LIE (Right Men Book 1)

by Mayra Statham

  He wasn’t sure what he had expected when it came to her reaction the moment he shared his plans. Silence had sure as shit not been it. He watched her look toward the turned-off TV, her profile clear in his view when her tongue peeked out and licked the side of her top lip. He held in a groan. Fuck. He needed to get laid. He’d given up easy pussy for way too long.

  “I…” she started to speak but shook her head and looked at him, and he knew he wasn’t going to like whatever she was thinking about sharing. “Mr. Wright, I don’t think Beyond the Stars—”

  “Don't finish that sentence.” He put his hands out, interrupting her. “Let me do this the right way. Meet me up tomorrow. We will have a casual business meeting. How does that sound? Do you know where the Ritz-Carlton is in downtown L.A.?”

  “Yeah,” she cautiously answered him, and he stood up, his nerves subsiding. She was a sweet piece, but he had to remember why he was here. “Let’s meet at noon. We can have lunch. I’ll get us a cabana by the pool where we can talk business. How does that sound?”

  “Umm…” He had caught her off guard, which was good. He could use her confusion to buy him some time. She stood too, bewilderment written on her pretty face.

  “Around noon?”

  “Umm, what?”

  “Noon. Ritz-Carlton downtown, off of Olympic, the rooftop pool.”

  “Wait, no, Lexi gets out at one,” she blurted out, and he stopped before reaching the door.

  “Lexi?”

  “My daughter.” Daughter? His chest felt constricted as his eyes landed on a cute picture of her and a little girl with big, green eyes and soft, brown hair in two braids. Not niece like he’d hoped, but her daughter. Looking at them again, he should have seen it. They had the same bright smile.

  “Daughter?”

  “Yeah. Look, it’s really sweet you’ve read—”

  “Maybe your husband can pick her up,” he blurted, not liking the weird anger and feeling of loss he was suddenly bombarded with.

  “I’m not married.” She scowled, and he raised an eyebrow.

  “Your boyfriend then.”

  “Strike two.” Her attitude made him want her even more, but he had no chance with her. Not that he would be able to go there. This had to be business.

  “Her dad then. I’ll see you—” he snapped, needing to get out of there suddenly.

  “That's unlikely, seeing as he has never been a part of her life and I doubt he will magically start now,” she snapped, and he turned to her. His eyes fell on the picture again then and moved back to the beauty in front of him; he couldn’t comprehend it.

  Who in their right mind not only left a woman who looked like her, but their kid?

  “Look, Mr. Wright.” The tense way she said his name didn’t feel right.

  “Marcus,” he remarked a little louder than he’d wanted.

  “What?”

  “Call me Marcus or Marc.” He took a deep breath and stepped in closer, mere inches away from her. He liked the way she looked up at him. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, not a freaking drop, and she was fucking beautiful. Those damn dark eyes lined with dark lashes made them sultry, and he wanted to know what it would be like to have them look at him from beneath him, or on top of him, or in front of him. Her mouth...

  “Marc,” she breathed. He fucking loved her calling him Marc instead of Marcus. Something about the tone of her voice made him step in even closer, his hand on her jaw.

  “I don’t like being called Mr. Wright,” he admitted. Her face softened.

  “Why?”

  “The double entendre is irritating. Always has been. Ask my brothers.” He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Something about the small smile and this moment between them made the air grow warmer around them.

  “Marc, I’m not sure that Beyond the Stars is for sale.” She broke the spell, her warm hand pulling at his wrist. He moved it away from touching her face. What the fuck was his problem?

  “We will talk about that tomorrow. How about eleven?”

  “That could work, but—” she started, and he smiled, then turned and waved.

  “Eleven. Ritz-Carlton, rooftop pool. See you then, Grace Rivera!” he said over his shoulder as he walked out of her house before he did something stupid, like touch her again.

  ***

  “You’re an idiot.” Donnie chuckled the moment Marcus was done telling him about meeting the surprisingly sexy Grace Rivera, and he couldn’t care less.

  “Maybe. But I have a meeting with her.”

