Angela's Salvation (11 page)

"Vicky, could you put together something for me and my guest," he was polite, but impersonal with his housekeeper and looked away without waiting for her to answer.  Leading the way into the dining room, he held out Angela's chair and waited for her to sit.

Angela glanced around the impressive dining room and felt that it swallowed just the two of them when it was obviously meant for a dozen or more people.  Everything about the room bespoke wealth and made her feel slightly uncomfortable.  They were definitely from two different worlds, she thought a little self-consciously.

He waited until Vicky brought in a coffee serving set, placed it on the table and left them alone to speak again. "I hope you drink coffee," he raised an eyebrow as he poured himself a cup and waited for her acceptance.

"Coffee's great," she hated this small talk and just wished he get on with telling her off, so she could get back to the hotel.  She could just imagine what the rest of the group must be thinking since she didn't return home last night.

He poured her a steaming cup, "Cream and sugar?"  She was looking everywhere but at him, and he knew not talking about last night was making her nervous.

"Just cream, please," she wanted to scream in frustration, but decided it would probably make her head hurt worse.  "Look Nolan, I know you're angry and I'd rather just get this over with."  She knew from past experience that putting off anything just made her anxiety greater.

He handed her the coffee, and shook his head with a small laugh. "Angela relax, I'm not mad at you, and there won't be any lecture, so can we please just enjoy our breakfast first?"  She was the one that would be angry, he knew, when he brought up the situation they were both in now.

"Fine," she grumbled softly, she felt like crap and arguing with him wasn't going to help her mood.  She made a mental promise to herself to never drink again, and wondered why people did that to themselves in the first place. 

Vicky brought in Eggs Benedict, English Muffins, fried potatoes smothered in peppers and onions and freshly squeezed orange juice.  She was more of a grits and scrambled eggs kind of girl she thought, but it smelled amazing.  Taking the juice first, she drank half the glass, amazed at how wonderful it tasted.

"The juice will help rehydrate you," he grinned, knowing she had to have one hell of a hangover.

"Maybe I should have a gallon of it then," she joked back and then cringed when it made her head throb. 

He chuckled and then forced himself to give a sympathetic grin.  "Obviously I don't need to tell you that drinking that much leads to a horrible next day?"

"I don't think that's a lesson I'll be forgetting soon," she murmured and took a bite of her eggs, surprised to discover how much she liked them cooked this way.  She was strangely ravenous and finished off most of her meal before allowing her eyes to find him again.

"I can't say I've ever seen someone as tiny as you eat that much," he chuckled again, enjoying having a woman willing to actually eat food for a change around him.

She flushed, and knew she probably needed to work on her manners, but having a good meal was not something you took for granted in her world.  "Sorry, wasting food is a big no no to me."  Shrugging, she grinned.

He remembered her story of living out on the streets, and even though he couldn't comprehend what it must have been like, it made perfect sense.  "I personally enjoy seeing a woman eat, sure beats all those anorexic
stars I deal with on a daily basis."  He finished his meal before standing up.  "Why don't we go talk in my study?"

She nodded and followed him through the huge mansion, wondering what he did with all this space. 
Everything was immaculate, but it barely looked lived in, she considered.  His study was actually a huge library that had shelves of books as far as the eye could see.  A gorgeous wooden desk, polished to perfection held a computer and phone system.

As he sat down in the oversized leather office chair behind that desk, she felt like she was back in school at the office as she sat at the smaller, but comfortable chair in front of it.  "Is this where you give me detention?"  She couldn't help but make the joke, and looked up at him with a playful smile.

"Pulling out the paddle might have merit," he joked, but the thought of doing that wasn't half bad, he thought before reigning himself in to the seriousness of the situation.  "There's no easy way to start this conversation, so I'm just going to lay this out on the table and hope we can both be adults about this."

She knew that what was coming wouldn't be positive,
so she sat patiently, attempting not to fidget.  The look on his face went from playful to serious in the blink of an eye, and she knew regardless of what he'd said at breakfast, she was in some serious trouble.  When the silence continued, she couldn't deal with it a minute longer.  "Just tell me."

"Last night at the club a photographer took pictures of you and
I driving off together and me isolating you from the rest of the group." Running a hand through his thick hair he sighed, "I know you don't understand the entertainment industry well Angela, but no matter what we told the press they were going to assume that you and I were lovers."

"Well that's just ridiculous, Nolan, we'll set them straight."
The thought of being his lover wasn't as terrifying as it should be, but she wasn't about to put that out into the air at the moment.

"There is no 'setting them straight' Angela, we were labeled as having affair with the first papers out this morning."  He allowed that to sink in for a second before he continued.  "I did the only
thing I could think of to salvage your reputation, and gave a statement that I was head over heels in love with you, and encouraged them to believe I had seduced you."

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open at his outrageous statement and she was completely shocked.  "Why would you tell them we were having an affair Nolan, that's
crazy?" 

"I pulled in my PR team while you were still asleep last night and it was the only conclusion we could come up with to stop the press from labeling you as a power hungry whore."  He couldn't sugar coat this for her, she needed to understand just how vicious these people could be when they wanted a story. 

"Did you stop to think maybe I should have been asked what I wanted to do before you made that kind of decision?"  Lying to people wasn't in her genetic makeup, and she wasn't sold on the idea that the press would have automatically assumed they'd slept together.  Then she recalled the other contestants, and knew that would be the first conclusion they would have come to.

