by Donna Hill
Kendall had always thought Tyson was good-looking from a distance, but up close, he was a work of art. Kendall’s eyes started at his feet. Italian handmade shoes covered large feet. Long legs gave way to a taut torso that pressed against his expensive, cuff-linked dress shirt. His suit was stylish and fit well, obviously custom-made. Strong masculine fingers darted across the screen of his cell phone. She imagined what he might have been capable of doing to women with those fingers. The feel of them had to drive women wild. Smooth jet-black hairs framed a luscious pair of full lips in the form of a goatee.
When he smiled, Kendall caught a glimpse of perfect pearls for teeth. The deep brown hue of his supple skin sunk in at his cheeks, creating dimples that could have been mistaken for craters. They made his smile sexy and adorable at the same time. Lastly, those eyes—dark, hooded, mysterious and piercing. Kendall looked away so as not to get lost in them. Tyson Blackwell was male perfection.
No wonder that actress Tiffany Reddick clung to him the way she did in public. If Tyson were Kendall’s man, she might never leave his side. Kendall shook her head and laughed. He wasn’t single, and she wasn’t looking anyway.
Tyson joined the men at the table.
“One moment.” The executive producer held up a finger to Kendall. They chatted amongst themselves for several moments.
“Ty. You need to hear this,” the director said, turning back toward Kendall.
“Beautiful and unfiltered,” said the one who’d introduced himself as the producer. He slapped the table, stressing his point.
Kendall’s cheeks burned again. She’d heard from plenty of people that she had a beautiful voice. Why was she blushing so much now?
“Can you do that just one more time?” the producer asked. “Please?”
“Sure.” Kendall shrugged, took another deep breath and began to sing again. No one stopped her, so she sang the entire song.
“See,” the director said, holding his hand out as if he were presenting Kendall.
“Whoa.” Tyson clapped. “That was amazing.” He walked over to Kendall and held his hand out. “Tyson Blackwell. I’m a huge fan.” He wrapped his large but incredibly soft hand around hers and shook.
Kendall wanted to melt into a puddle right there in front of everyone. Stop it! He’s taken. The industry is already full of trifling man-stealers, she scolded herself. Like the one who slept with Storm. “Hello, Mr. Blackwell. Thank you. I’m quite flattered.” Kendall banished those thoughts and focused on the work of art holding her hand, which had started to grow warm and moist.
“Please call me Tyson. I’m definitely not old enough for you to address me so formally.”
Kendall’s cheeks heated. “Thank you. Tyson,” she added his name almost as an afterthought. “I’m glad you like my music.” He flashed that sexy smile, but the fact that he was still holding on to her hand made her question his loyalty. Didn’t he have a girlfriend—a famous one at that? Kendall pulled her hand from his grasp, hoping that he wasn’t proving to be another Hollywood cheater. Of all arenas, this playground was way too small.
“Thank you for coming today, Kendall. We’ll be in touch with your agent shortly.” The producer’s words burst into her consciousness.
Kendall wiped her hands along her maxi dress. “Great! I’ll be waiting to hear from you. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to audition for this part. Jocelyn James is a family favorite.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Believe me, it was our pleasure.” He looked among his colleagues, who cosigned with nods.
Kendall and Randi said their goodbyes. She felt the warmth of Tyson’s gaze on her as she headed toward the door. She refused to look back, though it was hard not to peek. Kendall couldn’t feed into what he was putting out. His relationship with Tiffany was very public—just the kind of public she preferred to stay away from. Tyson was like a masterpiece at the Smithsonian—amazing to look at but perpetually untouchable. It was best for her to put distance between them now. She wasn’t a cheater, and the last thing she needed was to give the blogs a new scandal to chew on for the next couple of months.
Besides, she’d come for business and that’s what she planned to stick to. There was no way she’d let another man get in the way of her budding film career. It didn’t matter how gorgeous he was.
Chapter 4
Tyson’s phone rang, but instead of picking it up, he simply rolled over in his bed. The past few days had been long and arduous—pretty much nonstop since the premiere the week before. Tiffany had been featured on just about every news and talk show promoting the opening of the film. The media reported record-breaking ticket sales the first night and spread rumors that Tiffany’s performance was potentially Oscar-worthy. Now that the weekend was over, they would find out just how well the movie had done. All of this was great. Great for Tiffany. Great for BCG. And great for Tyson. So why was he so bummed?
Tyson’s phone rang again. He didn’t bother checking who was calling. That way he wouldn’t feel guilty for not answering. Normally Tyson would be at work by now, even though the sun had just made an appearance a short while ago. But this ordeal with Tiffany had him in a flux. The breakup was bad enough. Tyson prided himself on being able to gauge people, and the fact that he hadn’t realized he was being used until it was too late bothered him sorely.
There was no doubt that Tiffany was an amazing actress. Her performance the night of the premiere proved that point even more. The public ate up their fake doting on each other. Tyson couldn’t help but wonder how much acting she had been doing during the good times in their relationship.
