Amanda Berry - L A Cinderella

A knock on her window threw her heart into palpitations. Her hand blocked her heart’s escape through her rib cage. As she turned her pulse increased pleasantly. Chase smiled at her and her mouth curved into a responding smile. He loved her.

She unlocked her door, and he opened it for her.

“Good morning, Natalie.” Chase held out his hand to help her from the car.

Her face burned as she recalled exactly how good her morning had already been, and the night before and yesterday afternoon. She slipped her hand in his and a sense of completeness surged through her.

He drew her out of the car, but didn’t back up, leaving only an inch between them. Natalie’s gaze shot to the cameras that were currently going off. Life would be so much simpler if the cameras weren’t at every corner ready to go. She stepped back from him.

“It’s okay.” Chase’s smile was reassuring. “We’ll go straight in and not talk to anyone.” His fingers linked with hers, and together they walked across the parking lot. “How was Charity’s this morning?”

Words flew through Natalie’s mind: awful, discouraging, ego wrecking. “Fine. She’s going to call me about a fitting tomorrow. When is the luncheon today?”

Chase stopped right outside the door. “Anytime you say ‘fine,’ it doesn’t really mean fine. You mean something bothered you, but you don’t want to discuss it.”

When she looked at the ground, his finger lifted her chin, and she reluctantly met his eyes.

“It’s okay.” The words were beginning to sound like he was trying to steady a skittish horse.

“You are beautiful.” He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Charity can be really harsh, but she does a damn fine job dressing people. I have no doubts she’ll find you the perfect dress, and that you’ll look absolutely stunning in it.”

His head dipped down to hers, and she quickly turned her head to the side so that his lips brushed her cheek.

“We should really go inside,” she said. Her pulse thundered through her veins, and she resisted the urge to turn and taste his minty breath, to forget about the cameras and lose herself in his warmth and taste.

His deep voice in her ear sent little shivers of desire coursing down to pool between her legs. “I’ll let that one go. This time.”

She avoided his eyes as he lifted his head and opened the door for her. Slipping into the relative safety of the office, she hurried past the receptionist, whose eyes were about to pop out of her head. She managed to make it to her desk without melting into a puddle on the floor. Chase was hot on her heels. Her breath caught at the hot look he gave her.

“I’ll see you tonight.” Both a promise and a threat lingered in his eyes.

She sank down into her chair as he continued down the hallway. How was she going to concentrate with such a tantalizing offer hanging over her head?

One of the statuesque beauties from the administrative department strutted by and gave her a belittling look. Natalie quickly buried her face into a stack of work.

The hours quickly passed as she concentrated on work and not on the jealous or curious looks of the amazingly large number of people who had to pass her desk during the day. Chase sent her a smoldering glance as he left for his luncheon with Robert.

“So, trying to get ahead by dating the boss?” The catty voice caused Natalie to stiffen in her chair and tear her gaze away from her computer screen.

The woman could have been a runway model, from her choice in clothing to her makeup to her outrageous look-at-me hairstyle. Her three-inch heels had her towering over Natalie’s desk as she looked down her nose.

“I’m sorry.” Natalie couldn’t have heard the woman properly. This woman had never spoken to Natalie before. She probably thought Natalie was beneath her.

The smile that twisted the woman’s face was anything but friendly. “We all try to get ahead by any means possible. But no one has been able to capture Chase Booker’s attention. He only dates actresses, not…” She didn’t continue but let her gaze slide over Natalie.

If only Natalie were more like Rachel, she’d have a snappy comeback ready and be able to put this wannabe in her place. Instead she wished the warmth would lessen in her cheeks. At least her mouth wasn’t opening and closing like a guppy’s.

“So how’d you capture the elusive man? Did you get naked in front of him? Did you go down-”

“Excuse me. I’m trying to work here.” She glanced down the hall to make sure no one else was hearing this woman. What was this woman’s problem?

“Why bother? You have Chase-isn’t that what every woman wants?” The woman’s eyes shot daggers through Natalie before she pivoted gracefully and strutted away.

Natalie stared after her for a few moments before she stood stiffly and walked down to the bathroom. Is that what everyone thought of her? That she was just trying to get ahead by going to the boss’s bed?

