Hollywood Hero: A Sexy Billionaire Romance (The Director's Assistant Book 4) Read online

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “I know I am.” She smiled. “There’s a lot to be said for getting older and wiser. And that rose-colored glasses view…” Now her eyes hardened a little. “…it’s what gets me through the tough things. Sometimes I don’t like to be reminded about the less-pleasant things. Those reminders can make life… not so worthwhile.”

  “I get it.” She wanted me to stop reminding her about how sick she was. All I did was make her feel worse.

  “I have what matters to me. I have you. And I want you to be happy. I feel good about myself at the end of the day, knowing I didn’t hurt anybody. When you have those things taken care of, everything else sort of falls away.”

  She let go of my hands, picking up her tea cup. “And if anyone ever threatens those things, remember the von Trapps—follow your heart. It would have been so easy for them to have given in to the Nazis. But they didn’t. They did the harder thing, because it was the right thing to do in the end.”

  Mom began to talk about other things then, eventually switching on a movie. I nodded at all the right times, but my mind was a thousand miles away and whirring even faster. Mom had said something—something which had struck a chord. Could I fight back? Could I try and do the right thing? But how, when Janus held all the cards? Archer and I would need some sort of advantage, if we were to even have a chance. But what?

  I leaned back against the pillows with Mom. All that talk about love, family and conscience. It couldn’t be that easy, could it? Love, family and conscience.

  Love, family and conscience.

  Love. Family. Con-

  When it hit me, I leapt from the bed in excitement.

  “Josie, is everything ok?”

  I’d been focusing so much on the big picture stuff that I’d missed something so crucial, so glaringly obvious, that it changed absolutely everything!

  Mom sat up a bit higher. “Josie?”

  I turned to her and grinned. “Just… thinking about what you said earlier, about what’s important.”

  “Was it helpful, what I said?”

  I leaned over, and kissed her on the forehead. “More than you could ever imagine, Mom.” Then I pulled my phone from my pocket, and sent one very important text message.

  Chapter 3

  Archer and I agreed to meet at his apartment the following day, after I took Mom to the doctor.

  It was the penthouse, of course, on the top floor of a 30-story building in the heart of downtown LA. The energy here was different from the suburb Mom lived in. There were no white picket fences—instead, the atmosphere was throbbing, exciting and fast-paced.

  He took me on a tour of the apartment; high ceilings, big, airy rooms. The view of the city from the living room, through wall to ceiling windows, was extraordinary. You could even see the Hollywood sign.

  A large, inviting dining area led to the kitchen. It was a cook’s dream—one of those induction stoves that you needed special pots to cook on, a Wi-Fi enabled fridge with a TV in the front of it, and a great big island smack bang in the center of everything. Of all the high tech gadgets, it was this last that impressed me most. I’d always wanted an island in my kitchen. I couldn’t explain why—maybe because every house or apartment I’d ever lived in hadn’t been big enough to fit one.

  Archer’s home office was nearly as large as the one he had at the studio. There were three big bedrooms as well, and more bells and whistles than I’d ever seen in my life. “This is gorgeous,” I said as he handed me a wine. I settled into a comfortable lounge chair.

  “The company helps.”

  Christian had never been to Archer’s home apartment, so it was one of the few places that we knew weren’t bugged. Archer settled in beside me.

  “So,” Archer said. “How’s your Mom?”

  “Getting better—she’s on antibiotics. Thank you for covering that, by the way, she thinks you’re the Bee’s Knees.”

  “She’s a very wise woman.”

  “She’d change her mind if she ever saw that sex tape.”

  Archer sighed. “Yes—another tape. They’re like Kim Kardashian selfies—they just seem to multiply, even though no-one actually wants them to.”

  I giggled, kicking off my shoes to curl up in a ball on the couch.

  He raised an eyebrow. “You’re in a remarkably good mood for someone in our situation.”

