Rescuing Mr. Wright (Texas Treasures)
Page 5
“That’s my girl.”
-SIX-
“JAY, YOU CAN’T be serious!” Makeda Curry, the lead actress of Jaden’s film, stormed into Jaden’s production office.
She removed her candy apple red framed Jackie-O sunglasses and leaned over his desk. Her brown eyes narrowed, and she pursed her ruby red lips tight. Jaden grinned hoping to diffuse her ire, and then tugged at his tie, prepared for all out war.
“MC,” he said her nickname with extra syrup, “Please have a seat,” he motioned to the empty club chair in front of his desk.
She did as he bid, and then placed one leg over the other, showing an ample view of her thigh. She wore a skin-tight, white jersey dress, with a plunging neckline and tie at the nape of her neck. The stretchable fabric barely covered her voluptuous backside. She swiveled in the chair, giving him a quick view of the valley between her thighs before crossing her legs again.
So that’s how you want to play, Ms. Curry. Well two can play this game
“Don’t sass me Jay,” MC quipped.
“I wouldn’t dare,” Jaden mused.
His soft chuckle masked his initial concern that she appeared in his office to rant and rave about his choice in leading men. They were in pre-production for the big screen adaptation of the stage play he’d written, A Storm to Be Weathered.
He had finally finished the script but it needed rewriting. Writing a stage play was different from writing a film script. On top of that, writing anything for your own small, local production was vastly different from writing a formal script for investors and show runners in the industry.
He really needed help to polish it. Unfortunately, Sunny had had a previous writing assignment for her column at the Dallas Urban Journal and hadn’t been free to come onboard sooner.
While he waited for Sunny, he had bought a standard industry screenwriting program and written the second draft. For two weeks, he had burned the midnight oil, working twelve hour days at his home office until last words of the last scene were typed.
It was a much better script. Drake read it and called him days later, ecstatic about its potential. Newberg even gave the script his stamp of approval. Jaden hoped with Sunny’s help and a script consultant’s review that they could begin principal photography—if he could keep his leading man and woman from warring.
“Jay, surely you know why I’m here.”
Glossy red fingernails tapped the edge of the desk. Jaden swallowed hard and leaned back into his chair. He had to get her eye to eye with him. Makeda thought she ruled his set, and often tried to place her opinions higher than his. Normally, he would oblige her. Not today Ms. Curry
They found themselves in a visual stand off, daring one another to blink. Jaden mused, imagining a puff of steam rising from each ear of MC’s gorgeous head. Hazel eyes were dazzling, but her firmly compressed lips conveyed her true feelings.
“MC,” he ventured, “Orlando Tate is one of Hollywood’s fastest rising black male leads and he’s perfect for the part.”
“I don’t care. You know our history. He’ll bed anything with two legs, breasts and a pulse.” Oddly, MC had just described herself. She continued, “He’ll just botch things up with his womanizing.
Jaden rolled his eyes before resting his head solemnly in his hand.
“It’s either me or Orlando,” she said.
Her threat was empty and she knew it. If she bailed on this production, she would be in breach of contract, and this time, he would sue. The sizzle ebbed, and she finally calmed.
“I’m just saying that we don’t work well together, which will convey in our performances.”
“It wasn’t an easy decision MC,” Jaden lifted his head and met her gaze dead on. “But he does have his own following that he’ll bring to the movie and his looks are a compliment to yours.
MC cringed at his comparison of her and her on-screen lover. “Why not Blair Underwood or that Morris Chestnut guy?” She asked, lightly fanning herself, a habit she had picked up over the years even when the weather was cool.
“They’re not available,” he replied.
Jaden didn’t have the heart to say that the only male actor who wanted the part after learning she was the lead, was Orlando. Besides, Blair and Morris were nice guys who wouldn’t stand a chance on set with MC prowling around. Orlando was more apt to put her in her place.
