The Director (Hollywood Nights)

Prologue

(Epilogue to Personal Assistant)

Shay was just happy to
be there. Frankie, her best friend, and Jonas, Frankie’s fiancé and superstar
extraordinaire, had invited her to the wedding. She was happy for them. She was
earning her place in Frankie’s life. It was easy to do once Shay stopped trying
to be someone else. Harvey, her new agent, had done that for her. He broke
through her bull-shit. He made her deconstruct every part of her life and
rebuild it. She was his last client. His last project as he called it.

Her agent was really
his son, who would be taking over the family business now that he had earned it
by turning her into a viable actress. He did that by making her stop pretending
in real life. Some people get addicted to drugs, alcohol, and other substances.
She was addicted to an image. It took longer than a normal rehab program to get
her off the bitter pills of life she swallowed by the handful. She was free,
but lonely. Damaged, but recovering. A working actress, but not a star, and for
once, that was all okay.

“Hi,” Jed Gunner, older
brother of the groom, said in that rich voice of his as he leaned against the
wall next to her. “Friend of the bride?”

Shay nodded. He was
stunning. Same blue eyes the family seemed to pass on genetically, but Jed was
older, wiser, and darker. A warm feeling ran through her veins causing her to
shift a little on her six inch heels. A slight breeze drifted over them and she
could smell the scent of his cologne, or aftershave, or whatever it was that
made him delicious, subtly on the air.

“I’m Jed,” he extended
a hand.

“Shay,” she replied and
accepted it. The rough texture was softened by the grip and careful way he held
on to it a moment longer than necessary. The energy between them pulsed.
Something unexpected was happening. A feeling she was unfamiliar with coursed
through her veins. Maybe it was because he had crossed the lawn to talk to her.
Maybe it was because when he looked at her, as he did now, she felt every bit
as attractive as she had tried to be her entire life. Only he wasn’t ogling her
body, he was looking into her eyes, past them, into her very soul it seemed.

           
They stood there silently,
awkwardly. She was sure it was just her imagination. She was certain this
feeling of vulnerability was due to her new found ability to be vulnerable. She
wasn’t sure she liked it. He leaned against the wall and looked out at the
crowd. He glanced at her a couple of times, she knew because she made no
attempts to disguise her looking towards him. He smiled. She smiled. He lifted
off the wall and with a tone that made it sound obligatory he said, “Do you
want to dance?”

           
She slowly shook her head no. It was
a risk, but one she had to take. He might walk away. Maybe all he wanted was a
dance. Somehow, it didn’t feel like that was all he wanted. She wouldn’t mind
talking to him. She loved the way his timbre carried on the air, caressed her
like a touch. She wasn’t wearing dancing shoes tonight.

           
“Thank God!” He grabbed his chest
with such relief she had to giggle. “I was afraid you would say yes.”

Shay watched as he tilted
his head to the side. A slight hesitation followed with, “Do you wanna get out
of here?”

           
She bit into her lower lip and shook
her head yes. Shay looked over to the happy couple and realized they were
consumed with each other. No one would miss her if she left. Someone might miss
him. This could be the biggest mistake of her life. Somehow, looking at him,
the way he was looking at her, she didn’t think so. Harvey had told her to
trust her gut more often.
 
Everything
inside of her warmed, liquefied, and wanted Jed Gunner. She decided tonight was
a fine time to start. “Where to?”

           
“I like the beach.” He looked down
at her.

Shay stood five-five on
bare feet. She didn’t look him eye to eye even in the heels. He was a large
man. About Jonas’s height, maybe an inch taller, but he had a broader shoulder,
or maybe it was just a larger presence. She couldn’t tell and didn’t care.

           
“Then I guess I don’t need to walk
in these heels.” She tugged at the strap on the back of one as she lifted it,
then the other. She held the shoes in her hand, it shrank her height
considerably.

He laughed and nodded
his approval. “Let’s go.”

Chapter 1

           
Shay was certain that following Jed
Gunner to the parking lot was not on the list of things to do in order to get
back into Frankie’s good graces. However, one look in those smoldering blue
eyes, and she was ready to follow him anywhere. She had seen him a couple of
times around the set when he came to visit his brother. Shay made special
effort to remain away from Jonas. She didn’t want him or Frankie to think she
was interested. She wasn’t. In fact, the moment she got close enough to speak to
Jonas in person the only thought that came to her mind was “spoiled brat”. She
smiled. When she suggested Frankie apply for a job as a personal assistant,
Frankie had commented that she would kill Shay if she was stuck babysitting a
spoiled brat.

           
Shay supposed marrying a spoiled
brat was okay. It seemed to be working out pretty well for Frankie. Jed was not
a brat; he was a full grown man. Rough, rugged in a way his brother couldn’t
even pretend to be. He was nothing like any man she had ever attempted to date
before. He wasn’t a typical Hollywood pretty-boy, yet there was no denying the
fact that she was attracted to him. He looked good in his tux even with the
beard.

