L. A. Cinderella

Chapter Thirteen

Chase had hung back in the kitchen for a few minutes before heading to the door. Alexis had probably stopped and made sure the photographers got a few key shots of her driving through his gate. Maybe even a few on his front porch.

As he entered the foyer, his heart stopped. Natalie and Alexis stared at each other through the glass door. Chase cursed his stupid luck as he brushed past Natalie and jerked open the door.

“Come in, Alexis.” He shut the door behind her and led her farther into the room, away from telephoto range, which fortunately Natalie was out of. “Ladies, I believe we need to have a discussion. Let’s go to the media room.”

Alexis strutted through the door leading to the media room. Chase took Natalie’s hand. Her face registered shock and panic.

“I’ll fix this.”

Her eyes were wide. “How?”

He had no idea how, but he couldn’t tell her that. She looked like her dog just died. “I’ll fix this.”

Taking Natalie’s hand, he led her into the Media room and sat her in a chair before closing the door.

“Alexis, I believe you remember Natalie from the office.” Chase stood beside Natalie’s chair while Alexis leaned against the bar with a satisfied grin.

“From the office? Oh, yes, the little girl who does the books. Chase, this is worse than Jude’s nanny fiasco.”

He could see the wheels turning in Alexis’s head. “This is nothing like that, Alexis. You and I aren’t dating.”

“Yes, but you’re still screwing the hired help.”

Natalie jerked in her chair as if Alexis had slapped her. Why hadn’t he asked Natalie to go upstairs and not subject her to Alexis? He rested his hand on her shoulder, and she winced under his hand. He squeezed her, hoping to reassure her. This night was going from bad to worse. “Look, Alexis, we’re adults here. You and I aren’t a couple anymore.”

Alexis’s eyes narrowed and her famous lips tightened. “You’re right, we’re not, but they don’t know that.” She flung her arm out in an arc. “What they will see is that the Sexiest Man Alive prefers his bookkeeper over me. Do you know what that will do to my image?”

“What do you want me to do, Alexis? Put my life on hold so you can try to make an even bigger name for yourself?”

Her body curled down into a seat. “No, but I think we can find a mutually agreeable solution.”

“I’m listening.” He didn’t need Alexis to start attacking Natalie again, and the quickest way to get Alexis out of here was to figure out what she wanted.

Natalie tensed under his hand again. If he hadn’t driven her here, she probably would have already bolted, which would have been impossible to clean up after the entrance Alexis made.

Alexis flashed her smile. “We’ve already been seen at the Golden Globes.”

He waited for her to go on. He’d forgotten how melodramatic she was. Everything had been an act with her. He wondered if she even knew herself anymore.

“There’s been Oscar talk…” Her eyes gleamed with her self-importance. “If you go, I want to be on your arm.”

Natalie shifted in the chair. It wasn’t a lot to ask. It wasn’t as if Natalie wanted to go. Or did she? There’s nothing he’d like better than to have her by his side on award night, but that would bring her under the spotlight. She barely wanted to be seen at the best of times. He knew it from the way she’d try to shrink behind things or pull into herself when they spoke.

If their relationship ever hit the stands, it would simultaneously hit a wall. She’d be gone, out of his life forever. He had no doubt about it. His chest ached. It wasn’t like this could last.

“Fine. On one condition. My relationship with Natalie stays out of the tabloids. If there is even a hint of her name or face on a page, no Oscar night.”

“That’s not fair.” Alexis stood and stomped her foot to emphasize her point. “What if you guys get sloppy or someone else finds out?”

Chase leaned back against the wall. “That’s the risk you’ll have to deal with. Take it or leave it.” He was confident Alexis would do anything to keep the tabloids from finding out about Natalie just to go to the Oscars. That would at least give Chase a month of not having to worry that Natalie would turn tail and run. One month would have to be enough.

Alexis’s mouth curled into a smile. “All right, but you have to go out with me a few times during the month, too.” Her red-painted nails curved around her arms like claws.

Make a deal with the devil and you’re bound to get burned. Isn’t that what his grandpa had always said? If it allowed him to keep Natalie, he’d do almost anything.

“Sure, whatever.”

Alexis smiled dangerously. “Seal it with a kiss?”

