“Keep your voice down,” she snaps at me.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I shoot back, “You’d love to just buy me off, shut me up, and keep your precious job. I hate to break it to you, Mims, but that’s not gonna happen.”
“Oh no?” she sneers, “What are you going to do now, bargain with me? Take the million on the condition that I fire Rupert and let Jackson Cole keep his precious pet project? Fine. I don’t really give a shit about the specifics. State your terms, and we can put this ugly business behind us.”
“I need you to hear me loud and clear when I tell you this,” I go on, leaning toward the despicable woman, “I don’t want your money.”
It’s then that the unthinkable happens. A tiny crease appears between Miriam Blake’s perfectly tended eyebrows.
“That’s impossible,” she replies. “Everyone wants—”
“Not me,” I cut her off, “I don’t want a cent of your dirty fucking hush money. I didn’t need my parents’ and I sure as fuck don’t need yours. This is so much bigger than a million dollars, Miriam. This is about Avery. And Diana. And every other woman who’s been silenced by ruthless assholes like you along the way. There’s nothing you can do to stop me from telling the world exactly what happened to us. Nothing.”
“But th-that’s career suicide,” she sputters, rising from her desk, “You’ll never work on another film as long as you live.”
An honest to god laugh rings out from my chest as I take in her desperate plea. “That’s the beautiful thing, Miriam!” I crow, clapping my hands together in glee. “I don’t have a film career to kill! I’m just a freelance writer from the Hudson Valley, for Christ’s sake. You can’t touch me.”
“But surely—You must—You can’t just—” she blathers on.
“I can just,” I tell her, in no uncertain terms. “Sorry Ms. Blake, but you have no control over me. Not anymore. You can keep your film, and your hotel suite, and your money. I quit.”
With her stunned silence as my soundtrack, I spin around and stride out of the corner office, my heart pounding. I feel lighter than I have in weeks as the shackles of this project, this whole twisted industry, fall away. As I let the door slam behind me, give Diana’s hand a supportive squeeze, and set off down that white corridor for the final time, I know that I’ve made the right decision. The only decision I could have made. I chose my integrity over fame, a hard life over an easy one.
The only question that remains is, does choosing my old life mean choosing a life without Jackson Cole?
Stepping back out onto the sidewalk where Lionel is waiting with the car, I’m immediately subsumed by a sea of reporters. They scream their questions at me, clamoring for a good shot. Among their flushed faces, I spot a particularly familiar, and very orange visage: that of Garland Hayes. A grim smile spreads across my face as I lock eyes with him. If there’s one sure fire way to spread news fast, it’s feeding it straight to this man.
“Hello there, Miss Benson,” Garland smirks, “I hear your man has roughed up someone other than me this morning. Care to spill the details?”
“Oh, I do,” I tell him, pulling him gently aside and lowering my voice. “But not here. I’ve just quit City in Red, you see. Don’t want to be lingering in front of the Apollo offices. How about you sit down for an exclusive interview with me and Jackson Cole in a couple days’ time? Think you can forgive him for that, and maybe drop whatever law suit you’ve been cooking up?”
“I could forgive anything for an interview with you two,” Garland yelps gleefully. “Count me in.”
“I’ll let you know when and where,” I assure him, “For now, just let the world know that Jack and I have walked off the film. Let the rumor mill do its worst. OK?”
“Whatever you say,” Garland replies, stepping out of my way. “You’re the boss.”
“That’s right,” I smile, as Lionel opens the car door to me, “I am.”
I settle back against the leather seats, feeling exhilarated. Sure, I don’t know exactly what I’m doing. But my gut tells me that I’m doing the right thing, here. And my gut has always been pretty on-point.
“Where are we headed, Miss Benson?” Lionel asks me from the front seat, “Back to The Rouge, perhaps?”
I let out a wry little chuckle. Knowing Miriam Blake, my suite is probably sealed off with cement and guarded by a team of attack dogs. But it looks like Lionel’s car is still at my disposal, at least for the time being. Seeing as I still have this ride for a little while longer, I figure might as well make the most of it.
