Stroked by my Dad's Best FriendA Billionaire Secret Baby Romance

by Natasha Spencer

  “Evening, Rico,” said Francis as he stopped by their table. “Didn’t realize you were eating out tonight.” He turned his attention quickly to Ashleigh and looked her up and down with keen, hungry eyes. “And who’s this fine, young specimen?”

  “This is Ashleigh,” Rico smiled.

  Ashleigh didn’t much like being referred to as a ‘fine, young specimen’ but she kept her mouth shut as Rico introduced her. Francis was her boss, after all.

  “She’s actually one of the runners on the movie,” he explained.

  “Ahh,” Francis’ eyebrows shot up. “Well, she’s far too pretty to be a runner,” he remarked, speaking about Ashleigh as if she wasn’t just sitting right in front of him, looking directly at her but still talking to Rico, and referring to her in the third person. “She’s got a face for the screen.”

  Rico chuckled a little. “That’s what I said to her.”

  The young woman on Francis’ arm looked slightly grumpy and disconcerted by this whole conversation, shooting daggers at Ashleigh the entire time.

  Francis stretched out his other arm towards Ashleigh for a handshake.

  She smiled and offered out hers.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ashleigh,” he addressed her directly at last.

  “And you, Mr Romero,” she answered politely, shaking his hand.

  “Oh please, do call me Francis,” he insisted, turning her hand around in his then leaning down and kissing the back of it chastely before standing upright again and releasing her. “I’ll be keeping a close eye on you, young lady. A very close eye indeed.”

  “Thank you,” she smiled, although in truth, she found his whole demeanour and attitude slightly unnerving and creepy.

  Thankfully, after that, he waltzed off with his date on his arm and they found their own table, leaving Ashleigh with an uneasy feeling about her first meeting with Francis Romero.

  Rico, on the other hand, didn’t seem phased by it. She supposed that, having worked with him before, he was used to his mannerisms. She was probably overreacting or overthinking things as always.

  “I hope you’ve enjoyed your evening,” said Rico, bringing her attention back to him.

  “Oh, I have,” she smiled warmly. “Very much so. It’s been wonderful.”

  “Good. So have I. Let me get the check.”

  Chapter Nine

  By the time Rico dropped Ashleigh back off at her hotel, it was quite late, but neither of them felt like ending the evening just yet, so when Rico suggested going for a drink at the bar next door, Ashleigh readily agreed.

  As per his request, she had consumed the majority of the wine over dinner, so she was already feeling rather tipsy and lightheaded, which was no bad thing. It put her in an even better mood and helped her to feel more confident and able to flirt.

  They definitely did some more of that, sitting up on a pair of tall bar stools and sipping on posh cocktails of extravagant, bright color.

  Rico complained that his pants felt a little tight around the waist after that large meal, and Ashleigh expressed surprise that he wasn’t already bursting out of his shirt considering how tight it was on him, while at the same time glancing him up and down, making it fairly obvious that she found him attractive.

  It was all pretty innocent, however, and Rico had been dropping similar little signs all night. At the beginning of the evening, she’d been telling herself this was just two work colleagues going for a bite to eat together, but now she was fairly sure it was a date, and she was totally comfortable with it too, at ease with the situation despite the enormity of it.

  “This has been so much fun,” she smiled, looking into his eyes.

  “Yes, it has,” Rico readily agreed, dreamily staring back into hers a moment before shaking his head slightly and looking away. He smiled to himself and rubbed the back of his neck a little before speaking. “You know…I’ve never spent an entire evening with a runner before. I don’t normally get to know individual crew members that well. It’s kind of hard when you just spend most of the day either in front of the camera shooting or in your trailer trying to memorize lines, or just getting some rest.”

  “That’s understandable. But hey, maybe you should do it more often if you’ve enjoyed yourself so much,” Ashleigh smirked and winked at him.

  Rico tossed his head back and laughed, showing her his set of perfect pearly whites.

  “Maybe I should… maybe I should…”

  Before they knew it, it was past midnight, and they both knew they should probably call it a night. Although they had the day off in the morning, they were both tired from a full day’s filming, and needed to use that rest period to fully recover so they could be fresh for Monday.

  Ashleigh could feel herself starting to flag, with the effects of the alcohol, and Rico couldn’t drink anymore anyway with him having to drive.

  “I suppose we should go,” he smiled.

  “I suppose we should,” she agreed.

  He offered her his hand. She happily took it, and he walked her out of the bar and back next door to her hotel.

  “Next time, I’ll make sure they put you up somewhere nicer than this place.”

  “Next time? How do you know there’ll be a next time?” She looked at him.

  “I meant what I said about you. There’s something about you. This won’t be the last time you work in film, this is only the start.”

  She felt a little flutter of excitement and hoped he was right.

  “That would be amazing. I mean…working in film again and a better hotel.”

  He laughed at her small joke, then they stopped just outside the door.

  “Do you want me to walk you up to your room?”

  “I think I can manage.” She squeezed his hands and turned to face him. “I’m a big girl.”

  “You’re a sweet girl,” he smiled and looked into her eyes. “And thank you for a lovely night.”

