L.A. Cinderella Read online

  “That’s probably not even her voice,” Natalie murmured under her breath.

  “Is he really that good-looking in person?” Rachel didn’t wait for her answer.

  Of course, Natalie would have had to admit he looked better in real life. On screen he was larger than life, but in reality, he seemed like a normal guy. A gorgeous normal guy. She could feel the heat flood her cheeks from just thinking about him.

  “We have to have lunch this week. I can come to the office to pick you up and try to snag a view of Mr. Sexiest Man Alive for myself.”

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I have a lot of work to do next week.” Natalie reached for another handful of popcorn.

  Rachel was more Chase’s type than she was. Her dark hair never had a strand out of place. Rachel also had killer curves. Natalie knew from experience that men wanted Rachel.

  Not that Natalie wanted Chase to want her.

  “It’s just lunch. Nobody would fault you for going to lunch. Besides—” she shoved her hand out toward the TV, “—you can’t deny me my one opportunity to meet the man of my dreams.”

  Natalie snorted. “I thought the man of your dreams was Matt Damon.”

  “Well, normally, but since Matt isn’t available I’ll settle for Chase. C’mon, Natalie, you know you can’t say no.”

  A fact her roommate used against her constantly. But one she wasn’t willing to fight about right now, or anytime, for that matter. Confrontation made her ill. The camera pulled in tight to Chase’s eyes, and she coughed to cover the sigh that tried to escape.

  “You know I’ll just keep pestering…”

  “Fine, we’ll do lunch, but I meet you at the door and if he isn’t around, we leave. Now, can we just watch the movie?”

  Rachel squealed and shook Natalie’s arm, knocking popcorn all over the floor. “I get to meet Chase Booker. Oh, this is the scene where he walks across the room naked. Shhh.”

  Natalie wanted to roll her eyes, but couldn’t take them off Chase’s body. It had to be touched up in editing or a body double. No one could look that good in real life.

  Of course, Monday morning, Natalie found herself staring at Chase as he walked by. The images from the movies played in her head. She tried to detect a difference in the walk to see if they’d used a body double. But his swagger was definitely unique and the perfect butt was again outlined in jeans that should be a sin for him to wear.

  “How’s the audit going?” Martin’s stern voice rang out behind her.

  She jumped in her chair. Her face flushed from being caught watching the owner’s butt as he strolled down the hallway. Picking up a few papers, she turned. “I’ve been making progress. I’ve pulled all the expense reports and started itemizing them in a spreadsheet.”

  His mouth tightened. “Good. I expect you to continue working late until we get this thing figured out.”

  “Yes, Mr. Morrison.” Though it wasn’t really “we” working this out.

  He nodded to her and returned to his office. Turning back to her desk, she lost herself in expense reports for all sorts of weird things: haircuts, manicures, massages, personal trainers. Not so weird for a Hollywood production, but really weird to her, especially the amounts for each one.

  When she got to a claim for toilet paper, she stopped. Sliding off her glasses and setting them on the desk, she closed her eyes and rubbed them. The numbers had begun to swim on the page. In her business class, they’d gone over legitimate expenses. Even though this was a movie set, the expenses were ludicrous. Who needed twenty-four dollars’ worth of toilet paper for two days at a shoot? Maybe he had diarrhea. She smiled slightly.

  “You look like you’re in a good mood.” Chase’s voice curled around her ear and slid down her back, leaving a pleasant shiver in its path.

  Resisting the urge to groan, she uncovered her eyes to stare at the blurry blob of Chase Booker.

  “Did Velma lose her glasses again?”

  She could hear the smile in his voice. Patting the desk in front of her, she gripped her glasses and forced them back onto her face. Maybe she’d have been better off not wearing them. At least when he was a blob, the only thing seducing her was his voice.

  “No, I was just…” Her gaze dropped down to the huge amount of paper on her desk.

  “Trying to find your way out of the recycling bin?”