  “With whom?” His younger brother, Bryan, interrupted before throwing himself onto the other end of the sectional in the big gaming room he had set up in the upstairs loft of his house.

  “A writer. We found the story,” Don shared, while Marcus just looked at them. Bryan was a detective for the Pasadena City police and lived with him. He’d obviously just worked out in the home gym, since he was in a sweat-drenched tee and basketball shorts.

  “No shit!” Bryan sounded impressed.

  “Yup.”

  “So why are you a dumbass?” he asked, and Marcus rolled his eyes. There was no reason why his brother needed to know.

  “Get this, man…” Donnie’s laughter snapped him out of his thoughts, making tension rise in Marcus’ shoulders.

  “Don, what the fuck?” They had to have a talk about how much he shared with his brothers.

  “What the fuck, what? Come on, Marc, not getting your dick wet is getting to you,” Donnie told him, shaking his head.

  “What?” Bryan sat up now, intrigued.

  “Hey,” his older brother Garrett rumbled as he walked into the space, sitting his ass in a recliner. Great. This was the last thing he needed.

  All four of them lived in Marcus’ house. That hadn’t been the plan when he’d first purchased his home, but after Bryan divorced from his high school sweetheart, Garrett came back from serving overseas and ending his military career, and Donnie got kicked out of his girlfriend’s place, they all ended up here. Not that Marcus minded. The place was too fucking big for only him anyhow.

  “Pretty boy has a crush,” Don shared, and he groaned. Garrett and Bryan’s deep laughter filled the space.

  “I don’t.” The moment the words came out, he didn’t like the taste of dishonesty they left behind. “She’s cute and kind of wacky, but that’s—”

  “Wacky?” Bryan asked. “Cute,” Garrett repeated.

  “She didn’t recognize his ass,” Don kept sharing, and the room filled with deep laughter.

  “Shut the fuck up,” I mumbled, throwing a pillow at Don, who was still laughing.

  “She thought her sisters sent him as a practical joke!” Marc sat back on the sofa.

  “Oh, man,” Bryan laughed.

  When the deep laughter died down, Donnie looked at him. “In all seriousness, though, you sure you got this, Marc? If not, I can take over or I can be there tomorrow. She almost said no to you.”

  “I got this.” Feeling the need to prove his masculine prowess after all the shit he’d had been served by his brothers, he couldn’t help the words slip out of his mouth, “She’s a chubby single mom. Trust me when I say I got this, I GOT this.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Garrett asked, his dark eyes on him. Marcus shrugged.

  “It means, I want this project and I don’t give a shit how I get her to sign. She will.”

  “Dude…” Bryan started to say, shaking his head, but Garrett cut him off.

  “Put your money where your mouth is, pretty boy,” he said, and again Marcus couldn’t help the words escaping before he could think.

  “Five K.”

  “Five thousand?” Garrett raised his eyebrows. He looked around the room. Donnie stared down at his shoes, and Bryan was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

  “I pay you five K each if I can’t get this little writer to sign off. Shit, I have money to blow. But if I do get her to sign, each of you throws in five K to the project.”

>   “She almost said no to him?” Garrett’s deep voice rumbled, asking Donnie, and Don nodded. “She really thought you were there as a part of a prank from her sisters?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She really had no idea who you were?” Bryan asked in disbelief.

  “None. Not for a while at least. She told me she’d pay me double whatever her sisters paid to send me back to them and tell them I fucked her on top of the washing machine on the spin cycle.” Sharing that made them all break into another round of deep, loud laughter.

  He didn’t give a shit.

  Just remembering her, the sexy glint of her eyes, the smooth-looking skin, fuck, the way she blushed when he’d suggested the four and a half rounds alone made his body tighten up.

  “Wait. What does she look like?”

  “Oh… here…” Don grabbed his iPad, and Marc was curious as to what he was doing. Don passed the tablet to Garrett, and Garrett looked at her, appreciation clear in his eyes. Marc didn’t like it. No fucking clue why either, especially since he had never been the jealous kind.

  “She sure as shit isn’t your usual type.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Marcus couldn’t help but ask.

