Chapter 8
Carter
I’m staring at my schedule, or I should say, I’m supposed to be working on my schedule. But all I can think about are the past couple of days and how amazing Billie is. How much more I want from her and how I can’t even blink without seeing her beautiful face. The way I feel when I wake up with her in my arms; the purpose she gives me that I thought I’d never get back.
And knowing I have to go out of town tonight and be without her is fuckin’ tearing me apart.
Erik walks into my office with two men who I’ve never seen in my life, and if I wasn’t so busy thinking about her, I might not be so caught off guard. “Gang’s all here.”
“Come again?”
“Q filled me in on a fun fact.”
My head falls back, and I blow out a breath. I should have known he’d take matters into his own hands after he found out at the bar a couple of nights ago that I hadn’t paid a visit to Pax yet. “He shouldn’t have.”
“I’m a man of my word, Carter, so when I told Jay here”—he angles his head at the tall guy with a silver chain around his neck—“I’d let him know if Paxton Ray ever stepped over the line again so he could get in on the action a while ago, I was on the phone with him the second I found out that Paxton fucking Ray put his hands on one of my guy’s women.”
I lift my chin at Jay. “Again?”
“He touched my Livvie.” Jay grunts.
“Who are you?” I nod at the other guy with dark eyes.
“Smith.” We shake hands, and while I’m at it, I hold mine out for Jay, who reciprocates. Smith jerks his thumb over his shoulder at Jay. “He used to be my partner when I was in the force. And I knocked up his sister.” He smirks.
Jay narrows his eyes at the man, and Erik laughs, then explains. “Smith and I go way back, so when Jay found out Paxton put his hands on his girl, he hit me up because he knew I’d be able to get him the information he needed. I pulled in Q, who worked his magic and found out what a piece of shit Paxton really is. I happily passed that along to Jay so he could teach Pax a lesson.”
“He’s obviously not a fast learner,” I state.
“Which is why I’m here,” Jay speaks up. “Smith just wanted to come for the show.” He chuckles.
I glance around the room at the three other men. “Appreciate the backup, but I don’t need it.” I look pointedly at Jay. “And you need to stay clean.”
“Didn’t bring my badge.”
“Riiight.” I draw the word out, then cross my arms. “Erik, I—”
“You didn’t say shit to me because even though that fucker was flagged, you were gonna deal with him behind my back.”
I shake my head. “Honest to Christ, I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do. I went to get my girl’s shit with her from the restaurant he fired her from because she wouldn’t put out, and she held me back from dealing with him. It was after that I found out he was your flag. I didn’t know why, and swear to you, man, I hadn’t thought about him more than I’ve been thinking about Billie.” I drop my hands. “Wouldn’t go behind your back like that.”
“Good.”
“Your girl doin’ okay?” Jay asks.
“I’ve got her now, so yeah.”
He nods his head, understanding in his expression. “Well, we’re here, so let’s go pay our man a visit.”
And that’s exactly what we do. Q had already hacked into his schedule, so we know where he is. We walk into his office, and the four of us, all big dudes in our own right, cross our arms. Paxton looks up, his eyes darting from me to Jay, then back to me; he opens his mouth, and then he passes out.
And when he wakes up, he’s given one more lesson I’m positive he’ll listen to this time…
Billie
“I don’t like this shit.” Carter grunts over the phone.
“Me either.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow from this assignment, but I won’t be reachable tonight, at least not until late.”
I pause in front of the bathroom mirror and check my makeup one more time. “Let me know when you’re back at the hotel either way.”
“Okay, honey. You still have Gio’s number in case you need anything?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. Now go kick ass at your audition.”
“I will. Stay safe at your thing.”
“I will.”
I drop my phone in the sink and grab my eyeliner, coloring over my eyelids again. I decided to take an Uber since my nerves are so shot right now. The last thing I want to do the first time I drive Carter’s car is crash it when he’s not even here. I get the alert that my ride is here, and take one last look at my appearance in the mirror before I go downstairs.
Traffic was a bit of a nightmare, so I only have a few minutes to spare by the time I arrive to the audition.
The door opens before I knock on it, and I put on my interview smile. “Hi. I’m Billie Bishop. I have an appointment at seven.”
“Yes, come on in.” The man, who I don’t recognize, opens the door all the way and motions for me to enter. “Mr. Casey is expecting you.”
I pause in the entryway and wait for him to lead the way. As soon as I step foot into the room, I get an eerie tingling in my spine.
“There she is.” Mr. Casey stands up, and I smile at him, faking my happiness for being here.
“Hello.” He sticks his hand out, so I take it. “It’s good to see you again.”
Instead of shaking it like I think he will, he wraps his hand around mine and walks me deeper into the room. Several men are sitting in chairs behind a table. “Gentlemen, this is Billie Bishop. A sweet acting virgin girl who is eager to find her first gig. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” He stops me in front of the men.