  “Sorry. I guess, it’s just nice to be back together, you know? Like, nothing is insurmountable when you’re around.”

  Archer leaned back and sighed. “I… I don’t know how to feel. It’s funny, I should be so full of rage at what Janus has done. I should want to go after them with both guns blazing. And not just like I was before, with my expose, either. I mean actual guns blazing. With my money, I could literally hire an army, storm their headquarters and wipe them from the face of the earth.”

  I could imagine Archer storming the Janus headquarters, and snuggled closer. It was actually kind of sexy.

  He looked down at me. His face softened. “Now I don’t want to even do the documentary.”

  I sat up. “What? Why?”

  He shrugged, brushing my bangs tenderly away from my eyes. “Before, it was just me. But now I’ve got bigger things to care about.”

  A goofy smile crossed my face. “You’re sweet, you know that?” But then I became serious. “Why couldn’t we do it though—storm their headquarters, take the sex tape back by force? We’d be in the right, after everything they’d done.”

  He shook his head. “Not according to the law—I’m pretty sure the only reason you’re allowed to break into someone else’s place is fire or hostage situations.” He looked at me. “And no, we are not going to burn them out.”

  I pulled a face, but it fell when I saw the look in Archer’s eyes.

  “Josie, I think we should give in to Janus’ demands. Just give him the evidence tape.”

  “What? How can you say that? After everything we’ve been through?”

  “Like I said, I want nothing more than to tear that entire company down, one piece at a time. But… I think we both know what they’re capable of. By the time this is all said and done, blackmail could be the least of our worries. They’re capable of literally anything.”

  I thought about the casual way McNamara, puffing away on his cigar on the tape even now in my purse, talked about bribing and killing whoever he had to, to make his problems go away . ‘There are worse things that can happen than being caught on film,’ he’d told me, over the phone. I believed him.

  Archer saw the change in me. “See what I mean?”

  I took a deep breath, then let it out. “I do. But do you really think that would solve things? I mean, it probably would, for me. I’m small fry. But you… they don’t like you, at all.”

  “You let me worry about that.”

  It would be so easy to give in—to give Janus what they wanted. I gazed out the window, at the beautiful view, and sighed. “Remember sitting together on that rooftop, the first night we spent together?”

  He smiled. “How could I forget?”

  “I wanted so much to tell you why I was really with you, then. It was tearing me apart inside.” I looked up, into Archer’s startlingly beautiful eyes. “I was happy to be with you, but I’m even happier that I was honest with you, in the end.”

  “So what are you saying?”

  “Mom said something to me, when I was at her place last night. There’s only a couple of things that are important in this life—love, family and a clear conscience.”

  Archer nodded in agreement. “Your Mom is a smart woman,” he said.

  I took Archer’s hand and squeezed it. “I think I’ve found the first two things, but I’m worried if we give this tape to Janus, I won’t ever have the third.” I looked at him. “If we give this tape over, will we ever really have a clear conscience?”

  “I’d be happy knowing you aren’t in danger anymore, and the only way that will happen is if Janus gets taken
down swiftly and suddenly,” Archer replied. “That isn’t going to happen in a protracted legal battle.”

  I pursed my lips. “You didn’t answer the question.”

  “What do you want me to say?” Archer asked, exasperated. “If I had to choose between you and the tape, I’d choose you every time!”

  Just then my phone beeped. It was a reply to the text I’d sent last night.

  Suddenly, I broke out in a grin.

  “What?” Archer asked. “What’s so funny?”

  I held the phone up so that he could see it. “What if I said there was a way,” I said slowly, “where you didn’t have to choose?”

  Chapter 4

  I had hoped, vaguely but sincerely, that I’d never have to enter this building again. For a short, beautiful time I had lived in a fantasy world in which Archer would take down Janus with his expose and I’d never have to walk through this door to return an audiotape.

  But, now here I was—walking into the cavernous lobby of the LA headquarters of Janus, Inc,. With marble floors and a multi-story ceiling, it was imposing, cold, and soulless—just like the company itself.