“Actually Lionel,” I reply, “I’ve got a slightly longer trip in mind.”
Chapter Nineteen
The town car crawls along the unevenly paved streets of my tiny town on the Hudson River, attracting all manner of curious looks from my neighbors. I grin breathlessly through the tinted windows, my heart bursting with relief at arriving back here at last. It hasn’t even been a month since I left my modest, cozy apartment to attend Avery’s memorial service, but it may as well have been ten years. I feel like Odysseus, returning home after the Trojan War. Of course, he had a loyal partner waiting for him. The status of my own partnership is a little less certain.
My landlady Bernadette is ambling down to the mailbox (escorted by three corgis, as ever) as the town car pulls up to our building. Her mouth falls open in a huge “o” of delighted surprise as I give Lionel a quick farewell squeeze of the hand and swing myself out of the car.
“Oh my goodness, sweetie!” she crows, pulling me into a crushing bear bug. “You’re back! I’m so glad you’re back. Look at your hair—my god.”
“Thanks Bern,” I reply, trying to keep from getting swallowed up by her massive, pillowy bosom. “It’s good to be home.”
“I’m gonna need all the details of your Hollywood adventure,” she goes on, shuffling along beside me as I head for my apartment, “But I can wait until after you see that gentleman caller of yours.”
I stop dead in my tracks, starting at my frizzy-haired neighbor.
“My…what?” I breathe.
“The man who’s come by to see you,” Bernadette explains, herding her dogs back toward the building, “He’s been here all day, just sitting on the landing outside your door. Didn’t you know he was coming?”
“No,” I say softly, my pace quickening, “No, I can’t say that I did.”
I break away from her side, wishing I’d gone with less ambitious heels today. Racing to the stairwell, I feel my feet fly out from under me as I dash over a patch of black ice on the driveway. I lurch forward at the last moment, clinging onto the railing that leads up to my second story apartment. Brushing back my tumble of platinum locks, I pull myself shakily to standing and peer up the wooden steps.
And in a moment, I feel like I could fall right over again.
Jack is sitting at the very top of the landing, his feet planted firmly on the last step. He’s wearing his favorite dark wash jeans, a black tee shirt, and a well-loved leather jacket, as ever. There’s a cigarette balanced between his fingers, a thin trail of smoke rising up into the overcast sky. His dark stubble only accentuates his defined jaw, and the brooding expression that’s been lingering on his face breaks like a storm cloud as he sets eyes on me.
“Smooth entrance, Cal,” he says, his voice husky.
“Yeah, well…” I gasp, managing to remain upright in the face of his stunning presence. “It’s not like I need to perfect the art of standing for the red carpet anytime soon.”
“What do you mean?” he asks, taking a drag as I walk up the steps toward him.
“We’ll get to that later,” I reply, stopping right before him, “I want to start with—what are you doing here?”
“Got kicked out of The Rogue,” he shrugs, “Apollo doesn’t waste any time. But fuck it, right? Stick them with the bill. They’ll get to pay for all the shit I broke last night.”
“So you came up here instead? To my dinky little Upstate apartment?” I ask,
“Why not just fly back to your place in California?”
“I couldn’t call to see where you were…my fault for smashing your phone, I know. But I figured you’d be here, one way or another,” he says, “That’s all that matters. It’s OK that I came, isn't it?”
“It’s fine,” I tell him, swallowing down a woozy smile as I nod at his smoke. “I thought you quit that ages ago?”
“Yeah, well. It’s been a stressful day,” he says, with a laugh that doesn’t reach his eyes. “How do you feel, Cal? Are you OK?”
“Not exactly,” I reply in all honesty, “But I think I’d feel better with a good cup of coffee. Want one?”
A small smile tugs at the corner of Jack’s perfect mouth. “Are you inviting me inside, Callie Benson?”
“That does appear to be the case,” I smile back.
“Even after this history-making shit show of a weekend?” he presses, raising an eyebrow.