  Her gaze met his. The smile on her face froze as the unbidden image of him naked on the TV screen flashed in front of her eyes. The heat crept up from her chest until she swore it was going to pop out of the top of her head.

  “I like it when you do that.” His voice was soft and intimate.

  Oh, God. What did he like? That she was visualizing him naked? Was she that obvious?

  “There it goes.” His eyes sparkled.

  “What?” she managed to get her thick tongue to say.

  “Your smile.”

  Seriously, flames should be bursting from her skull any moment. Her papers—she could look at her papers. Numbers didn’t make her heart race, her palms sweaty or her mouth dry. She couldn’t take her eyes from his, though.

  “Have lunch with me.”

  “What? Why?”

  When he smiled, his eyes lit from within and crinkles formed at their corners. Why was he asking her? Did he do that with all the employees? Was she reading too much into his question? Was his interest in her only as an employee?

  “There you are, Natalie. I waited up at the front like you said, but… Oh, hi.” Rachel stopped next to Natalie’s desk, turned on her hundred-watt smile and tossed her perfect black locks over her shoulder.

  Natalie kept her eyes on Chase, trying to read his expression. Once men saw Rachel, Natalie became invisible. Or worse, they pretended to be interested in her to get close to Rachel.

  She knew she shouldn’t have let Rachel talk her into lunch.

  “I’m Rachel McAllister.” She stuck out her hand to Chase.

  “Chase Booker.”

  Rachel didn’t let go of his hand right away. Natalie’s stomach clenched. Even though she knew Chase couldn’t be interested in her as more than an employee, she didn’t want him to be interested in Rachel.

  “You were in our apartment all weekend.” Rachel smiled as she released his hand.

  Natalie choked back a groan and wished the paper would come alive and eat her whole right this minute.

  “‘Our apartment’?” Chase raised an eyebrow.

  “Natalie and I had a movie fest this weekend.” Rachel kept grinning. “We watched all your movies. Since it was newly released we watched Night Blooming, even though you weren’t in it. The award ceremony was spectacular. I loved your tux. Congrats on the wins.” She batted her eyelashes up at him.

  Natalie pushed back her chair abruptly and stood. Her boss did not need to know that she’d ogled him all weekend. “We were just heading to lunch. We’d better hurry if you want to get back to work on time.”

  Rachel turned bright blue eyes to her. “We don’t have to leave right now.”

  Ugh. Natalie didn’t like the look on Rachel’s face as Rachel turned her smile back to Chase. Frustrated, Natalie blew her bangs out of her face and glanced at Chase. His teasing grin had returned.

  “Thank you,” he said politely to Rachel before turning back to Natalie. “So, Natalie, which movie was your favorite?” His interest was far too intense. Was it because of Rachel or because he was interested in her?

  Resisting the urge to shrink behind Rachel’s tall figure, Natalie quickly ran through the titles in her head, trying to remember which one he was completely clothed throughout the entire film. “Night Blooming.” Ha.

  His eyes focused in on her lips and she realized she was smiling. His comment earlier froze the smile on her face. What if he really liked her?

  “Don’t be silly, Natalie. Of course, she loves Riddle Beach. I mean who doesn’t.” Rachel’s eyes practically devoured Chase. “After all, how often does a woman get a feast for her eyes?”<
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  Screw the papers; maybe the floor would swallow her whole. She tugged on Rachel’s arm, trying to get her to back off and just go, but Rachel jerked her arm back.

  “I figured Natalie’s favorite would be If Only.”

  Her eyes snapped up to Chase’s face in amazement. To be honest, it was her favorite. She loved the story. The love, the purity, it gave her body tingles just thinking of the kiss at the end. Such perfect buildup, such beautiful emotions. Such an unattainable love.

  Her mouth opened, a thousand questions on her tongue tumbling over each other to find their way to the surface. She clamped her mouth shut before they spilled out.

  She managed to get out, “We should go.”

  “Natalie, stop being rude. Of course, Natalie loves that one, too. It never leaves the DVD player. That last scene…Natalie, what’s that last line?”

