“What do you mean you can’t find him?” she shouts. As her face turns red, I feel mine turning white. Am I going to be murdered in a five-star resort?
Cassidy comes running over at the sound of her mother’s shrieks. “What’s going on?”
Mommy dearest points an accusing, French-tipped finger in my face. “She can’t find Austin.”
Cassidy blinks once. “What?”
It’s not a shout or a scream, but a harsh tone that pricks my skin like a million tiny bee stings.
“He’s not here, I…” I back away slowly, raising my hands up to cover my face, hoping to block any oncoming throws.
Cassidy holds her palm up to silence me. “I had a feeling this would happen. Just have the photographers take photos of me with the ring on, and we can set some time in a studio together to re-enact the proposal.”
Austin was right when he said she was insane.
“Brilliant, Cass, what a perfect idea,” her mother says.
Before I can voice my opinion, the crazy duo turns and walks away. They motion to the wedding director and huddle together to discuss what I can only imagine as a giant PR scandal in-the-making.
Chapter Nineteen
Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity fuck. I scramble to call Mandy as I watch the craziness that is a one-person engagement unfold.
“PWR Group, Mandy speaking.”
“I need your help!”
“Liv? What happened?”
“Cassidy is proposing…to herself.” I stifle a laugh after hearing how truly absurd it sounds out loud.
“What?”
“Austin didn’t show up and now she’s making the photographer take photos of her on the beach showcasing her bling.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“I wish that I was.”
“Oh my God; what a nut job!”
“I know. But what the hell am I supposed to tell Priscilla?”
“Well, it’s not your fault that Austin didn’t show, right?”
“I…don’t know. I don’t think so.”
Is it my fault? Should I have put my foot down and dragged him back to the hotel with me? Would he have agreed to a bargain? Limitless booty calls for this one favor?
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“Nothing, it’s just…I’ll talk to you about it later. I’m too freaked out by Cassidy right now. What should I do?”
“I think you have to just go with it, unless you want to talk to Priscilla…”
“No, I’m already nervous about coming into work on Monday. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s my last day there.”
“Come on, don’t say that.”
“I’m serious, this week started off great and ended in disaster. Maybe I’m just not cut out for this stuff.”
“Stop it. You kick PR ass.”
“Thanks…”
“Now go give Cassidy some valium and get on your plane tomorrow morning. I’ll take care of the media.”
“You’re the best, see you soon.”
“Bye!”
I end the call and continue to watch the insanity unfold in front of me. We’ll have to flub the engagement date in case anyone sees Austin milling around L.A., although I haven’t heard any news about his whereabouts all day. I’ll take that as a good sign that he isn’t out partying or hooking up with other girls. I know we’re not a couple, but I still feel jealous as I picture him out with his usual posse of Hollywood bimbos.
Cassidy pulls out her cell from her designer purse and takes a photo of her jewel-encased finger.
“Wait!” I yell, rushing over to her side.
“What’s your problem? I’m just broadcasting the pic to my fans.”
“Don’t you think we should tell Austin first? Do you want him to find out from social media?”
“I don’t give a fuck about Austin.”
“Well, you should, he is your fiancé now.” I feel like I could shoot fire out of my fingertips. How dare she treat him like he’s a prop in the movie of her life. “At least let me try to contact him to give him a heads up.”
She smiles at me with her extremely white teeth. “I don’t think so.”
She hits a button on her phone and I can only assume that the photo is now circulating the web and will appear on every gossip site and social media feed in about ten seconds.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
As I expected, my email instantly blows up with requests from media for photos and interviews with the happy couple.
“I need to get to work. I’ll be in my room if anyone needs me,” I announce.
I quickly walk over to the elevators as I scroll through the emails piling in. I hop in and close my eyes. All I want to do is go to bed and make the drama go away, but a text alert interrupts my fantasy.
It’s a message from Austin. “What the fuck is going on???????!!! Call me ASAP!!!”
The last thing I want to do is talk to Austin right now, but I know I have to get it over with. I enter my room and sit at my desk, taking deep breaths to physically prepare myself for what I anticipate to be the call from hell.
I scroll to his name in my contacts and hover my finger above the call button for a few seconds before forcing myself to tap it.
He picks up before the first ring. “Explain. Now.”
“Well, hello to you too.”
“Seriously, Olivia, I thought we agreed not to do this.”
“We did, but she didn’t.”
I’m met with silence. Too much silence. My heart races and I pace around my empty room. I wonder if he’s doing the same.
“Fuck,” he says quietly. He sounds more disappointed than mad, and it makes me feel even shittier.
“I know…”
“Did you at least try to stop her?” he asks.
“Of course! But come on, this is Cassidy we’re talking about. You know her better than I do…”
“I guess there’s no stopping a madwoman on a mission, huh?”
“Exactly.”
I fall back onto my bed’s soft comforter. I wish I was falling back into his arms instead.
“What should I do?” he asks.
