He drove me to the nearest bagel and coffee spot. “It’s a favorite of mine.” He winked, and then we stepped out and my heart nearly stopped. James and I were featured across the street. The one luxury of living in New York was no one noticed you. You could be dressed as a damn clown walking down Midtown, and not a soul would pay you any mind, so no one had put two and two together.
Everywhere I went, there I was. Images of me were plastered everywhere, and they were spectacular. There was a billboard in Times Square of James pinning me to the bed with his forearm on the mattress and his hand in my hair while he breathed me in, and the bottle of perfume is right at the cutoff of where our hips meet. It’s breathtakingly hot. Although it was provocative and my dad hated it, I loved how great we were together.
James’s driver opened the door and let me out. “Have a good day, Miss Kelly.”
“Thank you, Ronald.”
I walked into my job and got straight to work for about twenty minutes. My father called my cell again, but I sent it straight to voicemail this time. His words had already sent me into an emotional tailspin. A round two was too much for me.
A minute later, I foolishly went to the bathroom and listened to the message.You need to come home. I refuse to allow my daughter to be with some sleazy ad man who screws his innocent models. He’ll only ruin you.
Why was he saying these things about James? Did he really believe that, or was he just assuming James was bad because he’s a dad? I didn’t have time for it. I rinsed my face and then walked out to my desk, only to find my boss waiting for me with his arms crossed. “Well, I see why you have been anxious toget the fuck out of here early lately.” He turned his phone, and there was the video.
“Actually, I was doing a favor for a friend and filled in.”
“Wow, so your friends have you out taking your clothes off. I didn’t know you needed that kind of money. If you needed a raise, you could have asked for real responsibilities.”
“No offense, but I don’t ask questions, and I don’t want to take on responsibilities. I want to be a writer, so my goal is to eventually move on from this job.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
“God, you have a smart mouth, and if I didn’t think you were such a good person…”
“Thank you for that, Mr. Hernandez.”
“So are you planning on working here today, or are you quitting now?”
“Modeling once doesn’t pay the bills,” I scoffed.
“Sleeping with a billionaire might.” My mouth fell open. Of course I understood that James was wealthy, but I had no idea to what extent.
“He’s a what? I didn’t sleep with…” How was Mr. Hernandez aware of my relationship with James? Was he having me watched?
He pressed his finger in between my neck and my shoulder, right at the edge of my collar bone. “That hickey on your neck suggests otherwise, and you’re telling me that you didn’t know that James Keaton is a billionaire.”
I blushed profusely, unable to hide the embarrassment. I’d been in such a rush to leave after my father’s call that I’dforgotten to check for any marks. “We only met that day. His assistant is my neighbor, and she recommended me.”
“Be careful. His brother is rumored to have hands that don’t know where they belong.”
“I’ve already met that piece of…” I stopped myself from saying too much that I couldn’t take back.
“It’s okay to say he’s a piece of shit. He’s not my brother.” My boss chuckled. It was the first time that we actually got along.
“Excuse the fuck out of you, but what is going on here?” James barked at the door.
Mr. Hernandez smirked until he spotted Elizabeth beside James. “You,” he whispered.
Chapter Nine
James
I called Claude right away. He was on vacation with his wife and the bastard knew how important the shoot was for us, but he also understood that she was mine and how crazy I was about her.
“Hey, how did you like the edits?”
“First, how did Henry get the full video?”
