L.A. Fire (28 page)

 
“Come on,” Lisa said, holding out her arm as a link. “It’s time to paint the
town red.”

 
We grabbed our purses, and hurried downstairs to meet Julian in the limo.

***

 
As soon as Julian saw us coming, he slid out of the limo and held the door open
for us. He was wearing a purple Hugo Boss dress shirt, paired with black jeans.
His hair was still slightly wet from his shower, with a stray lock falling on
his forehead. His blue eyes twinkled at us, and I had to fight the urge to
press myself up against his chiseled chest. “Ladies, you both look stunning,”
he said, but he kept his eyes on me.

 
When we got in the limo, I noticed that Lisa’ was already a bit giddy. “Have
you been drinking?” I asked.

 
She smirked at me and said, “Not enough.”

 
Julian immediately pulled two champagne flutes from above the bar and filled
them with Cristal. “A toast,” he said, handing us our glasses, and then holding
up his.

 
“To a wild night in L.A,” she said, clinking our glasses a bit too hard. “A
girl could get used to this,” she added, downing her drink.

 
I raised an eyebrow at her as she passed the glass back to Julian, looking for
a refill. “Take it easy,” I said. Lisa was always a bit of a partier, but
tonight she seemed kind of out of control. Almost manic. I’d seen this behavior
in her before in a muted form when she was stress out in school. But this was
more intense. I started to wonder if she was even more stressed out with work
than she was letting on, and now that she’d taken the lid off her bottled
anxiety, it was all coming out in a crazy way.

 
By the time we arrived at
Strut
, Lisa had finished another glass of
Cristal. When she pranced out of the limo, some guy in line for the club
whistled at her, and she shook her booty at him. My eyes literally bulged this
time. Julian gave me a curious look. “Is she okay?” he asked.

 
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

 
The moment we entered the club, Lisa ditched us and went running for the bar.
Angela was working, and gave her air kisses over the bar counter, and a moment
later, Lisa had another champagne flute sitting in front of her. By the time
Julian and I made it to the bar, some guy had whisked Lisa off to the dance
floor.

 
“Hey, Ange.”

 
She smiled at me. “I hear it’s a champagne night. Coming right up.”

 
I reached over the counter and stilled her hand. “Hey, before you left for
work, did you notice Lisa drinking?”

 
Angela shrugged and said, “Yeah. We had a few drinks. And did a few lines of
coke.”

 
I felt anger lashing between my shoulder blades. “Seriously, Ange?” I said, my
voice full-on pissy.

 
She narrowed her eyes at me and said, “Lisa’s a big girl. And so am I. We can
handle our shit. So don’t mess, okay?”

 
I put my hands up, indicating that I was backing off, but I was still super
worried about Lisa. She didn’t look to me like she was having a good time. She
looked like she was unraveling. Julian put his arm around my waist, and guided
me over to a free stool. “Hey,” he said. “I know you’re worried about her. But
we’ll keep an eye on her okay?”

 
I nodded, and squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you’re out with us tonight,” I said.
He took a sip of his champagne, and his eyes crinkled in a smile, a gesture I
was started to know and love.

 
“Listen,” he said. “There’s a premiere for a movie coming up. It’s Monday
night. I want you to come as my date.”

 
All of my insecurities from the past week suddenly bubbled up to the surface.
“It’s a work function,” I said, “an industry event. And I don’t want to look
like arm candy.”

 
“Even if afterwards I lick you senseless?” he teased, but I looked at him like
I wasn’t having it, and his expression turned somber. “I thought we were over
this,” he said, his tone impatient.  

 
“We haven’t even properly discussed this,” I said, my voice containing more
than a hint of annoyance. “The fact of the matter is, I’m dating my boss’s
partner.” I sighed, and took a swig of my champagne. He rubbed his forehead in
an exasperated gesture. “Julian, listen,” I said, resting my hand on his arm.
“I’m totally falling for you. And I want this to work. But that doesn’t change
how this looks. We have to keep public and private separate.”

 
I saw anger rise from the back of his eyes. “I’m not going to sneak around with
you. You’re my girlfriend. And I’m proud of it. I want to flaunt you. I want
the whole world to see how lucky I am.”

 
My heart melted at his words, and he must have seen it on my face, because his
eyes softened. “I’m absolutely crazy about you, Sarah. And you are my
girlfriend. And girlfriends escort their boyfriends to functions. It’s really
that simple.”

 
My back immediately shot up. “Are you telling me it’s my duty to look pretty on
your arm? Because I’m not a trophy girlfriend. And I never will be, do
you  understand?”

 
Julian studied me carefully. “Have I ever treated you as a trophy, Sarah?”

 
I thought about it for a moment. “No,” I finally said.

 
“And I never will,” he said firmly, his eyes locking with mine. “I value you
for who you are. And I’ll never force you into a role you’re not comfortable
with. But I really want you to come with me to the premiere.”

 
I felt a flicker of deep unease. I still wasn’t comfortable about going to a
work function as Julian’s date. I hadn’t earned an invitation on my own merit,
and I didn’t think making my first appearance at an industry function as the
woman on Julian McGregor’s arm was a good idea. “I’ll think about it,” I
finally said. “But you have to understand my position. I might not be arm candy
to you, but that’s what I’ll look like to others. And I don’t want to lose face
in front of people that I might end up working with.”

 
Julian sighed, and said, “It’s just a premiere. You’re reading too much into
it.”

