Capture Me: Alpha Billionaire Romance (Hollywood Dreams)

by C. J. Thomas

  Exactly the reason I didn’t bother to own a car in the city.

  “Isn’t there auto-pay or something?” Dani asked. “So maybe all these have been paid.”

  “Maybe.” But then why were so many past due?

  I kept my concerns to myself. No sense worrying Dani when Dad always had a good explanation for everything.

  “Edward.”

  I turned to Dani and frowned. “Ed—? Of course.” Dad’s attorney would know what was going on.

  I took my phone out, ready to dial his number when I scrolled through my recent email alerts. “Looks like he beat me to it. Edward wants us to come to his office on Monday.”

  Dani zoned out, staring at the dozens of letters. “None of this makes any sense. Didn’t you work with him? How do you not know about any of this?”

  I opened my mouth to answer her, except nothing came out. What did I have to say? Four years of working with him and there was never talk of any problems with the company. Even if he kept things from me, there was still a lot to consider.

  I took Dani by the shoulders. “Hey. It’ll be okay. They had life insurance, the company. Look around us. We’ve got this house. We’re going to be okay. Everything will be answered Monday.”

  Except no matter how hard I tried to convince my sister there was nothing to worry about, my gut told me something wasn’t right.

  CHAPTER 17

  Tessa

  “Feels like I’m back in the principal’s office,” Dani murmured. Her knee bounced up and down, like the nervous rhythm attempted to keep time with my heart.

  While still upscale, I couldn’t picture a more opposite waiting room to Dad’s if I’d tried. Half the room was still under construction from the recent office move and remodel. Based on the upgrade in location, Edward had landed some pretty big clients over the last year. The half of the room that wasn’t sectioned off with wall-length plastic had a cozy vibe, something I would have never placed in a law firm. Probably why they were redoing the windowless room. Though it did nothing to calm Dani. I held her hand and her knee stopped for a moment before starting up again.

  “We’re here together,” I reminded her.

  Dani shook her head and eyed the large bag I’d brought with us. “All those letters . . .”

  I should have never called Dani into Dad’s office when I found all his overdue notices. I don’t know what made me think he would have talked to her, especially if he hadn’t talked to me.

  Edward popped his head out of his office. His short stature appeared even more abbreviated compared to the door nearly three times his height. “Come in. Come in. We have much to discuss.” He slipped his head back in so fast, it reminded me of those whack-a-mole games. He had that same scrunched up face the little figures had just before you smacked them over the head.

  I draped my arm around Dani’s shoulder and gave a small squeeze as she stood. Her knee-length blue sundress swayed as I followed her into the office.

  Two broad, leather chairs—that seemed much more fitting for a law office than where we’d waited—were pulled out from the table, clearly waiting for us.

  “Please, sit. Sit.” Edward gestured to the chairs even though they were the only real place for us to go in the room.

  It occurred to me that he hadn’t met our eyes yet. I pulled out a few of the overdue notices I’d found on Dad’s desk. No point in letting them sit unanswered through whatever he wanted to tell us. “I realize that you called us in here to discuss our parents’ estate, but I want to make sure we also get to these before we leave.”

  Edward dropped his head as though he’d fallen asleep in his chair. Dani and I shared a look. He finally breathed a long nasally whistle before looking us in the eyes. “Here’s the way it goes . . .” Before he finished the sentence, he popped out of his chair—which barely changed his height from sitting—and began to pace along his side of the table.

  Dani pressed her palms against the table. “Stop. Stop!” She blew out a breath when he turned to her. “Please, just tell us what’s going on.”

  Edward rubbed his hands together and nodded. “Okay.” He frowned, maybe remembering something he’d planned to recite. “Your father made a few ill-advised decisions regarding new acquisitions. He was too stubborn to come to me until a few weeks ago. We were working through options but nothing turned around in time.”

  “Edward, please.”

  He looked at me, surprise at my interruption, making his eyes widen.

  Dani leaned forward. “Tell us already.”

  He nodded and opened his arms to us with a long pause, when all we wanted was information. “The savings accounts are depleted and both life insurance policies were canceled when Dani turned eighteen.”

  “That was just a few months ago,” Dani said, like it was her fault. “Isn’t there a way to reverse—”

  Edward shook his head.

  “There’s still the house and company, right? There has to be some money there.”

  “Last year they took out a second mortgage to pay off the debt on the company.”

  “Where . . . where does that put us?” Dani asked in a voice so small I barely heard her words.

  Edward clasped his hands in a very final way. “The good news is that there is no longer a heavy debt.”

  I closed my eyes. “I suppose there’s that.”

  Dani’s knee hadn’t stopped moving in the last ten minutes. I wanted to calm her, to tell her that we had a future. It may not be what either of us expected, but we had each other and I’d figure something out.

  I said nothing because what could I say?

  I took her hand again. There was a future for us, and in our strength, we would move forward. It was the only option left on the table.

  CHAPTER 18

  Tessa

  “Sure I can’t get you a drink as well?” Our server winked at me as he handed Sadie her mimosa. “I recommend sex on the beach. It’s sweet and can last for hours.” His low voice made it sound as if it would be a vacation in my mouth.

