Before A Perfect World: Movie Trilogy, Book Two (The Movie Trilogy)

by Kimberly Stedronsky

  I shook my head, hugging him again. “You’re not stupid. You’re so good, Matthew. You’re just so good.”

  Dark Victory

  K

  “So you got her representation from CAA, arguably the biggest of the Big 5 acting agencies, and then you hire her that asswhip agent Marcus Tate to negotiate her contract. Are you trying to fuckin’ bury us, kid?” Frank demanded, tossing the folder to the table to glare at me.

  I gave him a curt smile, glancing at my phone again.

  No reply.

  I’d texted Vivian yesterday and still hadn’t heard back from her. Telling her that I wanted the fairy tale had been the product of too many drinks and too little sleep.

  I’d tossed and turned all night, hating that she was sleeping next to him.

  Or with him.

  Fuuuck. I wanted a drink, and it wasn’t even nine AM.

  After I finally did fall asleep and sober up, I woke hella irritable and ultra-fucking-pissy. I’d been lied to and hurt by Kelsey already, and there was no way I was going to sit back and shower Vivian with every one of her dreams come true while she took my baby home to some other fucking guy.

  This had to end. Today.

  I’d told her I wouldn’t wait, but under her beguiling blue gaze, I’d folded and resolved to give her space and time.

  Well, that lasted twelve hours.

  “Mr. Thane? Miss Hale has arrived.”

  Kathy’s voice interrupted my thoughts, and Frank rolled his eyes, sitting back in his chair. “So this is just a formality, right? I know you’re giving her the part.”

  I watched Max lean forward, clearing his throat. “Frank, she’s good. She’s got so much potential, and she’s a gamble, but Keaton is convinced he can help her really take off.”

  “Hi.”

  Vivian’s voice drew my attention as she passed Kathy in the doorway.

  And then Fowler followed in behind her.

  It took my every concentrated, hung-over effort to not throw the script in my hand across the room. She’d assured me that she’d convince him to stay at the motherfucking hotel, but apparently her ignoring my text- combined with Fowler’s presence- meant that she was still not committed.

  “What a surprise.” I stood, walking to them. Frank mumbled something about ‘shit hitting the fan’ to Max, but I ignored him. “Vivian, when I contact you, I expect an immediate response.”

  She widened her eyes in complete surprise, and my chastising tone must have been just enough to set Numero Uno off. Frank and Max stood, and Fowler rushed forward, glaring at me.

  “She hasn’t signed a damn thing yet. You’re nothing to her, and she’s not obligated to return your juvenile texts.”

  So, he was reading her texts. Interesting.

  “We’re going to step out. Call us when you’re ready,” Max said, and Vivian shifted out of the doorway to allow them to pass through.

  “I think I’m something to her,” I replied, smug, leaning back against my desk and crossing my arms over my chest. “What do you think, V?”

  “Don’t call her that,” Fowler snapped, glancing down at my desk. His eyes scanned the pile of papers near the floor, and he snorted in their direction.

  I glanced down, trying to control my natural, defensive reaction.

  What to Expect When You’re Expecting was shoved under the pile of paperwork. I’d picked up the book right after Vivian had called and told me that she was pregnant, trying to understand what she was going through at only five weeks.

  “Look at that,” Fowler mocked, crossing his own arms. “What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Studying up to be the perfect father, isn’t he, V,” he snapped at Vivian, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

  I kept my face impassive. “Change your tone with her, Fowler. Consider this your only warning.”

  He only chuckled. “I’ve heard about your dad. You’re going to need a lot more than a book.”

  I tensed, my blood boiling.

  My first reaction was to pound his face.

  I started forward, jolting in mid-step as Vivian rushed between us.

  “Matthew! Stop,” she tried, but we were too far gone at this point. We both knew what was about to happen, and we were both keeping score of the amount of jabs we could get in before this turned into the inevitable.

