with anyone else!” He holds up his hand to stop me from doing something that would piss Drew off more than finding out that he taught me how to drive.

  Smiling, I climb into the passenger seat and turn to Evan, who is patiently waiting behind me with an amused expression instead of his usual intimidating scowl. “Guess you’re in the SUV alone today big guy.”

  Evan stifles a laugh and gets into the massive car behind us. Bruce hurries around to the driver’s side and the sports car starts with a sexy roar. With a worried expression that I find quite humorous, he cautiously pulls it out into traffic.

  “Alright, I’ll find a nice empty parking lot and we can start there, yes?”

  “Sounds great!” I exclaim, excited for my first ever driving lesson. Living in New York since I was twelve, I never had the need to drive. I still don’t, but it’s something I feel like I should learn, especially after seeing how much fun Drew had driving this car yesterday. Normal people drive. I want to be as normal as possible.

  Ten minutes later, we’ve switched places and I’m seated behind the wheel of the powerful machine. Nerves clutch at my throat and I have difficulty swallowing. Maybe this was a bad idea. This is a really expensive car, I Googled it last night out of curiosity and they start at a quarter of a million dollars! Plus it’s fast, really fast. The only good thing is that it’s small and easy to maneuver.

  I sigh and put my hands on the wheel, shaking off my nerves. I adjust the mirrors and catch Evan’s reflection in the nearby Suburban, laughing at me.

  Great, at least someone is finding this entertaining.

  I’m starting to freak out now that I’m sitting behind the wheel. Bruce patiently shows me all of the controls and I’m relieved that this can be driven as an automatic, something I wouldn’t have expected in such a sporty car.

  “Ready?” I ask Bruce who seems as if he’s more nervous than I am, if that’s even possible.

  Bruce shoots me a strange look. “Uh, sure.” He explains what to do to put the car in drive. “Okay Sydney, just ease the car around the lot in a big circle.”

  I let go of the brake and lower my foot to the gas pedal. The tiny red car bolts forward faster than I expected. Shit too much! Not thinking, I jam my foot on the brake, afraid that I’ll go too fast and hit something. We slam to a stop and jerk forward in our seatbelts.

  “Oops, I guess the pedals are more sensitive than I thought,” I say sheepishly. Both Bruce and Evan are staring at me incredulously. Evan more humorously than Bruce, who looks horrified.

  “Yes, well, try pushing gradually this time,” Bruce says in a flustered voice.

  I go again and this time we start gently. The McLaren moves slowly down a row of parking spaces, its engine purring behind us. This is easier than I thought. I guide the expensive car around in a lazy circle and come back to our starting point.

  “Hey! That wasn’t so bad.” I turn to look at Bruce, “How’d I do?”

  “That was great,” the older man says earnestly, smiling this time instead of scowling.

  By the time we’re done an hour later, I feel like an old pro. Maybe not enough to tackle a Los Angeles freeway or the crowded streets of New York, but at least I’m not completely useless. He had me park, go in reverse, and parallel park, which scared the crap out of me but I did it!

  Bruce drops me off in front of the hotel and switches back to the SUV, handing the keys to a thrilled valet. I tell Bruce that I’ll call him when I’m ready to leave for my Dad’s house. We’re supposed to have lunch together but I’m so nervous, I don’t know if I’ll even be able to eat anything. This will be my first time alone with my dad since I was a kid.

  Drew asked me to stop by to see him before I leave for my dad’s. I cross the lobby and head toward the suite of conference rooms that are holding the press junket for Mind of the Enemy, Evan trailing close behind.

  We walk down the hall, me completely preoccupied, thinking about my impromptu driving lesson when I’m jerked to a stop by a tight grip on my arm, practically yanking it out of its socket as I’m jolted back in surprise.

  “Ow!” I yelp in pain.

  Holy shit that hurt!

  “You can’t go down there Miss, you don’t have credentials,” the studio employee says rudely.

  “Oh,” I say lamely, trying to loosen his hand by shaking my arm.

  Before I can explain myself, Evan is right next to me staring down at the man who is currently holding my arm hostage.

  “Remove your hand from her now,” he says, his voice threateningly composed.

  One look at Evan’s face and I can see that he’s nowhere close to the calm demeanor his voice conveys, he’s flat out enraged. My bodyguards tend to keep a menacing yet neutral façade mos
t of the time, so this blatant emotional display is atypical and pretty frightening.

