Beauty and Her Boss

by Jennifer Faye

  With a shake of her head, she highlighted it all. Then she pressed the delete key. But she still had to find something to write in her report.

  And after what she’d learned today, she was beginning to suspect there was no story here. But she had promised that she would document the details relating to the accident. And she liked to keep her word. So she started to write out in as much detail as she could what little Deacon had told her about the night of the accident.

  But with every word she typed, guilt weighed on her. How could she betray Deacon’s trust? Even if now it was to help clear his name?

  Her emotions warred within her. She knew how Deacon felt about the paparazzi and tabloids. He would consider what she was doing as an utter betrayal. Could she blame him?

  She hadn’t taken any of this into consideration when she’d agreed to this plan. Getting close to Deacon, gaining his trust, was changing everything. And now she was utterly confused. More than anything, she wanted to leave. Each day that passed, her confusion over where she stood with Deacon grew.

  Gaby saved her report to the drafts folder. She wanted more time to consider her actions. In the meantime, she jotted a brief email stating that there was nothing new to report.

  She closed her laptop and leaned back in her chair. Her presence on the estate had nothing to do with the accident and everything to do with protecting her father from prosecution. And so she would keep her word to Deacon and stay until the fund-raiser. And once it was a huge success, she could return to her life. A life without a brooding movie star with the ability to make her laugh and feel lighter than she had in years. Suddenly, returning to her prior life didn’t sound so appealing. But life here on this Malibu estate wasn’t reality. It was some sort of dream and soon she’d wake up—probably about the time the police report was released. And she worried about the steep fall back to earth.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  MAYBE THIS HAD been a mistake.

  Deacon sat across the table from Gabrielle. The table was done up with a light blue linen tablecloth. Fine china was laid out. The yellow napkins were folded into the shape of bow ties. A vase of yellow roses had been placed in the center. This was Mrs. Kupps’s doing. The last time the table had been so fancy had been before the accident. These days, he ate at his desk with a tray of food. No flowers. No company.

  What had he been thinking to invite Gabrielle to breakfast? Perhaps it was the fact that when she smiled, the whole world was that much brighter. And when they talked, she didn’t hold back. She was filled with optimism. He gave himself a mental jerk. That line of thought could get him into trouble—big trouble. It was best to focus on the business at hand.

  But that would be easier said than done with the table all decked out to impress Gabrielle. When he’d mentioned all the needless fuss to Mrs. Kupps, she’d clucked her tongue at him. She told him he needed to do everything he could not to run off Gabrielle, as she was the sunshine in his otherwise gloomy world. It was as if she was worried that he’d grow old alone. He was not some beggar, desperate for anyone’s attention.

  Is that what Gabrielle thought of him, too? Did she think that he was pathetic and deserving of her sympathy? He would show her. He did not need anyone’s pity. He was not some charity case.

  “You know this isn’t going to work.” His words came out terser than he’d intended.

  Gabrielle glanced up from where she unfolded the yellow napkin and placed it on her lap. “Which part doesn’t work?”

  “All of it. Every single last piece of it.” That wasn’t exactly true, but he was in no mood to be generous. If they were adversaries, then perhaps she wouldn’t feel obligated to be nice to him—to let him kiss her.

  He watched her closely. He was waiting for her to leave. However, the only visible sign of her discomfort was in her eyes. They widened, but she didn’t move. He knew a lot of people would have turned tail and fled by now. But not Gabrielle. She was made of sterner stuff. But he should have figured that when she’d volunteered to take her father’s punishment.

  She adjusted her napkin and at the same time avoided his gaze. When she glanced back up at him, she said, “I’m assuming you are referring to the fund-raiser plans and not the meal.”

  “Of course.”

  She nodded. Then she set about removing the lid from the dish of scrambled eggs. She was going to eat? He was setting up for an argument and she was acting as though everything was perfectly fine. Everything wasn’t fine.

  He couldn’t take her lack of reaction any longer. “Are you just going to sit there and ignore me?”

  “I’m not ignoring you, but Mrs. Kupps went to a lot of work to prepare this meal and I think it’d be a shame to let it go to waste.”

  “You’re hungry?”

  She smiled at him. “Of course I am. I’m sure you’ll feel better after you eat.”

  He wanted to disagree, but his gaze moved to her plate. The food did look good. “But what about the problems with the fund-raiser?”

  “They aren’t going anywhere. We can deal with those later.” She scooped up some bacon and added it to her plate. When he didn’t move, she said, “Do you want some bacon?” When he didn’t respond fast enough, she added, “If you don’t hurry, there might not be any left. I love bacon.”

  He did, too. He held out his hand for her to pass the serving plate. She hesitated as though she weren’t so sure she wanted to share, but in the end, she passed it to him.

  It was really hard staying upset with her. She was either a very good actress, good enough to be in the movies with him, or she tried not to let things ruffle her. Either way, he was going to have to figure out a different way to deal with her. Because all his huffing and puffing didn’t appear to deter her.

