“So why don’t you want to be with me tonight?” I asked, always one to speak my mind.
“If you’re not one for commitment then… I don’t want to burn you out too soon.” She stared at her tofu dog when Artie, the hot dog guy, handed it to her. “This looks yummy.” I think she was serious.
“How can tofu be yummy?” I was so bewildered; why didn’t she just get a regular hot dog.
“Shut up. I like it.” She was so intoxicating.
“I sound like a complete bastard, don’t I? About everything. Sorry.” I traced my finger along her forearm.
“I get it. You’re used to being you. No commitment, real meat hot dogs.” She took a bite of her dog, ignoring my touch. “I don’t know you. So …” she looked at me again. “Tell me more.”
“What would you like to know?” I asked unsure of what to divulge.
“Well, why did you start a production company?” It was an innocent question but felt like she was purposefully avoiding the passion.
I’d only slept with a few women since that Halloween party. Nora, my regular fuck buddy, and I were losing our spark. The sex was just okay, and we were both too busy to make time for “just okay” sex. I also slept with an old flame, but there weren’t many sparks left there either. And there she was, my goddess and yet something had changed. She was still sexy as all hell, but distant.
I laughed at her question about my production company. “Seems like you’re interviewing me. Okay. I’m really a nerd. Going to the movies was like going to church for me. I always wanted to create magic across seventy feet of a movie screen. It was a dream I made a reality.” I shrugged and took a bite of my dog.
“You certainly don’t look like a nerd.” She cocked her head and took another bite of her hot dog… thing.
“What does a nerd look like exactly?” I was curious to hear what she thought.
“Not like a Calvin Klein model, that’s for sure.”
“While I appreciate the compliment, I’m no model. And why can’t nerds be handsome? Are you nerd-hater?” I tried to loosen her up by teasing.
“I’m not hating. I’m a nerd too. I know exactly that feeling you get when you go into a movie theater. Being like a church perfectly explains the kind of reverence movies can inspire in a person.”
“And what about you? What kind of nerd confession do you have for me?”
“I’m an only child. My parents are in Ohio; they’re really in love with each other. It’s sweet. They had me later in life, so they’re pretty old but still look at each other with such an incredible glow in their eyes.” She sighed and smiled, fighting off the urge to say more. “They own a farm. Everything they do is about their farm. I didn’t end up being a farmer and that sort of disappointed them, but it just isn’t in my blood. I didn’t like the farm and especially didn’t like watching them render the chickens. I became a vegetarian. They weren’t too surprised. They were sad when I moved to California but wanted me to follow my dreams. Pretty typical I guess.” She shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m pretty sure nothing about you is typical,” I said as I scooped her hand into mine and kissed her knuckles. I wanted to kiss every inch of her, but I was showing restraint.
“You and I have a lot in common it seems.” She took another bite of her tofu dog and looked at it. “These are really good. I can’t believe a roadside hot dog stand has veggie dogs, that’s pretty epic.”
“It’s Hollywood. You’re not the only weirdo here,” I played.
“I’m not weird.” She screwed her face into a knot and crossed her eyes. Her beautiful face looked hilarious.
“I have to confess. I invited you here to the Dog Haus instead of to Morty’s across the street because, as per your request, we’ll take this slow. If you were to be seen with me at Morty’s, you’d be news.”
“Well, thank you.” She finished her dog. “The veggie dog was amazing… and so is the company.” She tentatively squeezed my hand.
“The Dark One Two, Darkness Falls is premiering a week from this Friday. It’s going to be a big event, and I’d like to invite you as my date. What do you think?” I silently prayed she’d say yes. No more playing around, I needed her to know I wanted her and not just as a dinner buddy, but as a goddess writhing under me just as she had before.
“Won’t people in the office think I’m dating you if we go as a date?” She nervously twirled her fingers.
“If they do, they can find another job.” I was deadly serious; nothing was going to keep me from exploring a relationship with her. “We’ll play assistant and boss for the premiere, but I want you to stay the night with me after. You won’t be working for me then.”