Tyson decided to avoid dating actresses going forward. He thought back to a few days before, when he’d met Kendall Chandler for the first time at the audition. She was even more beautiful up close than she was on TV. They’d attended a few industry events together, but never actually talked. Plus, Tiffany was usually right on his arm. But she was an entertainer and a budding actress too. He’d flirted a little, holding her hand extra-long when they shook, but later tossed aside the idea of seeing more of her. He needed a new dating pool. No more celebrities—at least for now. He hated painting them with a broad stroke but didn’t like being played and feeling vulnerable.
Worse, Tiffany was neither apologetic nor ashamed about her intentions. This is Hollywood, she’d tossed out in response to his inquiries about whether or not she’d dated him just because he was producing the project she wanted so badly to work on. She’d acted like he shouldn’t have made such a big deal about it all. Then she’d chided him for being sensitive. After all, she’d remarked, he had been known in the industry for being a player. As a very eligible bachelor, Tyson was entitled to date whomever he wanted and do as he wished. He had always been honest enough not to falsely lead any of his lady friends on, or at least that had been his intention. He would make sure not to, going forward.
A clean break from Tiffany was what he needed, especially now that the movie was out. Their breakup would have stolen the spotlight from the prepromotion. Truthfully, announcing their breakup before the premiere probably would have helped sales, but this project was too important to muddy with scandal.
His joy in their relationship had expired months ago. That’s why he refused to stay with Tiffany when she beckoned the other night after the premiere parties. There was no need to allow anything between them to linger. It was time to have the conversation with her about how they would communicate their breakup to the public. Getting in front of the story was important. If bloggers caught wind first, they would blow everything up with speculation about scandals. Tyson didn’t want either of them to come out looking bad, despite the things she had done.
Tyson’s phone rang again. He rolled onto his back, let his hands fall alongside of him and sighed. He wasn’t ready to talk to anyone. He let it ring and wondered if he and Tiffany should discuss their strategy over the phone or in person.
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br /> When his phone rang again, he silenced it. It rang once more.
“Really!” he yelled at the phone but still reached for it. There was some obvious urgency. The picture and number of his sister, Tory, flashed on the screen. “Hey, Tory.”
“Turn on your TV.” The urgency in Tory’s voice made him sit straight up in his bed.
Tyson grabbed the remote and pointed it at the television. It glowed to life. “What channel?”
“Seven.”
Tyson tuned in just in time to hear the anchorwoman say, “We will be back with more on Tiffany Reddick and her devastating breakup with media mogul Tyson Blackwell after this commercial break.”
Tyson’s lower lip fell at the same time the remote slipped from his grasp. “What?”
“It’s everywhere—social media, the news, the radio. She’s telling the world how you dropped her after the filming and forced her to keep quiet about it until after the movie came out so that this news wouldn’t impact movie sales.”
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Tyson felt his face heat up.
“I can’t believe she did this.”
“Unfortunately, I can.” Tyson whipped the sheet back and hopped out of bed. He paced the plush white carpet of his expansive bedroom. His thoughts were a barrage of angry utterings thrashing around in his head. If he were a vengeful person, he’d have her blacklisted, but that wasn’t like him. And at this point, he would look like nothing more than a bitter ex.
“It’s back on,” Tory said.
The anchorwoman appeared on screen again. She announced their exclusive interview with Tiffany Reddick, the lead of the weekend’s record-breaking movie opening. Tyson sat on the edge of his bed with the phone still pressed to his ear.
“Tiffany, tell us how you managed to keep this secret all these months. The two of you seemed so happy on the red carpet at last week’s premiere.”
Tyson’s breath hitched. He watched Tiffany’s smile fade. She sighed. Dropped her shoulders, pursed her lips and shook her head. A woeful look fell across her face.
“I don’t even know, Gail. All I know is that it hurt...so bad. I felt...used. But I don’t blame Tyson. After all, this is Hollywood. Love can be as fickle as the air we breathe.”
Tiffany sighed again. Another award-winning performance, Tyson thought. She had thrown him under the bus and he knew exactly why. Tiffany was strategic. In another week, the success of the movie’s opening weekend would be old news. But talk of their scandalous high-powered breakup would linger, keeping her in the public eye. The least she could have done was let him know what she’d planned to do. By the end of the day, the news of the film, and more importantly their breakup, would be broadcast on every major media outlet from California to London and everywhere in between.
“Tyson? You there?”
“Yeah.” He slapped his hand against his forehead. “I’m here,” he said in an almost whisper.
“What are you going to do? You could let me handle her. I’d enjoy it.”
What could he do? Following up the story would make him appear sour or weak, and he was neither. Tiffany needed to secure the spotlight much more than he did. She was determined to gain it, and now that she had it in her clutches, she would do anything to keep it.
He was done with her. There was no need to pursue this any further. Tyson would never work with her again. That was certain.
“It is what it is, sis.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Want me to meet her in a dark alley and blacken both eyes?”
Tyson’s laugh was sudden and sharp. “No, Tory. I can fight my own battles, and this one really isn’t worth the energy.”
“If you say so. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
“This is just so wrong. So, so, so wrong.”
“I know.”
“But don’t worry, Ty. You know what they say about karma. Her day will come.”
“I’m sure it will, sis. I’m sure it will.”
