The Director (Hollywood Nights)

by North, Cara

  “Old enough,” Bailey answered.

  “That means younger than thirty.” Shay nodded as Bailey frowned. Of course she was just a kid. “Is it possible that he looks at you more like a little sister and less like a love interest? Maybe, just maybe, he thinks about you every time he sees that picture, but not the way you want him to?”

  Her little leg started swinging. Her arms crossed. She was thinking. Putting things together in a way she probably hadn’t considered before. Shay continued, “I understand. I was your age once. I liked guys that unintentionally or intentionally led me on. I had a professor I thought was the best thing since sliced bread because he gave me all sorts of positive attention, never sexual, but my brain didn’t register that until he announced one day he was getting married.”

  Bailey stopped swinging her leg and said, “Yeah, but right before this last assignment I had a date. I told him the guy was taking me to the Iron Kitchen, you know, that show where the chefs compete and the audience gets to eat the food and judge it. Well when I told him that, Jed said, and I quote, ‘I’m jealous’.”

  Of course he was, but not for the reason she thought. “In five years, your boss, Jed, the man who has a chef’s kitchen custom made for this condo, tells you he is jealous that your date is taking you to a show where chefs compete and the audience eats, and you take that one comment to mean he is jealous of the guy not jealous of where you were going?”

  Shay might as well have slapped her for the expression on Bailey’s face. She started thinking, putting it together, and with a trembling lip said, “Kid. He always calls me kid. I thought it was a term of endearment, but…”

  “Awe, Bailey, it is. Just not the one you want it to be.” Shay sighed. It was tough to be twenty-something, a knockout, and in love with a good man that didn’t love you back. She didn’t envy Bailey.

  “I…have to go. I need to think about this. I don’t know if I can keep working. I mean…I’m embarrassed, humiliated, such a fool…” She stood and started for the door. Shay winced as Bailey lifted the painting and looked at the ring of keys on a nail behind it. She put it back where it came from and then left sobbing.

  ***

  Jed heard the door shut harder than necessary and figured things did not go too well. He wasn’t sure what was eating at Bailey today. She was acting weird. He thought she might have needed some girl talk, but apparently that didn’t work out either. He looked up as Shay entered the office. He pushed back in the chair and rolled it away from the desk. “How’d it go?”

  “Why did you make me break that little girl’s heart?” Shay propped her hands on her generous hips and frowned at him. Her green eyes pinned him.

  “Ah, crap,” he grumbled. “I guess she is a lot lesbian. I wasn’t really sure, but suspected. That explains all the questions about you though.”

  “Jed!” Shay’s eyes widened. “She is not a lesbian! She is in love with you!”

  He heard the words but couldn’t really process them. It didn’t make sense. Bailey was a whopping twenty-five years old. She rarely talked about men, she always talked to him about women, noticed every woman coming and going that even remotely caught his eye. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  Shay softened towards him. Her look turned from angry to sympathetic. She made a slight laughing sound and walked towards him. He extended a hand and she took it. He pulled her to his lap and hugged her as she placed her head on his chest. She sat like that a moment then lifted up to talk to him.

  She explained, “She is in love with you. She’s been waiting for you to notice her the way you noticed me.”

  “I’ve never noticed anyone the way I notice you,” he admitted.

  Shay pushed her hand through his hair and said, “She’s heartbroken. She’s a young woman, and a man like you could make anyone fall in love.”

  “A man like me?”

  “Yes,” she said and put her head back on his chest. He held her close and listened. “You’re kind, generous, funny, and you really don’t know how you affect people Jed Gunner.”

  “I guess not,” he admitted. “She’s a good kid, loyal, trustworthy. There has to be a mistake. She’s like a little sister; a tiny little Janice with crazy hair, and clothes that are too bright to look straight at.”

  Shay giggled. Then she said it, “I love you.”

  His heart slammed into his chest and he wasn’t sure if he heard her right. He was afraid he didn’t hear her correctly so he didn’t respond. He just squeezed her tighter and held on.

  Later…

  “Babe,” he called as he entered the bedroom. She wasn’t in there, but the bathroom door was closed. He touched the knob. It was locked. He really didn’t understand what her deal was with the bathroom. He grew up in a house where taking a leak did not constitute a closed door.

  He remembered running to his mother as a toddler when he scrapped his hands or cut his knees. He remembered vividly the time both of his siblings were arguing in the bathroom while the poor woman tried to shower, Jonas age four pulling on one end of Janice’s favorite doll and Janice at age six on the other. He was eleven. They were screaming, crying, and slapping at one another. He had just walked in from soccer practice and he had to round them up and drag them out before she strangled them.

  He laughed. Okay, so maybe it was just a mom thing. They stopped ruining her bathroom time when they were older, at least he and Jonas did. He’d have to ask his siblings if this was a real issue. Of course they minded manners in public places, but home was the place to be comfortable, real. He hadn’t lived with anyone but family unless he was on assignment. Most of his assignments were around other men. No one paid any attention to those details.

  Shay found him in the kitchen as he prepped for dinner. She had taken a nap after Bailey left. Bailey had sent him a text a few hours later asking if she was fired. He had to ask, “Did you fire her?”