  Natalie pressed her lips together. Not that Rachel would notice, as her full attention remained on Chase.

  Rachel continued without even blinking an eye. “Oh, what is it? There’s that song going on in the background, and she’s almost out the door, but she stops when he says it? Natalie, you know what it is.”

  “‘I can’t lose you.’”

  Natalie’s head jerked up at Chase’s voice. He wasn’t looking at Rachel. He was looking at her. His green eyes touched her so deep. Her breath caught in her throat.

  “Yeah, that’s it. But there’s more,” Rachel said.

  Chase continued as if Rachel weren’t there. “‘I’d give up my entire world for one more moment in your arms. One more night by your side. I want it all. All of you. I want you to have it all. All my love, all my heart, all of me.’”

  Her purse hit her foot, jerking her out of the moment. It felt like he was really saying it to her, not Elizabeth, the heroine in the movie. Which was ridiculous even to think. Actors acted. He was just acting. She pressed her glasses back up her nose and reached down to pick up her purse.

  “Wow, you are good.” Rachel’s appreciation was too much for Natalie. This whole situation was too much for her.

  “Let’s go, Rachel. Chase has more important things to do.” Again Natalie took hold of Rachel’s arm. “’Bye, Chase.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” Rachel finally took the hint. “It was nice meeting you, Chase.”

  “Natalie?”

  She risked looking at him again. The flames engulfing her face hadn’t died down the entire time. “Yes?”

  “Think about what I said.” He nodded to Rachel and headed down the hallway.

  Chapter Four

  Think about what he said? How could she think of anything else? Even with Rachel prattling on across the table about how surprised she was that Chase looked that good in real life, she couldn’t get those words out of her head.

  Maybe he didn’t mean to make her obsess about the ending lines that gave her that feel-good feeling when she needed a pick-me-up. Seriously, the man did not need writers making him sound romantic when he could just say “come here” to a woman and she’d be all over him. But if it wasn’t that, what else had he said?

  Besides, the kind of love found on the movie screen was nowhere near what real life was like. Men like Chase didn’t go for women like her unless something more was going on, or it was part of a script.

  “Oh, on the blogosphere this morning, Chase and Alexis were seen at Hyde on Friday night and at Spago on Saturday. Not to mention the Golden Globes. God, I wish I had her body and that dress. Wow.” Rachel took a bite of salad. “Mmm. Their reps wouldn’t comment on their relationship. You know what that means?”

  Maybe it was lunch. That’s right. He’d asked her to lunch sometime right before Rachel had appeared. Probably a thing he did with all new employees. It wasn’t like she was special in some way.

  “Natalie. Natalie!”

  “What?” She focused on Rachel’s eyes. Rachel’s eyebrows were raised and she stared at Natalie like she was from outer space.

  “Where are you?”

  “What do you mean? I’m right here. With you. Having lunch.” Natalie glanced down at her plate, surprised to find it still full.

  “No, you weren’t. You were in la-la land.” Rachel speared a cherry tomato with her fork. “Besides, you didn’t answer my question.”

  Natalie sifted through the last bits of conversation she’d heard. Something about Alexis and Chase? You know what that means? “What does it mean?”

  “It means that Alexis and Chase are on again. That’s the way of the world, you know. They break up, and then after their next big movie, they get back together and finally get married. Maybe have a kid, if it’s fashionable at the time. Then have a messy divorce where they swear they’ll stay friends for the children.”

  “So, Alexis and Chase are an item again?” Natalie ignored the knot in her chest.

  “Of course. But they won’t say anything about it for a month or so.”

  “Oh.” She tamped down the disappointment that rose to the surface. She knew she’d been dreaming, but… Okay, so she’d hoped a little of his attention had been because of that spark in his eyes. Not that she was any good at reading men, but maybe, just maybe someone like Chase for two seconds thought of someone like her.

  She stabbed her fork into a pile of lettuce and shoved the whole thing in her mouth. It tasted bitter.

