by Maree Green
I pined for Starbucks as we practically sprinted past. I really could’ve used a double or triple shot right about now, although I would’ve happily taken a shot of something stronger too.
As Sam pushed into WAM’s building and the doors closed firmly behind us, I took a moment to just breathe, hoping my heart rate would slow down, at least a little. Looking over at Sam, she gave me a matter-of-fact grin. “I think that may have been a record for me getting to work.”
I laughed. Of all the things to say right now, it was just what I needed to hear. “I’m shaking, Sam. That was crazy.”
She drew in a deep breath and exhaled heavily. “Yeah. It wasn’t exactly what I’d been expecting. I thought here for sure, but home? No way.”
As we made our way through the security point, I shook my head. “I wonder how they found out who I was? I don’t know that many people, Sam. Who would’ve told them?”
“It’s got me stumped,” she said bitterly. “It sure wasn’t me. I demanded a cool mil, but they refused, so I told them to stick it.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, moving to my little partitioned desk area I shared with her. “Sure you did.”
When I got no reply from her, I turned. But instead of finding Sam, I found Mike. Sam smirked at me as she stepped up beside him.
“So, you and Joshua Emerson, huh?” Mike said, grinning broadly.
Something about his happiness weirded me out. “Nothing’s going on with me and Joshua Emerson, Mike.”
He laughed. “You can’t fool me. I saw the pictures. I recognized you straightaway.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Okay, I saw him that night, but there’s nothing going on between us,” I said, feeling uncomfortable even talking to him about it.
He rubbed his hands together, still smiling. “That doesn’t matter. The media’s interest in you will stick around for a while yet. We’re going to get some good coverage because of you.”
Sam frowned. “It was you,” she said, rounding on Mike. “You’re the one who told the pap who she is.”
He nodded, excitement streaming from his every pore. “Of course I did! I told you, I recognized her immediately. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. You can’t pay for exposure this good.”
My jaw fell slack. My own boss had sold me out.
“Olivia?”
I turned at the sound of Maggie’s soft voice, my head still swimming.
“There’s a call for you on line two. Someone called Josh.”
Sam’s eyes bugged and Mike laughed, rubbing his hands together.
This wasn’t good.
Chapter 52
Josh
Pacing the length of my trailer, I waited for Liv to pick up the phone. It had taken me a little while to find the number of the place she worked, but I’d finally gotten it. The woman who’d answered told me she was there, so I was hopeful that meant she was okay.
The line muffled. “Josh?”
Relief hit me the instant I heard her voice. “Liv! Are you all right?” I asked, my pulse jumping.
“I’m . . . okay,” she answered hesitantly.
“Why haven’t you been answering your cell? I’ve been trying to call you for the last two hours.”
“Oh,” she said, sounding confused. “I don’t . . . I must’ve left it beside my bed. I don’t have it with me.”
I was worried about the awkwardness in the tone of her voice. “Can you get away from work for half an hour? Right now?”
“Right now? Why?”
I crossed my fingers and hoped she wasn’t going to be mad. “I have a guy out the front of your building. If you can spare half an hour, he’ll put you in a car and I’ll be able to talk to you in private.”
“Who?”
Gripping the back of my neck, I closed my eyes. “He’s a hired bodyguard. Someone Daniel knows. He goes by the name of Gardner. He’s wearing black pants with a black T-shirt with a red cross on the pocket.”
“Things are crazy here, Josh,” she said quietly, her voice barely audible.
“I know, beautiful,” I said, trying to stay calm. “Can you get away for a little while?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Go find Gardner. He’ll organize the call. Please, Liv. I need to talk to you.”
She was quiet for a little while, making me sweat. “Okay. I’ll go find him now.”
Hanging up the phone, I placed my cell on the table and resumed my pacing. I tried to be patient, but as the minutes ticked by, nerves started eating at me. All I could see in my head, was Liv being tormented by the fucking pap.
A minute later, my cell finally rang. Scooping it up, I noted the car’s number and sighed. “Liv?”
“Hey.”
“Tell me,” I said, a little forcefully. “Are you really all right?”
“I’m okay, Josh. Just a bit weirded out by everything.”
“Daniel said somebody outed you,” I said, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice.
I heard her huff a little too. “It was my boss.”
My brow furrowed. I wasn’t sure I’d heard her right. “What?”
She laughed sourly. “My boss thinks that me being in the spotlight will give the magazine some good publicity.”
“Are you serious? Did you know he was going to out you?” I was having serious trouble getting my head around what she was telling me.
“No,” she said, sighing heavily. “I only found out it was him two seconds before you called before. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. I don’t think it’s sunk in.”
I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the wall. “That it was your boss that outed you, or the fact that you’re now being hounded by the paparazzi?”
“Both, but more so the fact that my boss outed me. I kind of feel as though some trust has been broken or something. Aren’t bosses supposed to be protective or some crap?”
I almost laughed. She was so adorable. But the situation wasn’t something that warranted a laugh. Even a little one. “I need to see you, Liv. I’m going to see if I can get a flight out tonight.”
