Scornfully Yours (Torn Series) (17 page)

     “That over active imagination of yours will really send you in a mental psych ward if you keep going on like this! I don’t know why your confidence lacks sometimes because you fucking
rock
girlfriend! Besides, if you ditch this, do you want to go on forever thinking ‘what if’? Think about that because I sure as hell don’t want a big fucking ‘what if’ in my life.” Lindsey, the voice of reason, interjected.

     “Geez, a big ‘what if’ huh? Well, maybe you should check out Brody Thompson
then
girlfriend because from where I’m standing, the man is a big hot ‘what if’ to me.”

     Lindsey huffed on the other end. “Whatever. I have to go back to sleep ‘coz I have a stupid quiz first thing in the morning. But just remember that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Emma. This is like one of those opportunities that are life changing and can undoubtedly alter your universe. This is it, Emma Anderson. It’s your time to shine. I just want to tell you—
either way
—that I’m proud of you.
Okay fuck it!
I will be
prouder
if you do get the damn role woman! Imagine all those award shows and the free goodies that come along with it. Accept the role before I smack some sense into you, comprende?” Lindsey is too cute when she speaks Spanish. Too darn cute and just because of that—I will accept the role.

     As Winston Churchill said,
“
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Heck yes, failure is not fatal. Yet. But, hey, I
didn’t want the big ‘what if’ haunting me either.

     “Alright, Lindsey Mason, you’ve finally gotten through to me. Now go sleep and ace that quiz of yours and I will call you tomorrow after the meeting, okay?”

     “Damn straight! Now you owe me some tacos and margaritas. Over and out.”

    
I so do
, I thought with a smile. After a quick goodbye, we ended the call.

     Feeling convinced and assured, I strolled towards the bedroom to get a new shirt and boxers. I chose all white this time. I mean—there was only black and white to choose from. Why doesn’t he wear any other color? I bet blue would make him look gorgeous especially with those eyes of his. It would be severely compelling. 

     I found Bass in the theatre on the makeshift bed he made earlier—lounging in only white drawstring pants and nothing else. His blonde hair was wet and when I got close, I got a major whiff of his intoxicating shower gel. Dammit, it was even more delicious smelling it on him.

     “I showered in the guest bedroom, just in case you were wondering.” He said as he pulled me down next to him, smiling.

     Without thinking, my forefinger traced the ridges of his steel abs. Boy, doesn’t he just feel all wonderful in all of his steely hard muscled goodness—tan, rippled smooth skin and hot to the touch.

     Bass groaned as my finger went a little lower, an inch above the top of his pants. He immediately grabbed my hand and kissed each of my fingers and he laughed it off.
Tingles
, they reverberated all over me. “As great as that feels, I can’t let you go on. Tell me though, have you thought about it?” Bass inquired.

He sure was eager to know.

     ”Well…,” I teased, smiling at him.

     “Yes?
No?
Come on, Emma. You can’t miss this! Not only will it be awesome, but imagine spending all that time with me in Greece. We can explore the islands during weekends–get to know the culture, the history, and be awed by the beauty of the country itself–you’re going to love Greece. I’ve been to Santorini once and it was marvelous! I want to see it again,
with you
.”

Bass Cole, I think you’ve just disarmed me. The picture he just painted was pure bliss. “How long will we be out there?”

    He grabbed my hand and started to caress it. “Three months—
four the most
—depending on how well it goes. The privately owned island I believe is somewhere on the Aegean Sea and has a population of roughly one thousand, I think.”

     Three to four
months with Bass. That’s ninety to hundred and twenty days with him. That’s a long…
long time
…on an island…a beautiful Greek island…with a beautiful man. Hmmm, what to do?

     “Well, that’s quite a long time, you know,” I teased as he shifted me onto my back and positions his super sexy body atop mine.

     Yes, yes, yes! My mind rejoiced.

     “Say yes!” He commanded with a lopsided grin, dimples on show. Gah!

     ”Um…,” My voice trailed off when I felt his hand go inside my shirt and caress my side. Was it wrong of me when I ‘accidentally’ opened my legs a tad wider to accommodate him better?

     His blue eyes became dilated as looked into
mine. “You feel like silk,” He rasped out as his hand moved a little higher. I pushed my hips against his and found out how aroused he really was. Bass hissed from my bold gesture. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t be touching you this way. It’s too early for you.”

     Are you for real dude? Come on! “Don’t you think that’s for me to decide?”

     Bass kissed my nose and held my chin. “No. I’m not taking you while you’re in love with Carter.”

     Well, there goes my sex drive, thank you.
When he puts it like that then there was no way we were going to have sex anytime soon. Bummer, I thought, dejectedly.

    
”I see…then I guess it would help if you didn’t make me all aroused then?”

     “Promise it won’t happen again.” He moved to the side, got the remote and turned off the lights
then gathered me in his arms.

     How
could he just turn me down like that? He’s all relaxed and here I am, still reeling and uncomfortable from the little spurt of wetness he gave me after only caressing my side. How annoying is that when the man who got me so turned on didn’t look bothered at all?

     “Tell Martin ‘yes’ when he calls.”

     His strong arms pulled me tighter against his chest. “You won’t regret this, Emma. This will open a lot of doors for you, just you wait and see.”

     I
didn’t doubt it would. I just hoped that I could handle all of it.