  Lord knew I needed a vacation.

  I still wasn’t sure what Sadie was thinking, taking me to the male version of Hooter’s. I sank a little lower in my chair. The burger and fry café nearly went under last year when the owner decided to make a drastic change. Since then, it’d made so many changes that the place was nearly unrecognizable. Usually, that wasn’t such a good thing. In this case, I could be sure Sadie thought it was the best thing ever.

  Every six or seven tables had been sectioned off with a different theme. “Sunken Pirate Ship,” where any customer could be kidnapped from their table and made to walk the plank—right into their waiter’s arms. “Western Show Down” and “Black Tie Affair” were the two sections next to us.

  And then Sadie always went for her favorite—“Red, White, and Blue”—where the men wore red suspenders, blue jeans, and work boots.

  “God bless America.” She leaned over to me. “The owners are geniuses.”

  “I’m pretty sure they hired someone to redo the place.”

  “Doesn’t change my opinion of them.”

  With an upscale hair salon on one side and a dress boutique on the other, once this place tried out its new wait staff, this area quickly became the spot for an all-day girlfriend outing.

  I averted my eyes as the man’s six-pack—in all its glory—flexed inches from my cheek. If I tilted my head, just a little, I’d have one firm and sexy pillow.

  “It’s a little early for a drink,” I said up to him, finding it difficult to see past his perfectly chiseled pecs.

  Oh. My. God. Sadie mouthed when he took the drink menu.

  He hooked his thumbs under his suspenders—which I could now see had rows of little white stars—and gave us a magazine-cover-worthy smile. “Ready to order? We have the best sausage in town. I recommend the foot long.”

  I blinked at him and Sadie choked on her mimosa.

  “Here, allow me.” He grabbed the spare napkin from our ta
ble, flipped the folds out, knelt on one knee, and dabbed her lip. With his face so close to hers, I wondered if he wasn’t about to lick the trail of OJ running down her neck.

  She put her hand on his shoulder and gave a breathy sigh when it flexed under her fingers. “I’m fine. Really . . . you should probably stop.”

  His eyes sparkled. “I’ll give you a minute to think about what you want to eat.”

  Once he was on to his next table, I shook my head. “I’m starting to wonder just what they meant by a full service restaurant.”

  Sadie leaned to the side to watch him walk through the large kitchen door. “This view is just as good.” She sat back up. “Can you believe they wear nothing but slacks to serve food?”

  “I think suspenders count as something. Did I hear a complaint somewhere in there? We could talk to the manager . . .”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, then frowned at my water. “It’s after five. Why don’t you have a drink?”

  “As in, after 5 AM? And don’t start in with that overused saying, Sadie. It’s barely after noon.”

  She shrugged. “I want to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible.” Her eyes tracked a server as he set dishes down at the table next to us. “And if we have a little eye candy in the process, all the better.” She gave the guy—I wondered if he’d used a fake ID to get the job—a full-blown Sadie smile. “A little distraction is always healthy.”

  “Oh, it’s something all right.”

  She turned to me and her smile shifted into a wicked grin. “Yes, it is.”

  As I scanned the different sections of the menu, I tried to swallow. I’d never really paid much attention to price before—except to laugh at the incredible amount some places charged for a bottle of wine, if the price was even listed. Given the unique wait staff, this place wasn’t known for its food, yet it charged eighteen dollars for a sandwich.

  I leaned over to Sadie. “Do they happen to put caviar on their club?”

  “Gross.” She made a face like she’d just eaten a mouthful of rotten fish eggs, then sighed. “I didn’t even think about cost when I suggested this place. Not used to thinking about keeping the price down with you.”

  At a table in the Black Tie Affair section, a waiter bent over to let one of the women adjust his tie. She pulled him to her and planted her lips right on his cheek. He walked away with a firm print of canary red slapped on his cheek.

  “There were . . . other things I had on my mind choosing this place and I thought a good dose of other things might help you, too.”

  I laughed. “I can see that.”

  “How are you doing, anyway?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Cut the bullshit. I get it that you use that canned response on everyone else, but I’m not everyone else. So let me ask you again. Tessa, how are you doing?”

  “Sadie—” Part of me wanted to come back with a smart-ass remark, to prove in every way—maybe even to myself— that I really was okay. But there was no level of okay when you lost your parents just over a week ago. “What the hell am I supposed to say?”

  “You’re supposed to say what’s really going on with you. I’m your best friend, so don’t treat me like I’m some stranger who doesn’t know what you’re going through.”

  Sadie sure had her own way about things. I sighed and figured it would be good to talk through all this. “We’re still going through the financials, but as it looks, the company I’m supposed to take over years from now is barely profitable.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “Dad blew through all his accounts—even his personal—on some new acquisitions. Edward said they were both sure profits would double, if not triple, over the next few years. But there’s no way it’s going to happen without him.”

  “The cars? The house?”

