He nodded at her and spread his arms along the back of the couch. A chuckle escaped his mouth as she stalked away, murmuring in gibberish.
The lights were dimmed, casting a beautiful hue on the hardwood and glass interior. The room and décor were all shades of brown. Warm. Welcoming. The air smelled like the jasmines adorning the antique vases.
His gaze wandered with the ocean waves as he recalled the house where he was born— where Andrea Dawson was still Andrea Marino, and he was Mickey, il bambino dell’ autista—the chauffeur’s kid. He couldn’t remember much of that house now, except that it was big. But again, he was almost ten the last time he went there. He’d been invited to Maggie’s first birthday. The garden swarmed with guests and plenty of children to play with. That day, he had seen Andrea for the first time after she got married. She was nineteen then, and God she was hot.
He glanced toward the sound of heels coming from behind him. Andrea smiled from ear to ear when she saw him, her lips a crimson red like the corseted dress that gave him a good view of her cleavage. Anybody else would have been tempted, but he knew better.
He rose, and she folded her arms around his waist, pulling him in for an embrace. “I missed you, Mickey.”
He ended the hug fast. “Looking good. Those fillers are really working for you.”
She flipped her long, brown hair as she sat next to him. “Thank you. Maybe I should give you the number of my doctor. You’re going to need him very soon.”
He smirked and put one leg on the other. “Nah, I’m good. James called you?”
“Yes, your manager informed me that you don’t want to doHeavenly Kisses.No problem. I have two more scripts for you to choose from.”
“What is it this time? A rom-com or a romantic thriller?” He snorted. “Listen to me. This isn’t just aboutHeavenly Kisses. I don’t wanna spend the rest of my acting career doing nothing but being some sexy whatever who saves the day and gets the girl. I’m done with that kind of shit. I want to act. So bring me something different. Important.”
She sighed. “I understand what you’re going through. Believe me. After this long in the business you get bored. You want to try something different, something new, even risky.” She leaned forward, her tits on display even more. “But you can’t just make that shift all of a sudden. You have to ease your way into it, pave the way for your audience to accept that change, or else everything you’ve worked really hard for will be at risk.”
“Or maybe I just need a new audience. That’s the point of change, isn’t it?”
“But we—”
“No buts!Last Resortis the last movie on my contract with Universal and the last one of this kind I’m ever gonna make. Next year is gonna be different, and you’d better be ready for it.”
“I can’t let you do this. This is career suicide.”
“You know what? I just don’t give a shit anymore. If you can’t get me what I want, I’ll find a new agent who can.”
Her eyes flashed at him as she jumped to her feet. “Excuse me? Have you forgotten what I’ve done for you? What my family did for you?”
“No, I haven’t, and I never will. I like what we have. Our friendship and partnership have been very successful so far.” He grabbed his shades and stood. “For me and you.”
Then he glanced down at her. “I don’t want to end this, and I’m sure you wanna keep making the millions I make you. So get me what I want.”
Scene 4
Mike
“Hey, Kiddo.” Mike snickered as Maggie cursed in response. He could picture her hazel eyes rolling as he adjusted his phone on his ear, climbing into his Porsche. “Why didn’t you come to Andrea’s?”
“Ugh! You really don’t know the answer?”
“But we agreed to meet there.”
“No. You made that obnoxious suggestion, and I said whatever,” she corrected. “You know better than anyone that’s the last place I wanna be, even if it’s to see you.” There was an edge to her voice.
He grunted. “Okay. How about I make it up to you?”
“I’m listening.”
A grin stretched my lips. “I’m having a party tonight at the AKA. Why don’t you come over?”
“You still live there?”
“Si, si.” He’d been calling his AKA Beverly Hills suite home for the past two years. After his father passed away, the mansion in Bel-Air was too big and lonely for a single man like him.