“Especially after,” I say, laying a hand on his knee. His fingers close reflexively around mine as he crushes his cigarette in the leftover snow.
“Lead the way,” he says, his voice a low murmur.
Suddenly, my body recognizes a craving for something far more potent than caffeine. I feel my knees begin to tremble as I step around Jack and unlock my front door. I feel for the world like I’m sixteen again. Oh my god. Jackson Cole is in my house. He’s going to see my room. Shit, I hope I didn’t leave any panties lying around…As if he’s a stranger to my underwear, at this point.
I tamp down my nerves as Jackson makes his way into my modest abode, scoping the place out.
“I know it’s nothing fancy,” I say hurriedly, bustling around the kitchen. “But ‘be it ever so humble’, right?”
“It’s perfect, Cal,” he replies, stepping slowly toward me.
“Oh. Thanks!” I squeak, grabbing the coffee pot and filling it with water at the sink. “I’m pretty happy here. It’s a great town. Lots of, uh, great hiking…and…”
“I don’t want to talk about the great outdoors right now,” he says, his voice rasping. I have to set the coffee pot down in the sink as Jack steps up behind me, resting his hands on the points of my hips.
“No?” I breathe, bracing myself against the kitchen sink. “What is it you want to talk about, then?”
“Everything, eventually,” he goes on, closing the space between our bodies. My back is pressed to his broad chest as his hands slide up to the dip of my waist. “But right now, I just want to know one thing…”
“Yes?” I say softly, my eyes fluttering closed as his touch soothes my raw nerves.
“Just yesterday, you said that you wanted to make a go of being together,” he says, his voice a rough whisper, “Now, I know it’s been a hell of day since then, but I have to know…Callie, after everything that’s happened, is that what you still want?”
I spin around to face him, my heart in my throat. “Of course it is,” I tell him, resting my hands on the cut planes of his chest.
“Don’t just say that without thinking it through,” he presses, his hands holding fast to my slender waist. “What about City in Red? Just because I’ve been fired, doesn’t mean you—”
“I quit the movie, Jack,” I tell him simply.
He stares back at me, astonished. “You quit?” he gasps. “But…What about the money, Callie? You were going to start your writing workshop, and—”
“I’ll still start my workshop, don’t you worry,” I chuckle softly, trailing my fingertips down his chest, “I could never keep working for those monsters, Jack. After what they let happen to Avery, and the way they treated you? They hurt the two people I love more than anything.”
“You love me, Callie,” Jack says. It’s not a question, but a statement. A statement he savors in the saying.
“I love you, Jack,” I smile, surprised by the happy tears that spring to my eyes.
“Even though I may have just destroyed my career, and any chance at giving you an easy, comfortable life?” he presses.
“Look around,” I urge him, “Since when have I needed easy or comfortable? All I need is you, Jack.”
“That’s what I love about you,” he laughs roughly, circling his arms tightly around my waist, “That, and everything else you are.”
“As much as I’d love to hear you elaborate on that,” I murmur, “I think your mouth is about to be rather busy…”
“That’s just fine. We’ve got all the time in the world,” he grins, pulling my body to his.
Our mouths meet in an impassioned rush as I throw my arms around Jack’s broad shoulders. I open myself to him at once, shuddering with delight as his tongue sweeps against mine. My body is flooded with a wash of relief and ecstasy as the taste of Jack makes my senses go haywire. Our mouths move in unison, our hands clutching for as much of each other as we can hold.
Jack grabs hold of my waist and hoists me up onto the edge of the sink. I wrap my legs around his sculpted waist, pulling him tightly against me as I kiss along his thickly muscled neck. He shoves his hands through my blonde curls, grinding his hips against me as I kiss every inch of tanned skin I can find. A low moan escapes my throat as I feel him getting rock hard against me, right where I want him.
“You see what you do to me, Callie?” he growls, grabbing hold of my ass and holding me fast against his hard, throbbing cock.
“I see. And I love it,” I whisper, catching his scruffy face in my hands. “I can’t believe it’s only been a day since we’ve…you know…”
“I don’t know,” he grins wickedly, running his hands up my sides, “You’re gonna have to tell me.”
