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Authors: Rhonda Laurel

Tags: #Interracial Romance

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BOOK: Double Exposure
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Kate hugged him. “Promise me you won’t do anything that reckless ever again.”

“Trust me. That was enough real life excitement for a lifetime.”

Chris put his arms around Kate and held her close. He’d been foolish tonight, even if he did get a temporary burst of excitement from it.
That adrenaline rush had been so different from anything he’d ever experienced while playing movie roles. In a way, he could see how facing real danger could be both terrifying and completely addicting…

 

 

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

Kate plastered on a smile as she listened to the pitch about the umpteenth aspiring edgy pop diva in the making over the speakers in the meeting room. These days talent seemed more repetitive and it was harder than ever to find that diamond in the rough ready for their big break. Today’s music careers were all orchestrated and it
was getting harder to find real talent. She missed the days when she’d travel around the country checking out acts in their natural environments. Seeing someone perform in a dive bar or a small venue gave a good picture of what they were made of before the fame.

She glanced over at her best friend John and he looked equally bored. But the upside was that she got to spend some time with him
today. He’d taken the helm of Atlantis Blue, and his relationship with Charlotte was keeping him busy these days. Love had bloomed for the couple when they’d finally admitted their feelings for one another. She was happy that he’d finally found someone who could stand up to him and call him on his bullcrap. Charlotte clearly defined what she’d expected from him, and he’d had to abandon some of
those lovable rogue qualities that other women found so intriguing.

She was happy when the meeting finally wrapped up and the cat-like screeching that was the singer’s trademark no longer played over the sound system. She wished she could have taken a picture of the incredulous look on the manager’s face when she and John both agreed they wanted more time before deciding whether or not to
sign her. The manager sternly reminded her of the singer’s massive social media following since she’d produced and marketed her first album on a popular video streaming channel. Kate took a deep breath and said they’d take that into consideration. Sabrina appeared as if she sensed when Kate had reached her limit with meetings and escorted the entire entourage out to the reception area. She hoped
Sabrina didn’t have any meetings on the schedule for the afternoon. She could use a break.

John glanced her way. “Is it me or—”

“No. It’s not you.” Kate laughed.

“Are we getting old?”

“I like to think of it as being more discerning about our business dealings.”

“You know she’s going to be a hit whether we sign her or not.”

Kate nodded. “But I can live with the
one that got away. Can you?”

“I think so,” John replied.

“We got through that pretty quickly. How’s Charlotte? She mentioned you two were going to Carmel for the weekend.”

“It’s our first weekend away as a couple. I have a few surprises planned.” John grinned.

Kate sprang out of her seat and walked over to him. “Is one of the surprises an engagement ring?”

“No. But
I intend to give her the hard sell on the benefits of living together.”

“Word of advice. Less ‘it’ll be green to car pool into the city if we lived together’ and more ‘I’m maturing and I want to open myself up, be vulnerable and invite you into my life without reservation or fear.’”

“You know me, Kate. All that mushy sentiment isn’t me.”

“But that’s how you feel, right?”

“Yes.”

“Say it in a way that feels right to you. Chris says some really poetic stuff that, to an untrained ear, would sound like a limerick, but I know him. I speak fluent Cavanaugh, and it sounds beautiful to me.”

“There was a time when I would have run from all of this. Now I just want to make Charlotte happy.”

Kate bit back a smile. “This is pretty serious for you. I can’t
remember the last relationship you had that lasted longer than two months.”

“Charlotte is special.”

“Yes, she is.

There was a brief knock on the conference room door and then the handle turned. Sabrina came in and grabbed the remote for the flat screen. “Sorry to interrupt, but you need to see this.”

A breaking news report in progress flashed onto the screen.

“This
shocker just in,” the news anchor said. “Actress Brianna Sage was found dead today in her apartment from what appears to be an overdose of sleeping pills. The actress had been under a lot of stress recently from her custody battle with director Jack Pierce. Sources close to Brianna claim she has been very depressed recently because of the lack of movie roles since she was named as the other woman
in the Jack Pierce, Kate Garrison divorce scandal. She publicly blamed both Jack and Kate as puppet masters intent on ruining her career. The actress had been in the business for many years, her most noteworthy role was as Amelia in the urban fantasy trilogy,
Endless Tomorrow
. She leaves behind a daughter, Zoe Pierce, age two, who was visiting her father Jack during the time of this unfortunate
tragedy.”

