If I Loved You (Hollywood Hearts 1) (9 page)

Panting a bit, Chaz placed his hands on her hips to move her away from his body. Meg moved her hands down his chest slowly, imagining what it looked and felt like underneath his shirt.
Does he shave his chest hair for the movies? Hope not.
Curiosity ate away at her but she couldn’t muster the nerve to ask. Before he noticed, she had unbuttoned two of his shirt buttons and slipped her hand inside.
Oh, God!

She groaned as her fingers caressed him through a smattering of fine hair. His mouth came down hard on hers, his hands pulling her hips up against his. Desire blazed a path to her belly. Instinctively, she ground her hips against his. Her fingers detected the increased pace of his breathing.

He took her by the waist and gently pushed her back against the arch, away from him. “Too fast,” he panted.

Megan rested her head back against the stone of the arch, hoping its coolness would chill her desire, but to no avail. His presence so close to her continued to stoke her fire.

“Too much,” she breathed, trying to convince herself.

The breeze picked up and the temperature dropped. In a few seconds, she was shivering.

“Time to take you home.” Chaz wrapped his jacket around her. The fine fabric was still warm from his body. He led her down the path, to the left, winding them around and out of the park. Once on the avenue, Meg regained her composure. Across the street from her building, she stopped to draw out a hanky. She wiped his lips before buttoning his shirt.

“Presentable?” He asked her, standing back.

“Very.” She combed his hair with her fingers.

They crossed the street. Chaz kissed her hand, bid her goodnight, made the salute to Briny, and then vanished, like a magician, into the dark of the evening.

*
* * *

Megan’s cell phone rang as she closed the front door of the apartment and tossed her keys into the bowl. One glance in the mirror told her she had been well kissed. Her lips were slightly swollen. An attractive flush in her cheeks made her pretty. She answered the phone while staring at her image.

“It’s me!” Penny chirped into the phone.

Megan dragged her attention away from the mirror. Sauntering to the sofa, she plopped down, resting her feet on the coffee table.

“So…how are things with Chaz?”

“Moving along. It’s business,” Megan lied to avoid a third-degree about Chaz, honoring his wish for privacy.

“How can you resist him?”

I can’t.
“It’s been a long day, and I need to get to bed.” Meg slid her legs off the coffee table.

“Alone?”

“Very funny!” Meg twirled a few strands of hair.
I wish!

Penny chuckled. “I thought so.”

“He is very…good-looking and all…but not my type.”

A loud laugh from Penny made Meg sit up. “He’s every woman’s type,” Penny said.

“What about Mark?” Meg leaned over to rub the aching arch of her foot.

“No one can beat Mark. I’m just sayin’…”

“When are you coming back?” Megan changed the subject.

“Training is over for a while. We’re coming back to New York soon. Maybe we’ll be witnessing something…intimate?”

“Penny!”

Loud laughter on the other end of the phone made Meg smile. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist that. I want you to be happy, Sis. That’s all.”

“I know. See you soon. Give the big lug a hug for me.” Meg smiled.

“Will do. Night.”

I’m not falling for him. This is ridiculous. No more celebrities. No more dates.

Megan padded into her bedroom to undress. She stared at her queen size bed, envisioning Chaz there waiting for her. The image gave her goose bumps.
Stop, Meg! He’s unattainable. A guy like him would never fall for someone like you. Give it up. You’ll only end up unhappy. That’s what Mom would say. And she’d be right. Still, he’s so…so kissable...so nice.

She sighed and pulled down the covers. In bed, she rolled over to stare out her window at the full moon. She remembered the feel of his lips on hers, his hands touching her. She shivered.
If I keep thinking about that, I’m going to be up all night.

Meg snapped on the light and picked up a book.

*
* * *

Morning came too soon. A weary Megan dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. Only slightly perkier than before, she left her apartment for the office, wishing she could go back to bed.

Meg eyed the two large cups of coffee perched on her desk, hoping the caffeine would cure her drowsiness. Sipping the strong brew, she switched on her computer, checked her email, and promptly rubbed her eyes.
One hundred new messages! What the hell?

She opened them one-by-one, only to be greeted by people she either hadn’t seen in a long time or didn’t even know. Every one of the emails had the same question
—“So what’s Chaz Duncan like?”

Holy Hell, someone leaked it to the media that I’m handling his finances. Now suddenly every friend and acquaintance from elementary, middle, and high school is my best buddy.

Give me the real dope on Chaz. What’s he like?

Is he as sexy in person?

Is he tall? Rumor says he wears elevator shoes.

Did he make a pass at you?

Are you dating him? If not, can you fix me up?

Have you seen his house?

Can you snap some candids on your phone and send them to me?

Are you gonna post pix of him on Facebook?

As soon as she deleted a few emails, more sprang up to take their place. Then one stood out. It was Alan Fader, her boyfriend from graduate school.

Meg, so glad I found you. You’ve changed your email. Let’s reconnect online. I’m still doing investment banking out here in sunny California. But that’s nothing compared to handling Chaz Duncan’s account. Kudos to you, baby. Keep in touch.

Meg smiled and responded to Alan’s email. She was happy to reconnect with him. Although, when they had agreed to go their separate ways, she had been a little hurt he didn’t ask her to go to California with him. Now, she was relieved he wanted to move on without her. Alan was a nice, steady, unexciting boyfriend. One business dinner with Chaz had her more riled up than a week in bed with Alan. She chuckled to herself.
He may have been an ‘A’ student in grad school but he got a ‘D’ in lovemaking.