That bitch is taking hold of his life and he can’t really do anything about it without looking like an ass. So I give him the best advice I can in this messed up situation. “Don’t leave your place anytime soon. I’m sure there’s a swarm of paparazzi already outside, and things will go smoother if they still think you’re in Hawaii. And don’t answer any questions from media – forward them all to me, okay?”
He exhales loudly and the breathy static sends a chill up my spine.
“And Austin, don’t worry. We’ll make this work.”
“I don’t want to make this work, Olivia. I don’t want to be with her.”
His words break my heart. “I know…but there’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“Maybe there is. We can come up with a plan to get out of this. I’ll have my driver pick you up at the airport and take you to my place with my stunt double tomorrow. Will that throw off the paparazzi enough to make them think that I came back the same time as Cassidy?”
“Maybe. Wait, you want me to come to your house?”
“Yeah, we need to work out a plan. And I’d like to see you again…”
I rub my cheeks, realizing that my face hurts from smiling so wide. “Ok, I’ll come over to brainstorm with you.”
“Good. Have a nice night, Liv. Dream about me, k?”
I laugh. “Of course, dream about me too.”
“Mmm, you don’t want to know the kinds of dreams I’ve been having about you, boss.”
I giggle at his horny confession. “Goodnight, Austin!”
“Night, babe.”
Chapter Twenty
I never thought I’d want to leave this beautiful island, but it just hasn’t been the same since Austin left. Cassidy and her entourage took off in a private jet and there was no way I was joining them, even if it was going to be a luxury experience. In m
y head I pictured throwing her out of the plane as we were 50,000 feet above the ground or smashing her over the head with a bottle of in-flight champagne.
As we fly over the Pacific, I try to devise a strategy for getting Austin out of Cassidy’s clutches without any repercussions. There’s no way I can bring this to Priscilla’s attention – I know she’ll shut it down on the spot.
My mind plays through different ideas, but I’m too busy handling the hundreds of media requests I received over the past eight hours since Cassidy sent her ring photo around the Internet. Damn in-flight Wi-Fi, I should’ve just kept my laptop off and gone to sleep.
I land at LAX, and just like Austin said, there’s a driver waiting for me at the gate. He helps me load my luggage and leads me to the car. There’s a man already inside who has the same body-type as Austin, but a much older face.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Steve,” he says, reaching out his hand.
“Good morning Steve, I’m Olivia,” I respond, sliding in next to him.
Steve agrees to cover his face and run as fast as possible into the house when we arrive, then he’ll leave a few minutes later, dressed as a pool-cleaner. I almost feel like I’m in a spy movie with the amount of lies and deception going around in the past few days!
We pull into a gated community and drive up to a large compound in the Hollywood Hills. He has three cars in his driveway and one motorcycle. Who knew he could ride a bike?
Sure enough, there are about fifteen paparazzi outside waiting for Austin to arrive. Steve bursts out of the car and dashes inside the house, shielding his face with a hoodie, baseball cap, sunglasses, and his own arm. I slowly emerge and the driver walks me into the house. No one is paying attention to me since all eyes are on “Austin.”
The housekeeper greets me at the door and welcomes me inside. Steve moves away from the windows and heads toward the back. I’m so caught up in the excitement of deceit that I just now realize how utterly amazing Austin’s home is. Black tile lines the floors and smooth, grey paint covers the walls. A giant red glass sculpture is planted on a shiny, black table in the foyer and two staircases lead up to the second floor, meeting in the middle.
Minimalist, modern – it’s a far cry from the disheveled bachelor pad I thought I’d find. I keep forgetting that he’s a millionaire movie star.
Austin rushes down the stairs and swallows me up in his arms, lifting me high off the ground. Setting me down on my feet, he places his hands on my shoulders and smiles. “Hi.”
A rush of butterflies swarm my stomach. “Hi.”
Grabbing my hand, he leads me further into the house, passing by a living room and into a spacious, granite-counter-topped kitchen. “How was your flight? Are you tired? Do you want something to drink?”
I laugh, he seems very excited. “I’m fine. A little tired, but not too bad. And yes, I’ll have some water.”
He grabs a water from the fridge and hands me the bottle, his fingers grazing my knuckles during the transfer. I pause at his touch…I missed it more than I thought. “Thanks.”
“Need ice?” he asks, moving away slowly. His long, lean body stretches out as he reaches for a glass from a cabinet. A sliver of skin peeks through between the top of his jeans and the bottom of his shirt.
“Um, sure.” I hold the bottle with two hands to keep it from shaking.
He drops a few ice cubes into the glass and steps toward me.
“Here,” he says, holding it out for me to take. His icy-blue eyes stare down into my brown ones as he towers over me.
I grab the glass and bite my lip, unsure of what to say or do next.
“Hey, Austin, I’m leaving out the back. See ya ‘round,” Steve yells as he speeds past us, breaking the tension momentarily.
“Thanks man, I owe you one!” Austin shouts back.
I slowly pour the water into the cool glass and take a sip.
“So, what do you think of my humble abode?” Austin asks, splaying his arms wide.
“It’s amazing,” I nod in approval. “Very…big.”
“That’s what she said.” He chuckles and slides his hands down my sides, landing on my waist.
