Chapter 1

I shouldn’t have worn a thong. I always went overboard and now my exposed butt cheeks were paying the price, I thought to myself, as I attempted not to show how uncomfortable I was sitting on the hot ground waiting for my number to be called.

I looked at the other girls around me who were also scantily clad, but at least they had some clothes on, which was more than could be said for me. To be honest, a lot of women in L.A. walked around in bikinis, so I didn’t feel too out of place. But my thong-bikini swimsuit covered in sequins was probably too much even for Los Angeles. I looked like a desperate Vegas showgirl.

As I shifted uncomfortably, I looked over the crowd in front of me. We were all nervously waiting for our big break, but I refused to do it standing up. We were going to be here for hours whether I stood in line or not. I wanted to break Kenny in half for the mess he had gotten me into. Firstly, this swimsuit had been his idea. Secondly, I didn’t appreciate sitting on a curb outside of an abandoned building, half-naked, hoping I was in the right place. When I got home, I promised myself I would wring Kenny’s neck.

Kenny was my little cousin, agent and landlord. He taught kickboxing and cycling at a boutique gym for the ultra-wealthy when he wasn’t moonlighting as my agent. In truth, I hadn’t asked him to be my agent; he signed himself up for the role. And as I expected, he wasn’t much good at it.

I had only moved to L.A. two weeks ago and Kenny, being the doting cousin that he was, had decided to take me under his wing. He wanted to show me the ropes. Kenny knew nothing about Hollywood or acting, but he assumed living in L.A. made him qualified by default.

Against my better judgment, when he told me about the casting call for swimsuit models for a random reality TV show and suggested I wear something racy to get myself noticed, I decided that maybe he was right. So I decided to wear this horrific swimsuit. Kenny and his boyfriend, Cyril, had done a good job convincing me that it was a good idea.

“Flaunt your assets,” Cyril had said. I was flaunting my assets alright, most of my ass was on show.

At one point, I noticed two different lines seemed to be forming, so I eventually I stood up and made my way to the shorter one, hoping that I wouldn’t have to waste an entire day auditioning for a role where I just stood around wearing a bikini and smiling into a camera.

Hours later, I finally made it into a nondescript room that contained a desk and a few chairs. Sitting behind the desk was a scowling elderly woman and a younger man who wore an easy smile as if life amused him. Or maybe my swimsuit amused him.

“Where are your clothes?” were the first words out of the woman’s mouth.

“I thought this was a… umm… swimsuit model audition…” I said, feeling my cheeks heat. The guy looked embarrassed for me.

“Clearly not.” The old lady’s tone was curt and made me feel even more foolish. Her distaste towards me was almost palpable. She fingered the pearls around her neck and shook her head disapprovingly as she studied me.

“I think the swimsuit model auditions were across the hall. They finished up an hour ago,” the guy volunteered kindly.

“I must have been confused. There were two lines and I had assumed the shorter line was for… never mind… Anyway, sorry for wasting your time.” I awkwardly stood there, trying to plan a graceful exit. I knew that as soon as I turned around, they would know more about my body than my ex-boyfriend. I side-shuffled towards the door with as much dignity as I could muster.

“You should be sorry. We’re busy people,” said the old woman bitterly as she watched me shuffle away. I was astounded by her level of rudeness.

Being a big softie, I immediately wanted to cry. I could feel my voice thickening as I said, “Don’t worry, I have no intention of further wasting your time.” I gave up saving my pride and just turned to leave. As expected, the old lady gasped once she saw my almost bare butt and I felt myself turning beet red. I wondered if my butt turned red too.

I tried to think of something to say, maybe a really good exit line, so that she would feel terrible for treating me so badly. All I could come up with was, “Thank you for your time.”

I wanted to tell her that I didn’t need to put up with her condescending attitude, but I was always polite, even when it was undeserving. In fact, being polite was probably my biggest flaw. I was one of those people who apologized to inanimate objects if I bumped into them.

“Miss… what did you say your name was?” called the guy. I turned my face in his direction even though I kept my hand on the door handle.