As she went about deleting the emails, now totaling two hundred, a pain constricted her heart.
Poor Chaz! He wasn’t kidding about people’s curiosity. So, this is the level of interest the public has in him? It’s creepy. The man has no privacy, does he?

Now, she understood how the story of his past could be spread on the Internet and go viral almost immediately.
I get why he’s afraid to tell anyone about his life.

His lack of privacy became real for her, deepening her feeling for him.
No wonder he’s alone.

On her way to confront Brielle, who Megan was convinced put out the word about her and Chaz, Harvey Dillon walked into her office. “Well, well, well…I bet your email is buzzing this morning.” Harvey’s smile stretched from ear to ear.

“How did you know?”

“We sent out a press release! My email is through the roof, too. I imagine everyone here is getting questions from all their friends about Chaz.”

“That’s just what he doesn’t want, Harvey. Why did you do that?”

“Hell, I can’t build a celebrity division if it’s a well-kept secret we have a big fish like Chaz Duncan, can I? Soon other wealthy celebrities will be flocking to us for financial advice.” He rubbed his hands together.

Megan could swear she saw dollar signs in his watery blue eyes.

“Now we have to double security…keep anyone else from knowing his business. No one can know what stocks he’s invested in or how much money he has with us…anything. He’s a very private person.”

“Of course, Megan, of course. Confidentiality is important.”

Her phone rang.

“Better answer that. Might be the press!” Harvey practically leapt in the air.

Megan dove for her landline. “Megan Davis.”

“Hi, there. I’m Tiffany Cowles from
Celebs R Us
Magazine. Do you have a minute to talk to me?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Cowles, I don’t have anything to say.” Megan hung up the phone as if it were a cobra ready to strike. Picking up her coffee, she reclined in her comfy chair and twirled around to face the big window. Her phone rang again, but she ignored it. She sipped her coffee, gazing at the vast city laid out before her.
Why did I come to Dillon & Weed? What have I done?

While she continued soul-searching, her cell phone rang. She looked at the display. It was Chaz.

“Has your phone been ringing off the hook?” There was a trace of annoyance in his voice.

“Two hundred emails…the phone is still ringing…”

“Did some of those rag magazines call you?”

“
Celebs R Us
did.” She put her coffee down on her desk.

“What did you tell them?” Irritation mixed with apprehension in his voice.

“Nothing. I practically hung up on her. I had no idea Harvey was going to issue a press release.”

“Really? I find that hard to believe. Aren’t you running this ‘Celebrity’ division? Don’t you know
everything
going on in your division?”

“I don’t. I’m new. He didn’t ask me. I’d have said ‘no.’ I told him I didn’t like the idea, but he seems to think other wealthy people will come to us because you’re here.”

“And so they may.
Sharp guy, old Harvey. Gotta give him credit for this one. By the way, don’t be too rude to the press. They have a long memory.”

“I don’t care what they think. I care what you think. You have to believe me…”

“Do I? Why?”

“Because I’m telling you the truth…because you have the power to humiliate my brother …destroy my relationship with him with one phone call.” Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead.

“True.” His voice dripped with smug satisfaction.

“Would I give you that ammunition if I intended to betray you?” She chewed her lip.

“Good point. Probably not. Besides, if the heat gets too hot, Harvey will be crying the blues when I take my account to another management firm.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I had no idea what I was getting into with this job. I’m not cut out for this.”

“You’ve got all the right answers. We’ll hold tight…for now.” His tone softened.

“Chaz, I’m so sorry…I never…” Emotion choked Meg. Words caught in her throat.

She was greeted with silence.
I hate doing this over the phone.
Meg wanted to look into his eyes to know how he was feeling and reacting. “Chaz, I wouldn’t hurt you for the world,” she whispered.

“We’ll see about that.” He hung up the phone.

Megan stared at her cell phone for a minute until the insistent ringing of her landline startled her out of her reverie. Furious at the constant interruption, she marched to reception. “Do not put through any phone calls unless they are from my family or Chaz Duncan.”

A silly look came over the receptionist’s face. “God, you’ve been out to dinner with him. What did he order?” Megan stormed out. 
Isn’t anyone here professional besides me?

A
glance at her email had Megan in distress; another two hundred messages. She deleted all of them except one from Alan.

So, what’s it like to sleep with Chaz Duncan? Is he as good in bed as I am?

Megan deleted the email. Her throat closed up, tears threatened. She didn’t want to cry in front of her colleagues so she made a hasty retreat to the ladies room.

Safely inside a stall with the door closed, her hand trembling, she pressed the button on her cell phone to dial her sister-in-law. Barely holding on, Meg burst into tears at the sound of Penny’s voice.

“Meg? Are you all right? What happened?” Penny questioned her.

With her voice shaking, Megan replied, “Everything is ruined.”

“What? Why?”

Megan sobbed, putting her head down on her lap.

“We’re coming. Mark and I will be there tomorrow. We’ll take the early train.”

Megan took a deep breath as her chest shuddered.
“Davis, is that you in there?” Brielle’s voice rang out loud and clear.

Chapter Six

“What do you want, Brielle?”

“I wanna know why you’re bawlin’ your eyes out in there. You’re a star now. You’re famous. Not that you deserve it…”

“Shut up.” Megan was out of patience. She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands.