Behind the Scenes

by K. M. Scott

  “Help her with what?” he asked, happy at least that she’d listened to him about having her bodyguards around whenever she left the apartment.

  Carla stood up to her full height and smiled. “Alexis decided she wanted new furniture. It’s due here this morning, so she got the guys up early to help move it all in.”

  She hurried down the hall and ducked into the kitchen out of sight, leaving Hunter standing there in the hallway feeling disgusted. Last night, he thought he’d seen a different side to Alexis, but he’d been wrong. She was exactly what he expected when he got this assignment.

  A spoiled diva who thought waking up an entire group of men to move her furniture because she wanted to redo her office was anything close to okay.

  Spoiled and bored.

  He wanted nothing to do with that shit. Closing the bathroom door behind him, he stripped and let himself enjoy a hot shower as he tried to put all he’d thought about Alexis hours before out of his mind. He should have known better than to let himself think she could be more than a shallow movie star.

  People were what they were. They couldn’t be blamed for that, even if Hunter felt disappointed that Alexis had turned out to be merely what the rest of the world thought she was.

  Well, maybe not that bad since he had no evidence of her sleeping with a married man or refusing to help a poor relative. It didn’t matter who Alexis Marchand was anyway. He had a job to do, so he’d do it. He didn’t have to like or respect her.

  After the longest shower he’d gotten to enjoy in months, Hunter headed toward the kitchen and the smell of coffee brewing. On his way, he saw the bodyguards moving furniture into the room that had been Alexis’s office.

  But what they carried in wasn’t a new desk or anything else for an office. He still hadn’t seen Alexis yet that morning, so he asked one of them, “Who’s with Alexis?”

  The man whose name he didn’t remember at the moment wiped the sweat from his brow and pointed down the hall. “No one. She’s in her room.”

  At least he didn’t have to worry about that or chasing her down somewhere. The whole furniture thing still disgusted him, so he walked to the kitchen for a much-needed cup of coffee. It probably wouldn’t put him in a better mood about everything, but at least it would help him shake the last bit of sleep from his head.

  Thankfully, everyone else in the house seemed preoccupied doing Alexis’s busy work, so he could drink his coffee alone. Staring out the window in the living room, he watched as the people of the Upper West Side headed off toward work or school or wherever they may have been going. He doubted many of them had the luxury of living in a penthouse apartment like Alexis and her assistants, and yet he suspected those people appreciated what they had more than she did.

  “The sooner I find out who’s stalking her and finish this assignment, the better.”

  When he finished his coffee and the last trace of sleep had left him, he walked back toward the kitchen to start his day. He needed to get copies of those letters from the LAPD first. A call to his old partner would do the trick. Mike never had a problem helping him on cases when he could, and Hunter doubted this time would be any different. If anything, he suspected the LAPD would be happy for the help to get this case off their desks since the longer it remained unsolved, the worse it looked for them.

  While he stood at the sink reminiscing about his days back in LA, Alexis joined him in the kitchen. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to see her all smiles for him.

  “Good morning, Hunter. Come and see what just arrived!” she said excitedly.

  But he had no interest in seeing anything. He didn’t want to have to stand around staring at her purchases and complimenting her on the early morning shopping haul.

  “I’m good. I’m sure if you’ve seen one room, you’ve seen them all,” he said, dismissing her as he washed his coffee cup.

  Unfortunately, that answer didn’t dissuade her. She grabbed his arm as he turned to leave, and he looked down with surprise at where her hand sat. She may have been used to everyone around her fawning all over her expensive things, but he had no interest in joining her this morning.

  Smiling up at him, she said, “I really want you to see it. I insist!”

  There was no point in fighting her, and if he ever wanted to get to work, he figured it would be easier to just go along with her on this. He’d pretend to like whatever she showed him, and then he’d be free to get on with his day.

  Alexis tugged his arm to lead him to the room, stopping in front of the door. Turning to face him, she beamed, “I can’t wait to show you this.”

  Forcing a smile, he nodded. “Okay. I’m here, so let’s see it.”

  She opened the door and there in front of him he saw a brand new bedroom set, ready for whoever would stay there. Lauren hurried around the bed finishing up as she straightened the tan and white bedspread.

  “Well, what do you think?” Alexis asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.

  “It’s nice,” Hunter said, not really caring about her furniture buying spree.

  She walked into the room and spread her right arm out like those models on game shows did when they showed off the prizes contestants could win. With a huge smile, she said, “It’s yours.”

  Hunter could honestly say he’d been rendered speechless very few times in his life, and most of those times involved something horrible and grisly on the job. Now, as he stood there in the doorway to the room she’d made for him, no words came.

  She’d left him speechless.

  And no woman had ever done that to him.

  Chapter Seven

  Lauren looked at Alexis and mouthed, “Why isn’t he saying anything?”

  She didn’t have an answer for her assistant. She thought giving up her office so he could have somewhere of his own in the apartment would make him happy. When she saw him sleeping on her couch like some uninvited visitor, she instantly knew she wanted to change that.

  Didn’t he like that what she’d done?

