Chapter 11
chapter
eleven
Stella
“ I assume you failed, once again, to get the necessary paperwork before getting your dick wet, Gem?” The snotty British accent just added to the disapproval vibrating in their agent’s tone.
At least, I was pretty sure that was their agent. Maybe he was just an employee. Whatever, I didn’t care who he was. He was an asshole.
I shook my head. Who the hell required an NDA in order to get laid? Clearly these three assholes—okay one and a half assholes. Gem didn’t count. He never asked me for one and I was more than willing to cut him some slack in this area.
“Slick?” Gem frowned at me. “Are you…”
I lifted my shoulders. My position wasn’t great. Gem also didn’t deserve a lie. “Yes, I’m a photographer.”
He all but deflated. “So you?—”
“Dropped into the Cactus and Cocktails the other day after a long day to get a drink and some nachos.” My stomach actually rumbled at the memory. “You were in my seat.”
One corner of his mouth kicked up even if a frown had replaced the sleepiness in his expression. “Then I told you I wasn’t who you thought I was.”
“And I never thought you were dickweasel over there.” I waved a hand at his twin. “A fact I made clear, especially since I wanted my seat. We ended up playing pool for another wager, and then we took the party next door, where we had an amazing time.”
Some of the tension around his eyes eased, only to tighten as he studied me. “Then you sold those pictures…”
“I did that. A girl has to eat. But I didn’t set you up nor did I plan on it. I didn’t even know what I had until later. We triggered the dashcam when we landed on the hood of my car.”
For a moment, his grin went smug before it faded. “But you sold it as some random hookup with Seven.”
“I didn’t invade your privacy and you said everyone mistakes you for him anyway. The images were too blurry to get much past the physical size and stature and the money covered some bills. You got laid, I got laid, and by lucky chance, I made some money. No one got hurt.”
“Are you for fucking real right now?” Seven demanded. “ What about me?”
“What about you?” I said without looking away from Gem. “You’re a dick, for one, and I don’t know you, for two, and I don’t owe you shit, for three.”
“It cost me my girlfriend.”
“Buddy,” I said, sliding him a look. “Trust me when I say I did you a favor. Particularly since she’s milking the scandal for all the press she can get.”
Behind me, Olivier snorted and earned the wrath of Seven. “What? She’s not wrong.”
“Thank you,” I said over my shoulder.
“Don’t mention it,” he muttered. “Really. Just don’t.”
“Are you four quite finished?” Jerry asked into the sudden silence between us.
“No,” Olivier and Gem answered with Seven just barely echoing at the end. Currently, I didn’t like these odds. Gem was in front of me, still quite firmly between my legs, with Seven at the end of the island and Olivier right behind me.
The British manager person wasn’t going to be any help. So better to just defuse their bullshit so I could leave.
“What about last night?” Gem asked.
“What about it? I told Olivier to leave me alone and just let me go home. I told him not to bring me here.” I jerked a thumb back toward the other man. We’d already gone over this, but I’d say it as many times as necessary. “He insisted. ”
“You had a concussion,” Gem murmured, then raised his hand toward my head. He hesitated, waiting for me to give him permission.
“Just be careful. It was hurting when I poked at it last night. But it doesn’t hurt now.”
“I will be,” Gem promised, and with gentle fingertips, he explored my scalp. The moment he grazed the bump, I winced. Definitely still sensitive. “The headache is gone?”
“Yep, sex is pretty much the best pain reliever ever.”
“Wait,” Seven said, planting his hands on the island. “What the hell did I miss?”
“A lot,” Olivier said. “Are you sure you didn’t set me up?” The question came from behind me, and I sighed as Gem held my gaze. The same question was right there.
“No, I didn’t ask my ex to slam me into my car and try to throttle me just to play coy about you bringing me back to your house where I didn’t want to go.” The word throttle had Jerry whipping back to look at me, and Seven’s frown deepened. “I told Gem thank you last night and I should have said it to you as well. Thank you, Olivier, for bailing me out of that.”
