Rumor Has It (Limelight)

RUMOR HAS IT

Limelight #1

by
 

Elisabeth Grace

“Rumor Has It is quite possibly one of the best New Adult debuts I’ve read—ever. I loved every hip-hop minute of it and can’t wait to read the rest of the series! I devoured it, from laugh out loud funny moments to hot Mason scenes, I was begging for more by the time I finished reading. I can’t wait to see what more this talented author has up her sleeve.”

–Rachel Van Dyken #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

“Sexy and sweet—Mason and Ellie are a couple you’ll want to root for.”

–Monica Murphy, NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author

Synopsis:

All publicity is good publicity, right? Unless you’re recent college grad Ellie Wagner and an embarrassing video of you and your boyfriend goes viral. Every man in your life abandons you, but who knew a one-minute clip of your latest doomed relationship would brand you a slut, prevent you from getting your perfect job, and force you to keep doing the one thing you swore you’d never do again…
live with your mother
.

But staying with mom and her latest boy-toy (is this husband number four or five?) until your life turns around might not be all bad. Especially when you fall—literally—at the feet of a sexy, green-eyed stranger who offers you freedom and a life of luxury on a gold-rimmed platter.

There’s only one
liii
ttle problem—the man of your dreams is none other than Mason Nash, the latest hip-hop star busting up the music charts. Fame and fortune are his calling cards and he’s vying to steal the show on a new reality TV series that will catapult him into mainstream stardom.
Hello spotlight
.

The man behind the famous persona is perfect for Ellie in every way, but can she overcome the ugly pitfalls that come with Mason’s celebrity status? Or will she be forced to choose between the man she loves and the independent life she longs for? After all, fame and fortune aren’t always what they seem and not all publicity is good publicity…

COPYRIGHT

Rumor Has It

Copyright © 2013 by Elisabeth Grace

Digital Edition

ISBN: 978-0-9921068-0-5

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

DEDICATION

Dedicated to two special men…

To my father, who saw something in me and told me when I was eight that I should be writing. It only took me twenty-five years to take his advice.

To my husband, who (almost always) ignores the messy house, the fact that the kids are eating chicken nuggets for dinner again, and only ever tells me that he’s proud of me for pursuing my dream.

CHAPTER ONE

“Ellie, you shoved your pie right in his face!”

“I did not shove my pie in his face.”

“I saw the video. You really did.”

“I don’t want to talk about this, Katie,” I said.

“Can you believe your video already has forty-three million views on YouTube?”

I dropped my forehead down onto my desk. “It’s not
my
video,” I ground out. “And I don’t want to know how many people have seen it.”

“I think we can officially say it’s gone viral.”

I sighed. There was no use. Katie would do what Katie wanted. We’d become friends since I’d started working this crappy job, but she existed in a bubble of her own creation. She didn’t seem to pick-up on social cues. This was the third time I’d told her I had no desire to relive the humiliating video of myself.

As much as she was annoying me, I didn’t have it in me to tell her what I was thinking. Katie was a bigger girl with thick glasses. I got the sense I was one of her only friends. Which at the moment was debatable. Instead I glanced up from my computer and said, “I have to get these reports done before Jeff comes back and has a shit fit.”

“Enough said.” She grimaced, tucked a stray piece of her mousy brown hair behind her ear, and headed to the back of the building.

If there was one thing we did share an opinion on, it was our jerk of a boss. Actually, jerk might be too mild a word for him.

Pompous ass had a better ring to it.

I’d been working at his real estate office for nine months. I’d left Miami, where I went to college, to move to Virginia Beach with my mother and her latest and greatest husband, Ralph. Apparently a degree in Comparative Media Studies didn’t scream “must hire” to potential employers. I couldn’t afford to live on my own anymore.

These days I worked at Jeff’s brokerage, pushing papers, answering phones, and being his gofer the rest of the time. I was still searching for that elusive job that would lead to a career. One that would allow me to pay my own rent, buy groceries, and pay off my student loans. If I was lucky after that I’d have enough to buy myself the odd Starbucks and night out with my friends.

