by SM Olivier
Jace laid a hand on my lower back. “Let’s see what the delusional diva wants.”
“So, help me,” I muttered angrily. “Woo Sa,” I breathed deeply. “If this wasn’t Troy’s company and his name wasn’t on the line, I think I would use every word in the book Non-Pops Approved.”
“Relax,” he assured me. “If she crosses the line one more time, I’ll speak to her.”
As Jace reassured me, I saw Troy rounding the corner of the mansion. He beat us to her. He was wearing his game face, the one he wore before he entered the ring, readying to go a few rounds.
“I’m not sure if you got a chance to read our contract, Jen. The contract you signed before we signed your contract,” he said with deadly calm. “In the contract, we made it quite clear that none, and I mean none of our people would be talked down to. I’m confused why you are yelling and talking down to my employee and belittling her in front of everyone. Has she done something wrong? Is she not doing her job? Even if she was, you were to come to Leo, not address her directly.”
“Are you threatening me?” she asked him with narrowed eyes.
“No, ma’am, I’m just reminding you what you signed. If you fail to uphold your end of the bargain, we will pull our whole team, and we will be collecting our payment in full,” Troy stated coolly.
“I will be calling your owner directly. You have no right to talk to me in that manner. I was just trying to get the girl’s attention. You will be staying, or I will be suing you, the owner, and everyone in your team,” she answered scathingly, making air quotes on that last part.
Troy continued to talk to her in an almost bored tone, and I could see it was only raising her ire even more so. “Ma’am, I am the owner and you can threaten my team and me all you want, but in the end, I have my lawyers on standby and my contract is ironclad.”
“I can have you blackballed in our scene. You would never be able to work here or anywhere near here ever again. Is one employee really worth your whole company and your livelihood?” she snapped at him.
Troy crossed his arms over your chest. “You can try, but I have a client list a mile long that continue to recommend us. We have references from several reputable congressmen, politicians, musicians, actors…need I continue? There’s a reason I have a successful company, I have great people working for me and I, in turn, treat them the way they should be treated.”
“Relax, Jen.” Mark Holmes came out of the house. It was clear that he had been standing there for some time. “I apologize for my fiancés…behavior, Mr. Ricci.” He held out his hand. “She’s a little tense, you know how that is. You and I’ve worked together before, you know we’ve never had any issues.” He seemed to be silently communicating with Troy as he gave him a pointed look. “I would really like it if you were to stay.”
Mark’s attention then turned to me. I didn’t like the way his eyes roved over me—made my skin crawl. “I apologize Ms. I requested Jennifer to see if you could guide our guests into the house once you check the guest list. It’s cooler inside, and after the night you had, I figured you’d like the reprieve.”
I looked over at Troy, and he looked back at me. I knew he was giving me the final say whether we stayed or left. Even though I knew it wouldn’t affect his company, I still didn’t feel right not fulfilling our obligations over one high-strung diva. That, and I really needed to figure out who Otto was. “If you can lead the way,” I said somewhat stiffly.
Mark smiled at me and we went inside the house, which was just as ostentatious as the outside. I would have hired an interior decorator or fired the one who designed this mess.
“Your services aren’t necessary,” Mark frowned at Jace who had followed.
“After last night’s incident, the company has created a partnership policy. We are required to work in pairs,” Jace said staidly.
Mark frowned again. “If it’s company policy, far be it from me to go against it.”
“Shoot me now,” I muttered as we sat behind the podium on stools. I felt like a glorified hostess as I verified the name on the list to the picture beside it.
“No thank you, I already went through that harrowing experience last night,” Jace said sardonically.
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “Didn’t think that one through.”
I continued to flip through the book, hoping I had missed something. Eva was in there, and she was currently here. Her mystery date, however, was unnamed and absent.
“I know he agreed to accompany her,” I muttered as I placed my head on the podium.
Just then, another couple came through the door. I had to stop myself from gaping. I knew these people. They were both well-known actors.
“They’re expecting you,” I stated with a smile, quickly recovering from my awe. “If you can follow me.”
“What, no garish pink outfit for you?” Ralph James smirked as he followed me.
I barely contained my snort of laughter, instead tried to carefully school my features. Apparently, he knew Jen enough to know her taste. I had just passed by her servers a few moments ago, and they were all dressed in pink—outrageously short pink outfits for the females and pink sleeveless button-ups for the males.
“I’m part of the security detail, so our uniforms aren’t quite that…interesting,” I tried to say with a straight face.
Bianca White smiled at me with a conspiratorial look. “How very diplomatic of you,” she paused and looked at me. “Were you perchance the girl who saved Anna Black last night?”
I looked at her and inwardly sighed. I had been asked that question at least a dozen times. “I am,” I said concisely, bating my breath for the next inevitable question.
“A little badass, are you?” Ralph smirked at me. “Ever think about becoming a stunt double? I know plenty of directors that would love to give you a job. I don’t know many people that would take a bullet one day, then show up to work the next.”
I breathed a sigh of relief that he didn’t say what I expected him to.
