Kyle Petersen and Michelle Cooper are Hollywood royalty, everyone's favorite celebrity couple, but while on location filming their new summer blockbuster, Kyle ambushes his wife with divorce papers and orders Shaunna to destroy Michelle in the media. Unwilling to comply, Shaunna spectacularly and publicly quits her job, humiliating Kyle in the process.
David Quinn, a struggling actor cast alongside the A-listers, is caught in the crossfire. When pictures surface of David and Michelle out on the town, media and fans rush to crown them Hollywood's new hot couple. Kyle explodes, tensions boil over, and everyone's lives and careers are thrown into jeopardy.
So what's a publicist to do? Especially when Shaunna finds herself falling in love with the sexy and talented David. Can she put out fires on the set while keeping the flames burning in the
bedroom?
Love, lies and passion. What happens when the naked truth is exposed?
EXCLUSIVE OUTTAKE:
Thomas received Sly's phone call and graciously allowed him the day off. He had plans for what he called his 'incognito man', but knew they could wait a day or so. Thomas went to work, checking on a few ongoing cases and was walking past the elevators when one opened and a pretty blonde woman asked him where she could find Mr. Harper.
Her eyelashes were attempting to hide huge ice blue eyes and Thomas smiled broadly as he answered her question with a slight bow.
"You've found him." He held out his baseball-glove sized paw and gently squeezed the small hand she placed there.
"Hello Mr. Harper," she began. "My name is Heather Lentz. I used to work for Kyle Petersen."
Thomas arched his eyebrow almost as high as Stephen Colbert. "Why don't you come into my office and we'll discuss anything you'd like, Miss Lentz."
"Please, call me Heather."
"All right," Thomas said with a soft smile.
They went into his office and he offered her something to drink.
"No, thank you." Heather sat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk while he chose the other.
"What can I do for you, Heather?" Thomas was sincere, sensing that something heavy weighed the beauty down. He'd always been a bit of a flirt, but this moment was different. He felt like he had known her for ages, like he could tell her anything and he ached for her to feel the same way.
Heather laughed nervously. "To be honest, I don't know." Initially, she'd thought it was a good idea to pay Michelle's lawyer a visit, but sitting with the handsome and attentive man only made her feel like she was about to waste his time. Still, there she sat, and he was waiting for an answer. "I've recently cut all ties with Mr. Petersen. And, knowing his nature, I kept his nasty correspondence as insurance against his backlash."
She made no attempt to open the smart looking dark blue leather attaché case she brought in with her. She merely waited for the attorney's response, and for her overheated cheeks to cool down.
Thomas knew that he never wanted to play poker with this woman. She was savvy and hid her emotions well. He appreciated that, and his immediate admiration for her was one hell of a turn on. "Are we talking about criminal communications, or just Kyle-esque pretentiousness?" He was interested either way, but it was the obvious question.
Heather laughed again, and her cheeks positively sizzled. "I don't know that either."
"All right. Well, any dirt on Kyle is a good start, but it’s very important that he didn't think these were completely private messages."
"What do you mean?" Heather asked. Thomas seemed intrigued and that was good.
"Did he know, for instance, that you were reading them?"
"Most of them were directed at me."
"Okay." Thomas wanted to be sensitive but he had to know. "Did Kyle sexually harass you?"
"Well, yes," Heather responded. "But not in the emails. Those cover more ground than just me."
They spoke for another few moments and then Heather confidently handed him a neatly bundled stack of papers from her slender case. He flipped through them and saw that she'd highlighted particularly incriminating phrases.
His eyes grew wider with each page he flipped through and finally he looked up with a big boyish grin. "I think I'm in love with you." He continued before his words could settle on Heather. "Who knows what else is in here!"
"Really?" Heather asked. "I knew it was underhanded and mean-spirited but could he really get in trouble for these?"
Thomas was looking back down at the hefty evidence. "Definitely. This is some pretty heavy stuff."
Heather was suddenly filled with dread. "Look, I just want to make sure he leaves me and my new friends alone. I don't want..."
"Relax," Thomas said soothingly, holding up his hand. "I'm not the law. I'm an officer of the court. Unless I come across evidence of a felony, I'll just read through them and tell you what you have. How about that?"
She smiled at him in relief and stood up from her chair. "Thank you."
He walked her to the elevator door, shook her hand, and then leaped inside just as the doors were closing. The move wasn't as dramatic as he was hoping because the doors slowly opened after detecting his presence and stood ajar for what felt like an eon before closing once more.
When they were finally alone, he took a deep breath and turned towards her.
"Miss...ah...Heather." He took another deep breath. "Where are you going right now? I mean, are you on your way somewhere special or would you like to go get some coffee with me?"
Heather felt her cheeks heat up all over again, but she played it cool. "Didn't I smell coffee in your office?" she asked innocently. "Actually, wasn't there a cup on your desk?"
"Yes." Thomas smiled as he admitted this. She was highly observant and he loved it. "But what we don't have is tacos. Would you like to go get some tacos with me?"
"Do you know of any good taco joints nearby?" Heather asked by way of an answer.
"A few." Thomas recalled.
"Oh." Heather sounded disappointed.
"What's wrong?" Thomas played along.
"I was just hoping you would say that we had to walk together for a while before we got to one."
Thomas took out his phone and sent a single word text. "What if I said it was a bit farther than that?" he asked as he slid the device back into his inside jacket pocket.
"Oh God. You're not taking me to Tijuana, are you?" Heather wanted to play along too, but there were just some things she had to be prepared for.
"No!" Thomas laughed until the doors opened in the lobby.
They stepped out into the lobby together and he held out his arm for her to take, knowing it was what Sly would do. "We'll have to ride in a limo for about twenty minutes. Is that all right?"
Heather took his arm. "That sounds wonderful."
By the time Thomas got around to reading any of the emails, an entire day had gone by and he'd shared several meals with Heather.
They also made love twice in his bed and once in his shower.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Morgan and Jennifer Locklear met in 1989 as teenagers and became high school sweethearts. They have been married since 1995 and live in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States with their two children, a son and daughter.
Although both enjoyed creative writing in their youth, they have only been working as a writing team since 2010. Since then they have created a dozen full-length and short stories together.
Jennifer has been employed in fundraising and development for a non-profit organization since 2000. She also enjoys participating in charitable activities, both locally and online. In her (limited) free time she is an avid reader.
Morgan has been employed in the hospitality industry since 1998. He has been active in the local performing arts community since childhood with many acting and directing credits to his name. He is also a musician and songwriter and has recorded 6 albums.
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