  I shook my head. “Thanks to the timing, there just isn’t anything for Dani and me to live on.”

  “Damn.” Sadie blew out a breath. “How’s she doing with all this?”

  This talk made me wish I had gone for that drink after all. I took a sip of water, needing something for my dry throat. “You know, she was always closer to Mom. Dani’s about to get out on her own, but she still turned to Mom all the time. I remember my first year away from home was the hardest but I could stop by Dad’s office anytime. Then, I had the internship. Dani doesn’t have any of that now.”

  “She has you.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not the same.”

  “We all have to take our own walk around life. So what if hers is going to be a little different than yours? Walk with her or something.” The wicked grin returned. “Just give her some sweet eye candy as you window shop.”

  “Is that calendar quotes, Sadie style?”

  “You got it.”

  Our waiter stopped by to fill up my water. We pointed out our food choices and I never thought a ten-dollar side salad would hurt so much.

  Sadie handed him our menus. “She’ll have what I’m having.”

  “No I won’t.”

  “Yes you will, because I’m buying. Now, don’t you wish you’d ordered that drink?”

  I grunted my thanks then frowned. “I can’t keep living like this.”

  “You won’t,” Sadie said. “I know that you’ve only ever worked at your dad’s company, but you’re a hard enough worker that anyone would be lucky to have you.”

  “I don’t know if I’m ready to do finance right now. Besides, any company I go to will want a six month minimum internship.”

  “But you’ve already done that.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Why pay for someone freshly out of college when you can get them for free?”

  “Jerks.”

  “Welcome to the business world.” I sighed. “I need to find something for Dani and me to live on in the meantime.” I took another sip of water. “You don’t seem near as concerned with money as you used to.”

  “Liam pays really well. One of the best in the business for anything not high fashion. He’s loaded thanks to his family’s company, and I mean loaded.” She gave a sour face. “Oh sorry, didn’t think that one through.”

  “Didn’t take it that way.”

  Sadie nodded. “Anyway, if he likes you, the work’s pretty consistent.”

  “Are you trying to sell me on modeling or on him?”

  She gave me that same grin, making me wonder if this place delivered more eye candy than she could handle. “You need money right now and you’ve got the body for it. I’m pretty sure Liam’s noticed.”

  I crossed my legs. When I was younger, I’d been self-conscious about how long my legs were. Even now, dresses were miniskirts on me. Most pants ended above my ankles. Some things weren’t easy to change perspective on.

  Over the last year, Sadie had bugged me to model a couple times, but I never seriously considered it. After work and school, if I had free time, it would be to do something fun—and I barely remembered what “fun” looked like. It wasn’t like I needed the money.

  At least, I didn’t used to.

  “I have a shoot scheduled tomorrow with Liam. Come with me.”

  I picked up my glass, drank the last bit of water and said, “He hasn’t called me since the funeral and that was days ago. Maybe asking him to come was a little much.”

  “Not with the way he looks at you every time he sees you. Trust me. You’re good. I know it’s not numbers, but look at it as adding a bit of variety to your career.”

  “Shouldn’t we let him know that I’m coming or something? I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”

  “Trust me, if anything, you’d be a distraction. One I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind.”

  Our waiter set down our dishes. “Two fettuccines with extra cream sauce.”

  Sadie smiled. “Distractions can be a very good thing.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Liam

  “Blue, red . . . Sadie’s doing pink again today.” I frowned at the screen, trying to
picture the rainbow and what color I’d missed. The screen of half-naked women blurred. “Gotta keep better records and get more sleep, apparently.” Rubbing my face, I groaned, needing to slip back into work mode before Sadie arrived. At least, I thought Sadie was today. I double-checked the calendar. “Wednesday, check.” I groaned again. “I’m even talking to myself.”

  The downward stress spiral had begun.

  “Better make it official.” I reached for the takeout bag, going for another slider, only to find it empty. My stomach expected another bite and growled in protest. Crushing the bag between my hands gave me a small sense of pleasure until my palms came away covered in grease. “Dammit.” Before thinking about it, I smeared a trail of hamburger and onion juice across my mouse.

  This whole ICE thing really brought out all my vices. Except for sex. And that was the one thing I could really use right about now. Hot, frisky sex.

  Sure, I had a number of models I could call up, but seeing where things went with Tessa came first. The more I thought about her, the more Paisley seemed to call. Reality had its cruel way of twisting things around to bite you in the ass.

  I didn’t even bother scanning through the black corset pictures. Paisley wore two different styles and I skipped right past them. She’d left another message this morning before seven. Who messaged anyone that early and expected a response? At least this time I had an excuse for not answering. It was one thing to contact me about a shoot but she’d started calling on days we weren’t even scheduled. The woman was crazy. Certifiably so.

  I clicked on a row of her shots and debated what to do. Paisley wore corsets like they were invented for her. I’d give her that much. Anyone looking at the dynamic curves in her figure would guess she waist trained, and maybe she did. Hell if I knew, and I certainly didn’t plan to get to know her well enough to ask. But whatever it was, she was doing something right to get me the shots I wanted.