“Listen MC, I think its best that you speak with your manager about this decision. When I agreed to shoot this film, I had you in mind and we really need a strong production. We’re going through some rewrites of the script, and I need to know now if you want to dissolve this arrangement and then we can re-cast your role.”
Jaden could hear the slow gulp in MC’s throat as it happened. She finally understood that he wasn’t playing her game any longer. He had a lot on his plate. His staff, cast and crew depended on him to handle delicate situations like this for the sake of the film.
“Of course I want the role, Jaden. Many actresses were salivating for the part of Esmeralda Jones, and I’m sure you picked me because I was qualified for it.”
Jaden nodded his head in agreement but mentally disagreed. The truth was her demands and work ethics tested him royally. However, with the fan base that she’d bring to the picture and her affordable “price tag”, he could overlook all that for a time.
MC was gorgeous, but she couldn’t act her way into a cattle call. She had built her fan base as a music video model. She then appeared in several men’s magazines and garnered guest stints and supporting roles in television before getting involved with his plays. MC wanted a meatier role in order to receive respect in Hollywood. Jaden believed she could do it, if she could get past her own ego.
He walked around the desk and sat at the edge. Then he leaned over and placed his hand on hers, patting it. She continued to pout seductively as she stood. Her right knee nudged between his legs and Jaden instantly knew what time it was. Her short, sandy brown, trendy pixie hairstyle and long neck added a regal touch to her demeanor, even when she had a sour disposition. She parted her lips. Jaden felt himself become rigid.
Her perfume wafted on the air and Jaden’s senses churned as he reveled in her nearness. Just as she loomed closer for a kiss, he softly grabbed her wrists and placed them behind her back, keeping her at bay. She pressed forward anyway and planted a firm kiss on his mouth.
A red light blinked on his desk phone. He reached behind him and pressed the speaker button.
“Mr. Wright, your noon appointment is here,” his receptionist said.
“Send her in,” he replied, nudging MC away from him. He then swiped his lips with the back of his hand. “Since I don’t mix business with pleasure, you should choose wisely the direction you dare to tread.”
MC had a way with men, and if he didn’t end their meeting, he might be tempted to accommodate her request. Her knee stopped nudging his inner thigh and dropped to the floor. “Don’t tease me Jay.”
“Oh, excuse me,” Sunny said from the doorway. She wore black-rimmed eyeglasses, a gray wool two-piece suit and had her hair gathered into a chic, wavy ponytail. She clasped her clipboard in her hands and turned to exit.
“Sunny, glad you came,” Jaden said sliding off the desk and squeezing past MC’s clutches. He almost didn’t recognize her behind the prim librarian ensemble as opposed to the tight-jean wearing minx he had met on the road weeks before. He turned to MC, “We’ll have to continue this later MC. I have another meeting.”
MC looked at Sunny and then smirked. She swiveled her head to wink at Jaden. “Don’t forget where we left off, sugar.”
After Hurricane MC moved on Jaden pulled out the chair in front of his desk and motioned for Sunny to sit. He had a feeling that Hurricane MC was nothing to Tsunami Sunny. He remembered their last meeting, finding it odd that her name emitted light when her disposition was gloomy.
The shorthand of the wall clock struck high noon—the perfect time for another duel between him and Sunny.
After leaving numerous messages on every social media website that she was on, he learned who her agent was and hired him on the spot on the condition that persuade Sunny to write his script.
He had to break past that wall of hers. It was reminded him of his hike along the Great Wall of China, only he had made it to the other side of that wall. He saw the way that she had looked at MC when she left. She probably thought they were lovers. They could have been MC obviously had no problem with that. Regardless of what people thought about him, Jaden had selective tastes, and the only woman who had been on his mind since the day she’d come to his aid by the side of the road was standing before him.
He could tell that Sunny was a hell-raising spitfire. She was strong and sassy, with a mouth that teased him with each syllable that came from it. She made his heart beat a little faster each time she glanced his way. He had to play it cool and get back to business. Leaning into his chair, eyes heavy lidded and flashed a devilish grin at her.