Chapter 5
Kendall practically leaped out of bed, jarred from her sleep by insistent knocking. Disoriented, she squeezed her eyes shut, blinked a few times and looked around the room. The bright rays of the already scorching sun assaulted her sight. She squeezed them shut again. The banging continued. In the distance, she heard someone calling her name.
Kendall threw the covers back, jabbed her bare legs into a pair of lounge pants and headed toward the door. On the way, the broom caught her eye and she snatched it, holding it like a bat, ready to swing in case what met her at the door presented a threat.
“Kendall!” Boom. Boom. Boom. “It’s me, Randi. Open up.” More banging.
“What the...” Kendall snatched the door open. “Randi! What the hell? Something wrong?”
Randi pushed past Kendall. “Wrong? Heck no! Everything is right. It’s all so very right!” Randi noticed the broom in Kendall’s hand, halted and reared her head back. “Uh. What’s that for?”
“What was all that banging about? This isn’t LA It’s quiet around these parts.” Kendall set the broom against the wall. “Speaking of which, why are you here so early?” Kendall shuffled to the kitchen to see the clock on the wall. Randi followed her, pouncing on her heels like an excited puppy. “Whoa! It’s seven o’clock in the morning. What time did you leave LA?”
“Just after five. It took you longer to answer the door than it took for me to get to Temecula.” Randi was right at Kendall’s back and stopped just behind her when Kendall stopped moving.
Kendall turned toward the refrigerator and bumped right into Randi. She raised her brow. Randi smiled hard, pressing her lips into a line to keep whatever joy she was containing inside.
Kendall widened her eyes and tilted her head. Laughter broke her questioning gaze.
“You’re scaring me, girlie! What is it?” Kendall felt excitement welling up in her belly, feeling like a gang of birds had taken flight. Randi hadn’t driven this far for nothing. Whatever it was, she’d insisted on delivering this news in person. Calls, texts or emails obviously wouldn’t have sufficed.
“This thing is really happening!” Randi jumped up and down. “I woke up early this morning and I just happened to check my phone. Last night I fell asleep early. Missed Trice’s album launch party and all. I need a vacation. Anyway. So, I wake up at, like, four a.m., right? I just know Trice probably left me a dozen and one crazy messages, wondering what happened to me. So, I’m checking my messages, Facebook, Instagram, you know.”
“Oh. My. Goodness, Randi! Land the freaking plane already.”
Randi giggled.
Kendall narrowed her eyes, glaring. She knew Randi was teasing her.
“And there was a message from BTV inviting you...to...”
“Randi!”
“They want you to perform at the BTV Awards!” The words rushed out. Randi screamed and stomped like she was running in place.
Kendall’s mouth fell open. “What did you just say?”
“Yes, girlie! You’re going to perform at this year’s BTV Awards!” Randi screamed.
Kendall screamed too. Facing each other, they screamed and jumped together.
“There is no way I could have told you that on the phone. I had to see your face when I broke this news. Tyson Blackwell produces that show, and I think after hearing you sing the other day, he decided to add you to the roster.”
Kendall sat on a stool near the kitchen island with her hand on her heart. “This is amazing.” She sprung right back up. “I have to call my dad. My cousin. Jade is going to lose it. This is...this is...” She searched her mind for the right words. “So freaking epic!”
“Sooooooo.” Randi stretched the word like a melody. “Freaking. Epic! You’re a superstar, baby girl! It’s really happening.”
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Kendall had enjoyed a steady rise up the pop charts, gained a sizable fan base, status, respect and popularity, and even received a few nods for music awards but had never actually won. She sold out concerts across the US, Canada and throughout Europe, but there was still so much more to accomplish. This was the first time she was being asked to perform at an awards show.
“What am I going to wear?”
Randi looked down at her cell phone. “When a decent hour arrives, we’ll get Mica on the phone to get started on that.”
Mica, Kendall’s lead stylist, was going to make sure Kendall’s look was as epic as the opportunity.
Kendall and Randi gushed over the details for a while longer before Randi stretched out across the couch in Kendall’s great room to take a much-needed nap. In the meantime, Kendall called her family to share the news. Her last call was to her best friend and first cousin, Jade.
“Jade!” Kendall put the phone on speaker and placed it on the granite countertop. “Guess who is going to perform at this year’s BTV Awards?”
“No way!” Jade screeched.
“Yes way! This girl!” She pointed thumbs at herself even though her cousin couldn’t see.
Jade screamed. “That’s epic, Kendall!”
“I know!”
“I’m coming. I will not miss this.”
“For sure. We’ll hang out all week. You know how Hollywood gets down during red carpet season. It’s going to be bananas!”
“I’m so proud of you. This is amazing. Okay, you’re forgiven for waking me up at this ugly hour on a Saturday. Usually I can’t even speak until way after the sun comes up. But you’ve got me up and talking.”
“I couldn’t wait to tell you. You can go back to bed now.”
“Uh... I’m sure you know that’s not going to happen, right? There aren’t enough sheep in dream world to help me fall back to sleep. That’s okay. I’ll call Chloe, Jewel and Chris, wake them up and share the news. They’ll be mad but happy, just like me.”