Vegas Love (16 page)

I let out an awkward chuckle. “The papers seem sort of anticlimactic.”

“That may be,” Cade states, “but they will protect you. You need to take the emotion out of it.”

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and sign the papers.
 

As Cade files them away, I ask, “What should I do about a publicist? Can you recommend someone?”

“Let me talk to Vanessa Flanning. She works with some of my other clients, but I don’t know if she’s taking on any new ones. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out,” he says as he walks out the door.

I immediately burst into tears.

“Come here, baby,” Cash says, gathering me into his strong arms.

She Was Screaming

Cash

Last night my brothers forced me to go to our cousin’s football game at our old high school. I felt bad leaving Ashlyn after the day she had, but she told me she wanted to just go home and go to bed.
 

I tried to get out of the game, but my brothers weren’t having it.

I sent her a text last night and asked how she was doing, but she never replied.

Which meant I worried all night.
 

But when I wake up this morning and check my phone, I see that she was up early.
 

Ashlyn:
 
Sorry I didn’t reply last night. I was exhausted. Want to ride with me to work?

Me:
 
I have to go into the office for some human resources training this morning.

Ashlyn:
 
Okay.

Me:
 
But I was thinking I could come over and make you breakfast.

Ashlyn:
 
You’ll have to hurry. I only have 45 minutes before I have to leave.
 

I don’t bother replying, I just throw some clothes on and jog—okay, run—to her house.
 

When she answers the door, she’s wearing a short sheer robe that leaves little to the imagination.
 

“I was just getting ready—”
 

Our lips crash into each other as I pick her up, carry her into the bedroom, and strip off that robe.

Later, I’m at the office when I get a text from Cade.

Cade:
 
Just a heads up. Both her manager and publicist received their documents about thirty minutes ago. I expect there will be drama. I don’t want drama on the set. See to it that there isn’t.
 

Me:
 
I’m not there. I’m in some boring as shit Human Resources class you said I had to attend.

Cade:
 
Shit. I completely forgot about that. Meet me downstairs ASAP and we’ll head over together.

“What’s wrong?” I ask the second I see the look on my brother’s face.
 

“I screwed up. Called security too late.” We jump into his car and he tears down to the studio. “Bart went storming over there. Burst onto the soundstage in the middle of a scene. The director just called me, pissed. I assured him it wasn’t her fault. That I dropped the ball and should have called security before I ever sent the letter.”

“What did they do? Did they drag him out of there? Arrest him?”

“I don’t know.”

“Cade, that should’ve been your first question!” I call Jerome, one of the guys who works the boom.

He immediately answers.

“Where is she?” I ask.
 

“She’s in her dressing room.”

“Where is her manager?”

“I just saw him go back there.”

“Go now. Barge in if you have to. She just fired him and could be in danger.”

“I’m sure she’s—”

“Go! NOW!”

“I’m on it, boss.”

My heart feels like it’s going to pound out of my chest. I should have fucking been there.
 

“Can’t you go any faster?” I say to Cade. “Why the hell do you have a DB-9 if you’re going to drive it like an old lady?”

Cade punches it. I hear noise in the background.
 

Her scream.

Why is she screaming?
 

Then I hear what sounds like her door being kicked down.
 

“Jerome!” she screams.
 

“Get the fuck off her,” Jerome yells.

He was
on
her? I’m going to fucking kill this man with my bare fucking hands if he hurts one single hair on her beautiful head.
 

“She was screaming in her dressing room,” I say to Cade.
 

He blows through the guard stand without bothering to stop and a security guard is now chasing us with a golf cart.
 

Cade is flying down the road. He hasn’t even stopped in front of the set building before I’m out of the car and running toward her dressing room. I realize I dropped my phone, when I put my hand up to my ear to hear what is transpiring.
 

I’m racing down the hall when Jerome comes out of Ashlyn’s dressing room with Bart by the scruff of the neck. He’s flailing around, trying to punch Jerome. Ashlyn follows, her lip cut and bleeding.
 