She’d come to him, when she was ready. If he’d tried to seduce her now, it would be more work than planning an invasion into Iraq.
But the reward would be worth the battle, he mused.
Sunny wore a pink Henley blouse with the top two buttons unfastened and gray pumps to match her suit. One lock of her sable hair pulled free of her bun and fell between her brows. Good lord, was she trying to drive him mad? If she only knew what her straight-laced librarian ensemble made him want to do to her, she’d bolt for the door.
No woman had ever captured his attention with simple gestures. Surely, she was the type who had to be coerced into submission, and he was more than ready to oblige.
His eyes skirted the room, intent on cooling his body down, but all that he saw were places where he could ravage her…the chair…the desk… the chaise against the large bay window overlooking the city. He hadn’t realized it until that moment, but his office was the near perfect love den.
He had fantasized about meeting her again, kissing her soft lips, and gazing into those deep, round amber pools. He had imagined her lying beneath him with her arms wrapped around his neck, and pictured her hair splayed across the plush sofa cushions.
“Mr. Wright?” her terse words brought him back to the here and now. He shook the fantasy out of his mind and softly chuckled at her coldness. He’d get her to warm up soon. He stretched his arms across the desk in front of him and threaded his fingers together.
“Please, call me Jaden, or, as my colleagues call me, ‘Boss’.”
“As I said, Mr. Wright,” she replied, just as hard as before. “I’m sorry I couldn’t start sooner but I had an assignment to finish. I’ve already done a month’s worth of columns in advance, so we should be good to go.”
He muffled a chuckle and then pointed to the mini-fridge. “Water or soda. Maybe some tea?”
“No thanks.” She shook her head, still concentrating on everything in his office except him.
It gave him a chance to notice she curved her lip in a cute way when she was in deep thought. He strode back to his desk and grabbed his monthly calendar. He glanced at her from time to time as he scribbled. He was sure she had a mental inventory of everything her eyes fell upon, even the faint cracks in the wall. After several moments, she cleared her throat and Jaden took his cue.
“So when do you want to start?” he asked.
“Whenever…,”she answered. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were when we’d met on the road?”
“It wasn’t until a few days later that realized who you were. Besides, I’m just a local film producer, nothing more.”
“You’re trying to sound modest,” she said.
“Okay, then I’ll be honest,” he said, his eyes narrowing as he continued his perusal of her body. “What can I say? I worked hard and I’m reaping the rewards from it.”
She pushed her glassed up her small nose and then folded her hands in her lap, “I can’t believe this. Look, can we just start over?”
“Only if you can tell me what’s up with the name Sunset Carina Carlisle,” he said, his chuckle riding into a laugh.
“I’m going to kill Jared,” she fumed.
“Actually, you should get angry at your parents,” Jaden teased. “Clearly they hadn’t let go of the ‘70s.”
Sunny glared at him and then leaned over her chair to grab her purse.
“Whoa, wait a minute. I was just teasing,” concern grazed Jaden’s brows. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Is nothing sacred anymore?” Sunny asked to no one in particular.
“Apologies,” Jaden said as he pressed his back into his chair. “I see I struck the mother of all nerves.”
“Yes, you did,” she replied, and then softly added, “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know.”
“Okay…” he replied softly. “But I still want to know.”
-SEVEN-
NU HYPE PRODUCTIONS was nestled on the top floor of a six-story building in Grand Prairie, Texas. The office took up both suites on the left side of the building, and had tall wooden doors, high ceilings, and large bay windows.
Sunny had arrived early, set on breezing through the meeting with Jaden, and then leaving imaginary heel marks all over his dumbfounded face if his behavior mirrored their first meeting. Just because she had agreed to work with him, didn’t mean she had to put up with his smug, egotistical attitude. The sooner he realized that, the better their creative union would be.
