“Have you spoken to Dad?” I ask her, knowing why she is calling. “I spoke to him last night so I know that you know.”
“I do know, and I did,” she says. I hear the waves in the background, so I know she’s sitting out on the deck watching the sun go down.
“Sorry, it got late, and by the time I looked at the clock, it was already midnight your time,” I tell her. I smile, walking into the lobby. “Mom, I am not sure I can do this.”
“Oh, please,” my mother starts, “if anyone can do anything, it’s you.”
“You are saying that because you are my mom,” I tell her, pressing the button to the elevator.
“No, I’m telling you this because it’s the truth. If you want it, you will get it. You have never backed down from a fight.” Her voice is calm, and I suddenly miss her.
“Mom, this isn’t high school where someone called me a name,” I tell her and step in the elevator. “It’s a big deal.”
“I know it is,” she says. “It’s a dream job, and one you’ve been talking about since you decided this was what you wanted to do.”
“I just don’t want to let anyone down,” I say, my voice low even though I’m by myself in the elevator.
“Honey, as long as you give it everything you have, there is no way you can let anyone down.” The elevator pings, and I walk out, almost crashing into a man who walked out of the other elevator. His hands hold both of my hands before I crash into him and spill the coffee.
“Oh my gosh,” I say softly. The warmth of his hands on my arm makes me look up, and I think I stop breathing. His smell of musk hits me right away. I can’t see his eyes because he’s wearing aviator glasses, but even with them on, I know who this man is. His brown hair looks like he just stepped out of the shower and ran his hands through it, and I think he actually did. A smile starts to come over his face; the famous smirk that graces all the magazine covers.
“Sorry, sugar,” he says, and his voice comes out smooth.
“Erin, are you okay?” I hear my mother’s voice through the phone that is still up to my ear.
“I have to go,” I say to her and bring my hand down. He slowly lets my arms go. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” I say and then turn to walk away before I openly gawk at him.
“If you weren’t a sight to see from the front, you’re an even better sight to see leaving,” he says when I walk away, and I halt in my steps, turning now and taking him in. Twelve hours ago, he had a redhead on his arm, and now he’s looking for a date tonight. He’s wearing blue jeans rolled at the hem that fall over his brown boots. A tattered leather jacket covers his black shirt. “Listen, I have a meeting, but how about we take off when I’m done?” He walks to me as I stand here watching him. “Why don’t you just sit here and wait, and when I come back out, we can take off?”
“Are you asking me to leave with you?” I ask him, shocked but definitely not surprised. When he smirks, I bite down hard to block my mouth from telling him to fuck off. And before he says anything, I hear Sylvia behind me.
“Carter, good, you’re here,” she says, coming to us. “We are just waiting for you.”
His smirk disappears, and he takes off his glasses. It’s the wrong move because now I can see his green-blue eyes. “I’ll be out in ten minutes, fifteen minutes the most,” he says, and I just look at Sylvia.
“Let me know when you need me,” I say and then turn and walk back to my desk. I keep my shaking hands in check. I sit down and literally count to ten in my head. My heart beats faster and faster and then slowly calms. And just when it’s finally beating normal, the buzzer on my phone goes off.
“Erin, we are ready for you,” Sylvia says.
“I’ll be right in,” I say and look up at the ceiling. “I can do this,” I mumble to myself. “How bad could it be?”
In the back of my mind, I am almost afraid of the answer.
Chapter Three
Carter
I slam the door shut behind me and walk straight to the winding staircase that takes me upstairs to my bedroom. When I make it up to the landing, I come face-to-face with the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of the blue ocean outside. The sun shines high in the sky, making it perfect. This view made me dish out twenty million dollars. That, and well, it’s right on the beach and gives me the privacy I deserve. I’ve been in show biz for the past twenty-five years, so basically most of my life, after being chosen at an open casting call my parents brought me to at the mall when I was eight.
We lived in a trailer, and some months, we were lucky to have water. The minute they cast me on The Mickey Mouse Club, I was my parents’ golden ticket. Almost like in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. They loved it so much that when I turned eighteen, I was happy to say I had not one penny left. My father had spent it on five homes that he paid for in cash while my mother jetted around town with a chauffeur.
So I started from the bottom when I legally became an adult, crossed them off my list forever, and then went on with my star-studded life. They tried to sue me for back royalty. Can you believe they claimed to have managed my career? Luckily, I had a shark lawyer who went toe to toe with them and even presented proof of all the money they embezzled from me. I’ve been on my own since I was eighteen years old, if not younger, but I have one person to think about, and that is me. I don’t have time to have any strings attached to anyone. Unless it’s for the night.
I pull a black shirt over my head and walk to my bedroom on the right. The open curtain gives a view of the ocean again. I toss the shirt in the laundry, taking off my shoes at the door and then make my way to the bathroom to shower. I woke up thirty minutes ago and snuck out of my latest conquest’s house. I look in the mirror and see the nail marks down my chest. Why do these women feel it’s necessary to leave a mark as if I’m actually going to remember them in the morning? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve dated women but just casually and sporadically. Besides, in my line of work, why eat the same food every night when you can feast at a buffet?
I open the glass door to the huge walk-in shower. Even though it’s fitted with a bench, it’s never seen any action. I’ve never brought a woman home. Actually, that’s a lie. I brought one girl home seven years ago, and she stayed a fucking week. I literally had to send one of my friends to escort her from the house because she thought we were in love. Love. Like I’d be stupid enough to fall in love with anyone. Love was for fools, and I wasn’t a fool. I only had to depend on myself and no one else, and I loved myself. I loved my life.
Grabbing my brown leather jacket and sliding my sunglasses on, I run down the stairs and straight to the garage, then get into my black Ferrari. I make my way over to Hillcrest where I’m meeting my manager to sign the biggest contract of my life. The engine purrs every time I rev it. I pull up to the valet and toss him my keys. Grabbing my phone, I check to make sure I’m not late, and I see I have one minute to spare. I press the button for the elevator and then make my way up to Ryan’s office. I got a message from Jeff, my manager, that he’s already in the conference room.