Hot Off the Red Carpet

by Paige Tyler

  With a sigh, she unzipped her suitcases and began to unpack.

  Chapter Three

  Addison woke up early the next morning, eager to put the past two days behind her and start fresh. Trevor had an interview and a photo shoot for a magazine scheduled for noon that day and she was determined to make sure everything went right. She was going to be the best damn personal assistant an actor ever had. And she was not going to do anything to earn herself another spanking!

  Blushing at the thought, she pushed back the blanket, then got out of bed and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. When she was done, she put on her make-up, pulled her long hair up in a loose bun, then slipped into a simple navy blue wrap-dress and a pair of high-heeled sandals. After checking her appearance in the full-length mirror, she left her room and went downstairs.

  When she walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, Maribel greeted her with a warm smile.

  “I was just about to make breakfast?” Maribel opened the fridge and took out a carton of eggs. “How does an omelet sound? And don’t tell me you’re just going to grab some coffee and take it to your office.”

  Addison smiled. She actually hadn’t even considered it. Maribel’s cooking was too good to pass up. Although if Addison ate pancakes and omelets every morning, she wasn’t going to be able to fit through the door to get into her office!

  “Can you make mine an egg-white omelet instead?” she asked.

  “I sure can. I’ll put in some tomatoes and herbs, too.” Maribel winked at her. “Give those egg whites some more flavor.”

  Addison laughed. Walking over to one of the cabinets, she took out a mug, then poured herself some coffee. As she added cream and sugar, she glanced at Maribel. “Do you know if Trevor is up yet?”

  She tried to make the question sound as casual as she could, but the smile that curved Maribel’s lips was all too knowing, and Addison hastily sipped her coffee to hide the blush that rose to her cheeks.

  “He’s up and already been out for a jog,” the older woman said. “He’s showering, I think.”

  An image of water pouring down Trevor’s naked body while he ran his soap-covered hands over his muscular chest and rock-hard abs had Addison’s pulse skipping a beat. Her face colored even more. Thankfully, Maribel already had turned back to the stove so she didn’t see.

  Setting her mug down, Addison walked over to the fridge. Taking out the loaf of whole wheat bread, she put a slice in the outrageously high-tech stainless-steel toaster on top of the granite countertop.

  “Put a couple slices in for Trevor, too,” Maribel said, glancing up from the stove. “He should be down any minute.”

  Addison did as the other woman asked, but didn’t toast them right away since she had no idea when Trevor was going to come downstairs. While she waited for her own slice of bread to toast, she watched as Maribel expertly made breakfast. Not a cook by any stretch of the imagination, Addison was amazed by how easy the omelet slid out of the pan and onto the plate. If she’d tried that, it would have stuck for sure. It looked so light and fluffy, too. How did Maribel do that?

  Eager to see if the egg, tomato, and herb combination tasted as fantastic as it looked, Addison picked up her fork and was about to dig in when Trevor walked into the kitchen. She stared at him, the omelet in front of her completely forgotten. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, his hair still damp from the shower and his feet thrust into a pair of leather flip-flops. He looked laid-back and absolutely gorgeous.

  He flashed her a smile. “Morning.”

  Addison knew she should return the greeting, but she was so caught up in the man himself, she couldn’t seem to get the words out. She decided it would be easier to give him a smile instead.

  “I’ll make you an omelet,” Maribel said. “Sit down.”

  Addison told herself she should eat before her own eggs got cold, but she didn’t think it would be polite, so she sipped her coffee while she waited for Maribel to make Trevor’s omelet.

  There were several stools at the breakfast bar and Addison was surprised and also a little bit giddy when Trevor sat down in the one beside her after he’d poured himself some coffee. His nearness made her pulse do all sorts of crazy things and she had to remind herself not to gaze at him like a lovestruck fangirl.

  Trevor glanced at her as he took a swallow of coffee. “Did you sleep okay?”