I laughed in surprise at this. “I don’t think so. I enjoy the job I’m currently doing.”
“She’s too pretty to be behind the scenes, honestly,” Bianca stated as we got to the French doors. “She belongs in front of the camera. I bet the camera loves you. Do you have any acting experience?”
I smiled and shook my head. “Thanks, but I like the dreams that are more obtainable,” I said.
Bianca laughed once more. “It is the city where most dreams die,” she said ruefully.
Ralph gave me an authentic smile. “If you can say a little prayer for us, that would be appreciated,” he murmured as he pointedly looked at one of the servers that had just passed.
Bianca began to laugh. “Stop it, Ralph,” she halfheartedly reprimanded him.
“It was great meeting you,” he said before he turned back to Bianca. “Who even knew that shade of pink existed? It reminds me of Pepto Bismol. You know Jen has hideous taste,” Ralph muttered as he walked away.
“It was great meeting you, too,” I called at their retreating backs.
As the number of guests grew,. it amazed me to watch Jen’s transformation. She had a Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hide complex. She was nothing but smiles and pleasantries now. Little did her guests know, she had been an evil monster not thirty minutes ago. She completely ignored me and the others on the security detail, but the rest of the staff weren’t spared from her wrath. She became increasingly hideous as the party neared. It wasn’t until her first guest arrived that she became this sweet, outgoing woman.
I had to hide my own smile as I went back towards the podium in the inside foyer. I was thankful I was spared from her disgusting two-faced behavior as the party went on.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Lincoln Hudgens stood at the doors and scowled at me just as I got back to the podium.
Jace stood up behind me as if he were silently showing Lincoln his support for me.
“I would think it was obvious,” I scoffed, no
t caring about the façade I had been wearing earlier. “Working.”
I sat on my stool and started to flip through the guest list, pretending like I hadn’t seen his picture listed there. I looked over at Jace and saw his small smile.
“Is he on the guest list?” he asked, knowing full well that he was.
“He is,” I confirmed.
“Excellent, you can follow me,” Jace stated indicating the back of the house.
“Who the hell goes to work the day after they get shot?” Lincoln bit out.
I blinked up at him. “I guess someone that has excellent work ethics,” I shrugged my one good shoulder. “It was just a graze.”
“I saw the blood,” Lincoln said with determination, his bluish green eyes shooting fire at me. “I’m well aware of the severity of your injuries, but regardless, you shouldn’t be here so soon after something like that.”
“Thanks, by the way,” I said facetiously. “Is that what you wanted to hear? I was drinking and it contributed to most of the blood loss. I didn’t even need a transfusion,” I stated with a deadpan look.
I really didn’t know why I was acting so hostile towards him. His intervention may have even saved my life, for all we know. There was just something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. He was arrogant and made me feel young and inexperienced. I hated being underestimated.
“No thanks were needed,” Lincoln said austerely. “I just don’t understand a company that will allow a young girl like you to return to work less than twelve hours after you were shot. Are you that hard up on money or are you that reckless? Either way, I think you lack a lot of common sense.”
I immediately bristled under his scathing tone. I really couldn’t wait to leave this city. Too many people had a high opinion of themselves and talked to anyone whichever way they pleased.
“The happily engaged couple is waiting this way,” Jace bit out once more. He, too, was probably losing patience with his air of superiority.
“Linky!” a high-pitched feminine voice squealed from the back door.
I heard laughter to my left at the same time I turned to see who was attached to such an annoying voice. I watched as Noah and Troy came down the stairs laughing. Then I watched them freeze as their eyes went in the direction of the back doors.
I turned and saw Eva wrapping possessive arms around Lincoln Hudgens.
I didn’t realize I groaned aloud as I slammed my head down on the podium with an audible thud.
Chapter 9
“Troy, Noah,” Eva said with a saccharine sweet smile as she disengaged herself from Lincoln’s arms.
“Eva,” they said simultaneously with equally blank expressions.
“Long time no see.” She sashayed forward in obscenely high heels and a white dress that hugged her figure like a second skin.
“It has been,” Troy said coolly.
“You boys working this gig?” Eva cooed.
“We are,” Noah stated as she embraced him.
He gave her a stiff and brief hug before stepping back from her.
“What do you think?” she purred as she turned slowly.
“You’ve changed,” Troy said noncommittedly.
She let out an annoying tinkling laugh, then turned to embrace Troy next.
I didn’t even feel any jealousy as she draped herself across him. One, she was so obviously fake, and I knew the guys couldn’t stand girls like her now. Two, I had more significant issues running through my head.
I really hoped—prayed—that Lincoln wasn’t the one that I had been jumping, my last connected. I looked over at him. He almost seemed bored as he watched Eva openly flirt with Troy and Noah.
I scrutinized him further. He did have the bronze skin I had seen in my jumps.
I was brought out of my musings as Eva stepped away from Noah and Troy. “Are you guys in town for long?”
Troy looked at me with concern. My head was off the podium, but I’m sure I was the exact shade of white as my shirt. “We’re not certain yet.”
“We should catch up, then,” Eva enthused.