  He stepped past her, turning to me. “Want to know what to expect? Here’s what you can expect, you son of a bitch. You can expect to be there for her when she is throwing up at three AM. Or when you don’t feel the baby move for twenty-four whole hours, and you rush in for an ultrasound just to make sure everything is okay,” he snarled. “And how about when she’s flat- lining, and they’re trying to bring her back? Chapter twenty-two. Managing a complicated pregnancy. Good luck.”

  I stared at him, watching him constantly reel in his anger just before it went over the edge. With every element of humanity I possessed, I tried to remember that he was mourning as well.

  Carefully, I kept my even tone. “I’m sorry for your loss. I really am, and I want to be clear about that.”

  “Fuck you.” He turned to the door, glancing at Vivian.

  She was mortified.

  Her neck was covered in hives, and I wanted to go to her, but he was already ranting again. “So here’s what you can expect today. I’m going to take my fiancée home, and if she keeps this baby, you’ll hear from our lawyer.”

  If she keeps this baby…? My eyes snapped to hers, and she covered her mouth, swaying on her feet.

  “Matthew! Keaton, of course I’m keeping the baby,” she cried, and I scoffed, turning back to Fowler to roll my eyes.

  He shook his head at me. “She’s mine, and she’ll always be mine. I was her first, did she tell you that?” He was edging closer now, and I knew it’d take only one snide remark from me to break him.

  I considered my options.

  “Yes, she did,” I replied evenly, forcing a grin. “She said it only took you three times to make her come. Atta boy.”

  “Keaton!” Vivian shrieked, and to my surprise, Fowler restrained himself, only matching my grin.

  “But I’ll be the one with her tonight,” he added, deadly calm, and now my own anger prickled. “And it won’t take three minutes.”

  I exhaled a laugh, flashing him a peace sign. “Two minutes. Two fingers.”

  His fist slammed into my eye, which was good, because I’d already had my nose broken twice. Vivian screamed, and before I could return a punch, Max and Frank were pulling Fowler off of me. He broke away, and the security in the front of my office rushed in to restrain him.

  “Get outta here. Take her with you,” Frank growled at Fowler, throwing Vivian a furious glance.

  Tears streamed down her face, and I shook my head, gesturing to her.

  “No. Vivian, the part is yours. Take it or leave it,” I managed.

  She watched me carefully before turning to Fowler. As she rolled her shoulders back and brushed at her tears, I knew that she was gathering her emotions.

  Finally, she spoke, and while I expected her voice to shake, I didn’t expect the anger in her tone.

  “This is un-fucking-believable. Both of you. I don’t want to hurt either of you, and neither one of you are giving me time to unfuck my mind from my heart. So fine.” She narrowed her eyes in Numero’s direction. “Matthew, you should… go.”

  He stared at her, completely dumbfounded. “Vivian-”

  “Go. Just go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Even though my eye was throbbing, I heard the hallelujah chorus singing in my ears.

  He stared at her, still struggling against the security guards.

  Finally, he stopped, shaking his head at her.

  “I’ll be at the hotel.”

  He was escorted out, and I watched as Vivian moved to the bar, dumping ice into a clean, white towel. Waiting for her to gather herself, I touched my eye with the heel of my hand.

  Finally, she took a deep breath and turned my way. “Kea
ton, I’m sorry. Everything that he said… was out of jealousy and anger and was so unprofessional.”

  “V?”

  She spun around, bag of ice in her hand.

  I closed the distance between us, and she brushed at her tears, scoffing with laughter. Those sparkling blue eyes of hers searched mine before narrowing.

  “Two fingers? Really? You’re such an asshole.”

  I grinned, grabbing the ice from her hand.

  “I almost said my mouth, but I didn’t know if he had a gun.”

  She shook her head, trying to hold back her smile.

  I grasped her chin with my hand more forcefully than I’d intended, but she didn’t pull away. Still gripping the ice in my other hand, I let it fall to the floor.

  “Keaton?” Her mouth formed my name, but I could barely hear her voice. “This will only get uglier… and I can’t hurt you, and I can’t hurt him. I need for one of you to just walk away. Hurt me,” she managed, backing against the bar.