  Addison nodded. “Yes, thanks.” Suddenly self-conscious, she fingered the handle on her coffee mug. “I was checking your calendar and you have an interview for Men’s Fitness at noon today, followed by a photo shoot.”

  He groaned. “Oh hell, I forgot. That’s as much fun as getting a root canal.”

  She looked at him in surprise. “Should I cancel it?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. I don’t mind the interview so much. It’s the photo shoot part I hate.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Really? Why? I would think it’d be fun.”

  Trevor took another swallow of coffee. “It probably would be if I didn’t have to stand in the hot sun for hours while some arty photographer tells me to smile but look dangerous at the same time. I might be an actor, but I have no idea how to do both at the same time.”

  Addison laughed. “Well, I’ll be there, so I can translate if you want.”

  His mouth twitched. “As long as you don’t do what you did during the pick-up shots yesterday.”

  She blushed at the reminder, particularly since it conjured up images of the spanking she’d gotten for her misdeeds.

  “What happened yesterday?” Maribel asked as she set Trevor’s omelet down in front of him.

  He picked up the salt shaker and sprinkled some on his eggs, then did the same with the pepper. “Addison got a little carried away watching the fight scene and ended up interrupting every five minutes. She forgot we were acting.”

  Addison gave the other woman a sheepish look. “It all looked so real. I thought those guys were actually beating Trevor up.”

  “You thought who was beating Trevor up?”

  Addison turned to see Bob coming into the kitchen. He looked curiously from Trevor to her, then back again.

  “Addison thought the stunt men I was doing the fight scene with were really beating me up in the pick-up shots I did yesterday,” Trevor explained. “Every time they took a swing at me, she gasped and we had to keep reshooting the scene over and over.”

  Bob chuckled. “So that’s why you too so long.” He looked away from Trevor to give Addison a wink. “I thought you kept forgetting your lines or something.”

  Trevor’s mouth twitched. “Very funny. It’s not hard to remember your lines when all you have to do is grunt and gasp.”

  Bob and Maribel laughed. So did Addison. Trevor joined in and after that, the entire story came out as he told them about how she had reacted during yesterday’s filming. Looking back on the whole thing, Addison had to admit it was kind of funny. Right up until the spanking, of course, but even that didn’t seem like such a big deal now. Trevor obviously wasn’t that concerned about it.

  After breakfast, Trevor announced he was going to go lift some weights before they left so he’d be pumped for the photo shoot. Addison ran her gaze appreciatively over his biceps. She didn’t think that’d be a problem.

  Trevor glanced at her as he got to his feet. “While I’m doing that, maybe you could take care of some online financial stuff for me? I was going to do it myself, but I’d rather just work out.”

  She’s much rather watch him pump iron, but didn’t say so. Instead, she nodded and slipped off the stool, taking her coffee mug with her. “Sure.”

  “Murray usually does most of it,” Trevor explained as they walked down the hall to her office. “But I like to handle some of the bills myself.”

  Addison was a little surprised Trevor trusted her enough to handle his money, especially after all the screw-ups. It made her feel good to know he had so much confidence in her. Then again, maybe he figured if she didn’t do the bills right
, he’d just spank her again.

  Embarrassed at the thought, Addison hastily sat down at her desk and turned on her computer, then connected to the internet. Trevor came around the desk to stand beside her chair and leaned over to type in the bank’s website address. His bare arm brushed up against hers, sending a little shiver of pleasure through her body, and she caught her breath. Concentrating on anything was going to be difficult with him so close, she decided, and was relieved when he wrote down his account numbers and access codes on a piece of paper for her instead, then did the same with the list of payees and amounts he wanted her to pay.

  Addison used the same bank, so she was used to paying bills online, which should make paying Trevor’s bills a snap. Of course, he had a lot more accounts with a lot more money in them. She tried not to let her eyes bulge as she took in the amounts.