  He glanced down at her lips and for one special, magical moment, she thought he might be about to lean in and kiss her. That wasn’t quite what happened, but the reality was just as good, if not better.

  He did lean in, but his head moved to the right of hers and he placed the gentlest, most tender kiss on her cheek.

  She felt the soft brush of his lips, and could feel her face tingling and heating up once he pulled away again, a smile breaking out.

  “And you’re a sweet guy,” she replied quietly. “A real gentleman. I can see why all the ladies like you.”

  He laughed at that, and then slowly let go of her hands. “Perhaps.” He chewed his bottom lip, as if contemplating doing something else, then maybe thought better of it and wandered over to his bike. He turned off the alarm and opened up the back box to take out his helmet.

  “I’ll see you very soon, Ashleigh.”

  “I hope so. I’ll look out for you on set.”

  “And I, you. Sleep well.”

  “You too.” She turned and walked to the main step of her hotel, then stopped and looked back over her shoulder, watching him mount the bike and disappear out of sight.

  Her heart was pounding, racing as she ran over everything that had happened that night in quick succession, playing it back like her own little movie, still just standing there on the steps of her hotel in a daze.

  She already missed him.

  Chapter Ten

  It would be a couple more days before she saw Rico again.

  She spent her day off by having a long lie in, sleeping till nearly lunchtime before getting up and heading out to grab something to eat and spend the afternoon taking a leisurely look around LA. She walked along the promenade and checked out the beach. It was lively and busy, everywhere teaming with people. She enjoyed herself for a couple of hours, then began to grow tired of the crowds and sought out solitude and quiet in her small hotel room.

  In the evening, she went out for dinner alone and found a pleasant little pizza restaurant, sitting in the window and people watching. She didn’t mind
eating on her own at all. It was a perfect time to think and reflect.

  All her thoughts were on Rico, and what would happen when she saw him again; how this little friendship of theirs could possibly develop. She was definitely interested in it being more than a friendship, and she hoped that he was too, but maybe the fact that she’d had a few to drink the previous night was clouding her judgement of how things had played out.

  The following day she was back on set again, and although she kept her eyes open for Rico, he was nowhere to be seen at either breakfast or lunchtime, and her various jobs kept her busy looking after the supporting actors, some of whom she was starting to get to know fairly well. She was definitely building up her list of contacts and gaining so much valuable knowledge and feedback about the industry. She was learning on the job and loving every minute of it, but after another day of not seeing Rico, she was starting to miss him, and her own insecurities were eating at her, telling herself that he was avoiding her because he regretted taking her out for dinner.

  Thankfully, her anxiety was put to rest by Wednesday morning, when she stood in line for breakfast and felt a sudden tap on her shoulder.

  She turned around, expecting to see Sally or Julio, or Marlow and Liz from makeup, the usual people she sat with over lunch, but instead she was greeted by Rico’s smiling, gorgeous features.

  “Hey there,” he grinned.

  “Hey!” Ashleigh exclaimed, really surprised to see him and suddenly feeling a rush of nerves as she remembered her fears about him avoiding her.

  “We seem to keep missing each other at breakfast and lunch,” he remarked.

  “Yes, we do,” she agreed.

  “I normally swing by really early, get mine before anyone else joins the line. Either that or I wait till everyone’s gone, but then all the best food is gone too.” He winked at her.

  “Ah, so that’s the trick, is it? I’ll remember that for lunch.”

  “Speaking of eating,” Rico continued with a sparkle in his eyes. “I was wondering whether you’d like to go for dinner again sometime soon?”

  Ashleigh’s heart felt like it was in her throat. She swallowed it down and excitedly nodded, hoping no one else in the line was listening in on this conversation, once again wondering whether it would be considered inappropriate for her and Rico to be seeing each other outside of work like this.

  “That would be great, yeah. I’ll pay this time.”

  He tutted and shook his head. “Don’t be silly.”

  “I mean it. I’m gonna start feeling bad if you take me out and pay for dinner all the time.”

  Rico sighed and twisted his lips a little as he thought about it. “Well…if it would make you feel better, I suppose I could let you share the check this time…but I’m not going to let you pay for the whole thing yourself. Consider it a compromise, and the best I can do.”

  She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Fiiiine. I’ll take the compromise.”

  He chuckled. “Great. How about tonight then?”

  “Tonight?” She was surprised he wanted to do it again so soon, but obviously took it as a massive compliment. She had been overthinking this after all. Thank goodness. This was great news – the best! She internally squealed, and then nodded, externally keeping her composure. “Sure, tonight sounds perfect.”

  They moved along the line a bit, shuffling closer to the front, and Rico turned the conversation to asking how her day had been yesterday, the two of them making idle small talk about the shoot.

  Once Rico had his food, he said a polite goodbye to Ashleigh in front of everyone else and made his way to his trailer. She wondered whether he was making a show of things on purpose in order to throw of any kind of suspicion that something was going on between them, and she did feel a little put out that he wasn’t coming to sit on the dining bus with everyone else but she did understand, in a way. Some of the supporting actors and background artists could easily get star-struck, and she’d already heard stories about people coming up to him on sets and bothering him, asking for photographs and autographs when he was trying to work. Rico was the kind of actor that liked to get immersed in his part. He spent a lot of time studying and getting into character, and for that he needed space.