There was a small silence on the line before she spoke again. “Aren’t you supposed to be filming in the morning?”
“I don’t care.” And I didn’t. “I need to make sure you’re okay.”
She sighed. “Josh, I’m fine. It’s silly for you to come out tonight when you’re supposed to be working.”
She was right, but what she didn’t realize was that I wouldn’t be able to work while I was worrying about her anyway. “Liv,” I said softly. “I left LA like I did yesterday because I thought it would be best for you. I thought if no one knew who you were, you could go back to your quiet life and have your HEA. You make me so selfish, Liv. You make me want you so damned much that I forget about everything else, so this time I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought I was putting you first, despite what I wanted.”
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice soft but sure.
I tried for honesty. It hadn’t been something I’d given her much of, so this time, I was making sure of it. “You. Just you, Liv. I want all of you.”
“What do you mean?”
I closed my eyes. “I want you to be mine.”
I heard her breath shake. “Like, dating? Publicly?”
“Yes.” I didn’t even hesitate with my reply. “I’ve done everything the wrong way, Liv. I thought I knew what was best for you. I wanted to protect you and keep you safe, but I obviously suck at it in a massive way. So, I’m going to leave it up to you. The decision is yours. We can leave things as they are and the pap will eventually leave you alone, or we can try to make it work.”
“Josh,” she whispered.
The tone of her voice sounded a lot like bad news. Dropping to the chair, I hung my head. “I know dating me comes with a whole pile of shit, Liv, but I’m hoping what I can offer you—what we can have together—will outweigh the crap. I’ll do whatever I can to protect you,” I said, al
most begging. “I know I work away a lot, and I’m not exactly sure how we can make it work, but I’d really like to try, Liv.”
“This is a big decision, Josh,” she said, her voice slightly gravelly.
Rubbing my hand over my eyes, I tried to ignore the ache in my chest. “I know it is, beautiful. And I don’t want you to feel pressured. I’ll understand if it’s something you don’t think you can do.”
Restless, I stood, resuming my pacing. I knew she needed time to think, but her silence was killing me. It was a strange situation to be in. I was so used to being the one in control—the one who decided if I wanted to be in a relationship or not. To be on the other side, waiting, hoping, hurting, caused an anxiety I hadn’t experienced before. It settled low in my stomach, making me feel ill.
“Josh?” she said, her voice soft and sweet.
I braced myself. “Yes, beautiful?”
“I’d like to try.”
My breath caught. As much as I’d hoped, I hadn’t expected her to choose me. It was the biggest sacrifice I could ever ask a person in her situation to make. She was prepared to give up her freedom—her privacy—to be with me. And it shocked me beyond everything I knew about people.
Emotions I’d never felt before swept through my body. They tightened my throat and caused my chest to squeeze. “Holy shit,” I said, standing in the middle of my trailer. “I was seriously preparing myself for you to say no.”
Liv laughed softly through the phone. “Do you want me to change my answer?”
“Fuck no!” I took a deep breath, trying to calm my body down. My pulse was almost off the charts. “I’m just in shock that you’re agreeing to be with me.”
“It should hardly come as a surprise that I like you a little bit, Josh,” she said, teasing.
“You’d have to like me more than a little bit to give up your privacy for me, Liv,” I countered.
She hummed. “Maybe.”
“Okay, well, I’m banking on it, because now comes the part where you don’t get a choice,” I said, hoping she wasn’t going to get too mad with me. “Gardner’s your new bodyguard.”
She was silent for all of one heartbeat before she replied. “Oh.”
Chapter 53
Olivia
It had been almost twenty-four hours since I’d agreed to date one of the world’s drooliest men (as Sam liked to describe him), and I still hadn’t quite managed to wrap my head around it.
It hadn’t been an easy decision to say yes, and I certainly didn’t take it lightly knowing what I’d have to give up, but considering the fact that my life had already been thrown into turmoil, I knew I would’ve been crazy to not see where things could go for us. My feelings for him were too much for that.
I’d called Mom and Dad not long after speaking with Josh, mostly because I was worried they’d start getting hounded by people asking questions. I mean, it was only fair I prepare them. The conversation had been interesting, to say the least. I’d never heard either of my parents lost for words before, but I’d managed to silence them both for a good minute. I wasn’t sure they were entirely happy about my choice of boyfriend, but I knew they’d support me, regardless.
Pouring myself a coffee, I shuffled toward the living room, where Sam was stationed at her computer. Again. I was sure she’d been through every single gossip site on the Web over the last twelve hours, all with the intent of preparing me for whatever the pap might throw at me.
She eyed me as I sank down on the couch. “I’ve decided I don’t like Hannah Bryant.”
One corner of my mouth twitched with amusement. “And why is that?”
“Well,” she said, huffing, “there’s been a couple of blogs talking about a supposed romance between her and Josh. Some of them think their relationship is quite serious, so they’re not very happy with the pictures of him with you.”
I listened carefully. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t already told me.
“Now,” she continued, “Josh’s publicist put out a statement two days ago—the day after the party—saying he and Hannah were only costars. That they’re not dating, and never have.”