“Not if my life depended on it.” He heard the breath rush out of Natalie. How long had she been holding it?

“Well, then it was a pleasure meeting you again…Natalie, was it? I’ll see you this Friday and Saturday, Chase.” She drifted across the room.

“Friday only.”

She stopped. “Friday night and Saturday dinner. You’ll be home early enough to do whatever or whomever you like.”

“Fine.”

She smiled like the cat that’d caught the canary and swallowed it whole. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Chase.”

Alexis swept from the room. Chase sighed. The arrangement would keep their relationship hidden for a while longer. Natalie could stay.

“Can you take me home?” she whispered. Her voice shook as if she were about to cry.

He dropped to his knee in front of her. Brushing her hair back from her face, he looked up into her large brown eyes. “You don’t have to go home, Natalie. Besides, if we leave now, the photogs will definitely follow.” Please stay with me, his heart pleaded, even though he knew this couldn’t last.

She grimaced.

“Stay, Natalie.”

“Why?”

He sensed there was more to that question. Something huge lurked beneath that question, and he wished she’d let it out. Trust him enough to deal with whatever doubts she may be having. He chose to ignore the lurking monster and answer her question as posed, even knowing that lurking monsters usually pounced on you when you least expected it.

“Because I want you to stay. Because I want to hold you tonight. I want to feel you in my arms when I wake.”

“Why? Why me?” She refused to meet his eyes. “Why not her?”

He wanted to shake her and pull her into his arms and never let her go. “Because she’s not you.”

Her face was flush with color. “I’m not like Alexis. I don’t want what she wants.”

“Natalie, please. We can figure out where this will go tomorrow. Be with me tonight.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head on her chest. “Just tonight.”

She wrapped her arms around his head, and he sighed. She was his for at least tonight.

Friday morning came too quickly for Natalie. The week had flown by.

Night Blooming had been nominated for seven Oscars. The whole office was ecstatic. Chase and Robert had taken the production team out to lunch to celebrate the news.

Every night after everyone left, Chase and she had worked on figuring out how much Mr. Morrison had taken. The evidence kept piling up. And after crunching numbers, Chase would take her to his house, and they’d spend the night in each other’s arms.

They’d talked about his tutors and her mother. How their classrooms of one had been lonely at times. He’d shared his secret desire to go to college. She’d told him about rooming with Rachel in college, and how different it had been from anything she’d ever experienced.

She wasn’t getting as much sleep as she needed, but she was deliciously tired. During the day, the strutting down the hallway couldn’t intimidate her anymore. Her contacts had come in on Monday, and she no longer had to wear her old glasses.

She smiled remembering Chase’s reaction. He’d actually missed the darn things and made her promise to bring them with her to his place.

“Are you ready?” Chase was there in front of her.

Her smile grew until she remembered what they were about to do. Martin Morrison was about to get his walking papers. Well, not exactly. There would be a police escort waiting to book him for fraud.

Her smile slipped. She turned her head to look at the door behind her. Chase had insisted she be a part of this, even though she had tried to argue with him. She still wasn’t good at saying no.

“Okay.” She stood and followed Chase down the hall, trying not to focus on his butt in those fabulous jeans. He stopped abruptly, and she crashed into his back. Steadying herself, she stepped back.

He glanced over his shoulder and smiled the smile that melted her heart every time. She couldn’t even blush anymore around him. Except when she thought about what he did to her, his gentle exploration, the slow burn that ignited whenever he was near. She sighed.

“Are we ready?” Robert’s voice interrupted her daydreams.

“Yeah, we have all the evidence. We just need to call in Martin. Natalie, you can wait in my office.” His voice was all business, but she couldn’t seem to lift her gaze from watching his lips move.

His words penetrated her brain, and she nodded and stepped around him into the office. She took one of the chairs along the back and crossed her legs. By the time the men filed in, she’d squeezed her hands so tight her knuckles were turning white.

She didn’t want to be in here. Confrontations were not her thing, but Chase had insisted. She tried to fade into the corner as the men took their seats.

“As you know, Martin, we’ve been looking into the production expenses.”

Mr. Morrison glanced over at her in the corner, but didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow. He focused his attention on Chase. “Yes, Chase. We finished up the audit on Monday, and I provided you with our report. All the expenses tied in. The numbers were correct.”