  The flustered man drops my arm but doesn’t back away from Evan’s hostile glare. I rub my shoulder and wince. Damn, that hurts.

  “She can’t go back there, and neither can you. No credentials, no entrance. Do you know how many people try to sneak back there to meet celebrities?” he says condescendingly.

  Jesus. It’s not like we’re sneaking into the Louvre to steal the Mona Lisa or anything. Drew asked me to find him. He didn’t mention needing a pass or credentials or anything like that.

  “You don’t want to do this,” Evan says, again using a deceptively calm voice.

  “No credentials, no entrance,” is all the man says, arrogantly blocking the hallway. I feel like taking his credentials, which are hanging around his neck by a lanyard, and choking him with them.

  Evan gently guides me a few steps away from the man and pulls out his phone. I listen to what is certainly going to be an interesting conversation.

  “Yes…”

  “Right in the hall.”

  “No credentials… I know.”

  “Doesn’t seem to recognize her, no…ummm,”

  I see Evan looking at the red mark on my arm from where the man grabbed me and I drop my hand from my sore shoulder.

  Uh oh. I normally wouldn’t want this guy to get in trouble, but he really hurt me. He shouldn’t be physically assaulting people for any reason. All I wanted to do was to say good-bye to Drew, now it’s about to be turned into an ugly confrontation.

  “He grabbed her arm.”

  “It’s red…yep.”

  “Okay.”

  Evan hangs up the call and puts the phone in his pocket.

  “What are we doing?” I ask him, rubbing my shoulder again where the pain is the worst.

  “Waiting.”

  The studio employee looks lost and more than a little worried. He has no clue what just happened or what’s about to happen. The non-violent person in me wants to tell him to run far away, but I know that there’s no way Evan will let him leave this spot, especially not after telling Drew or Rhys or whoever he called, that the guy touched me.

  A few seconds later, I hear a loud noise coming from one of the nearby rooms and cringe.

  Shit. This is going to be so bad.

  The door to one of the suites flies open with a loud bang and Drew comes storming out, a furious look on his face. He’s followed by Jane and Rhys who are desperately trying to calm him down and rectify whatever he just said to whoever was interviewing him in that room. Drew won’t listen. He’s shaking them off and continuing towards us, his gorgeous face twisted into a mask of rage.

  I want to sink into the hideous hotel carpet and disappear. This is going to be so awful.

  “What the fuck!” Drew yells from halfway down the hall, startling people who are milling around outside the conference rooms… assistants, reporters, and even other guests in the lobby nearby. I can tell by the expression on Drew’s face, and the Boston in his voice, that we’re all about to see the infamous Forrester temper that only seems to come out when I’m around.

  “Sorry Mr. Forrester, we couldn’t get in without…” Evan pauses and looks at the now very uneasy man standing next to us, “credentials.”

  Drew storms up to us and flicks his eyes up and down my body. I can tell the exact second that he spots the welt on my upper arm. His face clouds over and his eyes darken with fury as he turns to face the employee.

  “You laid your hands on her?” he says in his quiet, scary voice. Oh shit!

  “Drew, it’s fine.” I’m trying to avoid a spectacle. Well, less of a spectacle than it’s going to be if I say nothing.

  He ignores me, waiting for the man to answer. The terrified guy is at a loss for words.

  “But I… she didn’t say she was with you. They d-don’t have credentials. I…I was told no one…” He trails off his sentence when he realizes that there’s nothing he can say to dig himself out of this hole.

  “Did you fuckin’ touch her?” Drew repeats, stepping closer to the shaking man.

  The man glances over at me and I put my hand over the red spot self-consciously. Jane and Rhys have joined Evan and are watching the scene play out, knowing better than to interrupt Angry Drew. I can see sweat forming on Rhys’ furrowed brow. He’s probably praying that Drew won’t hit this guy and cause a new PR nightmare for him to sort out.

  “I… I didn’t know. I was just trying to stop people from entering.”

  I step up and take Drew’s hand in mine, hoping he’ll just let it go. “C’mon, I have to leave soon. Let’s just go.”

  Drew squeezes his eyes shut and exhales through his teeth, his body twitching as he desperately tries to control his anger. He looks down at me and I see his eyes flick over to my arm again. The redness is almost gone already.

  “Don’t evah fuckin’ touch her again!” he hisses at the cowering employee.

