Hollywood Hype: A Sexy Billionaire Romance (The Director's Assistant Book 3) (3 page)

Once I got home from
Mom’s, I sat down with a cup of tea and a notepad to think the situation through rationally. By the time I was finished, a few things were clear:

One: I had a tape that incriminated Janus.

Two: Janus had two tapes that incriminated Archer and I.

I paused, toying with an idea. What if I just gave the tape I had to the police?

I shook my head, dismissing the notion. Janus wasn’t a nice company, but they were a wealthy one. They’d be able to delay things for at least long enough to ruin Archer.

My pencil dipped to the page once more. After a moment’s thought, I wrote:

Three: There is someone else involved.

I chewed on my pencil as I thought about that. Whoever they were, they were clever. While they remained unexposed, Janus would always have the upper hand. They might do other things to Archer, or even try to steal the tape
I
had.

What I really needed to do was find out who they were.
That, and somehow reclaim my personal photos, destroy those sex tapes and wipe the mortgage on my mother’s house.
Once all that was done, Archer would be safe, and I could take the tape to the police.

I sighed.
Nothing to it Josie! You should have this all wrapped up by the end of the day—time to break out the cigarettes.

No—don’t give in to despair
. Even
Ben-Hur
was filmed one day at a time. I’d need to do this in small steps too.

I started to formulate a plan.

* * *

I wouldn’t be able to do this alone. I’d need Archer, to be able to draw Janus’ spy out. But with Archer not wanting to talk to me, I’d need to enlist more help, too.

I worked through different scenarios, ideas and possible contacts all day Sunday. By Monday morning, I was ready to start making phone calls.

One of the first I made was to Christian. He agreed to meet me for coffee at a café off the studio lot.

“What’s with all the cloak and dagger?” he asked when he arrived, squeezing his lanky frame into the seat opposite me. The café was on the other side of town—it had been a long drive for us both to get there.

I took off my sunglasses. “I didn’t want to meet where anyone might see,” I explained.

He frowned. “Is everything okay Josie? You’re not in some sort of trouble, are you?”

I sighed. I didn’t like the thought of telling someone else, but Christian was now my only lifeline to Archer. If I wanted this to work, I was going to have to take some risks. “Can you keep a secret?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Of course.”

“The sex scandal… it’s about Archer … and myself.”

Christian’s eyes widened. “Get out of here! You’re a prostitute!”

I screwed up my face. “No, of course not. But we… um… we might have had
relations
a couple of times.”

“Woo-ee,” he said, wide eyed. “Well I never…”

I cleared my throat. “Listen, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to drag you into this, but I need help and I don’t know who else to turn to. Can you help me?”

“If I can, of course.”

“Someone’s got a hold of some security footage, or something. I don’t know. But I need to see Archer, and explain what happened.”

Christian rubbed the back of his neck, pulling a face. “He doesn’t want to see you Josie.”

“I know. That’s why I need you. Can you help?”

He grimaced. “I don’t know—he was very specific in his directions.”

My face fell. “I know.” I reached out and grabbed Christian’s hands. “But he’s got it all wrong. I know he’s dating this other woman now, but I can’t help thinking that if I kiss him again, maybe it will make him remember what
we
had.”

“Just as long as the kiss doesn’t turn into something more!” Christian gave a short, sharp bark of laughter.

I rolled my eyes. “Can you imagine, caught on camera again? A kiss would be bad enough. No, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“How?”

“If I meet him on a set, do you think you could disable the security cameras in the building?”

Christian shrugged. “Sure. But, Josie…” He fiddled with something in his pocket for a moment, then leaned in. “Maybe you should just let sleeping dogs lie,” he whispered. He looked around furtively. “You’re… you’re a good girl, Josie. If these guys are blackmailing you, just give them what they want. I don’t want to see you hurt any more than you’ve already been.”

I shook my head. “Archer is actually fine with me giving them the tape they are demanding. But I can’t—not until I see him again.”

He looked into my eyes for a long time. Then, reaching into his pocket, he sighed. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do. Tomorrow evening, Sound Stage 2.”

I frowned. “That’s the one with the new security system, right? The doors are all locked remotely, from central security? How will I get inside?”

“Leave it to me—I’ll make sure they’re open for you. They’ve set up for that
Land of the Faerie
blockbuster they’re shooting next week, so it should be deserted. Just… be careful, okay? If that kiss turns into something more, I don’t want you getting caught.”

“Nothing’s going to happen.”

Christian poked his tongue out at me. “Sure, I bet that’s what you said the last two times, as well.”

Hopefully Christian had done
his part; I’d done mine too, making several phone calls to a variety of people after talking to him.

Now was the hard part—having the guts to pull my grand plan off. I’d told Christian that I just needed to see Archer to explain what happened. But that was only part one of the plan I had spent all Sunday working out.
I would see Archer again
. Though he might not want to see me, I’d get to look in his eyes one last time and tell him what he meant to me. If I was lucky, I might get to show it, too.

I’d learned a lot about myself in the past few weeks, including the fact that I was capable of doing almost anything for the people I loved most. That journey had started when I’d taken the job with Archer—choosing to betray him for my Mom’s health and happiness. It had almost come full circle now—the things I was choosing to do, if my suspicions and plans proved correct, would now protect Archer, too.

That didn’t stop me from being nauseated with worry, though. My stomach did flip-flops all day Monday, and all day Tuesday, too. If I’d been a clutz before this started, the shattered plates and dints in furniture proved I’d become even more of one in the lead-up.

Finally, as the sun set, the nerves stopped. I didn’t have time for nerves any more. Whether for right or wrong, the plan had been set in action, the trap set, and it would all be over, one way or the other.