I gulp down the new wave of panic and nod. “Yes, sir.”
He squeezes my hand before returning to his seat in the middle of the table. “Miss Bishop.” He smiles at me. “I’ll be frank with you. This audition is one where these gentlemen have to be pleased with the actress’s appearance. We’re looking for a certain… type.”
My stomach spins as if a tornado is inside, and I wring my hands together.
“So that means I’ll need you to remove your clothing.”
“Excuse me?” I choke.
“You may leave on your undergarments.”
Time slows as I hear my heartbeat in my head. They’re all just sitting there… staring at me. I feel like these men are stripping me bare, soul and all. And it’s more horrible than I could have imagined. I’d rather have them beat me than this.
I cross my arms and take a step toward the door. I can’t take my clothes off. It’s… it’s not right.
“Miss Bishop,” the youngest looking man says. If I wasn’t so freaked out right now, I might even think he’s attractive. “Nobody in this room is going to harm you. We are simply looking for talent. And if you’ve been doing this for any amount of time, you surely must realize that sex sells in this industry. And the soap opera industry is dying, so we need fresh, new talent, and a reality show with beautiful, sexy women and attractive men will bring a crowd. If you’re not comfortable with this, then you might as well never plan on acting because it’s just part of the industry.”
He’s right. But I’m not sexy. I’m what they’d call the girl next door. I do have big boobs, but the only reason I have an ass is because I still eat like I’m twelve years old. Fat with a side of sugar and butter.
“So if you want to be considered for the final part, which, by the way, is for a woman who will be wearing bathing suits often, you will remove your clothing so we can decide if your body type is what we’re looking for. Or you can go into the dressing room around the corner and put a bikini on. Your choice.”
My pulse hammers throughout my entire body. Everyone starts somewhere, right? It’s not like these men are going to assault me… They’re just doing their jobs. A bikini and my underwear are like the same thing. This is normal for a second audition, right? I mean, the first one was nothing like this, but this one is going to be a tougher selection process, so it shouldn’t surprise me. I try to take a breath to calm myself, but it does absolutely nothing.
I bend at the knees and set my purse on the floor. Refusing to look at any of them, I reach behind me and find the zipper, then lower it. My hand shakes so badly that it loses its grip a couple of times, which is a sign from heaven for me to stop, but I get it lowered anyway for some stupid reason.
My hands fall to my sides, and I shrug my shoulders, my sundress falling to the floor. I am so humiliated right now. It’s taking everything in me not to cry. I want to curl up in a ball… No, I want to run out of here and pretend this never happened.
I reach for my high heeled sandals, but Mr. Casey stops me. “Leave those on.”
Finally, I look up and find all the men leaning over the table, eyes on me, greedily staring at my nearly naked body.
“Turn around,” an older man at the end of the table demands, and I jump at his tone.
Deciding that the quicker I do it, the faster I can finish, I turn. One of the men groans, and I take that as my cue to dress. Forget this. I reach down for my dress and pull it up, refusing to let the tears fall down my face in front of these perverts.
I eye the door with every intention of storming out of here when Roger calls my name. “We want you back.”
“What?” I ask in disbelief.
“You’re exactly what we’re looking for. Exactly. I’m sorry if that was uncomfortable for you, but it’s something that you need to get used to in this industry. Now.” He stands with a stack of paper in his hands. “Take this. Study it. This is an example of what the competitions on the show will be like. Five minutes of acting with a partner, then you’ll be judged that way. We’re having the next round of auditions in a few days. The address and your time slot are on here. We’re looking forward to seeing you again.”
“Thank you.” I take the packet and do a quick thumb through and am pleasantly surprised to see an actual script for a scene. I feel like I overreacted now. “I look forward to it, too.”
“Joey saw that you arrived from a taxi, so we took the liberty of ordering another one for you. It’s already paid and will take you wherever you need to go.”
“Oh, wow. Really?”
He laughs. “Yes, really. Thank you for coming in today.”
“Thank you.” I wave at the men at the table and thank the man at the desk, who I assume is Joey, and go to the awaiting cab.
As I get farther away from the audition and closer to the safety of my apartment, I replay everything back. My face warms of embarrassment, and my throat dries up. Regardless of anything, I just stripped down for seven men to stare at.
They devoured me like I wasn’t even a person.
I suddenly feel nauseous and very, very dirty.
When I arrive back at the apartment building, I head for mine even though Carter told me to sleep in his. And I had been, but without him here, I need the security of my own place right now.
I lock the door behind me and strip my clothes off as I head to the bathroom, then take a shower and scrub the filth off me. When I finally make it back to my bed, I curl up in a ball and pull the covers to my chin. And now, I let the tears fall.