“Well then, I guess I need to get a fancy dress.” Her face was exquisite when she smiled.
After hot dogs, we went back to the office. I offered to take her home, but she was stubborn and independent and refused to let me.
The next day at work, I had a hard time concentrating on anything other than her. I found myself calling her in several times a day to watch dailies or read script pages for her thoughts.
Most of her suggestions were surprisingly good. She really knew her stuff. I was so tempted to take her out again, but she told me she had to get home. We worked, and she left without me for the second day in a row. Worst, she walked out with Ken, who held the elevator for her, which burned me up. The rest of her first week, she was efficient, creative, and fun; just what I had ordered. She spent a lot of time in the bathroom and seemed to rush off right after we finished our work. It was almost as if she didn’t want to spend time with me.
I was probably being paranoid, but I worried she might be doing drugs or had a boyfriend. She was holding something back, and it started to eat at me. It was weird; she didn’t have a cocktail on Free For All Friday. When the weekend came, I invited her to a friend’s horror movie party, and she said horror films freaked her out and declined.
“You aren’t going to like our most famous movie then,” I tried to tease and scold at the same time.
“I love it,” she countered. “It’s because… well… the lead character reminds me of you. And for a minute, I thought you were Dragon Kensington.” She actually blushed after admitting that.
“Oh my God, Dragon is a total stoner and a diva-asshole. He’d chew right through you. Be glad I’m not him.” We had a good laugh over that, but still, she refused all of my offers saying she was saving herself for the premiere.
“Well then, it’s gonna be one helluva night. I just want to warn you now, don’t plan on going home on Saturday.” I gave her a seductive wink and let her go on her way.
I wasn’t sure what game she was playing, but it was working. I wanted her more than ever, even if she was a drug addict with a boyfriend.
Chapter 12
Reyna
Working for Sinclair was much harder than I thought it would be. The work itself was fun and easy, but he was intense and brooding. Handsome, devastatingly handsome, but always around. He was like a control freak puppy. I wasn’t regretting my decision to date him; only he scared me a little. At work, we bantered and flirted, or tried to flirt without being caught. He had insane jealousy for Ken, who I had absolutely no interest in. Seeing Sinclair get all crazy was fun, though.
I kept our relationship professional at work. I didn’t go out with him again after our hot dog date even though he asked several times. I wanted the premiere to be special and… I needed to get home to Arianna on time. If I was out every night, I’m sure Mrs. Effleman would have something to say. Little did Sinclair know, but I was making our daughter my priority, even if I was just starting to date her dad.
The day of the big movie premiere and our date arrived. I was excited for both. I’d been so busy at work getting ready for the premiere I was happy to finally see the finished product on the big screen with an audience. I’d seen it in Sinclair’s office a hundred times, or at least it seemed like a hundred times, it was probably only four.
&nb
sp; I borrowed a dress from Melody who was exactly my size. I didn’t really want to spend money on an expensive dress and knew Melody had a ton of cool clothes. She was a consignment store shopper and got amazing deals. I never had as much luck as she did finding things. I always ended up sifting through endless rows of taffeta and lace. She could sort out the one gem amid the sea of poofy prom dresses; I could not.
I had to admit, I looked good.
“Girl you are gonna set that place on fire,” Charlynn said as she cradled Arianna in her arms.
I bit my lip. “Are you sure you guys are going to be okay?” I’d never left Arianna overnight before. I felt so delinquent.
“Oh, my God.” Melody plopped down beside her. “We are going to be so fine. A hundred percent fine! Ari is the cutest, sweetest baby in the whole world. Be gone all weekend; we can hack it.”
“She’s right, Rey. We got this,” Charlynn added.
“I might come home Saturday even though he wants me to stay,” I warned.
“Oh no, please don’t. You have a great night, get some… get a lot and don’t even worry one bit.” Charlynn gave me a seductive smirk.