"I know this seems crazy to you Angela, but I know these people and I know what they're capable of.  We had to act quickly to make sure we at least had a story that put you in a better light."  He hated breaking her into the
industry this way, but this was the real music business.

"What about how it's going to make you look Nolan," he'd basically told the press, if she understood him correctly, that he seduced her into being with him.  Her reputation wasn't a big deal to her, she knew her best friend would trust what she said, and no one else really mattered, but he was a public figure.

"I don't give a damn what they think about me Angela," he admitted to feeling amazed that she cared what happened to him, most of the women he knew would have only thought of themselves.  "You let me worry about me, we've got an album to produce and then we need to get you out there in the public performing."

Again she was confused, "What are you talking about Nolan, I'm not making an album, I haven't even made the final cuts on the show."

"I know this is going to move fast, but the show is no longer an option, you get the recording contract and I know the public is going to adore you." 

She was no longer a part of the show, her heart dropped in her stomach, wait a minute, did he just say she was being given a recording contract?  "Look Nolan, if I have to leave the show I understand, but there's no reason to offer me that contract, I didn't earn it."  Going back home was going to kill her, but she couldn't let him do this.

"Don't act like I'm doing you a favor Angela," he refused to let her have any self-doubts with him, "you're going to make me tons of money off this album, and I don't want to hear another word about it."  She was not going back to working as a waitress with all that talent she possessed, he determined.

She sat back in the chair overwhelmed by what he was offering her.  "I'm not sure I can let you do this Nolan."  It would be completely wrong to accept this contract, she thought, it was a great dream and a different person might have jumped at the chance, but she wanted to prove she was worthy enough to get this on her own.

He knew she didn't think she deserved this, and decided to up the stakes.  "Do you honestly think you can just go back to your former life with the press hounding you at every corner?  Have no doubt when I tell you that for the next few months you'll be the hottest news story around, and you'll need my protection."  He felt like a clad for trying to force her hand in this, but she deserved the chance to shine.

"Stop it Nolan, we'll tell them the truth and you can go back to your normal life. You don't have to keep up
a pretense of wanting me."  He was being a really great guy here, but she couldn't take advantage of him this way.

"Who says
its pretense Angela," he stood up and walked around the desk until he was standing before her.  Sinking down on his knees in front of her chair, he caught her eyes. "Make no mistake about it, I want you, I just don't want you to be under the impression that I'm a forever kind of man."  For the first time in his life, he truly wished he was that type of person, but he couldn't lie to her.

She only thought she was shocked when he dropped the other bombshell, now she was completely floored.  He was Nolan Fitzgerald, why would he want some nobody when he could have any woman he chose. 
"You don't have to lie to me Nolan," it wasn't fair for him to use her own growing interest in him against her, she thought.

He stood and reached down to lift her to her feet.  Without hesitation his lips found hers and he kissed her passionately.  Breaking the kiss, he pulled his lips back slightly to speak. "Never doubt that I don't want you again."  His lips returned to hers, and he held her against him tightly, letting her feel just how much his body responded to her.

She couldn't breathe as he continued to ravage her with his kiss, and she felt the evidence of his desire through his jeans.  Instead of terror, she felt a longing that frightened her in a completely different kind of way.  This was a man who could break her if he played with her emotions, and he'd just admitted he wasn't a forever kind of guy.  Knowing all that, she still couldn't deny the attraction she felt for him.

He couldn't continue kissing her like this, unless she was willing to belong to him, even if only for a short time.  She deserved to know the truth about the type of man he was and the dark desires he had before she could make that decision.  Stepping back he walked around to his desk and sat in his chair once more.  "We've got a few things that have to be cleared up and I want you to hear me out before you
talk about running back home again."

She could only stare at him, her mind still focusing on that mind blowing kiss.  After a few seconds she managed to nod, knowing that he had nothing to worry about when it came to her interrupting at the moment, she couldn't seem to breathe, much less talk.

"I hope there is no more doubt in your mind about how much I want you now Angela," he smiled, allowing his eyes to roam over her sitting demurely in the chair.  "If there is, let me just say that if I didn't want you this conversation wouldn't be taking place at all."

She wasn't going to argue with him, even if she found it shocking that
a man like him could even look her way.  Her eyes were wide as she considered the possibility of being his lover, even though her body was in line with that idea, she wasn't sure what would happen when it came to the actual situation.  Denying that she was attracted to him was not even an afterthought.

"Usually I demand a signed agreement before I discuss my personal life with a girlfriend, but I'm going out on a limb here and trusting that you won't say anything to anyone about what we talk about or do."  He could see the confusion in her gorgeous eyes, and smiled trying to put her at ease.

Still not finding her voice, she nodded.  Whatever he needed to talk about was between them, and she was not the type of person to discuss her personal life, okay she didn't have one but if she did, she wouldn't talk about either.

"Let me make this perfectly clear upfront Angela, if you decide you're not willing to be my lover, we can still pull off the appearance of being together and everything outside the sex will still take place.  The recording contract is yours, my support in promoting your career as well.  So don't feel like this is an offer you have to accept or lose everything."

Lover, sex, was he really about to have a conversation about wanting to make love to her, she wondered and was overwhelmed.  She had to wait until he continued, she really didn't have anything to add to this conversation except complete disbelief.

"So if you decide not to take my offer of a relationship, we'll show up at public events together and of course you'll live with me until we're sure the media is buying the fantasy we're selling.  If you do however decide to accept my offer, then that's a little bit of game changer because there are certain things about my life that you need to understand first."