  Gabrielle continued to fill her plate. “I can’t believe Mrs. Kupps made us all of this food.”

  “She was more than happy to do it. For so long now, she’s been begging me for things to do and I’ve been putting her off.”

  “I take it you don’t have breakfast like this very often.”

  “No. Not at all. Not since, well, you know.” He didn’t want to bring up the accident. Not this morning. But since Gabrielle had entered his life, his appetite was back.

  Gabrielle buttered her toast. “Well, I will make sure to tell Mrs. Kupps just how good this is.”

  “I’m sure she would love to hear it. I must admit that I’ve been lacking on the compliments lately.”

  “I’m sure she understands that you’ve been going through a lot.”

  When they’d finished their meal, which took much longer than he was accustomed to taking to eat, he found himself in a better frame of mind. He assured himself that it had nothing to do with what Gabrielle had said about him needing to eat, and more to do with the fact that he was right about this fund-raiser and he would prove it to her.

  Mrs. Kupps brought more coffee and then cleared the empty dishes. Both of them complimented Mrs. Kupps on the delicious food. The woman’s cheeks grew rosy as she thanked them.

  After Mrs. Kupps departed, Gabrielle turned to him. “Now, what were you saying about the fund-raiser?”

  “I don’t think people are going to attend.”

  “Why would you think that? Are my plans that bad?”

  He shook his head. “It isn’t anything you’ve done.” Surely he didn’t have to spell this out for her. “I’m the problem.”

  “Oh.” Her good mood seemed to have diminished a bit. She sat there and stared off at the shimmering ocean for a moment. When she turned to him again, she had a glint in her eye. “Actually, I think all of your notoriety will work to our advantage.”

  He had a feeling he wouldn’t like where she was going with this line of thought. But it was too late, he’d already been drawn down the rabbit hole. “How’s that?”

  “You forget that in addition to the car a
ccident, you also have a movie being released next month.”

  “What about it?”

  “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I turned on the television. And guess what I saw?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

  “I saw the promo for your movie. Your name and face were all over the ad. Your movie sponsors aren’t backing down from using your brand and you shouldn’t, either.”

  If only people still thought he was that man. Now they all questioned him and his actions—including himself. “I’m not that man anymore.”

  “Which makes people all the more curious about you—”

  “I’m not going to be some sort of freak show for them to come here and stare at.”

  “Relax.” She reached across the table and placed her hand on his. “I promise you, it won’t be like that. I believe that people will come out for the event. They will want to get behind a great cause because so many lives have been touched in one way or another by breast cancer.”

  When she put it that way, he felt guilty for making such a big deal about his circumstances. Some people had it much worse. “So you’ll make sure to keep the emphasis of the event on the reason for it and not on the sponsor?”

  “Um, yes.” Worry clouded her eyes. “Does that mean you don’t want to be mentioned at all?”

  “That is what I’d hoped.”

  She worried her bottom lip but didn’t respond.

  “Go ahead and say it.”

  “It’s just that without your name, I don’t know how to make the event stand out.”

  He reminded himself that raising funds would help save other families from having to go through the pain, the uncertainty and, for some, the loss of a loved one, like he’d experienced. And when it came down to it, if using his name would help raise awareness of the event, didn’t he owe that to his mother’s memory?

  “Okay. You can use my name, if you think it will help.”

  “I do.” Gabrielle pulled out a legal pad from a colorful bag she had on the ground next to her chair. There were handwritten notes on the top sheet. It was a long list. It appeared they were going to be here a while. She sent him a sideways glance. “You aren’t going to change your mind after we get this all started, are you?”

  He knew once news of the fund-raiser was out there that his world would get a lot smaller, with paparazzi hanging from trees and sneaking onto the property. It would be chaos and he’d want to back out. “No. I’ll manage.”

  “Good.” A smile eased the worry lines bracketing her beautiful face. “And I think they are really going to have a great time.”

  He filled his coffee cup, then added a dash of sugar. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed sitting outside in the morning with the bright sunshine and the cool breeze. He could feel Gabrielle’s gaze on him. She was anxious to hear his thoughts, but he didn’t think that she’d like what he was about to say.

  As he stirred the coffee, his gaze skimmed down over the printout that Gabrielle had given him the night before. She had certainly paid attention to details and made certain that there was plenty of entertainment.

  He took a drink of the dark brew and then returned the cup to the saucer. “You do realize that you have so many events listed that it dilutes the entire event.”

  Gabrielle’s eyebrows drew together. “But people need something to do.”

  “True. But not this many things. This is more like an amusement park than a fund-raiser.” Before she could argue with him, he intended to prove his point. “You have golfing, amusement rides, clowns, artists, dancing and games. That’s a lot. A whole lot.”

  “But with each of those things, we can raise money.”

  “How much money are we talking? Really?”

  She sighed and gazed down over the list of events. “What are you proposing?”