  Alexis looked over at him as he stood as still as statue in the doorway, no expression on his face at all. But in those beautiful dark green eyes she saw surprise registered in them.

  After waiting for so long that it became uncomfortable to just stand there, she asked, “Do you like it? I thought since you don’t plan to leave me alone while you’re working on this case that you should at least have a proper bedroom. So I moved my office out so you could have this room all to yourself.”

  Hunter opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. She waited for him to say something, but he remained silent. As the seconds ticked by, she began to wonder if she should have even bothered trying to be nice if this was how he reacted to kindness.

  Every moment he didn’t say anything made her defensiveness ratchet up another notch. Finally, she said, “Well, say something. It’s got to be better than sleeping on the couch, right?”

  He avoided looking at her as he said, “You didn’t have to do this.”

  She waited all that time for him to say something, and that’s what he chose to tell her?

  “I don’t have to do anything. I wanted to do this.”

  When he didn’t respond, she looked over at Lauren to at least see a friendly face. “I thought you’d like this, Hunter.”

  Again, he didn’t look at her when he said, “I appreciate it. Thanks.”

  The way he said that without a hint of kindness or emotion hurt her feelings. She wanted to lash out, to tell him how his callous reaction to her effort made her feel, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d had that effect on her.

  So she just barked at Lauren, “Let’s go. We have things to do.”

  Her assistant rushed out of the room, and Alexis followed her, steering them toward her bedroom. Closing the door behind them, she flopped down on her bed, disappointed at how her surprise had gone over.

  “I want to get away from all these people and do something fun,” she said as she thr
ew her arm over her eyes.

  Lauren sat down on the bed next to her and sighed. “Would you like me to get a driver so you can go shopping on Fifth Avenue today? You mentioned when we were back in LA that you’d want to do that when we got to New York.”

  “I don’t want to go shopping. I don’t want to buy anything else.”

  “What do you want to do then?”

  Alexis lifted her arm and looked up at Lauren. “I want to see Atlantic City. I’ve never been there. I want to see the Boardwalk and walk on the beach. I miss the feel of sand between my toes.”

  “Atlantic City? I’ve never been there. I bet not many of the guys have either.”

  Sitting up, Alexis shook her head. “No, I just want it to be the two of us. We can see the sights, gamble, go to the beach. We have to do this!”

  Lauren’s eyes opened wide in surprise, and she shook her head like she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “We can’t go alone, Alexis. What if someone recognizes you? You’ll only have me to protect you. What if that awful person who’s stalking you finds us? I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt. I’d never forgive myself.”

  “I’m tired of constantly being watched like I’m some kind of China doll. I’ve been hidden away because of that bastard for way too long. I want to have fun with my best friend. Say you’ll keep this secret. Say you’ll do it!”

  Always the more fearful of the two, Lauren shook her head as worry settled into her expression. “Alexis, you just got Hunter to help you. Shouldn’t we at least tell him?”

  The last thing she wanted to do was tell Hunter about this. Let him hang around here and do whatever he had to. She craved freedom from him and everyone else who wanted to hem her in.

  “No! It’s just going to be us girls. We’ll wear wigs and sunglasses so nobody recognizes us. You get a driver and a car. I want to leave by nine.”

  Lauren still worried about the details. Frowning, she asked, “What are we going to tell everyone? We can’t just leave without someone noticing.”

  Alexis had a plan to handle all of these issues. “Leave that up to me. Just make sure no one knows about the car. And get Carla to come in here. I need to talk to her.”

  Taking hold of her hands, Lauren looked into her eyes like she always did when she worried Alexis was about to make a huge mistake. “Are you sure we should do this?”

  “Yes. We deserve to have some fun. Real fun and not that supervised bullshit like we’re children. Don’t worry. We’re competent women. All we’re doing is going to the beach. No big deal. You’ll see. It’ll be great fun.”

  But Lauren wasn’t convinced. “I don’t want to see you get hurt. Promise me if we get into any trouble that we’ll call Hunter. If you promise me that, I’ll do whatever you want.”

  Although Alexis had no intention of calling him about anything, she faked a smile and nodded her agreement to Lauren’s terms. “I promise. But we won’t need to because nothing’s going to happen. We’re just going to enjoy a day at the beach like two friends.”

  “Okay, but it’s fall, Alexis. This place isn’t like LA. Isn’t it going to be too cold to go to the beach?”

  She had a point. October in New York City had been a little cooler than they were used to, and the weather at Atlantic City probably wouldn’t be any warmer. It didn’t matter, though. They didn’t need to go in the water. She just wanted to enjoy being near the ocean again and out of the house and away from under the watchful eye of everyone.

  “We’ll be fine. Just bring a sweater. Now go get Carla for me and find us a driver. But remember, don’t let anyone know what we’re doing. Got it?”

  Lauren hesitated for a moment, but Alexis knew she’d agree to whatever she wanted. She never had told her no before. She wasn’t going to start today. Not on something so small.

  “Okay. I’ll do it. I just hope we don’t get into trouble.”

