Before A Perfect World: Movie Trilogy, Book Two (The Movie Trilogy) (4 page)

My cell chimed a text at that moment, and I sniffed, moving toward my purse on the bed and reaching for my phone.

Keaton.

Keaton:
V… I want the fairy tale.

I read the words, my heart warming.

Pretty Woman.
It was my favorite quote, and I didn’t remember ever telling him that.

I was sure that he just
knew
.

“
Huh.” Matthew’s voice over my shoulder made me jump, and I turned to him as he read my text. “I had the fucking fairy tale. And it ended with the one person that I loved more than my own life nearly bleeding to death, my son dying, and you running away from me.”

I lowered my phone,
pressing my hand to my mouth. “Oh, Matthew, no. No.” Dropping the phone to the bed, I turned to him, wrapping my arms around him. “You’re right. I’m not running again.
I’m not.
I’ll keep my distance from Keaton. Okay? Matthew?”

I would have said anything to take away the pain that I’d caused him.

“If you’re filming in Utah, and I’m teaching in Ohio, how would I even know?”

His words burned. I held his face in my hands.

“It’s only three months. I can fly home every weekend. Or you can fly to me. I’ll make sure I negotiate weekly pay into my contract so we can afford it. And you have to trust me. Please.”

He stared into my eyes, and I felt like he was reaching into my soul.

Finally, after a long moment, he sighed. “Vivian, I know you. The real you. You have a conscience, and morals, and you know the difference between right and wrong. That’s one of the reasons that I love you so much. Yes, I trust you, and if that makes me the stupidest guy in the world, then that’s on me, not you.”

I shook my head, hugging him again. “You’re not stupid.
You’re so good, Matthew
. You’re just so good.”

K

“So you got her representation from CAA, arguably the
biggest
of the Big 5 acting agencies, and then you hire her that asswhip agent Marcus Tate to negotiate her contract. Are you trying to fuckin’ bury us, kid?” Frank demanded, tossing the folder to the table to glare at me.

I gave him a curt smile, glancing at my phone again.

No reply.

I’d texted Vivian yesterday
and still hadn’t heard back from her. Telling her that I wanted the fairy tale had been the product of too many drinks and too little sleep.

I’d tossed and turned all night, hating that she was sleeping next to him.

Or with him.

Fu
uuck
. I wanted a drink, and it wasn’t even nine AM.

After I finally did fall asleep and sober up, I woke
hella irritable and ultra-fucking-pissy. I’d been lied to and hurt by Kelsey already, and there was no way I was going to sit back and shower Vivian with every one of her dreams come true while she took my baby home to some other fucking guy.

This had to end. Today.

I’d told her I wouldn’t wait, but under her beguiling blue gaze, I’d folded and resolved to give her space and time.

Well, that lasted twelve hours.

“Mr. Thane? Miss Hale has arrived.”

Kathy’s voice
interrupted my thoughts, and Frank rolled his eyes, sitting back in his chair. “So this is just a formality, right? I know you’re giving her the part.”

I watched Max lean forward, clearing his throat. “Frank, she’s good. She’s got so much potential, and
she’s a gamble, but Keaton is convinced he can help her really take off.”

“Hi.
”

Vivian
’s voice drew my attention as she passed Kathy in the doorway.

And then Fowler followed in behind her.

It took my every concentrated, hung-over effort to not throw the script in my hand across the room. She’d assured me that she’d convince him to stay at the motherfucking hotel, but apparently her ignoring my text- combined with Fowler’s presence- meant that she was still not committed.

“What a surprise.” I stood, walking to them. Frank mumbled something about ‘shit hitting the fan’ to Max, but I ignored him. “Vivian, when I contact you, I expect an immediate response.”

She widened her eyes in complete surprise, and my chastising tone must have been just enough to set Numero Uno off. Frank and Max stood, and Fowler rushed forward, glaring at me.

“
She hasn’t signed a damn thing yet. You’re nothing to her, and she’s not obligated to return your juvenile texts.”

So, he was reading her texts. Interesting.

“We’re going to step out. Call us when you’re ready,” Max said, and Vivian shifted out of the doorway to allow them to pass through.

“
I think I’m
something
to her,” I replied, smug, leaning back against my desk and crossing my arms over my chest. “What do you think, V?”

“Don’t call her that,” Fowler snapped, glancing down at my desk. His eyes scanned the pile of papers near the floor, and he snorted in their direction.

I glanced down, trying to control my natural, defensive reaction.

What t
o Expect When You’re Expecting
was shoved under the pile of paperwork. I’d picked up the book right after Vivian had called and told me that she was pregnant, trying to understand what she was going through at only five weeks.

“L
ook at that,” Fowler mocked, crossing his own arms. “
What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
Studying up to be the perfect father, isn’t he,
V
,” he snapped at Vivian, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

I kept my face impassive.
“Change your tone with her, Fowler. Consider this your only warning.”

He only chuckled. “I’ve heard about
your
dad. You’re going to need a lot more than a book.”

I tensed, my blood boiling.

My first reaction was to pound his face
.

I started forward, jolting in mid-step as Vivian rushed between us.

“
Matthew
! Stop,” she tried, but we were too far gone at this point. We both knew what was about to happen, and we were both keeping score of the amount of jabs we could get in before this turned into the inevitable.