  Uh-oh. Natalie reread the numbers and double-checked the signatures. Uh-oh. She picked up the expense report on top of the other stack and lined up the signatures again. Not good.

  “I’m heading out.”

  She snapped the papers together and leaned over her stacks as Martin walked out of his office. Wide-eyed, she tried to keep her face neutral and forced a slight smile.

  His eyes narrowed slightly. “Is there anything you need?”

  “Of course not. Why would there be anything I need? I’m good. I’m real good.” Stop babbling! Clamping her lips together, she smiled tightly again.

  “Fine.” He tucked a newspaper under his arm and narrowed his eyes on her again. “How’s the audit going?”

  Realizing she was hovering over her work like a protective mother, she stiffly leaned back in her chair. Every night he asked the same thing and she was beginning to understand why. “Fine, I’m almost done with this stack and then I’ve got those over there to go through, but everything looks fine. Just fine.”

  “Well, as long as you finish by Monday. Chase and Robert want a full report.” He locked his office door. “Have a good night.”

  He disappeared down the hall. She breathed a sigh of relief. Glancing left and right down the hallway to ensure no one was watching, she picked up the last document she’d been working on.

  After working through tons of documents with Martin Morrison’s signature and handwriting, she was confident she recognized his writing. Paul Alan, an extra, had similar handwriting and had been paid in cash per Mr. Morrison’s instructions.

  So had another extra, Jan Robbins. The handwriting is what caught her attention. Both Jan and Paul had eerily similar handwriting, and it bore a strong resemblance to Mr. Morrison’s.

  She needed to know how cash payments were handled. Glancing over her shoulder at the closed door, she knew she couldn’t ask Mr. Morrison even if he were here. If he were guilty of fraud, he’d know she was onto him, and she’d get fired. If she told him what she suspected and she was wrong, she’d still end up fired. Being fired a month into her first job would look really bad on her résumé.

  It was after five-thirty on Thursday, which meant the office was practically empty with the exception of her. And possibly Chase. The office staff left early on Thursdays for happy hour.

  She hadn’t been alone much with Chase this week. Even though she felt relieved, that little part of her couldn’t help being disappointed. The past few nights, Robert Addler had walked out with her and Chase, which was perfect for her. Chase couldn’t bring up lunch again if they weren’t alone. Unless it was purely business. So if he hadn’t
brought it up, did that mean it was personal?

  Robert wasn’t here today. She stood and stretched her stiff muscles. Maybe she could just root through the files and figure it out. She stared at the large filing cabinets that stored this year’s bills. Four long drawers filled with paperwork sorted by vendor.

  Maybe if she knew the rules on picking up cash and how it was given to the extras… She heaved a sigh. Walking around her desk, she stared down the hallway to the only light left on in the office. Her heart thudded against her chest. He would know how the process worked. Besides, she’d have to tell someone sometime. Someone above Mr. Morrison.

  Wondering if she was making a huge mistake, she headed to Chase’s office. Even with the little trill of anticipation to see him again, she walked slowly down the hall. Not only was she going to accuse the CFO, who had been here a lot longer than herself, of embezzling, but she had to make sure she didn’t make a fool out of herself over Chase and her little attraction.

  Every time she was near him, her body responded as if she were a cat in heat, and her brain went on vacation. She hadn’t figured out how to control it yet.

  Natalie paused outside the slightly open door.

  His low voice reached her ears, freezing her hand in mid-knock. “Alexis, I don’t think so…. No… I know how important this is to you, but I just… Yes… Have you tried Robert?… No, I’m not saying… If you would just… Sure, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

  The phone click, as it was returned to the cradle, barely penetrated the fog in her brain. What did it mean? Were they back together? She rolled back on her heels and tried to slip back before he noticed her.

  One step. She stopped at a rustling in the office, followed by footsteps. She squeezed her eyes shut. Oh, yeah, like that really hid her. She opened her eyes. A blue shirt filled her view. Oops.

  Tentatively she raised her eyes to his bemused expression. As always, heat flushed through her and her heart slammed against her chest.

  “Eavesdropping?”