Chapter 29 Lex #2
“What the fuck?” I shoot upward, my thighs clamping around Stevie, my hand making a flat palm against her stomach as I press her against me.
“Get your asses in the pool,” he says, flicking a towel over his shoulder. “Siesta’s over.”
Stevie’s ass rubs against my half-hard cock as she tries to straighten, and it takes great effort to ignore the growing erection.
She plants a hand on my knee as she lifts up. But before she can respond to Rudy, something catches her attention near the patio door. “Wait. Is that Julian West?”
Instantly, my dick deflates.
The peace is gone.
Incinerated.
I whip my head right, and sure enough, Julian fucking West is standing in the corner with a flock of bright-eyed actresses circling him like drooling vultures.
Rudy perks up. “Yeah, you know him?”
“Of course I know him,” she says, voice laced with stardust. “I’ve been following his work for years. Fault Line is one of my all-time favorite TV shows.”
“Right on. I’ll introduce you.” Rudy helps her off the chair, and we untangle.
“Stevie, wait.”
She blows me a kiss. “Be right back.”
Goddammit.
Julian West is known for many things—most notably, being one of the most sought-after film directors in the business—but to me, he’s only known for being the scum of the earth, right along with my ex-agent, Bianca Kendricks.
I’ve never worked with him personally, but a past costar had—a sixteen-year-old girl named Ami Briggs.
We filmed a short together the year I moved back to LA, and she told me plenty of unsavory stories.
He used her. Manipulated her. Pressured her into doing things no teenager should be doing with a fifty-year-old man.
My stomach sinks as I watch Stevie waltz over to him in her little bikini, head held high.
I should be proud of her for taking action, for making connections, but all I want to do is shrivel up and die inside.
I know exactly who he is: a man who preys on the innocent, the naive, the desperate.
Those willing to do literally anything to make it out here.
I wasn’t his victim, but I was a victim, and I’ll be damned if I let Stevie get snared in his crosshairs.
Blood boiling, I pop off the patio chair and beeline over to the five-person huddle. Stevie has already caught his attention because how could she not? She might be a little over his preferred age limit, but she’s still young, gorgeous, and thirsty for success.
A prime target.
I shoulder past Rudy, shooting him a glare. “Why is he here?”
He frowns at me, confused. “What?”
Rudy has no clue. He’s likely heard some rumors, but this city is nothing but a rumor mill, and nobody ever knows what’s real and what’s not. Not everyone is like West. I’ve worked with plenty of incredible producers and directors, men and women alike.
He’s just not one of them.
I shake my head and storm forward, trying to find an ounce of composure so I don’t make a huge scene that finds its way into the gossip mags by sundown.
Julian’s eyes flick to mine, doing a double take. “Lexington Hall. I don’t believe we’ve officially met.” He holds out a hand when I come up beside Stevie.
I ignore the handshake, ignoring him entirely. Peering down at Stevie, I plant my hand on her hip and give her a small squeeze. “Hey, we need to get going.”
She blinks up at me, maintaining an easy smile. “Oh. Well, I was just introducing myself to Mr. West.” Turning back to the director, she drapes an arm around my back. “This is my boyfriend, Lex—”
“I certainly know who he is,” he says through a laugh. “As I know who you are. You’ve been the trending headline for weeks now. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
They shake hands. My eyes narrow in on the contact as black smoke slithers through me. Julian grazes a rough thumb across her knuckles.
In my mind, his hand has promptly been removed at the wrist by a dull hacksaw and tossed into a meat grinder.
Stevie stiffens slightly, clearing her throat. “Thank you. I’m a huge fan of your work. It’s always been my dream to move to LA and dip my toes into acting.”
“Really,” he states, his eyes shamelessly plastered to her breasts. “You do have the look for it. There’s an old-school glam about you, which is very hot these days. Question is can you act?” A smirk stretches his thin lips.
“I like to think so.” Stevie sends me another glance—not asking for help but for support.
Unfortunately for her, I’m a concrete block, every inch of me rigid.
“Um, I’ve dabbled in stage acting, though I know it’s not the same,” she continues, pivoting back to him.
“I’d love to take some acting classes while I’m out here. ”
“Stage acting is nothing to undervalue,” he drawls, biting his lip as he continues to ogle her chest. “Means you’re scrappy. Passionate. I’d be happy to open some doors for you. Let me give you my card.”
