Never to Love (18 page)

“You better own a bikini. If not, we’re going shopping this afternoon.”

“I thought we were going to Universal Studios.”

Quickly checking on my son, I found him standing in front of Tate with the actor crouched behind him, both of them looking hungry for brains, while Chase took photos.

“We are. I’m going to call Sawyer to get them to bring Peyton and the hair-puller. While Colton’s playing with Peyton, I’m gonna find a dark corner and fuck you until your debt from earlier is repaid. With interest.” Juli’s breathing hastened. “Then, when Colton passes out from exhaustion tonight, I’m gonna take you out back and fuck you in the pool.”

“You promised Colton he could swim tomorrow. I don’t think that would be appropriate after desecrating it a few hours before.”

“I’ll have the pool guy on standby to shock it after we’re done. It’ll be perfectly fine by morning, but we can wait until the afternoon if it’ll make you feel better.”

“When am I supposed to get my swimsuit?”

“You won’t need it tonight, so just bring it with you tomorrow.”

“Wow. You’re going to allow me to go home tonight?”

“Do you really think I want you anywhere near the pool boy? I know how these things work.”

“And how is that?”

“The pool boy always gets the pussy. Although I have your pussy wrapped around my little—” I didn’t think that all the way through.

“Your little what?”

Thankfully, I was saved by the kid. “Let’s go!”

“There’s a year-round Halloween shop over on Magnolia. I’m sure they would have an outfit to go with his face,” Chase said.

“Please, Daddy?” Why did the kid always bust out the “Daddy” when he wanted something?

“Sounds great,” I said. Before we headed out, we said our goodbyes to Tate and Juli said goodbye to Chase with a hug that lasted a little too long.

“While we’re at it, we can stop somewhere and pick up a swimsuit for Juli.”

“I thought we weren’t swimming until tomorrow,” she said, glaring as I looked in the direction of the set.

“We aren’t, but I thought I’d help you pick out a new one.”

“I don’t think Colton would enjoy shopping for swimwear,” she argued.

“How about you take Colton to pick out a costume, and I’ll go get you a suit.” An X-rated bikini Colton would never see her in.

“Yeah, I want Juli to go with me!” Colton hollered as we stepped out into the parking lot. After looking both ways, he darted across the short distance to Juli’s car.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”

“Trust me, you should.”

*

The last time I had so much fun was…huh, I couldn’t remember ever having that much fun. Sawyer’s crew couldn’t make it to the theme park with us, so Juli and I hadn’t been able to sneak away for a fuck or three, which much to his delight made Colton the center of her attention the entire time.

“You know,” Juli said as she handed me the keys to her M6 coupe. “Colton was a fantastic zombie today, and he demonstrated excellent self-control at the studio. If he ever wanted to give acting a try, I might consider breaking my rule against taking on another client.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that. He’s going to grow up to be a doctor or lawyer or maybe a CEO like his old man.”

Before climbing in the car, I had to move the seat way back. While adjusting the mirrors, I caught a glimpse of a passed-out Colton in the back seat.

Picking up the conversation where we’d left off, Juli said, “I didn’t realize he was interested in those fields. Maybe I should’ve taken him to the set of the medical drama that films two lots over from where we were.”

“He’s never told me what he wants to be, but I want him to grow up to do something important.” Isn’t that what every parent wanted for their child? “My dad’s a plastic surgeon, and even though he spends a lot of time working on the boobs and noses of the vain, he also helps burn victims and cancer survivors.”

I expected her to make a witty comment about fake tits, what I didn’t expect was nearly ten miles of silence.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as I pulled into my driveway. “You’ve been quieter than usual.”

“Nothing. Just tired.” She held on to the door as I pulled my sleeping son out of her back seat and then gently closed it behind him.

“Your present is in the trunk,” I said, fighting to keep the image of her in the bikini that amounted to little more than two ribbons out of my mind. “Want to grab it and change while I take him to his room?”

“It’s getting late. I think I’ll head home.”

“But then I won’t need Jared to come over and shock the pool,” I argued, jutting my lower lip out in a mock pout.

“I won’t be much fun if I stay.”

“But—” I scoured my brain for words that would get her naked and in my pool.

“He must be getting heavy. If he wakes up, tell him goodnight for me.”

“Are you still coming over tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure yet. I might have to work.”

Even though my dick had been frustrated as hell all day, I refused to beg her for anything. I could get just about any pussy I wanted and didn’t need hers if she was going to play games with me.

“Fine. See you around.”

“Make sure Colton doesn’t stay up all night if he wakes up. He was messaging me really late last night. It’s not good for him.”

“Is that what this is about? Do you think I’m a bad father?” I whisper shouted. “Who the fuck are you to judge? Are you suddenly an expert on raising kids? Did hanging out with Colton today jumpstart your ovaries?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffed. “As far as I’m concerned, the only things my ovaries are good for is getting me wet and keeping personal summers at bay.” She closed the driver’s door a little louder than last time, but before pulling away she rolled down the window and said, “Don’t worry. The next time I’m concerned about your kid, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“Good. I don’t need any help raising my son.” Before she could pull away, I turned my back toward her and shifted Colton’s weight so I could reach my keys. He
was
getting heavy, but I wasn’t in the mood to admit she was right about anything, not even to myself.