“Oh, this is good,” Jerry said abruptly. “Not the pap part, but you were saving her. We can spin that.”
“Dude,” Olivier said with a groan. “Some of us are still hungover, just relax.”
“I want to believe you,” Gem said even as his brother threw up his hands.
“Are you crazy?” Seven asked. “She’s a hack looking to make a few bills off notoriety and painting the worst possible image she can of people.”
“One, I am not a hack,” I informed him because, just fuck you, Mr. Harrison. “Two, if you didn’t want the attention, you wouldn’t be out there courting the public and the studios.” With a dismissive wave of my hand, I focused on Gem again. “I wasn’t trying to use you. I still don’t want to use you. I was planning to leave before you got up.”
He grimaced. “Again?”
I shrugged. “To be fair, this…” I waved to our audience. “This is part of why I just wanted to go. I need to get my car. I have to go home.” I wanted to check on my dad. He was used to the all-nighters; he’d done more than a few himself. But if he didn’t hear from me at all, he’d worry.
“Yeah, you trying to put me on video this morning really looked innocent,” Seven snarked.
“I only did that to remind you that you don’t get to kidnap or coerce people. I don’t care what your box office receipts are. You make shitty movies.”
Oh, that comment landed. He glared at me. “Excuse me?—”
A whistle cut through the room and I winced. That was just a little loud. Too loud, really, and while my headache had gotten mostly better, the agitation and anger were not helping.
“Everyone back to their corners,” Olivier said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he circled the island. “I need a fistful of ibuprofen and two gallons of water before I finish making coffee.”
“We need to get in front of this story,” Jerry said. “We’ll use her to do it.”
The audacity of this dickhead was astounding. Almost as bad as Seven’s. “You’re not using me for anything,” I informed him, but the manager wasn’t paying any attention to me.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly, to Gem. “This was never my plan.”
“I believe you,” he said after a very long pause, and some of the air whooshed out of me.
“Are you fucking serious?” Seven was suddenly in Gem’s face and shoving his brother backward. “You get some pussy and just roll over for her?”
I could take offense. I didn’t. But I could. Gem shoved Seven back. “Shut up. This isn’t about you.”
“It is about me. She used pictures of you to fuck up my life. That contract isn’t a done deal yet and Clara is gone.”
“Do you really miss her?” Gem asked, and the question stopped his brother in his tracks.
Right, time to go. I slid off the counter and grabbed my boots from where they’d been dropped. After tugging one after the other on, I straightened my skirt and fixed my purse where it was slung across my chest. The only thing I needed was my phone…
It was peeking out of the back of Seven’s pants pocket.
“That’s not the point,” Seven argued. “And you know it.” He twisted the moment my fingers brushed the top of my phone and he caught my arm. “You’re not going anywhere,” he informed me, “until you sign that NDA.”
“Sev, come on?—”
An alert from the gates cut through the argument and Olivier made a face where he was downing water while Jerry spoke to him hurriedly.
“Now what?” Not waiting for an answer, Seven stalked over to the intercom. An image popped up from a camera at the gate.
“Excuse me, Sergeant McBride and Officer Bright are here to speak to Olivier Griffiths regarding an incident last evening.”
Seven bowed his head, and for just a few seconds, I kind of felt a little sorry for him. It was like his whole day was going from bad to worse. Then I remembered he was the prick trying to hold me hostage and I was over it.
“Fuck,” Jerry muttered. “I hoped we had more time.”
“It’ll be fine,” Olivier said, sliding a hand through his hair to finger comb it. “I’ll talk to them.”
“Not without a lawyer you won’t,” Jerry snapped, and he had a cell phone in hand. Not that I didn’t agree with the British asshole.