“Have some for us. I haven’t had sex in for-ev-er…” Melody playfully pouted.
“Oh my God… why did I tell you he wanted me to sleep over?” I covered my face with my hands, just wanting it all to go away.
“You’re acting like a brat. Be a woman. We know you. You had sex with the amazing mystery guy/baby daddy, and now your boss wants a sleepover. It’s okay to explore your sexuality, Rey. You’re not in a convent. You can have sex with more than one man in your life,” Charlynn chided.
“I’ve been with more than one man!” I protested. I’d actually only been with two, but they didn’t know that yet. I hadn’t told them that my boss and the mystery man were one and the same. When I asked for a night out, they both encouraged me to accept his offer to spend the night.
“Have fun and enjoy it. We’ll be here lovin’ on this sweet baby of yours, just wishing we were you.” Melody smiled as she took the sleeping Ari from Charlynn’s arms and carried her to the crib.
“Now get out of here before you’re late,” Charlynn said as she stood up and pretended to shoo me out. “You look hot as hell, go burn up the town you fucking goddess and don’t come home until you are spent!” Charlynn literally pushed me out the door. “The three of us are gonna be just fine.”
I looked back at her before she shut the door in my face. “I love you,” I said through the door.
“Back at ya, now get out of here.”
Butterflies roared to life in my stomach, and I thought I was going to be sick. I had insisted on taking an Uber to the theater even though Sinclair offered to pick me up. He almost demanded that he come to get me, but I lived at the opposite end of town, and he had dinner arranged with the filmmakers. There was too much going on, and I finally got him to admit it, so I promised to be on the red carpet at eight o’clock sharp.
I arrived with time to spare. I was standing there when he walked up behind me and slid his hands over my body. Melody had given me a teal gown that hugged my curves. It was made of soft silk, just like the dress I’d worn on Halloween night, but this dress was also adorned with a little rhinestone flourish at the bottom.
“You look good enough to eat,” Sinclair breathed in my ear.
I turned around a little startled. “Hello.” I smiled as I leaned back into his embrace.
“Are you ready to stop avoiding me now?” he asked, sounding almost menacing.
“Me? Avoiding you? Why would doing my job be an avoidance? Such a strange boss you are.” I caressed my hand over his arm.
“Well, you won’t be anything tonight but my date.” He bit my earlobe and looped his arm around mine. “Ready to face the masses?”
“Not really. Remember, I’m still your assistant until we get to your house.”
He gave me a playful glare.
“I mean. Yes… of course, yes.”
I wrangled my enormous bag as we made our way into the theater. I’d brought a change of clothes and my cooler. The last thing I wanted to do was leak breast milk onto Melody’s beautiful dress. I couldn’t wear my heavy-duty, never leak on anything bra… it was absolutely not sexy at all and would look hideous with the dress. I wore something lighter… and less leak proof.
“I see you brought an overnight bag,” Sinclair mentioned with a seductive smirk.
“One can never be too prepared,” I joked.
“Apparently not. You certainly are welcome to stay for the weekend. It looks like you packed for it.”
With that, we walked into the theater. As soon as we stepped into the huge, packed theater, my heart fluttered and then sank. Standing three rows ahead of us was Christopher Regent with Reed Knightly, his head of production.
“We’ll walk right past them. We have special seating at the front.” He looped his arm around mine and moved me forward.
I hoped Chris wouldn’t see us, but he took notice the minute we passed. I didn’t dare look at his face, but I could feel the heat of his stare. I think Sinclair sensed it too because he stiffened as we walked down the aisle to our seats.
“I’ll make him suffer, don’t worry,” Sinclair whispered to me under his breath.
As we made our way to the seats, Sinclair spoke to a host of people all clamoring for him as we made our way down the aisle. Most of the people he talked to noted me but didn’t say anything. Sinclair was gracious, a perfect showman. I was relieved when we finally were able to slide into our seats in the VIP section.