I stick out my tongue playfully.
“Come on, I’ll give you a tour.” He reaches for my free hand and leads me back through the hallway and up the grand staircase. There are too many rooms to count and they all look like they’ve never been touched.
“…and this is my office,” he says, guiding me in. “Take a seat.”
He sinks into a plush, dark leather chair and swivels himself from side-to-side slowly.
“You look like the boss now,” I joke, pulling out the small, dark wooden chair on the other side of his sleek desk.
“I’m always the boss,” he replies with a smirk.
“Uh huh, sure. Let’s get down to business then,” I say, scooting closer.
He passes me a pen and notepad from a drawer. Leaning back in his chair, he stretches his arms behind his head. “So how are we gonna take this bitch down?”
“How far are you willing to go?” I ask, tapping the pen on the paper quickly. How can I concentrate on planning anything with his eyes locked on me like he’s ready to pounce?
He springs from the chair and grasps the edge of the desk. “All. The. Way.”
I take another sip of water and try to clear my throat.
“What about you?” he asks.
“I’m all in…” I respond, pressing my leg down to keep it from bouncing.
He slowly rises from his chair and walks around to stand behind me. Placing his hand on the backrest, he wraps a lock of my hair around his fingers.
“I thought we were here to work…” My shaking hands cause the pen to drop to the carpeted floor.
He quickly dives down to grab the pen and kneels next to my knees. Instead of standing back up, he slowly runs his fingertips up my right leg. “I’ve missed you.”
Goosebumps immediately prickle all over my body. But has he really missed me, or just my body?
I push my chair back. “No, Austin, come on. This should probably stop now. We’re not on an island anymore; this is real life.”
He holds himself steady with his hands on my thigh. “Don’t you get it, Liv? This is my real life. I don’t want a fake life with Cassidy…I want a real one…with you in it.”
My heart thumps through my chest at a thousand miles a minute. He can’t be serious, can he? I stare up at the vaulted ceiling, contemplating his words. He sounded pretty sincere.
Moving his hand up my leg further, he pushes the hem of my dress aside. “I’m not acting when I’m with you, I swear.” He lightly scrapes the sensitive skin on the inside of my thigh with his nails and continues his plea. “Everything I feel is genuine and I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt like this.”
I search for a tell-tale fibbing sign, but he hasn’t averted eye contact once.
“Honestly Liv, I can’t even remember anyone ever caring about me enough for me to try to reciprocate.”
My eyes sting from his emotional admission, but he rushes his mouth to mine before I have a chance to let a tear drop. It’s only been a few days since our last kiss, but it feels like a lifetime.
As our tongues swirl, I feel his wanting; his needing to be with me. I pull back, gasping for a quick breath. “I believe you. And I care, Austin, you have no idea how much I care about you.”
Our lips meet again and I feel like I’m finally allowed to feel how I want to feel. I don’t have to hold back or worry about what my boss will think or what Cassidy might see. If he’s all in, then I am too.
I wrap my arms around his neck and push him playfully back onto the desk.
He squints back at me and smiles. “My dick’s been hard since you walked through the door.”
He grabs my ass and slaps it quick, delivering a brief sting. I yelp, but grin with him. Changing our positions, he places me down on the hardwood desk gently, spreading my legs around his waist. He leans down, nuz
zling his head between my breasts, and kisses his way over to my left nipple before skimming it with his teeth through the cotton material.
“This needs to come off,” he says, sliding one hand down the back of my dress and unhooking my bra.
“Did you take a class for that?” I joke. I can’t even manage to take my own bra off one-handed.
He winks. “I have many tricks you haven’t seen yet.”
I pull his face back to mine and run my fingers through his soft waves. I breathe in his scent, which is earthier than the sunblock and ocean water I was accustomed to in Hawaii.
His fingers toy with my panties as they explore underneath the skirt of my dress. I’m craving more, but I know he likes to tease.
“So, did you dream about me last night?” he whispers in my ear. His warm breath sends another wave of tingles through my body.
I don’t know what I dreamt of, but I play along and nod. He bites down on my earlobe. “Good.”
He quickly turns me over so that I’m pinned against the side of the desk. “Grab on,” he says, placing my hands on the outer edge.
His belt jingles and I hear the sound of a zipper coming undone. Lifting my dress over my backside, he slides my panties down my legs and feels me from the inside. “You’re ready,” he whispers.
He tears open a condom wrapper, and in a matter of seconds his fingers dig into my waist as he enters me.
I cry out, but stifle the sound.
“You can make all the noise you want,” he says, rocking his way further inside. “No one’s up here.”
He pushes harder and my body temperature rises. I want to see his face, but his hands are tightly clasped over mine.
I wail louder as he moves faster, until he finally turns me over and tears my dress over my head.
“I need to see these,” he says, grabbing at my chest.
I slide back onto him as I sit up on the desk. Leaning back slightly, I steady myself with one hand on his shoulder and the other behind me. My legs are wrapped tightly around his slim waist, and the v-cut of his hip bones flex forward, crashing into me at a rapid pace.
Player in Paradise Page 9