Chapter 17
Rafael
A text message flashed on my screen. I smiled.
“The pilot says they’re on the way,” I said.
Harrison, who was hunched over the desk in his Los Angeles office, nodded absently. “She’ll be here in time for the meeting with the studio?”
“And the meeting with the head of the guild.”
“Good. These are the kinds of interactions I want her writing about in my book.” He glanced up at me. “Thanks for suggesting she come.”
“Of course.”
It was my idea to invite her at the last minute. My intentions were pure; as Harrison had said, these were the kinds of meetings she should witness and write about.
But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have an ulterior motive.
There was something I needed to get out of the way, though. An item on my to-do list that was burning a hole in my pocket. I never put things off, but I’d been avoiding this.
“Harrison, got a second?” I asked.
He immediately pushed off the desk and crossed his arms. “I don’t like the sound of this.”
“It’s about Caroline. And me.”
I told him what happened.
“Thank God,” he said when I was done. “I was afraid you were going to give me bad news about the meetings today.”
He returned to his documents.
“You don’t have anything to say about it? No opinion?” I asked.
“You’re free to do whatever you want in your personal life, Rafa,” he said.
I gave a start. “Are you sure?”
“Why?” Harrison asked. “Do you think I have feelings for her?”
“Well…”
Harrison crossed his arms. “Caroline and I have a business relationship. And even if there was something more there… well, we’ve shared the same woman before without any issues. Is it just physical?”
“Yes.”
He nodded, then returned his focus to the documents to prepare for this afternoon’s meetings.
I never lied to Harrison. I was the one person in this world he could trust completely, and I felt the same way about him. He confided in me things that nobody else in this world knew.
But I might have just lied to him, because I wasn’t sure if my feelings for Caroline were only physical.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since that night in Paris.
My eyes were drawn to her the entire flight back to New York, and her face ran through my mind since we’d arrived in Los Angeles.
I resolved to fix that, to tell Harrison the truth as soon as I knew it. Because right now? I wasn’t so sure.
In the flurry of activity over the next few hours, I somehow forgot all about her. So it was a jarring surprise when we went downstairs and found her waiting next to the car.
“There he is,” she said with a smile. “The man who keeps dragging me to time zones I don’t belong in.”
I realized she was talking to Harrison, not me. My heart twisted just a little.
Until she turned that smile on me, with a sparkle of something behind her bright eyes.
We drove to the meeting with the head of the Screen Actors Guild. It was at his home in Pasadena, up in the hills with a sweeping view of the valley. Caroline asked a few questions about the meeting, but mostly stayed quiet. She looked a little jetlagged.
But she still looked incredible. I had to force myself to stare out the window at the passing mansions.
I was the first out of the car when we arrived. Even though we had passed through a security gate and were now in a private courtyard, I did a quick sweep of the surroundings. When I was satisfied that it was safe, I opened the door for Harrison.
Caroline smiled as she got out, carefully leaning away to make sure not to brush against me. But I caught a whiff of her perfume, which transported me back to that Paris bedroom with the view of the City of Lights out the window.
The meeting with the head of the guild lasted two hours. I posted up in the hallway outside; Harrison was afraid that my presence would remind them that there had been an attack just two days prior. When the door eventually opened, Caroline was the first to exit.
She fast-walked toward me, leaning close to lower her voice. “Fran Drescher is in there. And Sean Astin!”
“She’s the head of the guild,” I replied simply. “Astin’s taking over soon.”
“I just sat next to Samwise Gamgee for two hours!” she hissed. “It’s taking all of my willpower not to start screaming.”
Harrison and the two actors came out of the room next, laughing and shaking hands. Drescher’s voice was unmistakable. “We’re thrilled to hear that, Harrison. Truly.”
We returned to the car and drove away. “How’d it go?” I asked.
“About what we expected. They’re concerned about the technology being used to replace them. Or worse, replicate them. I made assurances that we would implement safeguards. You’ve been quiet, Caroline.”
“Just processing how I’m going to bring this up in your book,” she replied.
“She’s barely keeping it together,” I said. “I think she’s a huge Lord of the Rings fan.”