  “What about these?” she asked, pointing at several accounts at the bottom of the screen. She hoped he wouldn’t think she was being nosy by asking, but she didn’t want to accidently take money from the wrong account.

  Trevor didn’t seem to mind, though. “Those are direct links to some investment groups Murray has my money in. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I really don’t pay that much attention to them. Murray just shows me the portfolio numbers every once in a while. They’re something to do with real estate, I think.” He gave her a sheepish look. “That sounds kind of pathetic, doesn’t it?”

  She shook her head. “No, not at all. That’s why you have good people around you to take care of things like that so you can focus on your acting.”

  The corner of his mouth edged up. “That’s the way I figure it, too. Speaking of focusing, I’d better get to the gym. Give me about and hour and I’ll be buff, showered-off, and ready to go. Thanks again for the help and if you run into any problems, just come get me.”

  Addison was so lost in images of Trevor getting all buffed-up and showered-off, she barely heard that last part. As he left the room, she found her gaze dipping to his jean-clad butt. Damn, he had a great ass.

  Letting out a little sigh, Addison turned her attention back to the computer. There really weren’t all that many bills to pay. Along with the utility bills, there was Trevor’s cell phone bill and one for a personal credit card. She couldn’t help but notice he carried a very low balance on his credit card. Considering the outrageous credit limit they were offering him, it was both surprising and reassuring to see he didn’t just blow through his credit cards like some people in Hollywood were rumored to do. It made her like him even more than she already did.

  Paying Trevor’s bills reminded her that she hadn’t paid her own before she’d left San Francisco. Since she wasn’t sure how the job as Trevor’s personal assistant would pan out, she hadn’t bothered to get rid of her apartment, so she still had to keep paying both rent and utilities. She hadn’t actually quit her previous job, either, but just taken some vacation days instead. She still had plenty of vacation time saved up, so she should be okay for a while. It would probably be a good idea to hold on to her other job for now in case she got fired from this one.

  After paying the bills, she took a quick look at Trevor’s investment accounts just out of curiosity. It wasn’t snooping if she had permission, right?

  One was with a New York investment firm that sounded really snooty and upper class. She’d never heard of it, of course. That wasn’t surprising, though, considering her knowledge of investing ended with the two-hundred-and-fifty dollars she had in her savings. She got the feeling she probably couldn’t open an account there with that measly amount of money.

  The second was mutual fund that she recognized from their advertisements on television. If she remembered correctly, the minimum investment amount was ten-thousand dollars. Oh well, so much for that investment opportunity.

  Lastly, there was something that looked like it could be the real estate investment Trevor had mentioned. He had a whole lot of his money in that one, way more than in the other two. Curious, she Googled the name Total Empire Investment Trust, then clicked on the link to their website.

  The homepage was very prestigious, with an impressive looking building in the background and an investment board made up of men who had some really serious expressions on their faces. She browsed the site, wondering if maybe she should invest a little money in the company, too. Of course, from how high class their website was, she’d probably need a minimum investment of a million dollars or something equally outrageous. All the same, it wouldn’t hurt to call and ask. She bookmarked the page. Maybe they would give her a discount since she worked for Trevor.

  Addison had just finished up and was logging off when Bob stuck his head in her office.

  “Got a minute?” he asked.

  She smiled. “Sure, come on in. What did you need?” she asked as he sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

  “Nothing, really,” he admitted. “I just wanted to see how things are going with the job.”

  She shrugged. “Not bad, I guess.”

  He frowned. “You don’t like the work?”

  “I love it,” she admitted. “I’m just not very good at it.”

  “You mean that stuff you did during the pick-up shots yesterday?” At her nod, he continued. “You’re being too hard on yourself. Being a personal assistant is a tough job. It took years for Sophia to get the hang of it and she still got it wrong more often than not. You’re doing fine. Just give yourself a chance.”

  She sighed. “I’m more concerned about Trevor giving me a chance.”

  “Don’t worry about that. Trevor likes you.”