No. No fucking cards, no fucking doors.
This meeting is over.
I reach for Stevie’s hand before she can snatch the business card. “Sorry, but she’s not interested.”
She blanches. “What?”
“You’re not interested,” I repeat.
The light leaves her eyes, dulling them to dark-green caverns. Embarrassment tinges her cheeks as she flounders for something to say, glancing back at Julian with a look of apology.
I realize I’m mortifying her, and she’s probably going to try to murder me in my sleep tonight, but it’s a small price to pay. “Let’s go,” I tell her, ushering her to the door.
“You know, Lexington,” Julian calls out as we shuffle away. “It’s never wise to keep your girl on a leash. Well…unless she asks you to.”
The women around him giggle at the cringey sex joke while I drag Stevie through the patio door and text Adrian to come pick us up.
She tears her hand from my grip the moment we’re out of the vicinity of prying eyes. “What the hell was that?”
I steel my voice. “Not here.”
“I don’t care where we are. Explain yourself.”
“I said not here.” Too risky. I can’t have us fighting with all these people around, and I’m too agitated and anxious to dive into this conversation right now.
I need a cigarette.
She locates her yellow cover-up and shoves her arms through the armholes, then hauls her purse strap over one shoulder. “Lex, you need to—”
Heart palpitating, I snatch my T-shirt from the corner chair, pull it over my head, and storm out through the front door.
A shaky hand dives into the pocket of my trunks, locating the pack of cigarettes.
It takes an embarrassing amount of effort to pull one out, and I almost drop it twice in my attempt to light it up.
Adrian arrives a minute later, and Stevie tries to keep up as I throw myself into the limo.
When we’re on the move, I lean back and close my eyes, a thick plume of smoke filling the back seat, warping the view of her angry eyes and bright red cheeks.
She goes to speak.
I cut her off. “Not now.”
It’s a torturous thirty-minute drive in traffic, ripe with silence and unsaid things. Stevie abides by the request and doesn’t say a word until we’re inside my condo, finally alone.
Then she lets loose. “You humiliated me in front of one of the biggest directors in Hollywood,” she spits out while I collapse onto a barstool, my head in my hands. “What was that? What were you thinking?”
“Stevie,” I warn, her name strained.
“No. Explain to me what that was back there. Why would you do that? Are you actually trying to sabotage me?”
Slowly, I lift my head and peer over at her, every muscle tightened with knots, my hands still shaking against my will.
“God forbid I try to share the spotlight with Lexington Hall,” she continues, bitten-back tears glazing her eyes.
Her voice trembles with the effort to keep it steady, and the crack in her words cuts through the room like a shard of glass.
“Can’t have that. Can’t have the nobody farmgirl overshadowing you, right? ”
“It wasn’t about that.”
She scoffs, her laughter bitter. “Then what the hell was it about? Because from where I’m standing, it looks a lot like you just decided to make a fool out of me for no reason.”
I swallow hard, every weight pressing down on me. “I was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me?” She takes a firm step closer. “From what, Lex? From getting a shot at something real? From finally having a chance to prove myself?”
“From all this!” I launch myself off the stool and swivel around to face her.
“From this fucked-up place, this underworld, where bottom-feeders live to chew you up and spit you out without a second thought. You think that asshole cares about you? He doesn’t.
He’ll use you, manipulate you, and when he’s done, he’ll toss you aside like everyone else who dared to believe they mattered. ”
She blinks, taken aback. “So, what? You’re my savior now? The one who gets to decide what’s best for me?”
“I’m the one who’s been there.” I slam a finger to my chest, my voice hoarse, hollow. “I know what it’s like to be caught in their web, to watch everything you are get twisted into something unrecognizable. And I can’t stand by and watch it happen to you.”
“I don’t need your protection. I’m not some naive kid who doesn’t know what she’s getting into.”
“Yes, you are.”
She gapes at me, eyes flaring, sparking with outrage. “How dare you.”
“Hollywood doesn’t care how tough you are. It’ll corrupt you, break you down, and you won’t even see it coming until it’s too late.”
“I’m stronger than that.”
“You’re not,” I say, voice dropping. “I’m sorry, Stevie, but you’re not, and that is not an insult to you. It’s a testament to how powerful this place is and how it can bend even the strongest wills until they break.”
She’s not getting it.
I see it in her eyes, the fury still brewing, the staunch belief that I’ve made it my mission to undermine her worth.