  “Here, pass it over,” Bryan said, extending his arm. One look at her, and he whistled. “No, she is not, brother.” Bryan grinned and looked at Garrett. “I don’t know. Five thousand is a lot of cash. Women tend to think he’s really pretty, and if she’s a single mom? I can see him getting in there, talking her into anything he wants.”

  “Yeah, right. He doesn’t know what to do with his dick according to America’s sweetheart,” Garrett added, and it grated his nerves.

  Katie had kept running her mouth about him, and he knew why. She was worried about her next movie. If it flopped, that would make it three in a row, and she would lose her crown in the spotlight. Lucky for him, none of the tabloids had picked up those particular stories, though rumors of his abilities between the sheets were circling around. He didn’t give a shit. He knew he was good. Better than fucking good.

  “Okay, enough of this shit. You guys in or not? It’s a fucking win either way for you assholes. Once the movie is out, you will make your cash back and then some.”

  “You seriously thinking about seducing a single mom to get her to sign the rights over for this?” Don asked, the seriousness in his voice making the others listen.

  “I’ll do whatever the fuck I need to for us to get this project.” The words didn’t feel right to him, but he was on a roll. His brothers, especially Garrett, had pushed his buttons, and he was done being the brunt of a joke. “You said this story was it and you were not wrong.”

  “I know, man, but…”

  “But what?” Marcus asked, challenging his best friend, a guy who knew him better than his own brothers did.

  “I don’t know, man. This doesn’t sound right,” Don answered. Marc was surprised he hadn’t let it go like he’d expected, though Donnie was right.

  The image of sweet Grace Rivera in his mind, the idea of playing her made his gut twist. The way his body had reacted to her, playing her would be playing with fire, and he knew in his gut he’d somehow be the one to get burned.

  About to take the words back, he heard Garrett speak up, “I’m in. You’re an asshole; I already know that. This will just prove how much of a dick you really are.”

  “Okay. I’m in. Though, to be honest, man, even with your pretty-boy face and Hollywood ass, I doubt you can get in there,” Bryan said, still looking at Grace’s picture. Jealousy rose over him like a new layer of skin.

  Without thinking, he stood and snatched the iPad out of his brother’s hands. Bryan, like always, was unaffected as he shrugged and relaxed into the couch.

  “Good,” he clipped, knowing it was too late for him to take his stupid words back. He glanced over at Donnie, who shook his head and looked away. “Yeah, count me in. Why not?”

  Looking down, his eyes locked on dark eyes looking back at him from her author page on Facebook.

  Fuck. What had he just gotten himself into?

  Chapter Four

  Grace

  I wasn’t sure why I just didn’t skip out on this ‘meeting.’ I should have. But I didn’t. He had said he wanted to talk to me about his plans and ideas in a neutral setting, and looking out my small sedan, this was anything but neutral. The Ritz-Carlton. I shook my head. Neutral would be a coffee shop.

  Valet parking was forty dollars, so I had happily parked where I suspected all the employees parked for a smaller fee, to serve the rich and famous of L.A. He’d said to come casual, so I had. Kind of. In a peach and navy maxi dress that did a great job hiding my curves. I had matched it with a navy cardigan and strappy sandals I’d literally had to dust off from the back of my closet because it had been so long since I had worn anything other than flip flops or running shoes.

  Why was I here? I wondered as I stared at the huge, white building in front of me.

  Did I want to hand over my work to some actor and hope to God he didn’t make it into a joke? Picking up my phone, I looked at the picture on the screen.

  It was of Lexi and I at Disneyland.

  I had saved and scrimped to take her a year ago, and even then I hadn’t been able to buy her all the things I had wanted to. Not that she minded. She was a great kid. Patient and understanding. Especially for a child her age. She got how things were. We weren’t destitute, but money was tight.

  Selling the rights would add a nice nest egg to our savings. We’d have savings! I’d be able to take her back or take her on a vacation or two. Things would be easier. Breathing would be easier. But at what cost? Swallowing hard, I put my phone in my bag, got out, and walked to the resort. There was no question about it. I was going to sell my beloved Max and Prim. I just hoped the pretty-boy actor didn’t mess it up.