  “Who?”

  “Bailey. She sent me a text asking if she was fired.” He tasted the sauce.

  “No,” Shay frowned.

  “Do you want me to fire her?” He placed the pot with the finished sauce in it on the back burner of the stove.

  “Of course not.” She frowned at him. “She’s embarrassed. She’ll get over it.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. She seemed a bit off. A bit cranky.

  “Ugh! I got my period. I was hoping I could skip it, but I forgot to take the other pill and now it’s here, and I just feel…evil.”

  He had forgotten all about that part of a woman’s life. It explained why she wasn’t disappointed the week he couldn’t catch up with her when they were back in California. Timing was everything and after thinking back, he realized her timing had been pretty perfect to avoid this whole scene until now, when it was unavoidable.

  “Should you be messing with the sequence of that stuff? I read somewhere that the older women are the more likely they are to have complications from birth control. Higher risks of all sorts of things.” He focused on the final details of preparing dinner.

  “Like pregnancy?” she quipped.

  “I…” he started and then stopped. “Well, when you put it that way.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Do you want kids?” Now was as good a time as any. He figured there were a lot of things they needed to cover and if he learned anything from his younger siblings it was that talking about this stuff in advance was better than finding it out when it was too late.

  “I don’t know,” Shay shrugged. “I don’t know what kind of mom I would be.”

  “You don’t?” He frowned at her. This woman had taken care of him when he was sick with the flu. Surely that was an indication of what kind of mom she would be.

  She shrugged and said, “I’ve never really had to think about it. I mean when I was a little girl I used to think that I would grow up, get married, have two kids, a dog, a cat, and a big house where I could entertain and…well. I got older, and the idea of prince charming c
oming along to sweep my up off of my feet…just.”

  He tried not to let his feelings get hurt as she explained herself.

  “Then I met you,” she said.

  His bruised ego began to mend itself a little bit. “And?”

  “And…I don’t know. I mean some parts of this seems as easy as breathing. My feelings for you are just…there, undeniable, indescribable.” Realizing he hadn’t disclosed his thoughts she added, “What about you?”

  “So much of this has seemed impossible to me for so long. I had given up on finding someone to love much less thinking about the rest of it.” He picked up the pan and shook it, easily causing the items inside to slide up, out, and flip back into the pan. He sat it down and turned the burner off. Dinner was done, but this conversation couldn’t wait another minute. He looked at her and said, “You just started your career. I wouldn’t want you to give that up.”

  “I’ve been an extra and I was the lead in a movie that never had more than ten takes.” She looked at him. He took a few steps towards her. She started again but he cut her off.

  “Shhh.” He put his finger up to her lips. “Let me finish. I wouldn’t want you to give anything up. When you made the comment to Jonas that he and Frankie would have gorgeous babies, I naturally wondered what our kids would look like. It doesn’t mean we have to have them. I’m not getting any younger, and I want to spend my time with you. I don’t want to launch right in to baby-making, but it would be okay if it happened.”

  She nodded. “I don’t want to sound like a bad person for saying I’m not sure I want them. I think they are adorable, but I just don’t know. I’m pretty high maintenance myself.”

  “I don’t mind,” he said as he wrapped her into a hug. He didn’t which surprised him the most. He was generally annoyed by all the fuss women made over every little thing. She took an hour to pick an outfit to wear around the house. Without make-up, like she was now, didn’t mean she was without moisturizer or whatever it was she had in those tubes and jars. Her routines were interesting to learn about. “I guess what we need to decide is whether or not you would be okay if it happened. If you definitely do not want kids, I can always have the procedure done to ensure that it doesn’t.”

  “No,” she said and gripped him harder suddenly. “Don’t do that.”

  He swatted her butt and said, “Then it’s settled. Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”

  Chapter 14

  A few months later…

  Shay was nervous, excited, and ready to walk out the door when he walked in. She watched as his eyes opened wider. He took in the outfit she was wearing. She tried to remain serious as he cleared his throat and asked, “Where ya off to, Babe?”

  “I have an audition off Broadway in forty-five minutes.” She bit her lower lip and waited.

  “Does Alex know what you are wearing?” he asked cautiously.

  She was enjoying this. He was trying hard not to tell her she looked ridiculous. “Yes.”

  “He does?” His genuine surprise made her laugh.

  “What? What’s wrong with it?” she teased.

  “Oh.” He put his hand up and grabbed the back of his own neck and rubbed. “Well, nothing. It’s just…quite an outfit you got there. I uh…can I tag along? I needed to go that way today too.”

  She was wearing a pretty gaudy number. Something she would have worn in the past, but overdone. She stood out, like she used to, for all the wrong reasons. Fortunately, that was what the character did too.

  “Are you afraid someone is going to mug me?” She asked. Deep down inside she was a little worried about that too.

  “What?” He said loudly. He made a pshh sound and said, “No. I know you can take care of yourself. I just…you know…What’s the role?”

  She laughed out loud now. He was adorable. “Come on. Come with me. I didn’t even put it all on. I have more in my bag, but I won’t have time to change so I had to go as ready as possible.”