  I dug my fingers into her soft skin, lowering my face to hers. “I already did that. I will never do it again,” I vowed, my hand slipping around her waist. I pulled, tugging her against me, and she exhaled sharply.

  She jumped as my office door opened, and Frank and Max trailed in. I cleared my throat and stepped back, leaving her breathless at the bar. “I’ll be back after lunch. Get the contracts ready for her to sign,” I ordered to Frank, and he sent Vivian a scathing glance before nodding my way.

  “You got it, Mr. Thane.”

  Frank and I had known each other for years, and he only called me by my LA name when he was super-fucking-pissed at me. Ignoring him, I ducked my head out of my office, grinning at Kathy. “The car is waiting for you, sir.”

  “Thanks, Kath. Vivian?” I turned to her, and she retrieved the ice from the floor, returning Frank’s stink-eye with her own cocked eyebrow.

  “I’m ready. And Keaton?” I turned to her in the doorway, my blood pumping twice as hard as she bobbed on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear. “I love that you bought the book.”

  I wrapped my arm around her, drawing her to my chest. “I love that I have a reason.”

  The intimacy of the moment, even with Max, Frank, and Kathy trying to look busy around us, was not lost on Vivian. She tightened her own hold on me, and God, all I wanted to do was take her home and make love to her for as long as she’d let me.

  She walked with me to the elevator, and I restrained the urge to push her against the wall and slip my hand up her skirt. She was something different at that moment; more than the gorgeous woman who had completely taken over my mind. She was valuable to me. Her life mattered; the life of my child mattered. Some paternal instinct that I had never known governed my behavior now.

  I wanted to protect her.

  As she tenderly brushed her fingers over her own stomach, I covered her flattened palm with mine.

  “I don’t want you to leave.”

  My words lingered between us, even as the elevator door opened.

  I lead her to the car waiting for us out front, and the driver held the door for her as she crawled in the back. Once settled in the seat next to me, she reached for my hand again.

  “Don’t be nervous,” she said quietly.

  My eyes fell on her soft fingertips, and I ran my thumb over her wrist.

  “How do you know I’m nervous?”

  She lifted her sooty lashes, those clear blue eyes diving into mine. “Your leg. When you’re nervous, it bobs up and down.”

  I instantly became aware that I was doing exactly that, and stilled.

  “You’re nervous,” I countered.

  She only nodded, turning to look out the window of the Mercedes.

  “I’ll make sure you have the best trailer on site, while we’re filming,” I promised. “You can sleep in each morning, and I want to be wrapping up by five each day. No late nights, kiddo.”

  Her cheeks lifted in a half smile, though she continued to stare at the traffic with a distant look in her eyes.

  “Talk to me,” I ordered.

  She quickly looked my way, her hand automatically going to her hair to tangle. “What do you want me to say, Keaton? I’m so grateful for you. I know you. You wouldn’t cast me if you didn’t truly believe I could do this. But… if you didn’t cast me, that would be okay too.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Are you asking me if I cast you solely on our relationship?”

  She shrugged and turned back to the window. I reached for her chin, guiding her face back to mine.

  “Yes,” she finally breathed.

  “I’m not going to risk my career over anyone, Vivian. If you didn’t have what it takes, you wouldn’t have gotten the part.”

  She searched my eyes, blinking twice at the moisture that brightened her gaze.

  “What do you want?” I asked, non-specifically, pleadingly. “What do you really want, V?”

  She took a deep, steadying breath, leaning in. Her smooth, silken skin played on my fingertips as she turned her head, letting her bottom lip brush my thumb. “I want the fairy tale too. I want a knight in shining armor. But I don’t know if I deserve one.”

  The car slowed to a stop along the curb of the medical building, and the driver got out to open the door for Vivian.

  She was closest to the curb, and he held his hand out to her.

  “Vivian, wait-”

  The hum of the press buzzed to a roar, and before I could fully exit the vehicle, the cameras were flashing.