 
Maybe I was reading too much into it. “You’re probably right,” I said. “I’m
probably being oversensitive about the situation.” He took a long sip of his
champagne, eyeing me over the glass, waiting for me to come to a decision.
“Okay,” I finally said. “I’ll go with you.”

 
“Great,” he said, grinning. “Now that that’s settled, let’s hit the dance
floor.”

 
Julian was a great dancer. He held me close, spun me around the floor, dipped
me, and made me laugh. All of his moves were flawless, except for when he was
being intentionally goofy, doing the robot, or acting like a gangster. I’d
never seen this side of him before, and I loved it. He was always so intense,
so serious, and it was charming to see him just let loose.

 
But then all of a sudden I looked at his face, and it was serious again, etched
with concern. He was looking somewhere behind me on the dance floor and I
turned around to follow his gaze. I took a sharp intake of breath when my eyes
fell on Lisa, grinding with a guy in an orange velour suit. He had her pushed
up against the wall, and was devouring her neck, freely feeling her up. I
turned back to Julian, and felt the color drain from my face. “That’s not
good,” I said. “She’s got a boyfriend.”

 
I rushed over to Lisa, and yanked her by the arm. “Let’s go,” I said firmly.
“Party’s over. We’re going home.”

 
Orange velour guy smirked at me, and said “What’s the rush, sweetheart? We were
just getting this party started.” Then he salaciously ran his eyes all over me
and said, “What’s wrong, do you feel left out? You’re welcome to join in,” he
added, winking at me.

 
I scrunched my nose at him and said, “Gross.”

 
He shrugged his shoulders, and pushed Lisa back up against the wall, then slid
a hand up the bottom of her dress. Before I knew what was happening, Julian had
the sleazebag by the neck, and yanked him off Lisa. Then he pushed him back up
against the wall, hard. “Hey, what the fuck, dude. Let go of me.”

 
Julian leaned in close to him and said, “Get the hell out of here before I
break your ugly face.” Mr. Orange Velour shrugged him off, and then quickly
disappeared into the crowd. 

 
Lisa’s eyes were fluttering all over the place, but I noticed they were also
glazed over. She looked agitated, and she was swaying on her feet. Finally she
looked at me, her expression irritated and confused. “What the hell? Am I not
allowed to hook up?” Her speech came out slurred.

 
I looked at her in disbelief. “Not when you have a boyfriend.”

 
I saw recognition glimmer in her eyes, followed by guilt. She nodded slightly,
and took a step toward me, but stumbled and almost fell. Julian caught her by
the arm and steadied her. “Easy there,” he said, keeping her upright. I looked
at her closely. Her lipstick was smudged all over her face, and her eyes were
bloodshot.

 
“Come on,” I said, taking her other arm. “We’re going home.” As we passed the
bar, Angela shot us a worried look. Lisa was so trashed she could barely walk.
I gave Angela a defiant, angry shrug, and turned my head away. I knew it wasn’t
her fault. Lisa was a big girl, and she could make her own choices. But Angela
did give Lisa the coke, and for that reason I was furious with her. When we
finally made it out of the club, Lisa tripped on the curb, and Julian caught
her just in time. Her dress hitched up when she lurched forward, revealing her
buttocks clad in only a g-string. She let out a long, hysterical laugh, and all
eyes in the line outside the club turned to look at her. A camera flashed a few
times, and I turned around to see a photographer taking pictures of us.

 
Great. Just great. I could only imagine how this would be written up by the
press. It would look bad for Julian. And it would definitely be the last thing
Lisa needed right now. Her bare ass on page six of some trashy tabloid.

 
The ride home was silent. Lisa was passed out in the window seat. Julian looked
deep in thought. He finally grabbed my hand and said, “I’m worried about your
friend. Something’s going on with her, and she’s using booze and drugs to
self-medicate.”

 
I nodded. “I know,” I said. “I need to talk to her.”

 
Julian gave my hand a little squeeze. “If she needs to be referred to a doctor,
or an addiction clinic, let me know. I have some contacts in New York.”

 
I looked at him with concern. “Contacts? Were you in rehab?”

 
Julian looked grim. “No,” he said, “but my sister’s an alcoholic, and I was
able to get her help just in the nick of time. She was literally drinking
herself to death.”

 
I took a closer look at his face. His brow was furrowed in worry, and his eyes
were tense. “Is she okay now?” I asked.

 
He let out a long sigh. “She still struggles with it every day, but she’s been
sober for two years.” He gave my hand another small squeeze. “She’s back in Los
Angeles these days, but she was in New York when she unraveled. I knew
something was wrong. When I went out to see her, she was so thin. Emaciated.
She looked sick. And then I found her stash of booze. I practically had to drag
her by the hair to the hospital.”

 
Julian’s expression became pained, and he looked out the window. I stroked his
arm, then ran my fingers through his hair. He turned toward me, grabbed my
face, and gave me a long, tender kiss. His eyes were soft, and his touch was so
tender. I felt completely overwhelmed. Julian was opening up to me. Trusting me
with his family secrets. I snuggled up to him, resting my head against his
chest. He stroked my cheek with his finger, and pulled me tighter against him.
“The people I love mean everything to me,” he said. “They always come first.
I’ve been called overbearing. Overprotective. Maybe I am. But I want my loved
ones to be safe and happy.”

 
I let out a long sigh, and reached up to stroke Julian’s face. “You’re an
amazing man, Julian. You’re sister is lucky to have you as a brother. You
probably saved her life.”