I nodded. That sounded right. “Okay.”
“But Hannah,” she said, pausing as she put one finger up, “is staying quiet. She’s happy to let these articles print their lies. Why? Because Josh is hot property, Liv. Those articles get her free press. And what does she care if it’s not true? It’s not hurting her any.”
Sipping on my coffee, I considered her theory. It made sense. I couldn’t exactly fault Hannah for simply not denying the lies, though. She hadn’t come out and directly said she and Josh were dating, so I couldn’t exactly agree to not like her. Unlike Mike. He was a different story. He’d deliberately outed me without any thought or consideration to my best interest at all. At first, I’d been concerned about how I was going to continue to work with him, but then the problem was taken out of my hands. He was transferred to the office in New York, and we had a new boss by the name of Penny. She was awesome.
“But this is the kind of crap the pap will taunt you with, Liv. They’ll ask you if you knew Josh was in a relationship with Hannah Bryant, just to get a reaction out of you. If you don’t have aspirations of getting into the industry, they’ll know you’re with Josh because you genuinely like him. They’ll play on your emotions. They’ll make you doubt his feelings for you.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Her warnings were kind of scary.
Sam sighed and turned her chair around to face me straight on. “The only way to arm yourself is to be confident,” she said. “And to be confident, you need to trust Josh one hundred percent.”
“I trust him,” I said, still slightly amused.
Sam smirked a little, but she sighed too. “I know I’m harping, Liv, but I’ve seen some bad shit happen because of printed lies. I just want to give you the best chance at making it work. And that means you and Josh need to be as open and honest with each other as you can. If you’re worried about anything, tell him. And you need to make sure he’s open about everything going on in his life. He needs to tell you if he has a meeting with some actress he’ll be costarring with next year, because you can bet your ass the pap will know, and they’ll take great pleasure in telling you he was seen wining and dining her, and show you the pictures to go with it as proof.”
I put my coffee on the table, my appetite gone.
Sam’s expression softened at my worried face. “You’ll be okay, Liv. There’s only one hard-and-fast rule you need to remember the most. And that is, if you hear anything you haven’t heard before, ask Josh. Do not jump to conclusions.” She tapped her chin with her pen. “Oh, and always wear underwear when getting out of a car.”
Laughing, I stood and took my cup to the kitchen. “Dad already told me that rule.”
Sam shut her computer down and stuffed it into her carry bag. “What did your parents have to say about it all?”
Rinsing my cup, I placed it in the dishwasher and closed the door. “They’re trying to be okay with it, but I can tell they’re worried. I reminded Dad that if they hadn’t dragged me off to Gulu, he would’ve been a pro at dealing with boyfriends by now.”
She jiggled her head side to side. “Fair point.” We both picked up our bags and made our way to the front door. Sam paused, hand on the doorknob. “You ready for this?”
I smoothed down my skirt. “Do I look like an ogre?”
She looked me up and down with disdain. “One hundred percent,”
“Let’s do it, then,” I said with a grin.
As soon as she opened the door, Gardner stepped into view. Josh had told me I needed to think of him as my new best friend. I hadn’t liked it. I’d even argued about the necessity of it. I didn’t tell him I was sure people would find no interest in me whatsoever, because I knew it wouldn’t have made an ounce of difference. He needed to know I was safe, so if I needed to welcome a new couch camper for that to happen, that’s the way it was going to be.
&n
bsp; “What’s the prognosis, Gardner?” I said, pulling the door closed and making sure it was locked.
He pressed his lips into a hard, flat line. According to Josh, Gardner had been in the marines with Daniel. Looking at his stern face now, I could totally see that. He was slightly scary looking. “There’s at least two dozen reporters waiting on the sidewalk. I’ve had to call a car to get you to work.”
I stared at him like he had two heads. “That’s ridiculous. Work is, like, two blocks away.”
Gardner narrowed his eyes. “I’m sorry, but we just can’t chance it. Walking even one block right now is asking for trouble.”
I gawked at Sam, waiting to see what she thought of it, but she simply shrugged. “Sounds good to me. I might be early for a change.”
I blinked up at the ceiling, trying not to let irritation seep its way in. “It can’t be that bad, can it? I mean, can I choose to not take the car?”
Gardner deadpanned me and crossed his arms. “Yes, it can be that bad, and it is. And no, you can’t just choose to not take the car. Daniel is head of security, and he made the call.”
I frowned at his bluntness. My independent spirit made me want to argue, but I also knew I had to trust Daniel’s experience.
Drawing in a deep breath, I looked to Sam and raised my eyebrows. “Seems like we’re getting a ride to work today.”
Sam patted my arm as she passed me. “Wise choice, young padawan.”
Gardner smirked at her retreating figure. “I like her.”
I rolled my eyes, but I had to admit, Sam was a keeper. “Yeah, she’s pretty good value.”
My nerves swelled as we rode the lift to the ground floor. Secretly, I was worried about doing this without Josh if there were two dozen paparazzi out there like Gardner said.