Juli

After driving around for a little while, I finally made my way home. Remembering I still had Colton’s clothes in my trunk, I walked around to the back of the car to get them. Right beside his shorts was the bag holding whatever ridiculous piece of swimwear Thomas had picked out for me.

Damn ego. If I’d just let his comment go, I could be fucking in a pool instead of heading into an empty house to do an eight-year-old’s laundry.

I knew what he meant. Most parents probably wanted their kids to cure cancer or sit on the bench of the Supreme Court. I could even understand Thomas wanting his son to follow in his footsteps. What I hated was how he outright devalued my career, the gift my friends possessed that not very many people had, and an entire industry that kept millions of people, from actors to ticket-takers, employed.

Did he not understand how movies could be inspirational or educate the nation about social injustice? Simply letting someone forget about their shitty day for a few hours was equally important.

Did he not realize most people in the industry who were fortunate enough to have found success give back to those in need? He had been happy to get Marina and Tate on board for the center, but did he not think their work made a difference?

Did he not see how happy an hour or so at a studio getting made up like a zombie and an afternoon at a theme park based solely on movies made his son?

He probably didn’t realize how his words sounded, or maybe he did and was too much of an asshole to care. Either way, he’d shown how little he thought of my work and, by proxy, me.

Then he’d piled on the insult by jumping down my throat when I expressed a little concern for his kid. And how could I forget the way he fucking flipped out when I touched his wallet. I would never let him touch me again. He could drool as much as he wanted at meetings, because there was no fucking way I’d let him chase me away from the project. However, I wouldn’t give him another minute of my time after I either had a delivery service return Colton’s clothes or I gave them to Marina to give to Sawyer to give to Thomas. How such a good day could be bookended by complete shit, I’d never know.

I really hated that I’d miss the kid.

Even though I had no intention of using it, I kept my phone close. Five minutes after I’d climbed into bed, Thomas’s name appeared on the screen. It didn’t matter if he was calling to continue the argument or to eat crow. The fact that he called at all confirmed my victory.

Real mature, Juli,
was the thought going through my mind as I plugged the phone into the charger and turned off the light. When I eventually began to drift off, I found myself wondering if Colton had any trouble falling asleep, and my concern had nothing to do with my stupid ovaries.

*

“Great work, Juli,” Peter, one of the owners of Tremont, said Monday morning as we walked from the parking lot to the one-story building. We were a major agency, but they were determined to keep the vibe of the company as down-to-earth as possible and opted to buy a five-thousand-square-foot building instead of renting space in a downtown high-rise.

There was a reason I avoided the office as much as possible, and this was it. Making small talk was not my idea of fun. Peter wasn’t that bad, but he was pretty much the only one who didn’t annoy the shit out of me. I was only required to come for meetings and handle paperwork, which was the reason for this particular trip.

“Thank you, sir,” I said instead of “Tell me something I don’t know.” There wasn’t much I could do that would get me fired, but I was always polite to the people in charge. It helped to have friends in high places.

“Those photos are still making headlines.”

“Did you see the video on YouTube? It had almost a million views over the weekend.” He had to have seen it, but I couldn’t help boasting. He’d started the ego stroking session, so joining in was the polite thing to do.

Impressed, as usual, he smiled and shook his head in appreciative disbelief. “What you have can’t be taught, and we were damned lucky to scoop you up.” I let them believe they’d chosen me, but in reality, I’d chosen them.

Even though they hadn’t blown up yet, I knew my friends had something special, and I wouldn’t take them just anywhere. I researched every firm in California and New York and chose Tremont. Since Peter and his business partner-slash-husband, Troy, didn’t know what I did about their newest clients, they were happy to sign a contract stating Marina and Tate were mine and mine alone. All I’d brought with me was a pair of mid-list young actors, and as I knew they would, less than a year later, they became Hollywood royalty.

We took the last few steps in silence and when we arrived, Peter held the door for me.

“Your plan worked out well for Saul, as well,” he said nodding toward the guy barreling toward us. “Brady’s camp is in PR heaven. You did more for him in one night than Saul has in a year. I wouldn’t be surprised if his management team doesn’t try to convince you to add one more client to your roster.” Peter knew I would never take another client because I wasn’t willing to split my focus. That stipulation was added to my contract two years after I started working for Tremont. With a sympathetic look in Saul’s direction, Peter headed toward his office, leaving me to deal with the annoyance on my own.

Outside of how it affected my clients, I hadn’t paid much attention to what was being said about my “date” with Brady. I’d been busy on Saturday, and I really just didn’t care.

“I think ‘Bradyanne’ will be the next big thing,” was the first thing out of his mouth. Saul was way too enthusiastic over such a terrible idea. I took off down the hall toward my office, but he followed along behind.

“I didn’t think anything could be worse than ‘Marinate,’ but you’ve proven me wrong.” Just saying the word was painful. Most people loved catchy nicknames for their clients, but this was my great white whale. My best friends were not a couple of steaks sitting in a bowl of soy sauce in a refrigerator. No matter what I did, from the moment the name hit the Internet I’d never been able to put a lid on it. Funny enough, some people in the biz considered that fucking name to be one of my greatest achievements.