“No, I haven’t seen her,” I lie to Alex, praying that Alex doesn’t decide to sit down and chat again.
“Good,” she says in satisfaction. “I told her to leave you alone. I guess she listened to me for once. If she bothers you, let me know.”
“She’s not a bother,” I assure Alex. Because she’s not…right now. Alex nods.
“Your food will be up in a second,” she tells me before walking away.
After she leaves, Melanie finishes sucking me off in record time and climbs back out from under the table, wiping her mouth daintily.
“That chick is a bitch,” Melanie growls to me. “She has no idea what kind of talent I have. But you do. Now. Can you please put in a word with Tally for me?”
She stares at me, her hard eyes turning soft for just a brief minute, long enough to give me a glimpse into her life. She’s vulnerable and insecure beneath her hard surface. Just another reason why she shouldn’t be in my world.
Girls like her get eaten up and spit out.
“Sure,” I tell her. “I’ll say something to him.”
Lie.
But Melanie takes me at my word and bends to squeeze my shoulders once again. She walks away and I watch her hips swish as she goes.
She’s barely out of my sight when Alex returns with my lunch, switching one service (Melanie’s blow job) for another: my lunch.
It’s how my life works.
Everything is easy. Everyone strives to please me. Everything is just so fucking smooth. Now. It wasn’t always that way, of course, but the past is the past. I don’t dwell on it. In fact, I do everything I can to forget it.
For a second, I wrap my fingers around the necklace in my pocket, the one thing I allow myself to have from my previous life. It serves as a constant reminder for me.
To never trust anyone again.
I release the pendant and grip my fork instead, chewing each bite of food efficiently and quickly, returning to the Dominic Kinkaide that the world knows and loves.
Mysterious, detached, sexy.
Those are words that have often been used to describe me. But the one word that suits me most of all has never been uttered, never even been hinted at… because no one knows.
That word is broken.
Chapter Three
“No fucking way, “I mutter to Tally. “I’m not going to London. I only have a month until the new production begins. I want to relax.”
“Well, you can relax in London while they take your pictures for the promos. I also set up a day of shooting for a Tag Heuer commercial while you’re there. You love their watches.”
“I don’t even wear a watch,” I grumble into the phone, pouring a cup of coffee with one hand as I stand completely nude in the middle of my kitchen.
“You will for a million dollars,” Tally says cheerfully. “It’s an easy day’s work for you. Their VP of marketing is a good friend of mine and I owed him a favor. Just do this for me, please.”
“Fine. But you know I hate endorsing shit,” I growl. “Unless Porsche needs a spokesman, no more endorsements. I mean it.”
“Deal,” Tally replies. “Your plane will be wheels up tonight at seven pm. Amy can’t make the flight with you, but she’ll meet you there. They’re going to work her into the promos at the same time so they can wrap it all up in two days.”
I glance at the clock. Eleven am. I’ve got to be on a flight in eight hours. Sighing, I gulp at my coffee.
“So much for a vacation,” I sigh again in resignation.
I can practically hear my manager smile through the phone. “Your brothers have a show in Amsterdam. I’m going to arrange for you to swing through there on your way home. You might not catch the show, but you can visit your brothers for a day or two. I know you haven’t seen them in a while.”
True story. Because of their world tour, I haven’t seen them in months. I had actually been looking forward to their show in Chicago next month just so I can have the chance to see them. We’ve always been close, but our hectic schedules prevent us from getting together as much as we’d like.
“Good,” I answer. “I’ll be on the plane at seven. Are you coming?”
“Yep. I can’t trust you to stay out of trouble over there.”
He laughs and I’m not sure if he’s kidding or not.
“Oh, by the way,” he adds. “I sent you a gift. It should be there any minute. I figured your house needs cleaned before you leave.”
“I’ve got a housekeeper,” I remind him.
“Not like this, you don’t,” he answer cryptically, and then hangs up.
I barely have time to finish my cup of coffee before my doorbell rings.
I pad over the marble floors to answer it, only bothering to pull on a pair of pants before I do.
I’m still shirtless when I open the door and find two gorgeous college-aged girls standing in front of me. Blonde, pert, big tits.