  “Well, let’s go.” He opened the door.

  By the time they got into the cab he was pretty fired up. “Jed.”

  “I don’t like how they were looking at you.” He grumbled. He closed the door to the cab and glared at the guy driving practically daring him to say something. “I mean I know what you look like. I know your boobs are more out than in right now, but still.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, your hoodie is in the bag. I brought it to put on after. I can’t mess up my hair and make-up before.” She touched his hand and he grumbled again. “If you’ll be a good sport about this I promise to make it up to you.”

  He harrumphed.

  “Anything you want,” she whispered in his ear and he turned to look at her.

  “Anything?”

  She gulped. She knew that look. She nodded.

  He took a deep ragged breath and asked, “How long will this take?”

  She laughed.

  ***

  Shay was called and notified she had the lead in the Off Broadway play Shopaholic before they had even returned to the scene of her impending debt to be paid. Jed barely shut the door before saying, “Put on the black one and bring out the box.”

  Shay had thought the happy, charming man that had just moments ago celebrated her success was going to be the one to cash in on the debt. Not so. She shivered. It had been a while since they had tested new limits. She anxiously moved to the bedroom.

  Between the ten minute episodes they had created what seemed like a million of, his side projects, and her new venture into producing women’s undergarments meant for formal wear, they had been quite a busy couple.

  Shay looked at herself in the mirror. She had worn this particular outfit once before. The black lace did a nice job of concealing and revealing her flesh in all the right places. The garter and thigh highs reminded her of how he had taken his time removing them. She wondered if he would take his time tonight or if he was simply wound up and ready to release. He wanted the box. Not a particular item from it, but the whole thing.

  She stepped out of the walk-in closet and looked at the devil lying in the bed buck naked. He smiled and asked, “You put the panties on over?”

  She didn’t think he would notice right away. She had so she could keep the rest on longer. She nodded.

  He crooked his finger in a ‘come here’ motion. She moved to the foot of the bed and sat the box on the edge. Jed was always distracting with his lean, strong, and always satisfying body. They both worked out at a gym to prevent the weight from packing on.

  He had softened a little in a few places, but so had she. His abs were still there, still defined, but not rock hard. She liked them better the way they were now. He cooked like he belonged on a chef show and she was always too tempted by the meals to exercise control over portions.

  Her heart was thrumming in her chest, tapping out the tune it played just for him, just for these occasions. She asked, “What do you want from the box?”

  “Funny,” he winked. “That’s the same thing I was going to ask you.”

  “I thought this was anything you wanted.” She opened the box and looked inside at the selection of naughty toys and accessories there.

  “It is,” he whispered. “I’m giving control of it, all of it, over to you. You give it to me all the time. I’ve spanked you, tied you up, tied you down, put my dick in every available opening, and you have let me. Now, it’s all up to you. What I do to you or you do to me. It’s your call, Babe. I trust you.”

  A warm feeling slipped over her from head to toe. She hadn’t considered this. He was a natural leader and she loved to follow him. “So I can spank you?”

  “Yep.” He said easily.

  “Tie you up?”

  “Okay.”

  She touched the tube of lubricant in the box and wickedly asked, “And put something in every available opening.”

  He thought about that for a long minute. They were in a stare off. His blue eyes locked with her green ones. She tried not to be the o
ne to blink first.

  He took a breath and said, “If that’s what you want.”

  She pulled out the tube of lubricant so he could see it. She placed it in between her breasts so it could get warm. He gulped. His Adam’s apple bobbed. He said with a little more caution, “Be nice to me.”

  Her fingers touched the tip of his toes. He moved them against the tips of her fingers. She slid them over the tops of his feet and climbed onto the bed as she slid her hands up his shins, his thighs, and then onto his abs as she avoided his cock completely. She straddled him and leaned in to kiss his lips. He had shaved that morning. She was getting used to variety of looks the man offered. She liked them all. He kept the beard or some variation of it most of the time. She let her tongue slide out of his mouth and asked, “Why did you shave?”

  Her fingers slid along his jawline.

  “Vegas. I don’t want you to have to worry about how I look next to you.”

  She could feel her eyes round wide. “Jed! Did you do that for me?”

  “Of course I did,” he smiled. “I only do it for you. I hate shaving.”

  “I like you scruffy. It’s sexy.”

  “I knew there was a reason I…”

  “Say it.” She could feel the sparks run through her. He didn’t have to use terrible words to say nice things to her anymore. She wanted to hear him say the nice things too. She believed he saw well beyond the surface of her existence.

  “I love you.”

  “Tell me how you see me.” She sat up and looked down at him.

  “Really?”

  She nodded.

  He reached up and cupped her cheek with his palm and said, “I see your eyes and they speak directly to my soul. I see your lips and sigh because I know they are magical. I see your body and feel blessed I have the privilege to touch it, taste it…”

  She was liquid, every part of her body heated and melted under his touch, his words, his gaze. She turned her head to kiss his palm. He let his hand slide down her neck, over her shoulder and then he brought both of his hands to rest on his chest. He whispered, “Sneaky.”