Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kate leaned across the boardroom table. “Excuse me. I’m just a producer/director of multi-million dollar budget movies that gross billions of dollars world-wide each year.”
Every head along each side of the table turned to look at her. They were some of the most beautiful people in Los Angeles. Publicity people were all stunning to look at. Tanned, smiling and immaculately groomed.
The boardroom framed them perfectly. The table was polished steel and mirrors, reflecting their beauty back at them. The walls were glass and the carpet was light grey. The windows ran from floor to ceiling and across the entire length of the elongated boardroom, giving a staggering view of the downtown L.A. area. Kate could even see a thin blue line of Pacific ocean from here, too.
It was impressive and it should by god be impressive, because she was paying these people a staggering amount per hour to solve her problems. They had better pay attention to her when she spoke.
She tapped the immaculate table top. “I don’t speak boardroom,” she lied. “So lemme just back-up for a moment and re-interpret for myself and anyone else who didn’t catch that ball as it zipped on by just then. I’m paying you guys over a thousand dollars an hour, collectively, to come up with a way to deal with this current PR mess I am facing thanks to the paparazzi parked outside my house, my studio and as far as I know, my personal entry to hell, just to get shots of my so called sinful sex life, instead of the movie I’m making…”
Mary-Ann, who was the company’s personal representative on Kate’s set, cleared her throat and re-crossed her legs. She had chosen a seat a politically neutral halfway between Kate and the company’s directors at the other end.
“Your best call on what to do about it – if I didn’t miss that ball, because it was going pretty fast between all you PR pretties down there – your very best idea…” Kate held her temples with her fingers. “Your best call is to do nothing?”
One of the directors stood up. “Kate. May I call you Kate?” The woman was very short and somewhat overweight. In fact, Kate would have a hard time calling her pretty at all, although she had lovely eyes. A soft grey, and they had laugh lines at the corners. The woman walked up the length of the table.
“Sure. Everyone calls me Kate,” Kate told her.
The woman pulled out the chair next to Kate and sat in it. “You probably missed my name the first go round. I’m Suzette.”
“You’re the director of…?”
“Issues Management.” Suzette smiled and her eyes crinkled with good cheer. Her whole face lit up. “I specialize in pulling people like you out of the sort of crap you just landed in.”
Kate pursed her lips. “But you’re suggesting doing nothing,” she said flatly.
Suzette looked down along the table. “Could we clear the room, please? Mary-Ann, stay. Everyone else, go find something useful to do. Thank you for your input, everyone. Julie, shut the door, thank you.”
Everyone got up, and filed out of the room. Mary-Ann moved around to the chair on Kate’s right, on the other side of the table from Suzette, her back to the window.
The glass door shut with a soft muffling sound. The room was empty and suddenly much bigger.
Suzette smiled at Kate again. “Doing nothing is a bad descriptor. I’ll be kicking the ass of the analyst who used it in front of you. Although the general principal is a sound one.” She put her hands flat on the table. “I happen to know you like plain speaking, Kate. So do I. Let me speak plainly.”
Kate sat back. “Fire away.”
“Fact is, you’re sleeping with two men at the same time. Maybe not in the same bed at the same minute, but you’re conducting concurrent affairs and the press have the pictures to prove it. There is no amount of covering up that will cover that up and no publicity firm in the world would attempt it if they’ve got the sense of a cat.”
Kate cleared her throat. “Go on. I do hope you’ve got more than that.”
Suzette smiled. “They’re both really hot men.”
Mary-Ann laughed, then covered her mouth with her hand.
Kate tilted her head, to look at Suzette with a raised brow.
“I mean it, Kate. I don’t know much about Adrian Xerus, but he heats up any page his image is on. That brooding look of his is just deadly. Add in the ink, the earring, and those muscles and every woman in the world already hates your guts.”
Kate glanced at Mary-Ann. She was grinning.
“Stop that,” Kate said.
“I’m sorry, but she’s right,” Mary-Ann said. She looked at Suzette. “And you should see him in the flesh. He’s tall and that brooding look is for real. He has a way of tilting his chin down and looking from under his brow. Makes you all gooey.”
Suzette raised her brow in silent query at Mary-Anne.
Mary-Anne shut up.
“Then there’s Calum Garrett. He’s a different class of sexy altogether. He’s world class money, wildly successful, has his own empire sexy. Plus he’s been utterly unavailable for years – the odd date, the occasional supermodel, nothing close to a passionate affair in over ten years.” Suzette spread her hands across the table again. “Honestly, how on earth did you trip them both up? Can you give me notes? These are two seriously charged men, Kate. And you have them both.”