“I don’t believe it,” John said.

“It’s being covered on a few networks and online. I think it’s legit,” Sabrina replied.

“I can’t believe this…” Kate trailed off as her cell phone rang. It was Chris. “Hello?” Kate gulped.

“Baby, did you hear the terrible news?”

“Yes. I’m watching it right now.” She lowered the volume. “We should check on Jack and Zoe.”

“I’ll be there in thirty. We can go over to his condo.”

“OK.”

The reporter’s lips continued to move on the screen, and Sabrina and the small crowd that had gathered in the conference room continued to watch, but Kate had gone mute. Her thoughts immediately went to Zoe.

 

* * *

 

Brianna’s funeral was more of a who’s who among B-movie actors. There was a
huge turnout for the service, although Kate doubted the sincerity of most of the people in attendance. She tried to keep a low profile, but it was impossible with another media flare-up headlining how her media-deemed “arch enemy” had died. Brianna didn’t have much family; the story of her real life was just as colorful as that of the characters she’d played over the years. Her parents were deceased
and the aunt who was raising her passed away, so Brianna packed her bags and headed for California at age sixteen. She was certainly scrappy and resourceful and hearing about Brianna’s life opened Kate’s eyes to what drove the woman.

Jack was at the funeral with Zoe, but he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He was taking a beating in the media too. Being in a custody battle with someone
who committed suicide was tabloid fodder, and he was smack dab in the middle of it. Kate knew it would add fuel to the gossipy fires, but she went over and gave her friend and ex-husband a big hug anyway. Zoe, excited to see Chris, leaped into his arms. He walked over to the chairs and took a seat with her.

Kate turned all her attention to Jack. “How are you doing?”

“To tell you the
truth, I don’t know.” Jack gripped her tighter.

“If there’s anything I can do, just tell me. We’re here for you and Zoe.”

From what she knew of the actress, suicide didn’t seem to be in her mental makeup. Even though she said she’d been having trouble getting jobs, a friend revealed that she had an upcoming guest-star role on a television show and she’d just hit the jackpot with her
custody settlement with Jack. Kate’s heart when out to Zoe, who now had no mother. She and Chris were both a loss for words about Brianna. She hated Kate’s guts and now she was dead.

 

* * *

 

Chris knew the surefire way to lift Kate’s spirits after the funeral was a road trip. Six hours later they were walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. He stopped when they got to
the middle of the bridge and looked out at the bay.

“You know, we spend a lot of time around water. We live on the beach, honeymooned on an island, and the first road trip we’ve take in months was to San Francisco again.” Chris laughed.

“I guess you’re right. What can I say? I love this city.” She laughed too. “My first visit to San Francisco was over fifteen years ago. My mom had
a convention out here so I tagged along. I think that was when my love affair with California began. I felt like I belonged here.”

“I felt the same way the day I walked out of LAX. I felt like I was finally home, in a spiritual geographical way. When I took to the water with my first surf board, I knew I was here to stay.”

“Why do you like to surf?”

“There’s no negotiating with
the ocean. You can either hang on for dear life and enjoy the ride or get pummeled and thrown back to shore…or worse. It’s a lesson about survival on this planet.”

“That’s very profound. And here I thought you went to the beach to see women in bikinis.” She grinned at him.

“What do you see when you look out at the water?”

“Freedom,” she mused.

He pulled her close. “Feeling
confined these days?”

“I needed a day to feel normal. No spotlights, no drama, we’re just enjoying a day in San Francisco. Today we’re just Kate and Chris Cavanaugh.”

“The day is still young. What would you like to do?”

Kate’s eyes grew wide as a big red tour bus went by.

Chris smiled. “Come on. There’s a tour bus company that leaves from Pier Thirty Nine.”

Chris
stopped at a gift shop and bought matching San Francisco baseball caps for makeshift disguises. Kate joined in and bought T-shirts and a bag. Now they looked way too touristy to be mistaken for celebrities. She loved being normal amid the thousands of people on the pier and relied on the absurdness of the situation. They enjoyed the tour around the city so much they signed up for the Napa Valley tour
the following day. That’s what they needed, one more day to eat good food, taste excellent wine, and spend time enjoying each other’s company.