He stepped past her, turning to me.
“Want to know what to expect? Here’s what you can expect, you son of a bitch. You can expect to be there for her when she is throwing up at three AM. Or when you don’t feel the baby move for twenty-four whole hours, and you rush in for an ultrasound just to make sure everything is okay,” he snarled. “And how about when she’s flat- lining, and they’re trying to bring her back? Chapter twenty-two. Managing a complicated pregnancy. Good luck.”

I stared at him, watching him constantly reel in his anger just before it went over the edge.
With every element of humanity I possessed, I tried to remember that he was mourning as well.

Carefully, I kept my even tone.
“I’m sorry for your loss. I really am, and I want to be clear about that.”

“Fuck you.” He turned to the door, glancing at Vivian.

She was mortified.

Her neck was covered in hives, and I wanted to go to her, but he was already ranting again.
“So here’s what you can expect today. I’m going to take my fiancée home, and if she keeps this baby, you’ll hear from our lawyer.”

If she keeps this baby…?
My eyes snapped to hers, and she covered her mouth, swaying on her feet.

“Matthew! Keaton, of course I’m keeping the baby,” she cried, and I scoffed, turning back to Fowler to roll my eyes.

He shook his head at me. “She’s
mine
, and she’ll always be mine. I was her first, did she tell you that?” He was edging closer now, and I knew it’d take only one snide remark from me to break him.

I considered my options.

“Yes, she did,” I replied evenly, forcing a grin. “She said it only took you three times to make her come. Atta boy.”

“
Keaton!
” Vivian shrieked, and to my surprise, Fowler restrained himself, only matching my grin.

“But I’ll be the one with her tonight,” he added, deadly calm, and now my own anger prickled. “
And it won’t take three
minutes
.”

I exhaled a laugh, flashing him a peace sign. “Two minutes. Two fingers.”

His fist slammed into my eye, which was good, because I’d already had my nose broken twice. Vivian screamed, and before I could return a punch, Max and Frank were pulling Fowler off of me. He broke away, and the security in the front of my office rushed in to restrain him.

“Get outta here. Take her with you,” Frank growled at Fowler, throwing Vivian a furious glance.

Tears streamed down her face, and I shook my head, gesturing to her.

“No. Vivian, the part is yours
. Take it or leave it,” I managed.

She
watched me carefully before turning to Fowler. As she rolled her shoulders back and brushed at her tears, I knew that she was gathering her emotions.

Finally, she spoke, and while I expected her voice to shake, I didn’t expect the anger in her tone.

“This is un-fucking-believable.
Both
of you. I don’t want to hurt either of you, and neither one of you are giving me time to unfuck my mind from my heart. So fine.” She narrowed her eyes in Numero’s direction. “Matthew, you should… go.”

He stared at her, co
mpletely dumbfounded. “Vivian-”

“Go. Just
go
. I’ll talk to you later.”

Even though my eye was throbbing, I heard the hallelujah chorus singing in my ears.

He stared at her, still struggling against the security guards.

Finally, he stopped, shaking his head at her
.

“I’ll be at the hotel.”

He was escorted out, and I watched as Vivian moved to the bar, dumping ice into a clean, white towel. Waiting for her to gather herself, I touched my eye with the heel of my hand.

Finally, she took a deep breath and turned my way.
“Keaton, I’m sorry. Everything that he said… was out of jealousy and anger and was so unprofessional.”

“V?”

She spun around, bag of ice in her hand.

I closed the distance between us, and she brushed at her tears, scoffing with laughter.
Those sparkling blue eyes of hers searched mine before narrowing.

“Two fingers? Really? You’re such an asshole.”

I grinned, grabbing the ice from her hand.

“I almost said my mouth, but I didn’t know if he had a gun.”

She shook her head, trying to hold back her smile.

I grasped her chin with my hand more forcefully than I’d intended, but she didn’t pull away. Still gripping the ice in my other hand, I let it fall to the floor.

“Keaton?” Her mouth formed my name, but I could barely hear her voice. “This will only get uglier… and I can’t hurt you, and I can’t hurt him. I need for one of you to just walk away. Hurt me,” she managed, backing against the bar.

I dug my fingers into her soft skin, lowering my face to hers. “I already did that. I will never do it again
,” I vowed, my hand slipping around her waist. I pulled, tugging her against me, and she exhaled sharply.

She jumped as my office door opened, and Frank and Max trailed in. I
cleared my throat and stepped back, leaving her breathless at the bar. “I’ll be back after lunch. Get the contracts ready for her to sign,” I ordered to Frank, and he sent Vivian a scathing glance before nodding my way.

“You got it, Mr. Thane.”

Frank and I had known each other for years, and he only called me by my LA name when he was super-fucking-pissed at me. Ignoring him, I ducked my head out of my office, grinning at Kathy. “The car is waiting for you, sir.”

“Thanks, Kath. Vivian?” I turned to her, and she retrieved the ice from the floor, returning Frank’s stink-eye with her own cocked eyebrow.

“I’m ready. And Keaton?” I turned to her in the doorway, my blood pumping twice as hard as she bobbed on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear. “I love that you bought the book.”

I wrapped my arm around her, drawing her to my chest. “I love that I have a reason.”

The intimacy of the moment, even with Max, Frank, and Kathy trying to look busy around us, was not lost on Vivian. She tightened her own hold on me, and God, all I wanted to do was take her home and make love to her for as long as she’d let me.

She
walked with me to the elevator, and I restrained the urge to push her against the wall and slip my hand up her skirt. She was something different at that moment; more than the gorgeous woman who had completely taken over my mind. She was valuable to me. Her life mattered; the life of my child mattered. Some paternal instinct that I had never known governed my behavior now.