  The woman at the front desk smiled at me, informing me Mr. Wright was waiting, and gave me directions on how to find him. He was in a private cabana by the rooftop pool. I hated elevators, but the pool was on top of the twenty-sixth floor. Biting the bullet, I stepped in and went up.

  Breathing in deep as the doors closed, I knew what I was going to do when it came to Beyond the Stars. I’d sell.

  For Lexi, I would do anything.

  The elevator doors opened with a soft ding, and I stepped out and looked ahead. Even with the sun in my eyes I saw him sitting at a one of the cabanas. Phone to his ear, his blue eyes met mine from the distance, and I grew warm. Probably the sun, Grace.

  Shaking off the weird sensation, I walked toward him, never taking my eyes away. I couldn’t. There was a magnetic draw to him, and I couldn’t seem to take in anything else around me other than him. I watched him place his phone on the table inside the cabana before stepping into the sunlight. Oh, boy.

  He stepped out, smiled, and my legs stopped. My heart flipped before righting itself in my chest.

  For a second, I let my mind float off into Girly-OMG-La-La-Land, that space women reserve for what-if moments, and let myself fantasize what it would be like for a man like Marcus Wright to smile at me, just the way he actually was. But not because of what he needed. No. No, in Girly-OMG-La-La-Land, he’d smile because he wanted me and not only for a while. Nope. In Girly-OMG-La-La-Land you were allowed to shoot for the moon, and what I would want was for a man to want me for me, every square inch of me, and not just for a night or a month, but till his last breath. For a man to want me to be the first and last thing he saw every morning and night as he held me close.

  Closing my eyes for a second, I chastised myself. Love and lust were not in my game plan or on my to-do list. Not anymore. Dating had been hard enough when it had just been me, but now I had Lexi. I was a mom and she was my top priority. Neither of us needed to be swept up in the illusion men created, only to have that bubble burst and be disappointed or hurt.

  When I reached him, he smiled, and something flashed in his eyes before our hands met, then a quick scowl appeared
on his handsome face the moment we touched. The scowl was gone so quickly, I wondered if I had imagined it. He led us to the table in the shaded cabana, where he pulled out a chair for me, taking me completely by surprise. How many men still pulled a woman’s chair out for her?

  Shake it off, Grace, he needs something from you! I reminded myself as I glanced out to the pool before sitting down. I turned to see him standing behind me, closer than I had expected. I knew he was there, of course. The scent of his soap and cologne drifted in the light breeze as it mixed with the soft, distinct smell of chlorine from the pool.

  "It's nice," I murmured, and he smiled at me.

  “I love it here,” he murmured as he went and sat across from me. I bet he did. I would too.

  "Lexi would love this." His face softened, and I shook my head. The idea of a pool in our small backyard would be possible. If I sold.

  “Would you like something to drink or eat?” he asked graciously, and I shook my head.

  “No, thank you. I’d like us to get to the point of why I’m here,” I quickly said, sounding slightly bitchy.

  “Right.” His fingers were stroking the end of his chin, then his hand lowered and his eyes met mine. "Like I mentioned yesterday, my manager and best friend, Don Bosco, and I have wanted to branch out and start our own production company. The reason we waited so long is we wanted to start our company with the right story.”

  “And you think Beyond the Stars is it?”

  “Yes. Max and Prim’s story is perfect.”

  “And like I said yesterday, I'm not sure I would want to do that,” I told him seriously, though I was lying. I already knew I’d sell. For Lexi and her future, I would sell.

  “It’s an incredible story. Don and I would be willing to buy it from you for a very generous amount.” He tilted his head.

  “Thank you. Look, it means a lot you would want to. I’m just not sure. I’ve seen people hand over their books, and honestly, sometimes the outcome is worse for the writer than the people creating the movie,” I shared and saw his jaw twitch. Did he think I would just willy-nilly fall head over heels to sign away my work in exchange for a wink and a smile?