  Addison blinked in surprise. “You think so?”

  Bob grinned. “Hell yeah. I haven’t heard him laugh like he did this morning in a long time. You’re good for him.”

  Just because Bob thought so, that didn’t mean Trevor would agree, but the words pleased her anyway. “Well, let’s just hope I don’t do anything stupid at the photo shoot.” She glanced at her watch. “Speaking of which, I’d better go see if Trevor’s ready to leave.”

  “Sounds good,” Bob said. “I’ll have Leo bring the car around.”

  Trevor had already finished working out and was just coming down from upstairs when Addison walked into the living room a few minutes later. Dressed in jeans and a fresh tee, he looked just as buff as he promised.

  “Any problems with the bills?” he asked as they stepped into the foyer.

  She shook her head. “No. I paid all of them.”

  He nodded and opened the door for her. “So, where are the interview and photo shoot anyway?”

  Addison flipped open her day-planner to that day’s schedule as they walked to the car. “A place called Zuma Beach.”

  Since she’d never been to Los Angeles before, she didn’t know much about the beaches, but Trevor did. According to him, Zuma Beach was one of the most popular and biggest beaches in that part of California. Because it was so close to Hollywood, it was also a popular film location. In fact, several of the beach scenes in his television series LA Beat had even been filmed there. Since she was such a fan of the show, Addison made a mental note to see if she recognized the beach. Who was she kidding? She wasn’t going to recognize any silly old beach. She’d been so focused on Trevor, LA Beat could have been filmed on Mars and she wouldn’t have known it.

  Trevor was right about the beach being popular. Though from the number of bikini-clad girls clustered around the cordoned-off area where the magazine was doing the photo shoot, Addison suspected they were there more to see Trevor than to play in the surf.

  While Trevor went off with the reporter from Men’s Fitness to do the interview, Addison hung back to make sure Leo knew where to pick her and Trevor up after the photo shoot, then did a quick communication check with the hand-held radio he’d given her. When she was done, Bob showed her how to program the radio to monitor mode.

  “It lets me listen in to whatever is going on at your end,” he explained. “If you and Trevor
ever get into a sticky situation and need me, just switch the radio to monitor to let me know you’re in trouble and I’ll come running.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Has that ever happened before?”

  “Just once. Sophia had to turn the radio to monitor and drop it in her purse while she tried to help Trevor get away from a mob of college girls. Apparently, it was some sorority dare where they had to steal his underwear. They got pretty violent about it, too.”

  Addison’s eyes went wide. “Oh God, that sounds horrible. Was everyone okay?”

  Bob nodded. “Yeah, but it was touch and go there for a while. Luckily, Trevor doesn’t wear underwear. As soon as they figured that out, they decided to high-tail it out of there.”

  Addison felt her face color at the thought of Trevor going commando underneath those snug-fitting jeans he wore. Mumbling something about checking on Trevor, she told Bob and Leo she’d see them later, then hurried over to the cabana where the reporter was doing the interview.

  They were just finishing up when she got there. Trevor gave her a smile as he got to his feet.

  “I’m going to check in with wardrobe,” he told her. “You can wait over by where the photographer and the rest of the crew are set up if you want to watch the photo shoot.”

  Addison almost laughed. Of course she wanted to watch the photo shoot! As she watched Trevor make his way toward wardrobe, she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of clothes he was going to change into for the pictures.

  Eager to make sure she had a good view, Addison slipped off her shoes and walked across the sand to where the photographer and the rest of the photo crew were waiting. She was all ready to say she was Trevor’s personal assistant when they asked who she was, but since no one questioned her presence, she assumed they must have seen her come in with Trevor.

  Addison had never been to a photo shoot before, but since she had every magazine Trevor had ever been featured in, the opportunity to actually go behind the scenes was even more exciting. She just hoped they didn’t have him posing with some bikini-clad model. That would just spoil the whole thing.