“Not exactly, Martin.” Chase leaned back in his chair. “We found some things that didn’t seem right.”

Robert chimed in. “Like expense reports from extras.”

“We typically allow actors certain expenses while on set.” Martin’s voice changed pitch slightly. His head swiveled from Chase to Robert. “I see nothing wrong with a few expenses.”

“Martin, we know about the cash payments. We also know that the extras didn’t turn in any expense reports.” Chase was calm and matter-of-fact. He didn’t project the anger or betrayal that Natalie knew he felt. He was cold and direct.

“I don’t know what you are suggesting, Chase, but I haven’t done anything wrong.” He swiveled in his chair and pierced Natalie with his gaze. “What did you find that you didn’t bring to me?”

Natalie cowered in her corner. Her palms sweated and her stomach churned.

“Natalie did her job.” Chase drew Martin’s attention back to him.

She breathed in and out slowly.

Robert stood and walked around the desk behind Chase. “The police are here to take you into custody, Martin. I’m sorry it’s come to this.”

“Not as sorry as you’ll be.” Martin stood and straightened his jacket. “Not as sorry as you will be.” He glared at Natalie as he walked out the door.

Natalie couldn’t slow the beating of her heart and knew it was only a matter of minutes before her breakfast made a repeat performance. She lunged out of the chair and out the door. Shoving into the bathroom, she made it to the stall before the heaving began.

“Natalie?” Chase’s voice was directly behind her. His hand soothed her, running down her back.

Mortification filled her as her stomach turned over again. His hand continued slow soothing circles as tears streamed down her face. His hand left her, and a moment later, he draped a wet towel over the back of her neck.

Her stomach finally stopped convulsing. She slid from her knees to lean against the stall wall. Her eyes closed as exhaustion overwhelmed her.

Something wet touched her face, and she jerked her eyes opened. Chase gently wiped her face with a towel. He brushed away a tear with his thumb.

“We need to get you home.” His hand smoothed back her hair. He leaned over her as if he were going to pick her up.

She wanted to rely on him, to give in and let him take care of her, but she knew what was on the other side of the bathroom door. Martin’s very public exit from the company had drawn a number of press vans. Chase couldn’t carry her out of even the bathroom without making a scene. She wasn’t prepared to deal with that.

She placed her clammy hand on his warm arm. “No, Chase.”

“What?” He seemed genuinely confused.

“You can’t. The press.”

“Damn it.” He slammed his hand against the metal stall. “What does it matter? Maybe I’m just a really good employer.”

“That’s not the way it works, Chase, and you know it.” She pressed her shaking hand against his cheek.

“So now I can’t even take care of you.” His jaw was tight. He’d push it if she let him.

She wanted to let him and that scared her. Instead she lifted her head. “I’m fine, Chase. It’s just nerves. By the way, you know you’re in the lady’s room, right?”

His eyes narrowed, and he didn’t smile like she’d hoped. He stood and helped her to her feet. “Go home, Natalie. Get some sleep.”

He tossed the towel in the trash and left the room. She stumbled over to the sink and turned on the faucet. So much for another week or two. She splashed water over her face and swished some in her mouth to get rid of the taste.

Her makeup was nonexistent. Her face was pale. She had work to do, but the boss had told her to go home. With the hours they’d put in she’d already worked a forty-hour week anyway. She could face the fallout on Monday morning, especially if anyone had witnessed Chase following her into the bathroom.

Besides, Chase was upset with her and she didn’t want to face the anger in his eyes.

Did he want to get caught together? She didn’t think he did, but she was the one who’d put the restriction on their relationship. He hadn’t protested, so she figured he didn’t care. She’d thought he understood.

She pushed away from the sink and dried her face. The real problem was for one moment she hadn’t cared that the press surrounded the place. She’d just wanted Chase to continue looking at her like that. Concerned and caring. She’d wanted him to carry her out and take care of her.

Instead she’d go home to her empty apartment. Maybe she’d pop on a movie. She wasn’t going to see Chase any other way tonight.

It was Alexis’s turn. Her stomach clenched again, but there was nothing left. She definitely had to leave before Alexis came to retrieve her prize.