“Nina. Nina Charles.”

“Well, Ms. Charles, you came all this way for an interview,” he said in a friendly tone. “And even if it’s for the wrong job, you might as well stick around.”

“Richard!” the old woman hissed, but Richard ignored her.

He had a point. “What’s the job?” I asked, letting go of the handle and turning to face him fully. I kept my gaze directed at the guy, trying to ignore the fact that the old lady was glowering at him.

“We have an island property off the coast of Mexico. Part of it has been converted into a resort. It’s not like your typical resort, think of it more as a glamorous camp for the wealthy.”

“Okay,” I said, wondering what he was getting at.

“We’re looking for camp counselors, or ‘Entertainment Specialists’, as we like to call them.”

I hated the outdoors, detested the bugs, but I needed a job. And how bad could it be? After all, if it was designed for rich people it had to be pretty amazing. Not to mention, I couldn’t live off Kenny’s kindness forever. I needed a real income. My acting career would just have to wait.

“So, it’s a resort and camp in one?”

“It’s more of a glamping experience. It’s for well-off individuals. We host a lot of private parties there. That sort of thing.”

I nodded as if I knew what glamping was, but I didn’t.

“Where are you from, young lady?” asked the older woman suddenly.

“Georgia.”

“Atlanta?” she asked hopefully.

“No. I’m from an area called Regions.”

“Never heard of it.”

“Most people haven’t.”

“It must be insignificant.”

Gosh, she was a piece of work! She made that comment in such a way, it was almost as if she were daring me to tell her differently.

I shrugged off her rudeness, “Maybe to some people it’s insignificant, but it’s home to me.”

The guy smiled so I gave him a tentative smile back.

“So, do you have any talents, Miss… I’m sorry—what’s your name again?” asked Richard.

“Nina. Nina Charles.”

“That’s different. We’ve met about 10 Kaitlyn’s today. Kaitlyn with a Y. Kaitlin with an I. Exhausting,” he said with a huge yawn.

“Well, my middle name is Katherine, so it’s close to Kaitlyn. But no, no hidden talents.”

“Why am I not surprised?” mumbled the woman.

The man shot her an annoyed glance.

The woman ignored him and said with a false, stiff smile, “Well, leave your resume and we’ll be in touch.”

I grimaced and the guy looked at me with pity in his eyes. “You don’t have a resume, do you?”

My shoulders sagged in defeat, but then I perked up when I remembered that I did have my portfolio at least.

With a smile, I walked towards him and he reached for it, but the old lady was quick. She beat him to it as she promptly snatched it out of my hands. “I’ll take that.” She didn’t even look at it. She just tossed it on the table, placed her elbows on it and folded her hands together.

“I think we’re done here. Aren’t we, Richard?” she asked coldly.

Richard sighed as he pushed his chair back, clearly frustrated with the old woman, and said, “We’ll be in touch, Ms. Charles.”

“Thank you,” I said softly, turning and heading out the door.

I heard the old woman scream, “Next!” as I made my way down the hall.

“Well, that went well,” I said to myself as I held back tears. That would have been my first official audition, IF I had actually been in the correct line.

I sighed as I searched for my car. Feeling dejected, I wandered around aimlessly, angry with myself for messing up the audition, getting angrier by the second as I realized I had completely forgotten where I left my car. I was such an airhead. Finally, I spotted it across the parking lot and I took a step off the walkway towards it. As I did, a car came barreling towards me and I screamed as the driver stepped on the brakes, but the car didn’t slow down. I continued screaming. My brain told me to get out of the way, but in my terror, my feet were glued in place. And just like that it was over. The car screeched to a halt just an inch from colliding with me.

I placed my hands on my heart and collapsed against a wall. My legs felt like wet noodles and they could barely hold me up. I slid down the wall and placed my head in my hands, trying to breathe.

A few seconds later, a car door slammed shut and I felt warm hands on my shoulder and heard a voice telling me to breathe.

“You’re okay. Just breathe. You’re okay,” a strong masculine voice said, over and over. I felt myself shaking and without thinking, I wrapped my arms around my body, hugging myself. As I did, I looked up at the stranger squatting in front of me, looking down with dark brown eyes full of concern.