  Christian was standing, waiting for me, in the far corner. The fact that I’d known I’d see him didn’t stop a cold ball of something hard and unpleasant settling in my stomach. I swallowed bile and strode toward him, trying not to scowl. “Christian.”

  “Josie. Good to see you.”

  I stopped before I reached his outstretched hand. “Don’t touch me. Let’s get this clear, right from the start. You’re scum, and I don’t like you, okay?

  His face fell. “I… I really am sorry about all this.”

  “If you were truly sorry, you wouldn’t have done this in the first place.”

  “We all have our price,” he snapped back. “You did—it’s the reason you’re here with that tape, right now.”

  My fists clenched, the knuckles turning white. “And the reason you’re here, is to see the damage it’s done. You’ll have to live with that, for the rest of your life.” I strode past him, to the waiting elevator. We rode it to the 30th floor in silence. This wasn’t going to be easy, but then nothing so far had been. Except loving Archer. A smile crossed my face at the thought, until Christian caught it and tried to smile back. After that, I went back to my scowl.

  The elevator doors dinged.

  I strode across the lobby, Christian tailing behind, and into an office filled with smoke.

  “Josephine, it’s so nice to see you!”

  Richard McNamara sat where he had each time I’d visited him—behind a huge desk, smoking a fat Cuban cigar. Blue smoke wreathed his head, partially obstructing the view over downtown LA from the huge wall to ceiling windows behind him. All he needed, I thought, was a fedora, a carnation in his lapel and a long-haired cat to stroke.

  “McNamara,” I said curtly. I was glad my blouse covered the rash I could already feel forming.

  “Well here we are, one big happy family,” McNamara said, looking from Christian and then back to me. “Archer couldn’t be with us? I would have so liked to have met him in person.”

  Why was he being so nice? So… cordial? “You’re lucky he isn’t,” I said. “Your nose would be broken by now if he was.”

  “You say that, but I don’t believe it,” McNamara said, smiling. He sent a glance toward Christian. “He seemed so tender and loving on that footage I saw, wouldn’t you agree Christian?”

  Christian started. “Josie, I-”

  “Shut up Christian,” I snapped. “You’re a worthless piece of dirt.”

  “I must say,” McNamara said. “I’m surprised you wanted him here.”

  I moved a step away from them both, hugging myself. “Yes, well they say it’s the small things. If I can’t have vengeance on you, I can make that slime ball realize what he’s done. He’s not like you. I think he does have a heart, buried somewhere in there.”

  McNamara laughed. “Oh Josie, you’re too much!” He gestured to a seat in front of him. “Please, take a seat.”

  I sat, swallowing my distaste as the movement brought me closer to the smoke ring surrounding his desk. Christian was left standing.

  “I’m glad you reached out.” McNamara said. “I think it would be best for us to put this entire, ugly mess behind us.” He drew deeply on his cigar. “Do you have what I asked you to bring?”

  “I do,” I said, reaching into my purse, pulling out Archer’s audio tape. It was funny. This one little tape had cost Archer and I so much—ruined our very lives—but now that it was time to give it away, I was reluctant to hand it over.

  I placed it on the desk, but didn’t slide it across.

  His beady eyes lit up when he saw it. “I’m glad you came around and saw how important it was to live up to our original agreement.”

  “That’s exactly what happened, yes,” I said dryly. “I saw the light. Nothing to do with extortion or blackmail at all.”

  He smiled broadly. “I’m glad you agree.”

  “I don’t,” I said. “I was being ironic.”

  “Well that is a shame, and obviously your opinion.”

  “Are you saying Janus didn’t try to blackmail me?”

  “My dear woman, of course we didn’t. Janus is a legitimate business enterprise with nothing but respect for US and international law. I’m sure you agree that blackmail is a heinous crime, and one Janus would never be a part of.”