The film started shortly after we sat down, and it was a tremendous success. The audience responded perfectly to the horror and gore. The hero in the film, the Dark One, was just as handsome, sexy, and heroic as ever. I couldn’t help remembering when Sinclair had dressed as the fallen angel and seduced me so completely that night. It made me excited for our evening ahead. He held my hand through the whole movie. His wayward thumb stroked my skin, and a few times, I saw him adjust himself. He was very excited about the evening ahead, I could tell.
The film was so dark and sexy. In the second installment, Dante and Analisa fight off rogue angels who are trying to abduct all the young women of the world to serve in their coven. Having his father’s blessing Dante infiltrates the dark angel lair and with a lot of fighting and blood, frees the captives. I loved the film, but I hoped they’d hire a woman writer for the third installment. The film was good but could use a woman’s take. I mentioned it to Sinclair when the credits were rolling, and I was surprised he’d never thought of the idea.
“Wow, a woman writer and director might be an excellent direction to take this. Reyna, you’re a genius,” he praised, his hand nonchalantly smoothing over my thigh. “Is there anything you aren’t good at?” he asked, enamored.
“Oh, there’s plenty.”
Sinclair was beaming. This was his life’s mission, and he was proud of this accomplishment. Most of the people stayed until the last credits rolled up the screen. This might have been because they liked the film, or their name was so far down the credit list they had to wait to see it. Either way, Sinclair was very happy.
“Looks like this film might be a bigger success than the first.” His voice had an excited trill. This was really his moment. “And I love your idea of taking in a more feminine direction with the next one… fuck, this feels good!”
“You’ve worked really hard, you deserve this,” I complimented. “The audience loved it,” I said when the lights came up.
“You worked hard too.” Not sure why he was including me; it made me laugh. “What?”
“I did, for a whole two weeks. I worked hard.” I playfully punched his shoulder. “Just enjoy this; it’s all yours.”
A throng of people was clamoring to get to Sinclair and congratulate him. It felt like we were going to be in the theater forever. We also had an after-party to attend. Sinclair promised me we’d only stay long enough to make an appearance.
After we’d said “hi” and schmoozed with enough people, we’d sneak out.
His plans were for a romantic dinner at his mansion in the Hollywood Hills. He had offered me a choice. A romantic dinner at a nice restaurant or his personal chef, Salvatore, creating something exciting at home for just the two of us. Of course, I choose his house. The farther away we were from people who knew him and might recognize him while we were out, the better.
Sinclair was polite and succinct with all of his admirers, and I was actually impressed at how quickly we were making our way toward the exit when Chris stepped in front of us and stopped us in our tracks.
“What a glowing success, Sinclair. I truly did not think the sequel was going to hold. I’m pleasantly surprised,” he said with a note of polite maliciousness.
“I’d say it’s even better than the first. Glad you enjoyed it.” Sinclair was curt and direct.
“I’m disappointed you never followed through on my offer last year to discuss projects. I think I probably could have gotten a lot better production value for the price, but I’m still open to a meeting. Just give my office a call.” Chris handed Sinclair his business card as he eyed me.
He hadn’t made eye contact with me until that point as if he was waiting like a viper in the grass for the perfect moment to strike. My blood stopped pumping, and I felt like I was going to be sick. Fear and loathing… that’s all I had flowing in my veins.
Sinclair took the card. “I’ll look at our line up and see if anything fits.” I was hoping Sinclair was only mentioning this just to be polite. I couldn’t fathom working with Chris again. “I’m glad you enjoyed the show. We actually have to get to the party venue and check on everything before the guests arrive. It was good talking to you.” Sinclair tried to walk past Chris, but he didn’t give way.
“I certainly hope I’m on the guest list.” Chris began to seethe.
“Of course, it’s at the Chateau Marmot. We’ll see you there.” Sinclair’s tight expression was starting to give way to anger when Chris finally stepped aside to let us pass.
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