  As she trotted out into the hallway to find Carla, Alexis thought about how much she hated that she thought they would get into trouble. She was a grown adult, a successful woman with enough money to do anything she wanted in the world. Why should she have to ask anyone for permission to do any damn thing she wanted to do?

  A minute later, Carla opened the door a crack and poked her head in. “Lauren said you wanted to see me?”

  “Yes! Come in. I want to talk to you,” Alexis said, enthusiastically waving her in.

  She stopped at the foot of the bed and meekly smiled. “Is everything okay, Alexis? Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, no! Come! Sit down with me. I need your help with something important.”

  “Really?” she asked as she sat down on the bed next to her boss.

  “I have a very important job for you, Carla. I need you to do exactly as I say, okay?”

  Carla’s dark eyes opened wide as she nodded eagerly. “Okay. What do I have to do?”

  Alexis took hold of her trembling hands. Giving them a gentle squeeze, she said, “I need you to distract Hunter for me. I want you to find him and keep him busy for as long as you can near your room. He can’t know I’m leaving the house.”

  “You’re leaving?” she asked in a voice full of fear.

  “It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I’ll have Lauren with me. Now I need you to distract Hunter until at least nine-fifteen and then pretend like I’ve locked myself in my room and won’t come out. Stand outside the door begging me to talk and stuff like that. Make it believable. I’m counting on you, Carla.”

  “What if he finds out you’re not really in your room?”

  Alexis believed Carla could be trusted, even if she worried about her acting not being good enough to fool Hunter. Reassuring her, she said, “Don’t worry. I just need you to keep him busy and away from this side of the house. After that, it won’t be difficult to convince him I’m in my room. It’s not like he’ll actually check. Got it?”

  Carla nodded, although it was obvious she didn’t have any faith in her acting abilities. “Got it.”

  “Good. I knew I could count on you. Now remember, go keep him distracted and away from this side of the apartment until at least nine-fifteen.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  She stood up to leave, but Alexis grabbed her by the wrist. “No matter what, no one is to know I’m gone.”

  “Okay. I’ll do my best. Where are you guys going?”

  Smiling, Alexis lay back on her pillows. “Atlantic City. I hear they have delicious salt water taffy. I’ll bring you some back.”

  “Thank you, Alexis. I won’t let you down. Hunter won’t know a thing.”

  “Good. I know you’ll do great.”

  Carla left, so Alexis sprang into action, stuffing a bag with the brunette wig she used whenever she went out and didn’t want to be recognized and an extra dark wig, two pair of big sunglasses, and a grey sweater for her and a black one for Lauren. She couldn’t wait to be back at the beach again and smell the salty air. It had been too long since she filled her lungs with that delicious scent.

  At just before nine, Lauren knocked on the bedroom door and stuck her worried face in. “The car is going to be here in just a minute. I told them to wait outside and not come into the building.”

  Slinging the bag over her shoulder, Alexis beamed at Lauren’s sneakiness. “Perfect! I knew you’d take care of it. You ready for a day at the beach?”

  “I just hope we don’t get caught.”

  “Caught doing what? Having a good time? Doing things two single adult women should be able to do whenever they damn well please?”

  She’d had enough of being held prisoner by people who wanted to protect her and some guy who thought he could upend her life every time he felt the urge to send her a letter. To hell with them. She was going to go to the beach, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it.

  “How are we going to make it down the hall and to the car, Alexis? The bodyguards are already here.”

  Leaning in, she whispered in Lauren’s ear, “I’ve g
ot a plan. Just watch.”

  Before she closed her bedroom door, she locked it from the inside. Then they crept quietly down the hallway toward the elevator, listening to Carla talking to Hunter on the other side of the house.

  The plan was working!

  Just then as they reached the elevator to go downstairs, one of her bodyguards who rarely ever spoke to her came up behind them. She turned around to see Kevin standing there looking confused.

  “Excuse me, Alexis, but we got all the office furniture moved into the new room.”

  She hadn’t planned on this part, so she had to improvise as well as any actress could. In barely more than a whisper, she told him, “I made a mistake. I need the office furniture put in the hallway for now because I’m going downstairs to accept delivery of more bedroom furniture. I need you guys to hurry, so no taking a break before all the office furniture is put out into the hallway. Got it?”

  He looked even more confused than before, but that didn’t matter. He and his fellow bodyguards would create such chaos for the next half hour or so as they moved her office furniture from the bedroom to the hallway, and she and Lauren would be able to get away in the mess.

  “Okay. We’ll get on it right now.”

  When he and all the other bodyguards filed down the hall toward the dining room, she tugged on Lauren’s arm to get her into the elevator. As the doors closed, Alexis heard Carla still droning on about something with Hunter and keeping him occupied just as she’d told her to.

  “I’m going to get that girl the biggest box of salt water taffy the world has ever seen,” she said, squeezing Lauren’s hand in excitement. They were so close to freedom!

  The seconds ticked by as they dropped slowly down to the main floor of the building. Alexis stared at the buttons, terrified at any moment she’d see the penthouse button light up.

  But it never did. Carla had succeeded in keeping Hunter a captive audience, and the bodyguards were too busy moving more furniture to notice she and Lauren had escaped.