Hot Off the Red Carpet (2 page)

Murray walked over to the desk.  “Your resume is very impressive, Addison,” he said as he picked up a thick leather-bound book.  “Trevor’s going to be in good hands with you, I know it.”

She felt herself blush at the less-than-professional image the manager’s words conjured up.

Murray didn’t seem to notice her heightened color as he flipped through the day-planner in his hands.  “Everything you need is in this book, so familiarize yourself with it.  It has all the important contact numbers, as well as Trevor’s schedule.  He has two appointments this evening.  One is a talk-show interview at a studio down in Burbank in a couple of hours, and the other is back here later tonight.  He’s meeting with a director about a new movie.”

Trevor was making a new movie?  She hoped it was one of those action/adventure flicks where he took his shirt off a lot.  Those were her favorites.  Before she could ask, though, Murray continued.

“For the interview in Burbank, you’ll need to coordinate with his driver so make sure you do that right after we get done here.  He’s usually out back in the cottage.  Or you can call him if that’d be easier.  The number’s in the book,” he said.  “I don’t know if you did this kind of stuff at your previous position, but just give him the standard info.  The pick-up and drop-off times on the sticky note there.  Which studio you’re going to.  Things like that.  Oh, and make sure to check that the limo is well stocked with Dasani Lemon.  Trevor prefers it to the regular and I think that damn driver is sucking it down himself.”

Dasani Lemon, huh?  That was a new tidbit of information about Trevor that she didn’t know.  And she thought she knew everything about him!

“When you get to the studio, take Trevor to his dressing room, and then talk to the producer doing the show, make sure he knows which questions are out of bounds,” Murray continued.  “Get with stage manager, too.  Trevor hates having studio lights pointing right in his eyes.  Oh, and no autographs afterward.  Trevor will want to sign them, but don’t let him.  He’s on a tight schedule and I don’t want him late for his meeting with the director.  Speaking of which, tell the cook not to make any kind of hors d’oeuvres that have seafood in them.  The director has some sort of thing against fish and won’t touch the stuff.  Piss off the director and Trevor can kiss the part goodbye.”

* * *

Addison felt like her head was spinning.  She was just thinking that maybe she should ask Murray to run through the list if instructions again so she could take notes when the manager announced that he needed to get with Trevor about a photo shoot he’d set up.

“Oh, by the way,” Murray added as he left.  “Your bedroom is just down the hall from Trevor’s.  Bob will show you where it is.  If you need anything, my number is in the book.”

Addison was so excited about her bedroom being down the hall from Trevor’s that she barely heard the rest of what Murray said.  Not only would she get to see the gorgeous Trevor Braden every day, but she’d get to sleep right down the hall from him.  If she weren’t so afraid someone might see, she’d do a little happy dance right there in the office!

Abruptly remembering the day-planner she was holding, Addison paged through it until she found the number for Trevor’s driver.  He answered right away and she gave him all the necessary information.  She even remembered to mention the part about making sure the bar in the limo was stocked with Dasani Lemon.

Thinking that she should probably take Murray up on his suggestion to familiarize herself with Trevor’s schedule, she took a few minutes to look through the day-planner. There were talk-show appearances and photo shoots mixed in with his regular filming schedule, plus some red-carpet events, including the premiere for his new movie.  God, he was really busy.

A knock interrupted her and she looked up to see Bob standing in the open doorway.  “Sorry to interrupt,” he said.  But Murray wanted me to show you to your room.”

“Oh, okay.”  She closed the day-planner and slipped it into her shoulder bag.

“I’m Bob Davitt, by the way,” the big man said as she stepped out of the room.  “I’m Trevor’s bodyguard.”

From the way he was built, Addison should have guessed.  “I’m Addison Mattingly,” she said, and then realized he probably already knew that.  She reached up to tuck her long, ash blonde hair behind her ear. “Thanks for bringing my bags up to my room.”

“No problem,” he said.  “I’ll give you a quick tour of the house on the way.  That way you’ll know where everything is.”

The house was so big that Addison thought she might actually need a map to find her way around it.  In addition to the spacious and very plush living room, there were three formal dining rooms, a huge gym, a media room that could have doubled for a movie theater, a recreation room with a pool table and video games, and another office like the one Murray had taken her to, not to mention more bedrooms than she could count.

When they stopped by the kitchen, Bob introduced her to the cook, Maribel.  Or personal chef, as Bob called her.  Plump with dark hair that had gone gray in places, the other woman gave her a warm smile and told her that if she needed anything, she should just ask.  It wasn’t until Bob was leading her upstairs a little while later that Addison remembered what Murray had said about the hors d’oeuvres.  Rather than go back right then, Addison decided that she’d just stop by and talk to Maribel about them before she and Trevor left.

The bedroom Bob showed her to was huge, not to mention absolutely beautifully decorated, and Addison couldn’t help but gasp.  Her entire apartment would fit in here.  Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration.  But the room really was big.

“If you need anything, just yell,” Bob said before heading back down the hall.

“I will,” Addison said.  She started to close the door, but then poked her head out.  “Bob?”

He turned.

“Do you know where Trevor – Mr. Braden – is?  We need to leave for the studio soon.”

“He’s probably in his bedroom getting ready,” Bob supplied.  “Two doors down that way,” he added, gesturing with his finger.

She nodded.  “Thanks.”

Addison started to shut the door, but then hesitated.  Maybe she should check in with Trevor.  Just to see if he was actually getting ready.  She didn’t want them to be late, after all.

Smoothing her hands down the front of her skirt, she made her way down the hall to his room and knocked on the door.  “Mr. Braden, it’s Addison,” she said.

“Come in,” Trevor called.