  “That you narrow the list down to two or three things.”

  She frowned at him. Then she shook her head and looked away.

  “What?”

  Her gaze met his as she worried her bottom lip.

  “Gabrielle, just spit it out.” He wasn’t good at guessing, especially where women were concerned.

  “I was just wondering if it is the money. You know, if sponsoring the event is too much for you.”

  Oh, that was all. This was something he could deal with.

  “It isn’t the money.” Though this fund-raiser would cost a small fortune to pull together, he could handle it. He’d had a number of blockbuster movies and he’d carefully invested the money. When her gaze told him that she still wasn’t reassured, he said, “I promise. I’m good financially.”

  His main concern was for Gabrielle. She had invested herself completely in making this fund-raiser a huge success. She had her hopes so high that when it all fell apart, she would have a long way to tumble.

  In the short time he’d gotten to know her, he’d learned that she had a big heart—big enough to even care about his welfare, which was more than he’d ever expected. He didn’t want her to get hurt because of him and his now tarnished reputation.

  “That’s good to hear.” There was a catch in her voice as though there were something more she wanted to say, but she decided to refrain.

  “You know it’s not too late to pull out—”

  “No. I really want to do this.”

  He knew what she meant. She was anxious to get away from him. And he couldn’t blame her. She blamed him for what had happened to her aunt. And as much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn’t. He didn’t know. And his nightmares only confused him even more.

  He thought about just calling off the deal. But he knew Gabrielle would take it personally. She had a lot of pride and would think he didn’t believe in her ability to pull it all together. He didn’t want to do anything else to hurt her. So he would do what he could to help Gabrielle—even at the expense of his privacy.

  Deacon cleared his throat. “The events should either be big draws in order to up the ticket price or garner large donations once the guests are in attendance.” And he had another observation. “Perhaps keep this an adults-only event. Without children around, people will relax and perhaps they’ll be willing to spend more freely.”

  “That’s the exact opposite of how I ran my fund-raisers for the library. I did a lot of activities to draw in the kids and by extension their parents.” She frowned. “I suppose you’re going to want to remove all of the fun events.”

  He really did hate to disappoint her, but he’d been around these affairs many times in the past. And he knew a lot of the big fish she was hoping to hook would appreciate something more low-key.

  “Trust me.” He knew that was a poor choice of words where she was concerned, but they were already out there and he couldn’t undo them. So he kept going with the point he wanted to make. “I do know what I’m talking about.”

  “But it’ll be boring.”

  He had to admit some of the charity events he’d attended were boring, but he didn’t want to tell her that. He knew Gabrielle would use any excuse to keep her current lengthy list of events.

  “Ah... I see. I’m right.” Her face lit up.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The look you just made when I said that it would be boring. You couldn’t deny it.”

  “I was thinking is all.”

  “Uh-huh. What if we compromise?”

  Oh, no. He had a bad feeling about this. His experience of compromising with a female in his private life consisted of him giving up on what he wanted, so the woman wouldn’t be mad at him any longer.

  With great trepidation, he asked, “What sort of compromise?”

  And so they started with the first activity on the list—dart toss. They discussed it and the type of atmosphere they’d like to present to the people. In the end,
it was cut in an effort to make the fund-raiser more sophisticated.

  After they made it through a quarter of the list and had nixed all but one item, Gabrielle said, “Okay. So we should stick to just a handful of entertainments.”

  “Or even less. For the most part, the affluent people you’ll be inviting will want to be seen.” He explained a little more of his understanding of the elite of Hollywood.

  Gabrielle nodded. “Okay. I can work with this.”

  “Now, what were you considering for the main focus of the event?”

  She took a moment, as though considering everything he’d told her. “I think we should make it a golfing event. Lots of people golf, both men and women. And you do have an amazing golf course.”

  “How would you know? It’s a mess.”

  “Mrs. Kupps showed me some pictures. The course needs some TLC, but I talked to your head groundskeeper. He said that with the help of the entire grounds crew, they could pull it together. They might have to bring in some turf, but it is possible to have it together in time.”

  He arched an eyebrow at her. “You really have worked hard on this.”

  “I saw an opportunity and I took it. This fund-raiser will be great—if you’ll agree to it.”

  His gut told him not to do it. But he saw the gleam of hope in Gabrielle’s eyes. He just didn’t have it in him to turn her down. What would it hurt to get this place cleaned up? He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to live here any longer. It would have to be restored if he were to put it up for sale. So he would let Gabrielle move ahead with her plans and when no one bought the tickets, he would still abide by their agreement. Once the planning was over, he would let her go back to her life.

  He told her to take what they’d discussed and refine her list. Include a few more details and they’d go over it tomorrow. And then he would give her his decision about whether they should move forward with it or not.

  He had a gut feeling that he’d dug himself a hole. Gabrielle had a determined look in her eye that said she would never give up on the fund-raiser. And he was going to have to find a way to be okay with all those people being here on his estate.