 

* * *

 

Charlotte called and said her car was in the shop for repairs, so Kate volunteered to pick her up for their girls’ night. She hadn’t seen her friend since their dinner at Coriander together; John seemed to be monopolizing
all of Charlotte’s free time. It was good to see them both happy. Kate parked her car and walked toward the dance studio as Charlotte was walking out.

“Did you get the karaoke machine out of the garage?” Charlotte giggled.

“Sure did.” Kate hugged her friend.

“What’s the theme tonight?”

“I was thinking…television theme shows.” Kate smirked.

“Damn that’s not fair! I
don’t know why I bother. You sing me under the table anyway.”

Kate laughed. “Yeah, but when you add a little dancing, it distracts people from your terrible singing.”

“You remember that bar we stopped in when we did that road trip to Vegas?”

“Between my singing and your dance routine, we didn’t pay for a drink all night.”

“And that guy in the leather pants tried to sign
us to his record label.”

Kate shook her head. “Yes, I remember that slimy bastard.”

“We could have been a girl pop group. Do you think Sabrina still has those videos of us?”

“I hope she burned them.”

“For your sake I hope so. She may do a documentary on you one day.”

“Speaking of Sabrina, I have bad news. She can’t make it tonight. She’s working on Malik’s film.”

“Wow. She’s really delving into this film-making thing.”

“I think it’s her calling. She has the bug like Jack had. If he were really engrossed in a project, I could walk through the house naked and he wouldn’t notice.” Kate rolled her eyes.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “I bet you don’t have the same problem with Chris.”

“Actually I do. He walks around the house naked, swinging
that baseball bat-like appendage to distract me when I bring work home.”

“I knew I liked coming to your house for some reason.” Charlotte rubbed her chin. “I’m going to miss his cooking tonight.”

“I’ve been watching him cook. It won’t be authentic chez Chris, but I don’t burn the food anymore.” Kate smiled. Charlotte fell in love with Chris the night they’d met and he’d made them fajitas.

“So what you preparing tonight?”

“I know you’re in the mood for Fajitas, but I’ve been on a seafood kick lately,” Kate said to Charlotte as they crossed the street.

Charlotte linked arms with Kate. “Cool. I like lobster.”

“We saw the cutest lobsters on our honeymoon. Their names were—”

Suddenly a black SUV with tinted windows stopped in front of them, blocking their
way.

A big burly man stepped out and handed her an envelope. “Mrs. Cavanaugh, we need you to come with us.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Kate squinted at the guy. He looked familiar. She’d seen him around the studio lot. He was security of some kind.

“Your attendance is required at a council meeting.”

“Council meeting? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’ve
been instructed to pick you up and bring you to the meeting.” He put his hand on her elbow and tried to guide her into the backseat.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Kate gripped his hand and wrenched it back so hard he lurched backward.

Charlotte came over and followed up with a kick to his crotch.

“Damn it!” the bodyguard swore as he crumpled to the ground in pain.

“Mrs. Cavanaugh.”
Another man held up his hands as he exited the vehicle. “If you call your secretary Ms. Claymore, she will confirm you should come with us.”

Kate whipped out her phone and called Virginia. The older woman answered on the first ring.

“Virginia, I’m in the middle of a botched kidnapping attempt. Some big burly dude is yammering on about a council meeting. Do you know anything about this?”

Virginia cleared her throat. “Yes and no. Marvin did have these sporadic clandestine council meetings, but I never knew where they were or who attended. In fact, I’m not supposed to know anything about them at all.”

“Well, I need a really concise summary right now.”

“There’ve been rumors for years about a Hollywood mafia that oversaw the entire industry. Think high stakes.”

Kate swallowed hard. “That doesn’t sound ominous at all.”

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d try to contact you. It’s a bit of an old boy’s network.”

“How old?”

“They were probably here when the sign read Hollywoodland.”

“Oh.”

“That’s all I know, but if they want to see you, it’s an auspicious invitation. This could mean bigger things for you Kate.”

BOOK: Double Exposure
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ads

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