My dark blue sundress brought out my eyes. Matching heels gave me just that little bit more extra height. I’d even curled my poker-straight hair, though my bangs still fell down over my eyes. I made one last call on a small hand held radio as I stood outside the studio film stage. “Are we set?”

“Sure are, Miss Belle
flower
.”

“It’s
Belle-
” I stopped. “You know what, doesn’t matter. As long as you’re in position when the time comes.”

“Roger that. And just to confirm, this order is coming straight from Mr. Williams?”

“Of course,” I said, crossing my fingers. “Do you want to check with him? I have him right here beside me...” I held my breath.

“No, that’s fine. See you soon.”

The breath released. I opened the door to the set of
Land of the Faerie
, and walked inside.

* * *

I looked around in wonder, forgetting for just the briefest of moments why I’d walked inside.

I was standing in the middle of a mystical, otherworldly faerie glen. Tall trees rimmed the perimeter, with painted canvas backdrops of lush forest behind that. To one side, I could see a pond filled with lily pads and animatronic frogs—an adjoining film location, though it provided atmosphere and depth for this one, too.

Behind me, lights had been set up from the rafters and on stands; when I turned them on, the place glowed softly, artificial sunlight bathing the glade in a warm, gentle glow. Colorful butterflies rested here and there on leaves and in bushes. They were scotch-taped in place, but from anything over five inches away, the lie was startlingly pretty.

Under any other circumstance I’d have called the scene I was in breathtaking. With my heart racing like a speeding train, however, I couldn’t fully enjoy it. I began to pace, but stopped after the third time I knocked an expensive piece of film equipment over. After that I sat on a large boulder and forced myself to be still, waiting for Archer.
He had to come
. There could be no plan without him.

I’d been waiting for fifteen minutes when the door finally opened.

I breathed a sigh of relief—I’d almost given up hope—and then immediately discovered that I
did
have nerves again. This was it. It was now or never.

He didn’t notice me at first. His head was in a clipboard, ticking off pieces of equipment as he walked from one side of the stage to the other. I wondered briefly what lie Christian had told to get him here. Then he looked up. “Josie?” he asked, startled.

I tried to read his expression in the dim light. Surprise? Pleasure? Disappointment? It was difficult to say.

What if he didn’t even want to see me?
What if he was only two seconds from turning around and walking out. I tried to answer him, but only the slightest of murmurs escaped my lips.

“Josie?”

I forced myself to try again. “I had to see you,” I finally croaked. It was all I could say, my tongue tied.

He moved as if toward a frightened deer. “I thought you didn’t want to ever see me again.”

“I thought
you
didn’t want to ever see
me
again,” I retorted.

“Why would I ever say that?”

“I don’t know, maybe something about a sex tape.” He’d reached me now; a hand’s width between us, though we weren’t touching. “It wasn’t me, Archer. You have to believe that.”

He looked at me like I’d said the sky was blue. “I know.”

I stepped backward. “Then why did you start dating again so soon? I mean…” I rushed, “not that we were dating, but still!” I did my best to look at him defiantly.

He looked genuinely perplexed. “What on earth are you talking about?”

My arms crossed my chest, and then I was hugging myself. “Chrystal Holmes.”

He shook his head. “What about her?”

“Don’t try and deny it,” I said hotly. “I saw you together, at the café, on Saturday.”

His face went briefly blank. Then recognition dawned. “My lunch date?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes.”

He burst out laughing. “Josie, I’m helping her get married!” He looked at me. “
To someone else
,” he clarified. He walked toward me, reaching out to gently hold my shoulders.
Damn he felt good.
“We dated last year, but it was never serious. She was asking me on Saturday if I could help with her wedding video.”

I wanted to fold myself into those arms… but I pulled myself away, instead. “If that’s true, then why did you say you never wanted to speak to me again? Why didn’t you call me?”

He frowned. “It was
you
who said never to call, remember?”

I held up my hands. “When you phoned me, I said ‘we shouldn’t see each other for a while’. Not, ‘don’t call me ever.’”

He shook his head. “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about what you told Christian. He said you never wanted to talk to me again. I was going almost mad with worry, but-”

I cocked my head. “Wait, he said what?”

“That you didn’t want to see me again,” Archer said patiently.

Now it was my turn to be indignant. “I never said that! He told me
you
didn’t want to see me again!”

He frowned. “I did talk about it not being the best idea for
me
to be seen for a while. But that’s one hell of a mix-up.”

I looked around the studio hesitantly. “Don’t go too hard on him. He’s the one that set up this meeting. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have been able to get through to you.” I looked up at Archer. “It broke my heart, thinking you didn’t want to see me. It really broke my heart. I thought you might think that I was the one that leaked those videos.”

“Oh, sweet girl.” He held out his arms. Now I did finally allow myself to be enfolded inside them. “I never doubted you for a minute. Though it’s video, not videos—from what I can make out of the article, they seem to have one tape of us—probably that first time.

I looked up at him. “They have two tapes,” I said with a grimace. “That time last Friday night, as well.”

An eyebrow rose. “How do you know that?”

I shook my head. “I can’t tell you that. Not yet.” Then I looked up at him. “Can you trust me, one final time?”

He didn’t hesitate. “With all my heart, body and soul.” Then he looked around us, at the faerie glade. “That’s why we’re meeting here, isn’t it?”

I nodded. “Christian organized the security.”

Archer looked at me. “That’s not all, is it? You’re planning something.”

I hesitated, wanting to tell him, but not daring, in case it ruined everything. Archer saw the look, and squeezed my arm. “It’s okay. I trust you—just tell me what I have to do.”

I smiled now, genuinely excited. “That’s easy. Kiss me, and make it a good one.”