I fix my gaze on his mischievous face. How can one man be so adorably playful and so shatteringly sexy all at once?
“Fine,” I smile back, running a thumb along his firm bottom lip, “Two can play at this game…I can’t believe it’s only been a day since we’ve had each other.”
He sucks in a sharp breath as I bring my hands to his staggering cock, working along the impressive length of it.
“Well,” he growls, holding me fast as he runs his fingertips up the length of my thigh. “I can’t believe it’s been a whole day since I’ve gotten to make you wet…”
I moan deeply as he traces a slow line along my throbbing sex. We’re still fully clothed here in my kitchen but I don’t know how long I can last without taking him with all my might. I brace myself against the sink as Jack pops open the button of my jeans and slides his hand beneath my cotton panties.
“God, you’re already so turned on…” he groans, running two strong fingers along the length of my slick sex.
“Can you…blame me…?” I gasp, as he rests his fingertips firmly against my clit, tracing smooth, expert circles around the hard nub.
“I’ll never get over seeing you like this,” he breathes, as I struggle to see straight. My words fall away as he rolls his fingers over my aching clit. “I have to have you, Cal. Right fucking now.”
“Go on,” I manage to gasp, as I teeter on the brink of bliss.
All at once, Jack takes me into his arms and carries me across my tiny apartment. In just a few paces, we’re falling onto my little twin bed, a tangle of searching hands and entwined limbs. Jack shucks off his leather jacket and black tee as I slip out of my bomber jacket, raking my hands along the perfectly defined lines of his abs. ripping open his belt, he lets his jeans fall from his hips, his black briefs barely containing the staggering enormity of his member. He lifts the black chiffon blouse over my head, tugs away my black skinny jeans, and presses me back against the mattress wearing nothing but my bra and panties.
“You’re gorgeous,” he growls, kissing down along my neck, my collar bones, and my chest. With one flick of the wrist, he unclasps my bra and lets it fall away.
“God, that’s good…” I breathe, as he brings his mouth to my hard nipple, kneading my breasts with expert hands.
“You like my mouth on you, huh?” he grins, flicking the tip of his tongu
e against that pink peak.
“Uh huh,” I murmur. It’s all I can manage.
“Then you’ll love this,” he says, kissing down along my torso, across the valley that stretches between my hips bones. My entire body sparks with anticipation as he tugs my panties down my already-trembling thighs. “Just lay back,” he tells me.
I fall back against the bed and let my knees fall open. A shiver runs along my spine as I feel Jack’s warm breath against my wetness. His lips trail along my tender inner thighs as he presses back on my knees. I’m so open, so bare before him, but I don’t feel an ounce of self consciousness. I don’t feel anything but his perfect, expert tongue as it runs along the length of my aching slit. I shove my hands through my platinum locks as he laps me up. He zeros in on my clit with the tip of his tongue, and I feel myself speeding toward ecstasy. My back arches as he circles that hard button, pushing me closer and closer to the edge. Pressing back on my legs, he wraps his lips around that aching nub and sucks hard, circling it with that perfect tongue.
And with that, I’m done for.
I come hard and fast, my hips bucking with the force of the sensation. As the wave of bliss crashes through me, I realize that Jack isn’t done with me yet. I feel my body spinning through the air as he flips me onto my stomach. He tugs my hips back, and I groan as I feel the hard length of his pressing against me from behind. I raise myself to him, shivering with joy as he grabs hold of my waist. He’s poised right against me, ready to split me open with the strength of his need.
A ringing cry escapes my throat as he does just that, bucking hips and driving deep inside me at last. I press back against his powerful thrusts, my mouth falling open in wonder as he pounds deeper and deeper. My body opens itself to him, recognizing the feel of him inside. He rakes his hands along my back as he drives into me, faster and harder. I bury my face in the pillow, biting down to keep from screaming as he collides with the very center of me. I can feel him growing harder by the second, just about ready to burst.
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