She couldn’t understand how he could twist her nerves like a tornado one minute, and the next, have her fantasizing about his masterful hands coaxing her body heights of erotic pleasure. Well no matter, this was purely professional—strictly business from here on out.
She had marched out of the elevators, set a beeline straight to his receptionist’s desk, and then signed her name on an appointment list as instructed. She kept her pace strong as she continued her stride into the lounge and dropped into a chair, stuffing her purse into the empty seat beside her.
She rubbed her neck, rolling her shoulders to release as much tension as she could. Minutes passed as she tapped her foot incessantly on the floor, waiting for her moment to wield her magical shield against Jaden Wright’s seductive charm.
Swallowing hard, she glanced across the room at the refreshment table. Bottled water gleamed with condensation. She moistened her mouth and imagined twisting off the top and drinking it. Then walked to the table and grabbed one.
As the cool liquid slid down her throat, a wave of panic engulfed her. Her armor had dwindled to scrap metal, and suddenly, she wanted to go home.
Who was she kidding? She needed this job. If only Jaden, that sexy Demi-god of a man didn’t have to co-write the script with her.
She wrung her hands together in nervous anticipation. From her vantage point overlooking the balcony, she could see the tops of trees in the park across from the building, people skittering about like large ants while matchbox-sized cars traveled on the highway and side streets.
She turned from the balcony and ambled to the end table where a large vase of white orchids emitted a light perfume that wafted in the air, mixing with the citrusy body lotion she’d put on earlier in the day. It would have been a calming effect if the clock’s second-hand click hadn’t echoed in her mind.
Her head swung back to his office door to find it still closed. The receptionist paused in her work, probably sensing Sunny’s unease. She gave a quick smile and then resumed her work. Sunny grabbed a magazine from the oval coffee table in front of her and wrung it between her hands.
Her cell phone tinkle broke through the silence in the room and startled her. “Hey Demi.”
Sunny eyed her reflection in a small mirror on the wall across from her, and primped her sleek st
raight hair. She pressed her lips together, blending the color glossed over them.
“I am not asking him for his autograph, Demi,” she said in a hard whisper. “I don’t care what you could get for it on eBay,” she replied in a hard whisper.
“Ms. Carlisle,” the receptionist said. “Mr. Wright will see you now.”
Sunny nodded in response and then covered her cell again, “We’ll have to talk about it later, Demi.”
A moment later, she scrolled to ‘silent’ mode on her phone. She smoothed out her skirt and reapplied her fire red lip-gloss. Taking a deep breath, she placed the wrinkled magazine back on the table. She then stood, whisked her purse over her shoulder and walked across the room, smiling her thanks to the receptionist in passing.
With each stride, she felt a burst of confidence. Maybe she could do this. If a little flirting with Jaden Wright could guarantee her the chance to be part of press-driven project, then so be it. Oddly, she suddenly found herself grinning like a lovesick teenager at the thought of coming face-to-face with him again.
She placed her small hand on the brass knob and turned it slowly. The door opened a crack and a chill rushed past her. Sunny peeked inside and her heart instantly sank when she saw a tall, curvy woman rubbing her knee into Jaden’s groin. Of course he loved every moment of the raving beauty's affections. In fact, she could drive to El Paso and back before she traveled length of his smile.
The man was insufferable. She wanted to smack that smirk off his face and didn’t even know why. It wasn’t like he was her man getting cozy with another woman. Yet, she felt betrayed all over again. Every thought and sensation she felt when she had caught Ramone cheating returned and she didn’t know what to do with all of it.
She had no right to be upset. Jaden was a successful and handsome filmmaker who probably had women throwing themselves at him all the time. The woman was probably a budding actress trying out the casting couch. Still, he could have rescheduled his romp in the office, since he was the one who sought her out to join his project.
Well “Ms. Casting Couch” could have him, because there was no way in the world, Sunny Carlisle would end up on a couch, a desk, against the wall or…or…on the floor, writhing in ecstasy with that horribly, sexy, man…ever!