  He turns and leads me down the hall, clutching my hand tightly in his. I decide not to tell him that he’s hurting my injured shoulder by pulling me along. That would no doubt cause him to turn around and beat the shit out of that guy without thinking twice. I know how hard it was for him to walk away without throwing a punch.

  Drew leads me into an empty room and he slams the door behind us, locking everyone out.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, the mask of rage gone and replaced with one of concern. He trails his hand up my arm and back down, looking for injuries or marks.

  “Yes, I’m fine. You don’t have to threaten everyone who touches me Drew,” I tell him, knowing he won’t listen to a word that I’m saying.

  He raises an eyebrow and gives me a hardened look that lets me know he thinks I’m being ridiculous. “Of course I do Sydney. After what happened at the theater, no one will touch you like that ever again.”

  “Drew, he wasn’t trying to harm me. You can’t beat him up for grabbing my arm.”

  “Sydney, I’m not arguing with you about this.” His voice begins to rise. “It doesn’t mattah who you are, he shouldn’t be grabbing anyone’s ahm hahd enough to leave a mahk!” he yells, his accent even more pronounced than before.

  Or hard enough to hurt their shoulder.

  Okay, so he does have a point. I hold my hands up in defeat. “Alright, you’re right.” I take a step forward and hook my thumbs in his belt loops, pulling him tight against me. “Thank you for coming and rescuing me,” I say as I stand on my toes to kiss him.

  Drew groans and places his mouth over mine. He puts his hands on either side of my face and deepens the kiss, leaving me gasping for breath when we separate.

  “I have to go,” I murmur against his lips.

  “I know, I do too,” he says, then continues kissing me.

  “Drew,” I laugh and step back, pushing on his chest to stop his advances.

  Smiling, he lets his hands skim down my arms until he’s holding my hands in his. He scowls when he realizes that I’ve left my engagement ring upstairs in the suite.

  “I hate this shit,” he says, letting go to run his hands through his hair. “It’s so fucking frustrating Sydney. I just want to scream and hit something. Let’s just tell them we’re engaged.”

  “I know it’s frustrating Drew. Not yet, okay?”

  “No, it’s not okay, but I understand. Shit, I thought I’d be okay with keeping everything a secret, but all I want to do is tell everyone I meet.”

  “Me too. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done; keeping this from everyone.”

  A sharp knock on the door pulls our attention away from each other. Drew opens it to find Rhys standing there, in the midst of a major freak out.

  “Reporters are waiting. You walked out mid-interview with People magazine. Hey Syd.” He waves over Drew’s shoulder. Rhys is a mess. All of his hard work and planning is getting ruined by Drew’s explosive temper.

  “Hi Rhys. I’m just leaving, he’s all yours.” I walk past Drew and b
rush my hand across his tight ass. “See you later?”

  I see that playful shine in his eyes and know I’m in trouble for touching him like that.

  “Yes you will see me later,” he says suggestively.

  I can’t wait.

  CHAPTER 14

  Bruce guides the SUV up above the Sunset Strip and into the Hollywood Hills to my dad’s house. Even though I knew he wouldn’t still live in the twenty-thousand square foot house I grew up in, I’m sad and disappointed to have it confirmed. Yet another piece of my childhood gone forever.

  We pull into the driveway of a gated home, the building not visible from our vantage point by the road. I give Bruce the gate code that my dad texted to me and the massive solid wood doors slowly open. The car nudges through and descends a steep drive to the house below.

  “I’ll be right here Sydney,” Bruce says after putting the SUV in park.

  “Thanks Bruce, Evan. I’ll be a while, you can come back you know,” I tell them as I reach for the door. Evan hops out and opens it for me.

  “No, Drew said for us to stay here. I brought a book and today’s newspaper and this one,” he points at Evan, “will probably be walking the perimeter the whole time, so don’t worry about it. Go have a nice visit.”

  Evan helps me out and I take in what appears to be a very small modern home built into the side of the heavily wooded hill. I’m not fooled though. I’ve been to some of these Hollywood Hills homes before and their first impression is always deceiving. They tend to stretch out and over the edge of the cliffs, with multiple levels not visible from the street side and are much bigger than they first appear.

  The front door opens and a very excited Reid Tannen comes bounding out to greet me. He’s smiling and obviously very happy. His enthusiasm is contagious and I grin back at him.

  “Sydney! You’re here. How long have you been standing in the driveway?” he asks as he crosses the lawn.