Kate bit her lip. She wasn’t sure she had either of them. “You’re suggesting I let the press think we’re having a ménage?”
“No, I’m suggesting you let the media have its day. You are sleeping with them both…and that’s not a bad thing. It’s not bad publicity, not for you or the movie. They’re both great guys and we can spin it that way. We’ll find every positive thing about them, and use it.”
“They both protected her when her ex turned up, remember,” Mary-Ann said.
Suzette’s eyes widened. “Yes, that’s perfect. That’s the sort of material we can use to steer this away from the ménage nonsense they’re speculating about.” Suzette threaded her fingers together. “Unless…it is a ménage?”
Kate could feel her entire face flush. It was beyond her control. Even her neck heated. “No,” she said. “No ménage.”
Suzette was watching her carefully. “I’m not judging, Kate. If they’re both in your bed together, let me know now and we can manage that message, too. God knows, with your looks and with men like that, it will be a cakewalk selling it.”
Kate managed to meet Suzette’s eyes. “You’re saying it would be good publicity?” Horror curled through her.
Suzette smiled gently. “There’s no such thing as bad publicity. I’m sure you’ve learned that by now. This is sexy and sex sells. Your men are hot, you’re gorgeous and this is a story with sex and romance in it, times three. All we have to do is hook it to your movie and your movie will open with a blaze of sensational publicity – and you won’t have to pay for most of it.”
Kate rubbed her temples. “This is my life,” she muttered.
Suzette shrugged. “You know after ten years in this business that you don’t have a private life. It’s all up for grabs. You might have to explain it to Garrett and Adrian, though.” She pulled a card out of her pocket and placed it on the mirrored surface in front of Kate. “You don’t have to say it out loud or in front of Mary-Ann. Send me an email. Tell me what story we’re giving the media. I’ll wait to hear from you.”
* * * * *
Garrett slid his fingers along the shallow indentation of her spine, following the great curve. He loved this shape on women and Kate’s was particularly sexy, especially the sharp slope over her hips.
She shivered as he traced, but didn’t protest. They were both replete and this was too mellow a moment, snatched unexpectedly out of the day. It was lunchtime and as the assistant director had called the break, Kate’s eyes had caught Garrett’s. He had been almost able to read her thoughts. He had slid through the crowds, heading back around the set and through the discarded props back to his trailer, which was parked at the far end of the studio.
Kate had beat him there.
Their first orgasm had been mutual, up against the front room wall, with just enough clothes removed to be able to access the vital parts. Now he didn’t have to worry about hiding his strength, it had been easy to pin her in place and take her as hard as he needed to. Kate had come inside a minute.
Then he pulled all her clothes off, then his and taken her into the bedroom. This second coupling had been nearly as frantic, but there had been more control. More finesse.
As his climax neared, she cupped his face. “Bite me,” she whispered. “I know you want to. You’re nuzzling my neck.”
A thrill tore through him, along with fear.
“Do it,” she urged.
His teeth had already descended, roused by the idea. He couldn’t hold back. Both the urge to bite and his climax rushed at him. He turned her face, baring her nape and sank his teeth into the soft, delicious flesh. His climax hit and pleasure exploded through his body.
Kate screamed, her body arching under him. The aphrodisiac would hit her like the world’s most potent cocktail. Her muscles clenched around him, squeezing and convulsing as she climaxed. He felt the series of ripples and contractions that spoke of multiple climaxes as she stayed locked in that hard arch, trembling, her breath stilled.
Finally, she relaxed and fell back on the bed and her body loosened around him. “Oh my god,” she said weakly. “No wonder Mary wanted to boast about you.”
Garrett laughed. It felt good.
And now they were just relaxing. Kate said she wasn’t hungry. Not yet, anyway. For both of them, they suddenly found they had time to lay there and do nothing. Just for a few minutes. It was rare and it was glorious.
“It’s so quiet up at this end of the hangar,” Kate whispered. “There’s people talking, stuff happening all the time, at my end. Then there’s the media, every time I step out of the building.”
“They’re not nearly as civilized as the financial press,” Garrett observed. “How’s Roman handling it?”
It had been eight days, now. The furor over Kate’s double-dating didn’t seem to be dying down, especially as she hadn’t confirmed or denied if she was simply seeing two men at a time, or if it was a ménage. The press kept trotting out pictures of Garrett and Roman together. Talking, on the set, doing things … Garrett hadn’t been aware of just how many times the two of them had interacted in the short time they had been in the desert, but the media had noticed and were using every second they had captured as proof of a relationship that they were spinning up out of whole cloth to the delight of an ever expanding global readership.
After Garrett had first warned Roman of the three ring circus to come, Roman had cut off all communication with him. He had been pissed. Now he was sulking.