“We’ll see,” Troy said vaguely.
I knew he had no intentions of ‘catching up’. There was a reason he had blocked her number and stopped responding to her. He had no interest in her then or now. No amount of semi-fame would change his mind. The poor woman just didn’t realize that.
“Let’s go, Linky,” she said exuberantly as she grabbed his arm and started to drag him back towards the party.
I felt like my whole body was shaking with nerves as I pulled out my phone. Our contract prohibited the use of cell phones, but I could care less right now. My life was being turned upside down once again.
“What are you doing?” Jace asked as I pulled out my phone.
It was clear the guys had come to the same conclusion I did. They looked as happy about the revelation as I was.
“Google knows everything,” I muttered as I typed in Lincoln Hudgens in my search engine. He flashed up on my screen. The picture staring back at me was of him with a smile softening his austere features. He looked warm and welcoming. I could imagine now why Jemmy was fooled by his charming smile if this was all she had to go by. I clicked on the images button and began to scroll up.
He was a well-known movie actor and had posed for several magazines. He’d recently gotten an endorsement from a car manufacturer. There had to be one picture of him posing half naked. Preferably his top half. A man that spent that much time on his physique had to take pride in it. He struck me as a man that would show the world his dedication to his body.
It took me less than thirty seconds to find a picture of him in black and white. He was wearing a pair of low-slung jeans with his boxer shorts sticking out as he bit on one of his thumbs. His other hand was hooked in one of his pockets. He was looking at the camera with sultry bedroom eyes, and even though the picture was in black and white, his eyes still looked light and compelling. I groaned and gasped simultaneously as I saw the unmistakable ꞃ on his chest, right above his heart.
“Now what?” I asked glumly as we came into my hotel room.
“I guess we can find out where he lives and pay him a visit,” Noah stated as he embraced me and pulled me down onto my bed.
“That may be easier said than done,” Remy said tersely as he took a seat on my couch.
I took a deep breath and pulled out my phone, knowing who probably knew where he lived. My fingers hovered over my keyboard as I contemplated what I should write.
“I already have it,” Troy stated as he walked into the room. “It helps knowing people. Now we can take turns watching the house. It’s a bit complicated since he’s behind gates. When he’s alone, we can send Blake in.”
“By herself?” Remy asked slightly agitated.
“I really don’t think he’ll appreciate it if we all roll up in there,” Jace said firmly.
“I don’t think he’ll appreciate me rolling up there by myself,” I muttered. “I kind of pushed back when he was so…arrogant earlier.”
“What do you want us to do? We don’t have to go through with this. We can continue our lives as normal people,” Jaxson said as he sat down on the other side of me with a deep sigh.
“We already discussed this,” Drake said resolutely. “She’s weak. We have no clue what would happen if our connection was severed. She goes down for a day, sometimes days. Who knows what will happen to her when her gift finally leaves her?”
“I’ve been having issues with my limbs,” Noah said into the quiet room. “It’s starting to physically affect me, too. This morning I couldn’t even take a shower without holding onto the handicap bar. It took me over an hour just to wash.”
I stared at him in shock as I rolled over onto my uninjured side and embraced him. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Noah snorted in a self-deprecating way. “Me losing control of my limbs paled in comparison to you getting shot in your weakened state.”
“My visions going,” Drake a
dded softly into the stunned room. “I thought it might be just my prescriptions, and I have an appointment with an ophthalmologist today, but I know it’s not going to be a prescription issue. I know it has to do with my gift. Our gifts.”
“I’ll take you to your appointment, when is it?” Jace asked solemnly.
Drake looked down at his watch, and he stared at it for an inordinate amount of time. My heart sank when I realized he was having difficulty seeing the hands on his watch. He looked up ruefully. “Five o’clock.”
“You can’t see your watch, can you?” Remy asked as he leaned forward in his seat.
Drake shook his head a lock of his ash blonde hair falling over his forehead. “It comes and goes, and right now it went. At first, it occasionally happened; now it's increasing in its frequency.”
“Anyone else?” I asked with trepidation, looking around the room.
Remy, Troy, Jace, and Jaxson shook their heads. I took a deep shuddering breath in as I closed my eyes, hoping to draw strength from Noah’s arms. It was one thing for us to decide to continue life without our gifts. It was an entirely different thing when it started affecting all of us.
“Who’s going to do surveillance on the house first?” Jaxson inquired decisively.
“I’m going to go with whoever goes, every time. I’ll sleep in the van if I have to,” I pronounced definitively.
“Leo’s on his way with two more vehicles,” Troy stated looking up from his phone. “Jace, you can use one and the other one will be for the rest of you if you need it. I’ll take the first shift. We’ll grab some snacks, food, and drinks on the way,” Troy said as he stood up. “I’m going to change out of this, and I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”
“Would you like to get changed, too?” Jace asked Drake standing up. “What ophthalmologist are you going to? We should probably get going.”
“It’s saved in my phone,” Drake claimed. “And that would be great.”
“Do you need help going to your room?” Jace inquired.
Drake grimaced. “It’ll probably be a good idea.”