Addison had to bite her lip to stifle a moan.  God, he had a sexy voice!  Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and pushed open the door.

Trevor was standing in the middle of the room, dressed in a pair of jeans and nothing else.  Whatever Addison had been going to say fled her mind at the sight of his bare chest.  She’d seen him without a shirt in movies and magazines, of course, but they paled in comparison to the real thing.  Damn, he was built!

“Which one do you think?” he said.

She was vaguely aware of him holding up a shirt in each hand, but she was too mesmerized by his chiseled chest and washboard stomach to even glance at them.

“Addison?”

She dragged her gaze away from his incredible body to find him regarding her curiously.  “Wh-what was that?” she asked.

“Which shirt do you think I should wear for the talk show?” he asked.

Addison barely glanced at them.  “Th-the dark blue,” she stammered.

Trevor regarded it for a moment, and then shrugged.  “I was kind of leaning toward the other one, but I think you’re right.”  He flashed her a grin that made her pulse flutter.  “I’m lousy at this type of thing.”

Addison watched as he tossed the other shirt on the bed and shrugged into the one she’d picked out, wondering why he even bothered wearing one at all.  Heck, with a body like his, he should just go shirtless all the time.

“So, what can I do for you?” he asked as he buttoned his shirt.

For starters, he could sweep her up in his arms, set her down on the bed, and make mad, passionate love to her.  She imagined him ripping her clothes off like the guys always did in the romance books.  The image brought a rush of color to her cheeks, not to mention a delicious, little tingle to her pussy, and she almost moaned.

“Addison?” he prompted when she didn’t answer.  “Did you need me for something?”

She blinked in confusion, trying to remember what she’d come to his room for.  He was going to think she was an idiot.  “I...um...I came to tell you that we need to leave for the studio in...” She glanced down at her watch and was startled to see that they were already running late.  “Oh no!  We were supposed to leave ten minutes ago.  The limo is probably already waiting for us.  We’d better go.”

Addison didn’t give him a chance to reply, but turned and hurried out of the room.

As she had predicted, the limo was waiting for them in front of the house.  Bob was talking to the driver, and both men turned in their direction as she and Trevor stepped outside.

Bob sat in front with the driver, whom he introduced as Leo, leaving Addison and Trevor alone in the back.  As she settled into the seat, her slim skirt slid up her thighs, and she noticed Trevor’s dark eyes caress her legs before he leaned forward to grab two bottles of Dasani Lemon from the bar.

He held one out to her.  “Do you need a glass?”

She shook her head. “This is fine.”

As she reached out to take the bottle, their fingers brushed, and it was all Addison could do not to squeal with delight.  To stop herself from doing just that, she quickly unscrewed the cap and took a sip of the flavored water.  To her embarrassment, some of it went the wrong way, and she ended up having a coughing fit.

Brow furrowing in concern, Trevor reached out to pat her on the back.  “Are you sure you don’t need a glass?  Or maybe a straw?” he asked when she could finally talk.

Addison shook her head, totally embarrassed.  “I’m fine.  Really,” she said.  “I just drank too fast.”

From the way Trevor was looking at her, she thought he might insist about the glass, but then he sat back in the seat beside her and took a swallow of water from his own bottle.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, much to Addison’s relief.  Though she was pleased Trevor had chosen to sit next to her, part of her would have preferred that he’d taken the seat across from her instead so she could have spent the drive looking at him.  Even so, she still managed to steal several covert, sidelong glances without him knowing.  Actors probably weren’t used to their personal assistants fawning all over them, she reminded herself.  She had to keep a rein on her inner-groupie.

When they arrived at the television studio a little while later, Addison was surprised to find security keeping a mob of screaming fan girls at bay outside the door.  Trevor took it in stride, however, giving the women a wave and flashing that sexy grin of his as Bob escorted both of them into the studio.

Once inside, Addison was all set to wait in the green room with Trevor when she abruptly remembered Murray’s instructions to talk to the show’s producer about the kinds of questions that were off limits.  Telling Trevor she would be right back, she hurried out of the room.

Finding the man took a little while and it wasn’t until she finally tracked him down that she realized Murray had never told her what kinds of questions were off limits.  Since she didn’t know, she decided the best thing to do would be to ask the producer what the show host was going to talk to Trevor about.

“His new movie, mostly,” the producer said.  “And what other projects he has going on.  That type of thing.”

That sounded okay to Addison.  Giving the man a smile, she thanked him for speaking with her, and then headed back to the green room.  As she did so, she had the nagging suspicion that there was something else she was supposed to do before the show, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember what it was.  She really should have taken notes when Murray was rattling off his list of instructions.

Addison had always been glued to the television whenever Trevor was on, but she had to admit that it was a lot different in person.  Not only were there all the cameras and lights, but there was the studio audience, too.  Not surprisingly, it was almost all female.

She was so caught up in watching the clips from her boss’s new movie that she didn’t even notice the spotlight was shining directly into Trevor’s eyes, forcing him to spend the whole interview leaning to one side in his chair.  It was then that she remembered the other instruction Murray had given her.  Crap, she was supposed to talk to the lighting guy.  She was just making her way over to him when the show host announced that they were going to take a commercial break.  She thought that would have made it easier to get the lighting guy’s attention, but she’d barely finished speaking to him about the spotlight when the producer announced that they were back on the air.

Now that the spotlight wasn’t shining directly into his eyes, Trevor looked a lot more relaxed, Addison noticed.  Right up until the show host mentioned a rumor he’d heard about Trevor hooking up with some actress.  Though Trevor tried to hide it, Addison saw from the way his jaw tightened that the question bothered him.  Clearly that was one of those things that were supposed to have been off limits.  Well, there was nothing she could do about it now.