  I frowned. Why was McNamara being so deliberately obtuse? What was the point of saying these things that we both knew weren’t true?

  He winked. “Fool me one time shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

  It clicked. “You think I’m wearing a wire, don’t you?”

  He grinned. “The thought had crossed my mind. You don’t get as far as I have in the business world without being able to sniff out a deliberate attempt at entrapment.”

  Just like a rat. “I assure you. I’m not wearing a wire.”

  He leaned forward. I swear I saw him lick his lips. “And just how could I possibly ever know that for sure?”

  An icy feeling began to form in the pit of my stomach. I could practically see the wheels turning in his tiny little head. “You will not touch me.”

  McNamara lifted his huge bulk from the chair with a creak. “Actually, I think I’d better.”

  I stood quickly. It wasn’t too late. I could-

  He looked toward Christian. “Hold her.”

  Christian sprang forward, gripping me from behind. I struggled desperately but couldn’t break his grasp.

  McNamara walked toward me slowly. “Oh, but I’m going to enjoy searching you. I’ve seen those videos so many times now.”

  I spat at McNamara and his face tightened briefly. “Now, now, that’s no way to treat the man about to wipe your debt. You do want all your problems solved, right?” His voice became reasonable. “All I need to do is check you’re not wearing a wire. Once that has happened, we can talk more… openly. If you’re not bugged, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  I stopped fighting, though a single tear rolled down my cheek. “Just get it over with,” I said.

  He broke into a grin. “There’s a good girl.” Cigar still in his mouth, he began to run his hands over my body. I closed my eyes, biting my lip at the indignity. He checked both legs, then my back. Finally, I turned to face him again, his hands roving higher, like slime dripping upwards. They crossed my groin and then my stomach, before spending an inordinate amount of time on my breasts. “Just making sure, Josephine. Just making sure. Would you lift your shirt up for me now please? Rest assured, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

  I suffered his touch like I would that of a doctor—ignoring the humiliation as best I could, in the pursuit of a greater cause. Eventually, he stepped back. I swear when I looked down I could see a tiny little bulge against the zip of his suit pants. The sight made me want to be sick all over again.

  He moved back behind his desk and sat heavily in his
chair. “Thank you Josephine.” Then he turned to Christian. “Would you like to check her too?” he asked suddenly. “I promise it’s much more satisfying in the flesh.” His face split into a leer. A sob escaped my throat. Every ounce of color disappeared suddenly from Christian’s face.

  “I… that is… no, I don’t think so,” he said quickly.

  “Your bad luck!” McNamara said, reaching down to adjust himself before leaning back. “Now, where were we? That’s right—I’m extorting you for those tapes. I can say that now, can’t I you stupid little wench.”

  I paused in the middle of sitting back down. “I’m sorry?”

  “I said, you stupid. Little. Wench. Too dumb to even try to record this conversation. Seriously, what did you even hope to achieve by coming here? And you’ve brought our audio tape right too us! You’ve got no more bargaining chips left.”

  “Those… those photos,” I said with trembling voice, trying to stay strong. “And the debt you’ve been blackmailing me with. Are you going to hold up your end of the bargain?”

  He reached into a drawer of his desk, pulling out two Manilla folders. “These?”

  I recognized them immediately; my heart beating faster the moment they appeared. “Yes,” I said.

  He looked at them, then took one and flicked it across the table toward me. I snatched at it with trembling hands. It was my housing documents.

  “Truth be told,” McNamara said lazily, “that home loan was more trouble than it was worth. It will be a relief to wipe it—do you know how many strings I had to pull to crank the interest rate as high as I did? You should have had that house paid off a long time ago, but of course that wouldn’t have been very useful to me.”

  I looked at the second manila folder, and licked my lips. “And… and the photos?”

  He looked at the remaining document still in his hands. “Yes… your pictures,” he said. “They’re simply too good to hand over to you, I’m afraid.” He returned the folder to its drawer.