           
“Where did you park?” he asked. Shay
savored the rich timbre of his voice. She wondered how many times someone had
approached him to be the voice behind their audio book. Certainly if she knew
he read one, she would listen to it repeatedly just to hear him talk.

           
“I got a ride with the bride’s
parents. I just sent her mom a text saying I have another ride home.” Shay
liked that they walked leisurely through the lot. He wasn’t in a hurry, and
since she was carrying her shoes, neither was she. The pavement was warm to her
bare feet, but not unbearable. The sun was setting over the horizon. A nice
breeze caressed her shoulder as it blew past them. She looked up at him.

           
“Excellent,” he grinned and she
could see it though he had a full beard, not unkempt, but more facial hair than
she typically liked to see on a man. Somehow, on Jed, even with the tell-tale
patch of gray, it looked right, sexy even. He offered her his hand and she took
it. The moment her fingers touched his she was aware of the electric spark, the
heat at her core bloomed, and the pace of her heart kicked up a notch. She
wasn’t a large woman. At five-five she was average height, her strict workout
schedule kept her in prime physical condition. She was toned, not muscular,
feminine but not too soft. She had curves that no time spent in a gym would
remove and most people thought were purchased. Her body was her most valuable
asset. Everyone knew that, especially Shay.

           
He led her to a relatively
non-descript black luxury sedan. He opened the door for her and closed it too.
If Jed owned this vehicle he was more obsessive compulsive than Frankie. The
car was immaculate. It smelled like a new car. It might have been for all Shay
knew. Once he got in she asked, “Is this your car?”

           
“Nope,” he smiled. “It’s Frankie’s.
On loan while they are on the honeymoon. I didn’t want to take one of my
brother’s cars, everyone knows what he drives.” Jed looked at her for a moment.

           
Her heart began to thump, her blood
raced as worry began to set in. She hadn’t done this in a very long time,
longer than she would like to admit.

           
“No one’s going to be looking for you
to come home tonight are they?” he asked as he started up the car.

           
“Why? Are you planning to kill me?” She
said with a smirk.

           
He laughed, and then with a flirting
glance said, “Maybe.”

           
“Maybe?” She giggled. He was
kidding. She knew that much for sure. She didn’t know a whole lot about Jed
Gunner, but what she did know led her to believe he had a dark sense of humor.

           
“Seriously,” he said as he sobered.
He looked at her for a long moment and said, “I don’t want to give you the
wrong idea. I’m not looking to grab a cup of coffee and talk all night.”

           
“Well.” Shay bit her lower lip as
she considered it. This could be one huge mistake. Then again, it could be just
what she needed. Thanks to her new agent she had been a very good girl over the
past year. Didn’t she deserve one naughty night? “It’s too late for coffee. And,
the ocean always gives me a sense of…hope.”

           
“Me too,” he whispered.

           
As it turns out, Jed wasn’t much of
a talker. Shay wasn’t trying to pry into his life. She doubted she would see
him again after tonight, so there was no point getting into the polite pre-fuck
conversations where they pretended to care what the other thought about
anything other than getting naked. She just hoped a cab wouldn’t cost her an
arm and a leg later. The fact that her heart clenched slightly at the admission
of the situation had her focused on living in the moment rather than wanting
for tomorrow.

The drive was easy since they
were not far from the coast. Jed drove down familiar roads, and then down roads
she never knew existed, until finally he pulled down the road leading to an
isolated house on the beach. It was dark but for the few lights on inside. The
ocean air and crisp breeze welcomed them. The sound of waves crashing into the
sand was the only sound she could hear when he opened the door for her to get
out of the car.

           
She gulped and asked, “Is this your
house?”

           
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m sort
of house-sitting.”

           
“For who, Tony Stark?”

He laughed and shook his head no
again. She watched him toe off his shoes in the driveway and then pull off the
socks. His large masculine feet stood on the concrete. The tuxedo pants fell
across the tops of his feet and she had the striking thought that even they
were sexy. He tossed his shoes in the car with hers. Shay wondered if that
meant he would be driving her home later. What a gentleman if that was true. What
a brave guy if not. Frankie would kill him for leaving shoes in her car. He
turned towards the house and said, “Come on.”

Shay followed him. He pulled his
phone out of his pocket and punched a few buttons. A series of small white
lights illuminated rooms in the house and the patio out back in a subtle, yet
romantic, way. He moved to set his phone on a nearby table; she put her clutch
next to it.

Shay took in the sight of the
back of the house, the patio, the beach, and the blanket of stars visible in a
way she had never seen them before. She admitted, “This is really beautiful.”

           
“Yeah,” he agreed. He pulled off the
suit jacket and placed it on the table. He began walking towards the water.
“It’s why I like to stay here when it’s available. I want to soak it all in
before I head back to New York.”