  “Miss Hale! Miss Hale! Is it true you’ve been offered the lead role in Round-Up?”

  “Vivian, look over here!”

  “Keaton?” she cried.

  Her breathy voice locked down my defenses, and I wrapped my arms around her, glancing around for the security guards that were both ahead and behind us.

  “Vivian, are you here to see a doctor? Are you pregnant?”

  “Keaton, can you confirm that you and Miss Hale are having a baby?”

  I gripped her to my side, forcing a polite smile. “We’re running late but we’re so glad you hunted us down,” I drawled, gesturing to Vivian. She looked startled for a moment, but then bestowed on them her most brilliant smile. I turned to the camera, grinning. “Yes, we’re here to see a doctor. And I’ll be the luckiest guy in the world… if she’s having my baby. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

  “Thank you Keaton!” someone shouted, and Vivian’s mouth still hung open as I ushered her inside.

  “Keaton! You practically told the entire world!”

  Several heads snapped in our direction, and I took her by the elbow, firmly leading her to the elevator.

  “I just said what they would have printed anyway. This way, I make them think I’m giving them something. Then, everyone loves us. It’s important to be loved here.”

  “Matthew’s going to see it,” she moaned, resting her head against the elevator wall.

  “Maybe you weren’t present for the fistfight in my office earlier.”

  “Your eye is swelling.”

  “You should kiss it.”

  She twisted her mouth into my favorite pout, reaching for the sides of my head to tug my face closer to hers. “You should kiss it.”

  “Kiss what?”

  “My ass, Keaton.”

  “I’ve been kissing your ass since you got here.”

  She arched an eyebrow, sighing deeply.

  “Well Mav,” she began, gently prodding the area around my eyelid. “You need more ice.”

  The elevator stopped on the sixth floor, and I dropped my arm, resting my hand on the small of her back.

  “I’ll live.”

  Through the thin material of her dress, I felt her take a nervous, shuddering breath.

  “What am I doing?” she murmured suddenly. I could actually see her mind working overtime, and the telltale hives began to form a rash over her neck.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, narrowing my eyes and walking to the receptionist desk. I gri
nned at the woman behind the counter, and she bit her lip, blushing.

  “Mr. Thane, so glad you’re here. Welcome… here,” she stuttered, and I smirked.

  “Miss Hale, Mr. Thane, please, come on back,” a man called from the doorway, and Vivian turned to me with wide eyes.

  “Are you coming back with me?”

  “I wouldn’t be anywhere else on Earth,” I assured her, keeping my hand firmly on her back.

  Dr. Phillip Grey took us directly to his office after an unnecessary introduction that included a brief résumé.

  Grey was known for not only his knowledge and expertise, but also for his discretion among the famous in Hollywood. His thinning, black hair was combed neatly to the side, and he slid a pair of horn-rimmed glasses over his nose. “Before I examine you, Miss Hale, I wanted to give you and Mr. Thane both the opportunity to tell me a little about yourselves, your lifestyle, and to ask me any questions that are on your mind.”

  “Call me Keaton. You’re an expert in complicated pregnancies?” I demanded, trying like hell to adhere to the formality bullshit.

  He gave me a comforting smile. “What makes you think this pregnancy will be complicated, Keaton?”

  I explained, using all the wrong terminology, what Vivian had gone through.

  He only nodded, sitting back and glancing occasionally at Vivian. I wondered why she was being so quiet; usually, she was the first to speak up, and cut me off with her witty words.

  When I realized that her face had grown ghostly pale, I knew then that she was scared to death.

  “And Matthew is…?” Dr. Grey asked calmly.

  “He’s at the hotel,” Vivian forced, her voice breaking. I knew she was holding back tears.

  Dr. Grey leaned forward, reaching for Vivian’s hand. “May I, my dear?”

  She was confused for a moment, finally letting him take her hand.

  He held her fingers firmly, meeting her eyes.

  “We’re dealing with two factors. A complicated past, and a complicated present. There is no need to complicate the future,” he reminded us.