I don’t ask questions.
 

My fist connects with Bart’s face, causing a loud, satisfying crunching sound as the asshole goes down, his mouth bleeding.
 

Jerome rolls him over and puts his knee into his back as security finally shows up and cuffs him with plastic ties.
 

Cade comes running in, out of breath, as Ashlyn rushes into my arms and breaks down in tears.
 

“We’re going to need your statements,” the security guard says.
 

Bart looks up at me, he’s struggling and pissed.
 

“I don’t know who the fuck you are,” he says, “but I’m going to have you arrested!”

I let go of Ashlyn, lean down next to the asshole, grab his hair, and speak very clearly. “
Who I am
is a lawyer.
Who I am
is the guy that protected an innocent girl and the guy helping her from being assaulted.
I’m also the guy
who helped her decide she didn’t need a spineless, double-crossing, dishonest piece of shit like you working for her. I’m also the guy who will have a restraining order filed against you. You ever come within a thousand feet of her again, you needn’t worry about going to jail. You need to worry about what I’ll do to you. Are we clear?”

“Fuck you,” he mutters as they escort him out.
 

I grab Ashlyn’s hand and tell my brother he needs to find out who let him on the set and fire him.

Then I drag her out the back door for some air.

“You’re kinda a beast when you get mad,” she says, sliding her hands down my arms. My fists are still clenched, but when she touches me, I relax.

“Like Beauty and the Beast?”

“No, like beast mode. It was hot.” She starts crying. “And really sweet. No one has ever stood up for me like that. I don’t even know what to say.”

I wrap her in a tight hug. “You don’t need to say anything, baby.”

She looks up at me and whispers, “If this were a fairytale, I’d have to kiss you for saving me.” She looks at the people milling about. “But I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

I kiss her forehead then examine her lip.
 

“What happened?”

“He burst onto the set in the middle of a scene and started yelling. Everyone seemed pissed at me. Then he grabbed me and said
we’re going to talk in private
—then when he got me to my dressing room, he shoved me against the wall and told me I couldn’t break his contract. Started trash-talking Cade. About how Cade only wants me to take the other movie because it’s more money and in his best interests, not mine.

“I told him I knew about the producer role. About the lease. How he’d been lying to me. How it was unethical. Then I told him before he got a fucking dime from me, there would be an audit of the books and if there was any mishandling of funds, I’d be filing charges against him. That him using me was over.

“He was furious, said that I owed him. When I said I didn’t owe him shit, he backhanded me.”

“Are you okay now? We should get in there and get some ice on your lip.”

“Yeah, I probably should. I have a red carpet event to attend on Sunday.”

“Cancel it.”

“I can’t. It’s for the studio. They already think I’m unreliable.”

“Then I’m going with you.”

“You’d do that?”

“Yep. I’m going to guard your hot ass.”

She laughs, which makes everything seem brighter.
 

Once inside her dressing room, I get ice for her lip.

“What time do you have to be there?”

“Four o’clock. The screening starts at five, which means it really will get started around six-thirty. Then there’s a VIP after party. I can skip that but—”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Do you have something you can wear?”

“I could wear the suit we got mar—”

Cade interrupts us. “Security would like to take your statements.”

“Cash, can I speak with you for a moment?” Cade asks while Ashlyn is answering questions.

“Uh, sure,” I say, reluctant to leave her.

He pulls me outside to the same spot where Ashlyn and I just were.

“What the fuck was that?”

“You would have done the same thing.”

“No, I would have held him down until security got there. And why were you hugging her?”

“Because she looked like she needed a hug.”

He taps his foot. The same tap he used to do on the pitcher’s mound when he was nervous.
 

“Still got the foot tap, huh?” I tease.

“I’m serious, Cash.”
 

“Did you or did you not tell me to get close to her? Am I doing my job?”

He shakes his head but says, “Yes, so far, you are.”

“Then back off. And go do something productive like file a restraining order against that asshole.”