“Roman is trying to laugh about it,” Kate told him. “I mean, if you don’t laugh, you cry, right? You’ve been here before, Micheil, so you know how it goes. You just have to hold your breath and wait for it to pass, which it does eventually. And while you wait, you have to see the stupid side of it, or you go insane.”
Someone knocked on the trailer door. “Garrett.”
Kate groaned.
“Winter,” Garrett said. “Well, the peace wasn’t going to last.” He got up and started to dress.
Kate rolled over and put on her jeans. “I don’t know how we arrange it, but I’d like to do this again, sometime.”
“We got away with it clean cold because we didn’t plan it.” He threw on his shirt. “Planning it means a next time won’t occur. But we can watch for opportunities.” He caught her chin in his hand and kissed her quickly. “I agree, this was nice.” He went through to the main room to let Winter in.
Winter stepped into the trailed and stood aside with a grimace. “Sorry. He insisted on knowing where you were.”
Roman stepped up into the trailer. “I might have figured it out for myself.” He glanced at Garrett’s open shirt. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“Would it matter if you were?” Kate asked, from the bedroom door. She was fully dressed.
Roman turned to look at her. His face dropped into neutral. “No,” he said stiffly. He held out a big white card. “Brittany wanted you to have this right away. I think you should read it.”
“An invitation?”
Even Garrett recognized the stiff white card and florid script as an invitation of sorts. Why the hysterics over an invitation?
“Just read it,” Roman said, lifting the card up toward her.
Kate took the card and starting reading. “Oh shit,” she said and held it out to Garrett.
He took it.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Invites
Kathrine Lindenstream
&
Adrian Xerus & Calum Micheil Garrett
To
The 63rd Annual Emmy Awards Show
Sunday, September 18, 2012,
at the Nokia Theatre.
“Well, there’s a crooked dram of whiskey and a game that’s gone to Lucifer,” he murmured.
“What?” Kate asked.
“Ah, he’s reverted back to Gaelic. Always a bad sign,” Roman said.
Garrett looked up from the card. “I was back in the old tongue?” he asked Roman.
Roman grinned. “Scotch references and all, you old sot.” He looked at Kate. “He’s worried.”
“That was Gaelic? I’ve heard him use it before.” She bit her bottom lip. “But not when he was worried.”
Roman’s grin faded. “Well, there’s then, too,” he said. He crossed his arms.
Kate glanced at Garrett, her expression startled. Then she dropped her gaze to her toes. Awkwardness radiated from every angle of her body.
But her pulse had increased.
Roman was staring at her, his arms loosening, growing awareness in his face. He couldn’t miss the signs of arousal in her, either. He was closer to her.
Garrett touched her arm with the card, drawing her attention. “What are you going to do?”
Kate lifted her head enough to spot the card and take it. “I have to go. It would be political suicide to turn down an invitation from the Academy, especially with my leading lady up for an award. But it’s a media red carpet event. I’ve been before, but I’ve never been one of the fashion totems.” She drew in a breath and blew it out. “I think…” She held up the card. “I think this means I’m one of the primary targets.”
“Because of us,” Garrett added.
Kate held up the card. “It’s very explicit. They want both of you there. I’m nobody on my own. Even with just one of you, I’m another director with a great man on her arm. But with both of you….” She gave a small smile. “Sorry.”
Roman glanced at Garrett. “I don’t presume to speak for longshanks there, but the way I see it, if it helps the movie, I guess I can suck up being seen with you, if you’re in a backless, sequined shimmering thing. It’ll just kill me having to dance with you wearing so little, but I can take one for the team.”
Garrett hid his smile. “Even if it means more speculation about the three of us, Roman? You know that walking down that red carpet with her is going to give them another month’s worth of speculation.”
Roman shrugged. “Fuck ‘em,” he growled. “They can think what they want. They will anyway.”
Kate looked at him. “Micheil?”
“I’m with Roman on this. If it helps the movie—and you—then yes. I’ve never had the chance to take you out on a date. Even with the morose Byzantine there playing fifth wheel, it would be nice to get out somewhere.”
Roman snorted.
Kate pulled out her cellphone. “I’m going to run it past my publicity person—”
“Mary-Ann?” Roman asked, wincing.
Kate shook her head. “The director of issues management at the agency. She’s cool. She thinks you two almost pass as boyfriend material. And she didn’t faint at the idea of two men at once. I like her.” She turned away, her cellphone to her ear.
Roman caught Garrett’s eye.
Garrett wondered if he was thinking the same thing Garrett was. Kate’s phrasing had been…interesting.
September 18th was starting to have possibilities beyond showing the world the three of them assembled together at the same time.