     “I’m going to call my agent first thing in the morning and take care of that for you. Barbara will take you on and she has a great team with her. So, go to sleep. I’ll figure everything out before you wake up tomorrow morning.”

     Sigh, I couldn’t keep on brooding when he was being all nice.

     “Thank you. You don’t have to really, but still
, thank you for arranging it for me.”

     “No worries. Just don’t forget to thank me when you’re accepting your first statue though,” Bass chuckled.

     Ha!

     “This is very good news for me
since I’ll be leaving for Canada in a week to film the third KOC movie.”

     He’s leaving in a week? What?!!!

     “You never once mentioned that. How long will you be gone?” I felt hurt for some reason. He never said a word!

     “Six months,” He grunted and
nuzzled the crook of my neck. “Saying it out loud would make it real. I like spending time with you and I’m not ready to go but
I have to
. I apologize for not telling you any sooner.”

Shit.

     I guess it was a good thing we didn’t have sex or anything to complicate things. He was leaving after all…

    
“That’s your job,
your life
, Bass. You don’t have to say sorry about that.” There was one thing I knew for sure about him and that was his love of making movies. And I sure as hell don’t want to interfere with that.

     “I know
, that’s why I wanted you to get the role Martin offered. I think it would be the best thing for us both. You get to see if acting is something you’d want to pursue and I get to be around you every single day.”

     Man, he’s really serious about me. How long will that last, I
wondered?

     “Trust me, Bass. You’ll be bored seeing me every day after a week. You’ll be running the other direction afterwards.” I smirked at the thought
, picturing him when he tries to avoid his fans—freaked out! I guess, time will only tell…

     His arms squeezed me tighter as he let out a long sigh. “May you have the sweetest amongst the sweetest dreams, my dear Emma.”

     Sweetest dreams, indeed.

“Each one of us has a fire our heart for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit.”

-
Mary Lou Retton

     “I’ve read through the contract and let me say that you’ve got the best deal.” Barbara Schwartz eyed me through her gold-rimmed glasses.

     How she read through hundreds of pages in such a short time is beyond me. Barbara was here at eight in the morning looking like an agent straight out of that show
Entourage
. She was quick, sharp, and straight to the point. She also brought a lawyer with her named Sammy Chang, a hoity-toity stunning Asian. Sammy never once cracked a smile. And she was to be my lawyer? Bass assured me that she’s sharp as shark teeth.
That
I did not doubt for a second.

     “You’re to be paid five million dollars and might get more if the movie does great in the box office,” Sammy Chang stated.

     “
Five million?
” I parroted. That’s a lot of money for a newbie like me. Shit, I better not let Martin and the studio down.

     “Samantha Knowles was going to be paid ten. You got half because you’re new in the industry and most people
like
you usually get half a million or a million max. To say this deal is great is an understatement,” Sammy said as a matter-of-factly.

    Got it, I’m new and inexperienced. I nodded and took a big gulp of my iced lemonade.

    “Let’s go over the important details of the contract,” Barbara looked at me as she opened a portfolio. “Do you have any reservations about nudity and filming?”

I shook my head. I guess not?

    Barbara gave me a curt nod. “Good because this film is centered around the woman cheating on her husband. They want the scenes to be as erotic as they can get. It wouldn’t be named “Blasphemous” if you can’t film love scenes naked.” 

I agreed, “Of course.”

Barbara paused for a second while she stared at me. Blinking a few times, she shot out. “Moving on, your hair needs to be longer—
so no more haircuts
—just an itsy bitsy trim. There’s a mandatory health screening—
you should know that
—to make sure that you’re not going to drop dead once filming starts. Three months before the shoot, you have to see a fitness trainer, twice a week. Also, there’s a yoga instructor twice a week,
to make you limber
—for all the sex scenes. Speaking of which, there’ll be five sex scenes and you will be baring all your naked glory. So you see why they indicated it in bold lettering that you see a personal trainer? They don’t want any love handles. That would kill the film. If you still have
any
, we can do liposuction. But from what I can see with your figure, you’re in good shape. But I’d rather be safe than sorry. You will also be assigned an acting coach during this amount of time—if you so wish it. I advise that you also hire a dietician for your daily intake of calories. You are obligated to do all the promotional tours—radio, magazine, and television interviews. If you don’t comply with that, you will get sued. Do you have any aversion to waxing all your hair on your vagina? Barbara inquired in such a serious tone you’d think we were plotting to invade Iraq.

    I wanted to laugh but instead, I shook my head. “No.”

     “Good. Since you’re
new
, I advise that you comply with each and every demand they make and do everything they ask of you. You can make your own demands later on when you’ve made it in the industry. Do you have any questions, Ms. Anderson?”

     A whole fucking lot!
Five
—FIVE! Sex scenes! How did this escape Bass’s notice?

     “I think you’ve covered all the bases. Where do I sign?” I asked as I grabbed Barbara’s expensive gold pen. By the looks and feel of it, the pen was made of real freaking gold.

     After what seemed like an endless amount of paperwork, it finally was done. We had been at it for more than an hour and I was just ready to sign on the dotted line.

     “I will also need you to sign one more contract that states I will be your agent and so forth. I’ll call you later on next week.”

     “Yes, that would be good,” I responded as both women got up.

     “I would stay longer and get down to business—but I have a business trip to save one of my clients from joining a cult in Ohio. I don’t normally accept
just
anyone—but you are recommended by Bass—it was already a done deal.” No smiles here.