Chapter Five
At the restaurant, Lincoln pulled the door open for her to exit the SUV. He had his sunglasses in place. Antonio was near the restaurant door while Stefan and Thomas kept an eye on the sidewalks around them. When she, Dion, and Lincoln moved, Antonio stepped into the restaurant ahead of her. Dion pointed him in the direction of the director they were meeting. Brook walked ahead of Lincoln, which allowed her to see Antonio waving the director and his two assistants up for a full pat-down before he gave them a not so gentle nudge back into their seats. He pulled out a chair, set it across the table, and held it for her when she reached the table.
“Thank you,” Brooklyn said as she slid into the large, plush chair. She crossed her legs and smiled at the men, and, folding her sunglasses, she put them back into her purse and nodded. “Now, Michael, I know that you want me on your next movie, but I need you to know now, I’m retiring. After this film, I’m done. I’ve loved what I’ve done and have accomplished, but I’m ready to live a quiet life out of the spotlight.”
There, she got that out and into the open quickly.
The man was still glowering over at Antonio, who had moved to a spot where he could see most of the restaurant, and had one of the pillars at his back. “That simply won’t work for me, Brooklyn darling. You know I absolutely need to have you in the next movie. The studio is on board, but only if you’re there on my side to make it a reality.”
She wasn’t even going to go into this. She had told him that she was leaving and she wasn’t going to beat a dead horse, so she rose to her feet and nodded to her men. She was leaving. “Goodbye, Michael,” she said coldly.
“Where are you going? We have so much to discuss.” He waved his hand. A server arrived with a platter of sushi and slid it onto the table. “Sit, eat, let’s talk some more. You’re obviously upset by something more than a mere threat, Brooklyn. Everyone here gets threats. You know you’ve made it big when they are actual, legitimate threats, and you’re huge, darling. Sit, please. We really should go through the schedule.”
Warmth slid along her side, and she knew instinctively who it was even before Stefan spoke. “Ms. Anderson will be on set in the morning. She will do the required shots, and any retakes necessary to complete the filming. Any meetings will now be filtered through her security team, us, until the end of filming. All sessions will take place on the studio’s property, and in less visible public venues. Should you have an issue with that, get over it. If you’re ready, Ms. Anderson, we really should be getting on the road.”
“Thank you, I am ready.” She was thankful that he had stepped in because she was about to make a huge scene with the idiot that she had once thought hung the moon. She had felt like Michael was amazing because he had given her the first chance in Hollywood, and he was an incredible director. Now, however, it seemed that Michael was all about the next big paycheck instead of the honesty of the movie. “Goodbye, Michael.” She slipped on her sunglasses and then walked out with the men around her once more. She smiled when Dion whispered, “You go, girl,” and felt proud of herself because she had stood up for herself. She was at peace with her life and excited to start the next chapter.
Lincoln held the door of the restaurant open for her and gave her an approving nod. Thomas was by the SUV, holding the door so she could slip right in with no delay. He gave her a thumbs-up before shutting the door behind her. Once again Antonio slid behind the wheel, and Dion settled in beside her.
“You did the right thing, Brook,” Dion said with a smile. Reaching over he gave her hand a squeeze. “I know that wasn’t easy, especially since that fucker couldn’t stay focused on anything you were trying to say to him. I’ll do something up formal for the studio, and copy him in on it so that he has it all in writing to let him, and everyone, know you’re out as soon as the main release for this film is over with. Expect them to throw in additional dates. I wouldn’t put it past them at this stage of the game, especially if it’s your farewell movie. I should get something drafted for the media, too, slip them a tidbit to get them salivating a little.”
“Thank you, Dion. I think that you are going to have to tie down the exact dates and where I will go. I don’t have to take every opening, which is good.” She smirked and shook her head. “You know that the press is going to go nuts with this, right? They are going to hound you insanely and the studio as well. Hopefully, it will be so much trouble they’ll be happy to see the backside of me.”
“Who are you kidding?” he asked. “They’re going to love the publicity. The buzz around one of their biggest stars getting out of the limelight, they’ll feed off it for years to come. The studio that took a chance and gave you your big break, the studio that released your farewell movie; it has a beautiful symmetry to it that the media will die for. You may have to consider doing at least one, possibly two, sit-down interviews, Brook. Answer the questions that everyone will be buzzing about, like why now, and the gods only know what else they’ll come up with. Do whatever makes you comfortable, Brooklyn. The press can stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. They’ll make shit up even if you don’t do anything. They will notice that your security has been changed out, and the rags will gladly make up something sensational to sell papers. We’ll all know the truth, and that is what matters most.”
“We’re close, Dionysus. I’m assuming you got us what we need to get through the front gates?” Antonio asked.
“Yup, everything will be waiting for us. I got on with one of the execs who was sending her assistant down to meet us. She’ll have the badges you guys will need to keep on you the entire time we’re on the grounds. It gives you full access to anything and everything here, unlike some of the folks.”
“Good to hear.” Antonio slowed the vehicle and eased up behind the other SUV, which was stopped at the gate and security shack. A moment later the truck eased through, and they were waved forward by the guard. At the man’s side, Brooklyn saw a familiar face holding a clipboard, and with a cell tucked between shoulder and ear as she spoke.
“Make sure you keep the badges or they won’t let you guys come onto my trailer lot and so on. That would make me very upset,” she teased with a smile. She put her sunglasses back on and leaned back once more. She waited until one of the men opened her door and slipped out. It was Stefan this time. She reached out and touched his fingers with hers and smiled. Just that little brush of fingers was what she needed to get through the routine of checking in with the lot keepers, with the security desk and then finally into wardrobe. “Sorry, guys, but you have to wait out here while Purdy pours me into that gown.”
“Well, hell,” Stefan muttered. He waved her toward the wardrobe. “I want to take a quick look inside, and then I’ll leave you be, but no way am I letting you in there without knowing exactly who all is in there with you.”
“That is perfectly acceptable. That way you can see there is only one way in and out.” At least she thought that there was only one way. “If you want, you can even see me in the gown once I’m in it, and she’s pinning me to within an inch of my life.” She wanted to have Antonio and Stefan close, enjoyed having them close actually. “Come, I will introduce you to Purdy and let her know you are going to do a sweep of the room.” She held her hand out for him, wiggling her fingers as she did so.
He took her hand easily, lacing his fingers with hers. He even let her lead him into wardrobe, though he kept her close to his side once they were inside. She watched him slip his sunglasses off to look around the space. There was only Purdy, and two of her seamstresses, in the room filled with hundreds of costumes, both finished and in pieces.
“Purdy, this is Stefan. He’s one of the men in my new protection detail. I told him that he could look around in here and ensure that it was safe. The threats have escalated against me, and he’s trying to make sure that I remain safe and alive.”
The older woman, no one actually dared asked Purdy her age, slid her glasses down to the end of her nose to stare over them at Stefan. She then pushed them off so they hung from the chain around her neck, and stuck out her hand. “Oh, honey, when they look as fine as this tall drink of water does I do not mind in the least allowing men into my domain. Enchantée, Stefan,” she said with a huge smile.
Stefan didn’t even bat a lash as he pulled off the mirrored sunglasses, flipped them closed, and slid them into his suit pocket. Taking Purdy’s hand, he bent over it to kiss her knuckles. “Mademoiselle Purdy, it is a true pleasure to meet you. Ms. Anderson has told us a little bit about you, but she didn’t once mention you were so young for such an exalted position.”
Purdy tittered, waving her hand before her face. “Oh, stop, you silly boy. I will have you know that I earned every single one of these grays and wrinkles in this business.”
Stefan stepped in closer to press his other hand over hers that he still held. “The marks of wisdom, my dear, nothing more. We should all be so lucky to go through life with such glow and vigor to our being.”
“He can most definitely stay in here. About time you found one of these with some culture let alone such excellent manners as this one.” Purdy slowly withdrew her hand from his hold and pressed it to her chest. “I do like you, my dear boy. If only I were ten years younger.”
Stefan merely smiled. When Purdy turned away, he turned a shit-eating grin on Brooklyn and wiggled his eyebrows.
Brooklyn was shocked. No one had ever gotten Purdy to smile, let alone allow a male who wasn’t being fitted into her domain. “Well, it looks like you get to stay in here and help while she dresses me.” She stepped in closer to Stefan and placed her hand on his chest. “I’m looking forward to being able to see how you use that superpower in our lives.”
He snorted. “My darling Brooklyn. That is not a superpower. That was merely using a small amount of my natural charm.”
She didn’t have an answer to that, so she asked, “Are you ready to finish this massive gown? I have to tell you, Purdy, this is absolutely the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen. If you don’t win an Oscar for this, I will know that they are rigged.”
“Oh, darling, you should be aware they are by now,” she said rolling her eyes. “How that bitch won over you two years ago still is all the buzz around town. The fact she was boinking the studio exec behind his wife’s back is the only reason she got the Oscar for that half-baked acting she did. He had to make it happen or ruin his marriage. Not that he didn’t get what he deserved in the divorce of course. Let’s go over to the podium, and you can strip down to your skivvies there. Though you’ll need to ditch the bra so I can make sure this will hold up for you with only the corset.”
Brooklyn grinned and followed Purdy. “Well, we know that they will always have their favorites. I will be rooting for you for this one, Purdy, because you deserve it more than anyone.” She began to pull off her clothes and once she was down to her underwear and bra looked to Stefan. “I need you to turn around if you would, please.”
It took all of them to shimmy the dress onto her, but when it was finally on her whole body glittered from the hand-stitched crystals that covered the gown. She couldn’t run her hands down it for fear of knocking one of the crystals loose.
Purdy moved in behind her while the assistant stepped in front to take Brooklyn’s hands, and brace a foot to the podium edge. Purdy then started to haul on the corset stays to get her fully into the dress. When they were done, Brooklyn was taking much smaller breaths, and Stefan had moved closer to get a look at her in the 360° mirror.
“Wow,” he breathed out.
Letting out a cackle, Purdy popped him one on the shoulder. “We have a winner,” she declared before accepting her pincushion from her assistant once more.
“I think that we do.” Brooklyn watched Stefan look at her. “I don’t think I have the vocabulary to adequately give this dress, and its maker, their due. By the gods.” Shaking his head, he stepped around in front of her and turned to face her. “You look, wow.” His expression said it all even where his apparent lack of words couldn’t.
Brooklyn touched his cheek gently. She stroked her thumbs over his cheeks and smiled. “Thank you,” she whispered to him and then squeaked again. “My bottom is there, Purdy. It’s all real, too, and not fake like so many other actresses. So ouch,” she said with a smirk. “I’m glad you like it. Aren’t you glad you got the short straw to check the room now?”
“Hell, yeah,” he grinned. Catching her hands, he gave them a squeeze before pressing a kiss to each palm. “Go easy on her bottom end, Purdy. I really don’t want to have to explain to her manager why she can’t sit down. At least if it’s not for one hell of a better reason than a fitting.”
“Stefan,” Brooklyn said with a gasp and shook her head. “You aren’t supposed to say things like that.” Not when it made her pussy start to get wet, and made her ache with a need that she hadn’t felt before. “You are so bad.”
He didn’t look the least bit concerned. With a shrug, he stepped in closer to her, still holding her hands. “Why not?” he asked. “It’s the truth, and my mother always said to speak the truth. Besides, I have plans for your very gorgeous ass at some point. I’d prefer it didn’t resemble a sieve.”
“This is very true.” She leaned down and put her forehead to his for a moment and then pulled back. “I look forward to the plans that you might have for me as well. Whatever they may be.” She stood straight once more when Purdy reminded her of it and winked at Stefan. “You’re distracting me.”
“Sorry,” he muttered. He leaned to the side to give Purdy an apologetic look. “Sorry, Purdy.”
“It’s okay, but don’t let it happen again. We need to get this girl fitted so that you can throw her over your shoulder and haul her off to wherever you plan on taking her. I will expect a full, and incredibly detailed, accounting of whatever goes on later, Brooklyn. If I can’t have him, then I damn well intend to live vicariously through you, my dear.”
“Oh, Purdy, you know me.” Brooklyn was one woman in Hollywood who didn’t date around with a lot of men, and she didn’t share her love life either. Yes, she had been engaged, but that was the only real relationship she had ever truly been in. “Whatever happens in the privacy of my home stays there. Doesn’t matter if it’s him killing me in the game of War, or me making waffles for everyone.” It only dawned on her that moment just how intently that everyone was watching how she was acting with Stefan and the shock on their faces as she did.
Stefan shook his head. He looked about ready to comment when his phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket, he frowned at the screen.
“Excuse me a moment, ladies,” he said. He shot her a smile before he answered, and stuck the phone to his ear while moving down the length of the space. She could hear him speaking softly, but she wasn’t entirely sure what the language was.
Brooklyn frowned and moved when Purdy told her to move and lifted her hands when she had to as well. It was only about an hour later when they were peeling her out of the gown once more. “Thank you, Purdy.” She was just in the silk chemise and felt the chill in the air. “I’m a little on the cold side. Can I get dressed now?”
The older woman threw a look to where Stefan was on the phone once again, and nodded. “Best be quick about it, Brooklyn, or he’ll get one hell of a peep show.” Grinning, the older woman turned to give her some privacy while passing along some instructions to her assistants for the gown.
Once she was dressed, she and Stefan walked out of the fitting rooms. She was smiling, and Stefan wore a shit-eating grin on his face.
All three men were looking from her to Stefan, and back again. “Rough fitting?” Lincoln finally asked her. Thomas snickered before turning it into a cough. Antonio mimed smoothing his hair down. When she turned to look at Stefan, she found him trying to get his short but very mussed hair back into some sort of order.