  She sat with her usual friends over breakfast, but Ashleigh was distracted, already thinking about dinner that evening and looking forward to getting to know Rico better.

  Once she’d finished eating, she took her plate back to the catering bus and grabbed herself a coffee. She was just crossing the courtyard to get back inside the main studio building when she saw Francis Romero appearing out the door she was heading towards. She kept her head down, a little, uncertain of him after their first encounter the other night, but she knew their paths would invariably cross and, sure enough, Francis recognized and remembered her.

  “Ah, it’s Ashleigh, isn’t it?” He stopped her as she walked, placing one hand on her forearm briefly before letting go.

  She looked up and smiled at him, actually rather surprised and pleased that he’d remembered her name. “Yes.”

  “You’re just the person I wanted to speak to…”

  That also was surprising. Why on earth would Francis want to speak with her, just a lowly runner?

  “May I have a moment of your time? Alone?”

  Vaguely worried that she might be in trouble for something, she nodded in agreement, then he turned on his heel and led her back inside the studio the way he’d just come out of. Down the corridor they went, neither of them speaking, Francis striding along importantly with a swagger in his walk.

  He took her in one of the spare office rooms and closed the door behind them.

  Suddenly, she didn’t exactly feel very comfortable being alone with him, but she didn’t say anything. This wouldn’t take very long, whatever it was.

  “When I saw you the other night,” he began with a smile, looking into her eyes. “I have to admit, I was enchanted…”

  Now, the creepy feeling was intensifying. She was starting to think Francis had some sort of crush on her, which was unnerving to say the least. He was twenty years her senior and, although she didn’t mind age gaps in theory, he wasn’t exactly the most attractive older gentleman either, especially when compared to the beauty and grace that Rico exuded by the bucket-load.

  “I want to get to know you better,” he continued. “Are you available this evening?”

  Oh God. She began to internally panic. What did getting to know her better even entail? It all sounded rather dodgy and weird. Besides, she already had plans to go to dinner with Rico that evening, and although she might have been able to squeeze in time to spend half an hour or so with Francis, she didn’t particularly want to.

  “Actually, I’m uh…I’m really kind of busy this evening,” she mumbled, stumbling over her words a bit in her nervousness. Francis was an imposing, intimidating figure, made more so by the great power he so clearly wielded in Hollywood. It wouldn’t be a wise move to annoy him if she wanted to make gains in her career. “I’ve kind of already got plans.”

  He frowned and looked deeply disappointed, so much so that she even felt a little sorry for him. “Hmm, that is unfortunate,” he sighed. “We’ll have to make plans for another time then.”

  He wasn’t exactly leaving her with much choice. It sounded more like a demand than an option.

  “Yeah, I’m sure we can do that,” she nodded vaguely, not suggesting a particular day or time.

  He smiled and reached out to pat her on the arm. “That would be wonderful. You really do have so much potential. I can see it.” He turned and opened the door. “Well, I’d better get back to work. See you very soon, Ashleigh.”

  And with that, he walked out, leaving her clutching her cup of coffee with a feeling of dread, trying to shake it off and put the positive thoughts of later that evening in her mind instead.

  Chapter Eleven

  The evening with Rico went amazingly well again. They went to a small Italian place. It w
asn’t as posh or as fancy as the first one, but she suspected Rico was trying to make it cheaper on her as they’d agreed they would be sharing the cost. He got recognized by a couple of people who asked for his autograph, but they were very polite about it and so was he. He didn’t seem to mind. It was Ashleigh who was more self-conscious than anything, wondering whether people would talk about the fact that they were seen together, and that Rico had a mysterious new lady in his life.

  Over dinner, they expanded their conversation from movies to books and music, finding that they still had a few things in common even when it came to such varied topics. She felt herself becoming more and more besotted and fascinated by him.

  “I’ve got some news for you,” he announced over dessert.

  “Oh?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “I had a talk with the production office today, and they agreed we need a runner on set. It will just be small things like making cups of coffee for the actors from the machine, holding onto costumes when they’re not being used, fetching things when they’re required, putting tape down to mark places on the set floor, stuff like that. We could always use an extra pair of hands.”

  “So, I’ll get to see some of the filming?”

  “Yes, you will. It’s what you want, right?”

  “Of course it is, thank you!”

  “There’ll still be admin work to do in the offices, of course, so you probably won’t be able to stay on set all day but…”

  “No, no, that’s fine, I understand. I just want to get as much of an overall experience of the whole workings of a film set as I can.”

  “And this is definitely the best way,” Rico nodded. “Come on. Let’s pay the check and get out of here. I want to take you for a ride on the bike.”

  “Yeah? Sounds like fun.”

  And it was.

  Rico took her on her own personalized tour of LA on the motorbike, and although he couldn’t speak to her while they were driving, she still got a chance to take in all the sights of the city as they zipped in and out of the traffic, hardly having to stop except for the lights.