She shut herself in the stall and tried to calm her rushing nerves. At least here she was out of sight of all those people. She suddenly felt like the outsider again. A frumpy, short woman among the jungle of beautiful people. Before she’d been beneath their notice, but now she was with Chase. She hadn’t considered the reactions from her coworkers when she’d driven to Chase’s house. How was she going to cope with this?

The bathroom door opened, and women’s voices wafted through the opening. She quickly stood on the toilet without really thinking about it. What am I doing?

Just as she was about to step down, the door clicked closed, and the voices became distinct.

“Can you believe the nerve of her?” the woman who’d stopped at her desk said. “I mean, to strut in here with Chase Booker on her heels like some sort of lapdog.”

“I know, right?”

Natalie didn’t recognize the second woman’s voice.

“I heard he’s using her to get back at Alexis Brandt for breaking up with him.” The first woman’s voice got close to the stall door and stopped.

Natalie held her breath and kept completely still. Her gaze was riveted to the doorknob. She’d locked it, but would it hold?

She heard the rustle of fabric, and the woman’s heels clicked back toward the sink.

“I think he’s doing it as a publicity stunt. Something to slap Hollywood in the face.”

Was that all she was to Chase? He loved her. But had it all been make-believe?

“Totally. He can use her, and Hollywood will keep trying to figure out why. That’s probably the real reason. Besides she’ll sink back into oblivion when he’s done with her.”

Natalie’s heartbeat echoed so loud she wondered why the women didn’t hear it.

Her heart tightened painfully as the door closed behind them. Was he trying to prove something to someone by toting her around everywhere? By dressing her up and taking her to the Oscars? Was that some kind of slap in the face of the Hollywood engine?

She stepped down off the toilet. She had to get out of here. She needed to go home. She needed to get away from these people. She waited another few minutes in the bathroom before venturing out into the hallway.

Rushing to her desk, she grabbed her purse and switched off the computer screen. Hoping to avoid the women from the bathroom and everyone else who obviously thought she wasn’t worthy of Chase’s attentions, she hurried out the front door without meeting anyone’s eyes.

Once in the safety of her car, she glanced around. Her eyes stopped on the men with their cameras. How did actors do it? How could they prevent the cameras from catching them when their hearts were on their sleeves and tears were in their eyes?

The luncheon took up more time than Chase remembered. Between the photos and everyone stopping to ask about his latest project or film and, in turn, telling him about their latest project or film, Chase couldn’t wait to be near Natalie and not have to worry about the rest of the world.

After saying good-bye to Robert, he dialed Natalie’s cell phone on his way to his car, but the call went to voice mail. He called her office number but got voice mail there, too. Tipping the valet, he slipped into his car before dialing the office.

“Pandora Productions,” the receptionist said.

“This is Chase. Is Natalie still there?”

“Um, no.” There was hesitation in the woman’s voice. “She left a few minutes ago.”

At the slightly guilty tone of the receptionist, Chase’s heart dropped. What had happened while he was gone? Natalie never left work early unless someone told her to. Had he pushed too hard? Was she going to leave him like Becca did?

He hung up the phone without saying another word. He’d have to wait until he saw her to make any conclusions. She seemed so sure that she was ready to be a part of his public life, but he couldn’t help wondering when it would become too much. When would she leave him again? He wasn’t ready to let her walk out of his life, but what choice would he have?

Maybe this was a mistake. He never should have started something with someone who wasn’t part of the industry. It seemed only a matter of time before Natalie left him for good. He couldn’t offer her the life she wanted. Quiet. Unassuming. But he also couldn’t stand the thought of losing her again.

Would she go to his place or would she go to her apartment?

He decided to head back to his place. He’d asked her to meet him after work and, if she still wanted him, she would be there. If she wasn’t there, he’d have to deal with that when it happened.

He’d given her the gate code as well as an extra garage-door opener. All he could do was hope that she had used them.

Remote controls were evil. Chase had sworn to her that the remote he had for his media center was user-friendly. Apparently not if that user was Natalie. She’d found the DVD for If Only and, after another fifteen minutes, figured out where to put it in.