She laughed then. “Sorry.” She looked at the other men and shook her head. “Don’t give him grief or I will give you guys issues.” It was hilarious the looks that the men were already giving her and Stefan. “Shooting schedule. No more giving my guy grief, please. Come on.”
Antonio chuckled and shrugged. “I wasn’t actually going to say anything, but I figured he didn’t need Dionysus on his ass about it. As to your shooting schedule, I heard a ruckus that started with Michael. He’s apparently got everyone and their assistants in one of the, whatever you call these things, going over it so he can fine tune it.” He pointed to the buildings that housed the sets they used.
“Well, that’s a good thing. Let’s hope that he’s not doing something drastic to keep me on set longer than I want to be. If so I will have to go above his head. I want to be able to walk out of this life in two months. Then I will come back for the screenings and promotional tour, but that’s it. I’m just so over it.” She knew how strange that sounded, but she was ready to live her life, not the life under a microscope like she was now.
“I guess we’ll see. He did demand that you meet him in the conference room so that he could go over it with your leading man and co-stars once they had it done. He did not have a time frame but assumed you would willingly wait with bated breath for him no matter how long it took. Personally, I say we go hit up one of those food carts over yonder, and get something to drink. It’s damn hot out here,” he said.
“I think that’s a very good idea. I hope that the baked potato place is here. They have seriously the best spuds ever in the history of ever.”
“I could eat, though nothing too heavy. Antonio is right. It’s damn hot out here. If we’re going to be hanging around outside the buildings, we should find a nice spot of shade for a bit of an impromptu picnic. Then at least we don’t have to be stuck in the conference room while waiting for your idiotic director to finish messing up the schedule.”
“Okay, so if you want light fare then the best place will be Pepe’s Tacos. They have this light cilantro-based salsa that they put on their tacos that is to die for. Very light, very cooling.” She pointed toward the doors. “They usually park outside those doors.” It was not the ones they entered but the ones on the opposite side of the lot that had a wall around it for shooting privacy.
“I vote for it,” Thomas said. “We don’t ever have cilantro around the house because of Mikhail, so we can only get it when we’re out and about. Lead the way, Brooklyn,” he told her with a grin.
“Is he allergic?” At Thomas’s nod, she smirked. “Okay. Well, then this will be a treat for you all. Poor man allergic to cilantro. It makes so many things taste yummy, but I’m sure that he’s gotten past that as well, hasn’t he?”
“The man can cook,” he said. Thomas walked next to her while the other three were behind them.
She picked one of the tables and took a seat. “Here, this is big enough for all of us. It’s also near the corner and it’s slightly in the shade of the building. This way you guys can keep an eye on the people around us and it's only big enough for us, and no one else can get in here and have lunch with us.”
The guys put her with her back to the building and sandwiched her in. This, of course, involved moving her as they took issue with leaving her back exposed to the crowds. Thomas and Lincoln sat across from them, and once they all did a look about, the food was passed out so they could all dive in.
Eating with these men surrounding her was awesome. Well, it was awesome until the women who were also on lunch break realized that there were four new seriously drop-dead hunky men on set. More than once an actress approached the men, and Brooklyn actually had to hide a giggle at the number of phone numbers that Thomas got from women.
“So, tell me about where you guys come from? Where is it that I’m going to more than likely be moving to?”
“Texas,” they all said in almost perfect unison. She sat staring at them, more than a little stunned.
“If we want to get down to the brass tacks of technicality, we’re about ten miles from where you live,” Stefan told her. She blinked in his direction. “We did your security system there, honey. Of course, we know where you live.”
“Seriously?” Wow, now that was something she wasn’t aware of. “So, if we wanted to we could date?” she asked hopefully. “Because it’d be good to be able to continue this thing that’s barely starting between us later.”
Antonio bumped his shoulder to hers gently and nodded. “Of course we can, sweetheart. We are taking this, all of it, at whatever pace you are comfortable with. For now, finish up your food. It appears the director is about to bless us all with his presence, so we need to get a move on otherwise you might miss something you shouldn’t.”
She didn’t eat like the other actresses; she ate real food and real portions. Some called her weird for eating as much as she did, but she honestly didn’t care because she loved food and wasn’t about to start to kill herself in not eating just because of a movie role.
The men quickly finished off their meals and began to gather up the trash while she ate. Not once did they rush her to finish, not that they needed to. Michael seemed incapable of moving in a straight line. The man had come off one of the sound stages with purpose only to veer off to speak to one of the cameramen and then ended up chatting up an actress before starting to move again. He was stopped, or stopped himself quickly, another half dozen times, allowing her plenty of time to finish her meal, tidy up, and still let them stroll to where the meeting was to be held.