Harrison smiled and turned back to Caroline. “You have my permission to freak out. For, say, ten seconds.”
She stared at him blankly.
Then the facade fell away and she grinned widely. “I saw Lord of the Rings a hundred times in theaters. I dressed up for Return of the King! If we all died in a car crash on the way to the next meeting, I would die happy!” She punctuated it with a loud squeal.
Harrison looked at his watch. “Ten seconds.”
Caroline took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “Okay. I’m better now.”
“Good. Because now we’re meeting with the heads of two movie studios who want to use our AI technology to replace the people we just met with. So, you need to keep it together.”
“I’m now calm and composed,” she assured him. She glanced at me and grinned again. I knew the feeling. I still remembered the first time I got to meet one of my favorite athletes thanks to Harrison.
I joined them for the next meeting, standing by the door and trying to appear bored.
It was easy, since the topic of contract law and residual earnings was about as dry as a saltine.
Harrison was his perfect self, making assurances to the movie studios without promising too much.
Striking that perfect balance where he made everyone happy, yet retained power within the company.
I tried not to outright stare at Caroline, but it was hard. She crossed one leg over the other, revealing long legs and smooth skin. My mind drifted back to that night in Paris, reliving every breathless moment.
As soon as the meeting was over, Harrison had to jump on a conference call about our upcoming quarterly earnings. He spent the drive back to his mansion on that call, then immediately disappeared into his private office.
“This place is incredible,” Caroline said. “In the hills, overlooking the city. Like those homes you see in movies.”
“We have loaned it out for filming in the past,” I explained. “Spielberg calls Harrison directly whenever he wants a specific kind of shot.”
“A week ago, I would have rolled my eyes at that name-drop. But I got to shake hands with Sean Astin today, so I’ll allow it.”
I chuckled and glanced at my watch. “Harrison will be on that call for the next two hours, and then has a private dinner planned with an investor. Andre here will show you to your rooms.” I gestured to the white-clad man who basically ran Harrison’s Los Angeles property.
Caroline glanced at me. “Could you show me? I wanted to get your opinion on something.”
She said it so casually. Like there wasn’t a hint of something more just behind the words. I nodded and said, “Right this way.”
We walked in silence down the corridor to the east wing of the property. Caroline’s room, one of seven guest rooms, had its own private balcony with a view of downtown Los Angeles.
“There’s a bathroom through that door—” I began to explain.
Caroline kicked the door closed and crushed her lips against mine. Her body melded against me, warm and soft and perfect in every way.
She pulled back and said, “Sorry. I’ve been thinking about that since…”
Now it was my turn to cut her off. I threw her up against the wall and kissed her hard enough to take her breath away. She let out the most delicious little moan, which turned into a whimper as I pushed my knee up between her legs.
“We might not have much time,” I whispered.
She gazed up at me with lust in her eyes. “Then you’d better hurry.”
I kissed her again, sliding my tongue into her mouth just as I slid a hand up her dress. Her panties were already soaked, a fact which made my cock throb with need. Her body shuddered as I dove my fingers beneath the soft fabric, rubbing along her drenched slit before sliding a fingertip inside.
She sighed and craned her head back, inviting me to kiss her neck. I gave her what she wanted, delighting in how amazing she felt underneath my grasp.
“I said hurry,” she whispered.
I didn’t need any more convincing. I pushed her over to the bed and spun her around, holding her against my chest while I nibbled at her ear.
“I’ve been dreaming about fucking you again,” I breathed into her ear.
Caroline responded with a long moan.
I placed a hand on her back and pushed hard, bending her over the edge of the bed. I had my pants unzipped in a blink, a condom unwrapped in record time. I threaded my cock through the hole, then hiked up her dress and slid her panties aside.
She was so wet that I was able to plunge my cock into her in one long, desperate stroke.
Caroline arched her back and moaned loudly, gazing over her shoulder at me. I grabbed a handful of her hair and tightened it in a fist, pulling her mouth to me in a quick kiss.
Then I pushed her back forward, grabbed her waist with both hands, and did what I had been fantasizing about.