“Hi,” he said softly. He took my hand and never broke eye contact with me as he helped me stand up.

Once we were fully standing and my legs didn’t feel as if they would give out at any minute, I realized he was much taller than I’d expected. He was at least 6’4 and apparently doing very well for himself, I thought, as I studied his three-piece suit that clearly wasn’t off the rack. He had short dark brown hair. He didn’t have a mustache or beard, which seemed to accentuate just how perfectly masculine his face was. His jawline was strong, his lips full, his nose a little off-centered, as if it had been broken once before. But of course, his most arresting features were his eyes that studied me with much concern.

“Are you okay, miss?” he asked as he let go of my hand. His hand had enveloped mine and the feel of it had been reassuring. I instantly missed his warmth.

I tried to smile, but failed. I brought a shaky hand up to my face and pushed my bangs away from my eyes.

“I’m fine. Just a little shaken up, I guess.” I sounded breathless. I felt breathless, but it was hard to tell if that was because I’d almost been run over by a car or if it was because the man in front of me was so freaking sexy.

“This parking lot can be dangerous for pedestrians. I didn’t even see you until you were directly in front of us.”

“Thank God for your quick reflexes.”

He shook his head. “I’m a terrible driver. It was my driver’s reflexes that stopped you from being killed.”

It was then that I saw the guy standing near the hood of the car staring at me.

“I’m sorry I almost hit you. If it wasn’t for Griff saying something, I would have plowed right into you.”

I assumed Griff was the big guy still looking at me intently. He looked afraid to leave my side. I guess I seemed fragile to him. I certainly felt fragile at that moment.

I had to laugh at the sucky day I was having. “It’s ok, I’m not going to faint,” I tried to reassure him.

“You sure?” he asked clearly not believing me.

I smiled. “I’m sure. Thank you, though.”

Griff nodded and took a step back, as if emotionally removing himself from the situation.

“We’ll be on our way then.”

He walked to his Bentley and I watched, still a little afraid to use my legs. I wasn’t sure if I’d faint or not after all.

The driver waved at me one last time, “Sorry about that.”

I gave him a partial smile. “I survived.”

He laughed at my attempt at a joke and I watched him drive away. I couldn’t help myself as I looked towards the guy he called Griff. I smiled in his direction and he gave me a little smile back.

When his car was completely gone, I put my hands on my hips and sighed. If I were keeping score, I would say L.A. had five million points and I had none.

I finally found my car and some obnoxious dude honked at me and yelled, “Nice ass, sweetheart!”

I ignored him and swung myself behind the wheel, defeated. It was then that I realized that not once had Griff or his driver ogled me. Probably the only two nice guys left in L.A., I thought bitterly to myself as I focused on getting home.

My phone rang and I reached for it.

“Hello,” I said knowing that my cousin Kenny was on the other end.

“So, how’d it go?” he asked excitedly. “Did you get the part? Tell me you got the part!”

I laughed bitterly. “Let’s see. Stood in the wrong line for hours. Got insulted by a cranky old lady. Spent half the day with my butt hanging out. And almost got hit by a car. In short, I did not get the part.”

“Oh, Nina,” he said. “It sounds like your day sucked.”

I was ready to agree, but then I remembered the feel of Griff’s hands as he helped me up. I remembered the concern on his face and suddenly not everything seemed that bad.

I reassessed my day. “Actually, it wasn’t that bad.” I paused for emphasis and then added in a sing-song voice, “I met a man.”

“You met a man?” he squeaked. “Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker phone. Cyril! Get over here! She met a man!”

“A man!” I heard Cyril gasp, “I’m so jealous!”

“What?” Kenny said, clearly upset.

“She’s only been here two weeks! It took me two years to meet someone,” moaned Cyril.

“Guys, guys, can we focus on me?”

But they were already talking among themselves, completely forgetting about me on the other end. I hung up, knowing they would call me back. And in the silence of the car, I wondered what the chances would be that I would see Griff again.