“Great, you boys are about to be busy. If you’ll just give me my phone, I will get out of your way.” I really did need the phone so I could get a ride and get the hell out of here.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” Seven informed me with a snap.
“Seven, c’mon.” Gem shot me an apologetic look.
“No, Gem, I’m sorry. This is one time I’m pulling the older brother card. I can’t afford anymore snafus. You know what, maybe we should take her upstairs until the rest of this is done.”
“Can you just sign the NDA?” Gem asked. “I hate asking you to do it. It’ll settle him down and we can get you out of here.”
“You just want my name,” I said with a quick smile and then folded my arms. “But no, I won’t sign an NDA.” At this point, it was the principle of the thing.
The doorbell rang, and it was like a skit on the weekend comedy show as everyone went to greet the cops. The blue uniforms offered quite a bit of comfort, especially since I was going to do them all a favor.
“Oh good,” I said with an aggrieved sigh. “You’re here. This man kidnapped me and is trying to hold me against my will.” I motioned to Seven, and the older officer frowned as he looked from me to Seven then back again.
His eyes narrowed. Oops, he’d seen my neck. Well, it was bruised but I wasn’t accusing them of attacking me.
“I did not kidnap you,” Seven argued. “Don’t tell them that. I’m not holding you hostage either. I just need you to sign the contract and then you can go.”
The sergeant cleared his throat. “Mr. Harrison, I’m sorry but you can’t force someone to sign a contract. That’s coercion.”
The vein in Seven’s forehead began to throb again. Olivier had folded his arms and I swore he was fighting back laughter at first. But the neutral expression said maybe not. Then again, he was an actor, so what did I know? Jerry looked absolutely miserable and covered his face with his hand.
“I’m not coercing her,” Seven replied. “I just stressed the importance of the contract because we all need to be clear about everything before she leaves.”
“If you’re trying to extort her cooperation by denying her the right to leave, then that is a crime.” The sergeant seemed almost apologetic. They weren’t here about me or Seven, but I wanted out of here and they were my ride.
“Told you,” I said to Seven, then held out my hand. “Phone, please?”
The narrow-eyed look he shot me promised retribution. He could most certainly try. He slapped the phone into my palm, then I turned a smile on the cops.
“Would you mind terribly giving me a ride out of here? My car is downtown.”
The harsh exhale from Gem registered his disappointment. It couldn’t be helped. Not now, and if I was lucky, this would be a moot point.
“We need to question Mr. Griffiths,” the sergeant said.
“Mr. Griffiths would be happy to meet you at your precinct, say in an hour, with his attorney,” Jerry inserted almost smoothly. “We appreciate any and all discretion in the matter.”
The cops glanced at each other, then to the men standing there in the hall. Olivier just spread his hands. “Sorry, gentlemen. I’d like to shower and get dressed, then I’ll be right down.”
He was the sexiest boy next door ever and his earnestness came off as charming without an ounce of being forced.
“An hour?” the sergeant verified.
“Absolutely. Though do you have a card to tell me which one to go to? That might be helpful.”
“Of course.”
“Ma’am,” the second officer said as he pushed the door wider for me. I slid out with a smile and when the officer looked back inside, I pivoted to give Seven the finger.
It took them ten minutes to work out the interview time and then I was in the back of the black-and-white getting a ride back to the hotel. “Do you want to press charges, Miss…?”
“No,” I told him as I rubbed at the back of my neck.
“Do you need to see a doctor about your neck?” The sergeant glanced back at me. The officer was driving.
Just the thought of more medical debt made me nauseated, just as it had when Olivier tried to push the issue last night. “No, thank you.”
“Ma’am,” the sergeant said. “I understand that they’re actors and the sheen of celebrity can make people forgive even the worst of behaviors, but if they hurt you, we can definitely do something about it.”
Seven Harrison fucking owed me for this after being such a prick. Olivier and Gem, however, did not deserve to be painted with the same brush. “They didn’t hurt me at all. In fact…”