When they were finally stopped and Michael came over to them, Brooklyn was friendly to the man.
“The gown fitting went well. Purdy assures me that it’s going to be ready in plenty of time. Now, are we on schedule for my scene today?” She hoped he was over his pissed-off-ness at her so that they could do some work. Sadly, Michael had been dicking around with the schedule because this was her last film and he was doing everything in his power to make her life harder and harder. Typically, she had her schedule a week or days in advance, but not on this movie.
“We’re not shooting until the day after tomorrow. I have meetings with the studio after we go through the revised schedule, and then we’re all taking a day to get our heads on straight before hitting it hard. We have a lot of ground to cover and very little time. We need to redo a whole scene because of one of the idiot lighting guys.” Shaking his head, Michael looked at the men and then headed for the door. “Inside, more things to do, little time to accomplish it all.”
Brooklyn took the lines and instructions from the table and began to flip through them. “Wait.” Oh, hell no. “You have written in that I will have full frontal and back nudity. You know that I don’t do that.” There were always ways to look naked on film but not on the set. “I absolutely refuse, and you know that it’s written into my contract as well. So, no. You need to rewrite this quickly because it’s so not happening.”
Michael just kept on walking. One of his assistants ran back to hand her a card. “He’ll be available to speak to you in regards to your concerns at this number, at this time. Please don’t be late in calling or he will be moving on to his next meeting.” Giving Brooklyn a smirk, the woman ran off to catch up to the director.
“If you want me to shoot him I will,” Antonio offered. “I’ll even make sure the body’s never found. There are ways to ensure such things if you have the right contacts.”
“What’s the problem, babe?” Kent, her leading man and co-star of the movie, said with a grin. “It’s not like anyone will be in there with us but a couple camera guys, and Michael. It’ll be fun, and snug for the two of us to do our lines.”
“Not going to happen, Kent.” She barely tolerated the man. Sure, before she started to work with him she was like every other woman out there who thought that he was all that and a bag of chips, but now that she had been working with him she knew the truth. “I’m not doing a nude scene with you, and you know it.” She looked at Antonio and then stepped back closer to Stefan as well. “I’m ready to get out of here. I have a call to make, I think.”
Both men nodded, and Antonio took the lead out of the room with her on his heels. No one spoke as they moved through the lot toward where they’d parked. Dion was oddly absent as they got into the vehicles and left. Stefan drove while Antonio sat in the back with her holding her hand.
“Why would he try to put something in the film that is against your contract?” Antonio asked softly. “He has to know that you’ll get it tossed out. And for the record, your co-star is a dick.”
“Yes, he is. A massive one who thinks that because everyone else in the world is slobbering over him I should as well. As for Michael, I don’t know. It could be that this is his passive-aggressive way of getting back at me and showing me that I’m not in control, but he’s so fucking wrong it’s not even funny. Asshat.”
Squeezing her hand, Antonio lifted it to press a kiss to her fingers. “I’m sorry he’s doing this. Whatever you need to do, do it. We’re here to support you through this time. You let us know what you need from us, and we’ll get it done.”
“Just be close to me? He won’t be happy that I will want to keep at least one of you around me at all times, but he’ll just have to get over himself. I’m not going to let him back me into a corner.” That was one thing that could be said about her, she never did full or partial nudity in a movie. All the scenes were with flesh-colored underwear or breast coverings. She had made a promise to herself never to go nude. She hadn’t yet and wouldn’t in her swan song movie either.
“That goes without saying,” he told her. “We wouldn’t leave you alone even if there wasn’t a potential threat out there, sweetheart. We’re kind of partial to you.” Grinning, he leaned over to press a kiss to her lips.
“One of us will be near you at all times, Brooklyn,” Stefan said, backing up Antonio. “Michael seems to be up to something, even if it is just him being a prick and fucking with your schedule. He appears to be the sort to go about being sneaky to get even. And he’s definitely not of a mind to let you out of Hollywood anytime soon.”
“All of this is very true. Wow, it's crazy how well you had worked out Michael when it took me a year to figure him out. You are, however, spot on. He has something planned, I just know it. That and Kent is way too happy about all of this. It feels like the two of them have cooked something up.”
Stefan gave a nod and sighed. “Well, you’ll figure it out, honey. If not, the offer Antonio made to get rid of the body stands.” He shot her a grin in the rearview and fell silent as they drove through the city back to her house.
“Thanks, guys, seriously,” Brooklyn said and leaned her head back for the ride home.