The roar of a car engine brought my attention to the parking lot. Speak of the devil... Jeff raced his silver Mercedes SL65 into a parking spot and slammed to a stop. He got out of the car quickly, his face flushed. Whether from the early summer heat or agitation I couldn’t tell. As he approached the doors separating the outside world from my reception desk, I saw his creased forehead and pursed lips. Definitely agitation.

As much as I would have loved to avoid being an outlet for his anger, I was one step up from a Walmart greeter. Saying hello to everyone who came through the doors of Beachside Realty was my job. If I failed my duties I might as well paint a target on the back of my blouse. Maybe if I said hello and looked busy he’d charge on past and find another victim.

Jeff almost ripped the door off the hinges and stalked inside. Show time. I began typing gibberish and concentrated really hard on the computer screen.

“Good afternoon, Jeff,” I said brightly.

He stopped in his tracks and spun on his heels to face me. “Ellie.”

Shit
.

“I just got a call from the housekeeper who takes care of the Oceanfront Avenue property. The idiot locked the house before putting the key back in the lockbox and now she can’t get back in. The client who rented the place is due to arrive in the next couple of hours.”

“Is there any way I can help?” I didn’t mean it, but it sounded like the kind of thing someone who really valued their job would say.

“I have a client meeting me here in twenty minutes.” He wiped sweat off his brow. “Have Katie get you the spare key from the safe. Open up the house, find the other key, and replace it in the lockbox.”

“I’d be happy to,” I said with mock enthusiasm. I’d never get through those files by the end of the day now. That beach house was a good twenty-five minute drive on a day with no traffic, never mind on a Friday afternoon in the summer.

“Go before the client gets there. This guy is a big deal.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t screw this up. I’ve had about all I can take of incompetent employees today.” He glared at me for a moment like the whole situation was somehow my fault, then stalked down the hall to his office.

I forwarded the lines to the answering service and rushed back to Katie’s office. She acted as the brokerage’s deal secretary but apparently, no transactions needed her attention today. She sat at her desk with her back to the door checking her Facebook account. I’d been avoiding my own page since some loser from my old high school had tagged me in the infamous YouTube video. Ever since my profile page had been loaded with comments from friends and strangers alike giving their unwanted opinion on the whole ordeal.

“Hey.” She almost jumped off her seat. It must have been a good day on her news feed if I’d startled her. She swiveled in her chair to face me. “I heard Jeff’s voice. You survive?”

I closed the door for privacy. “Oh, I wasn’t the main target—just collateral damage. I need the key for the Oceanfront Avenue property. The housekeeper locked the key inside and another client is due to arrive.”

“I wish
I
could get out of this office and go see a million dollar beach house.”

“You’re welcome to take my place,” I deadpanned.

“Sorry. Busy.”

Busy, right. With Facebook.

I drove my shit-box car as hard as I could but it seemed the harder I pressed the gas, the slower it went. I didn’t want to risk it overheating and end up on the side of the expressway. Traffic wasn’t too bad until I got closer to the ocean. The air conditioning didn’t work, of course. It was the hottest it’d been all damn year so the windows were down. With traffic barely moving I knew it was going to get even more unbearable. I grabbed one of the elastics I left in the console for such occasions and quickly arranged my hair into a ponytail.

My phone rang. I kept my eyes on the road and reached over to hit the speaker phone button.

“Hello.”

“Hi, sweetie, it’s Mom.”

This was so not what I need right now. It’d been an aggravating afternoon and a conversation with my mother would only add to it. “What’s up, Mom?”

“Honey, sorry. I know you’re busy.”

“It’s okay, but I only have a few minutes.” By the sound of her voice this was going to be another talk-Mom-off-the-ledge conversation.

“Okay, I’ll be quick. When I got up this morning Ralph was already gone. I’ve called his cell phone and he’s not answering.”

“And this is a big deal because...?” My mother had a knack for creating drama where there was none.

“We have a morning routine. We get up, make love while we shower, and afterward I make him breakfast. There’s got to be something wrong if he left without saying a word. He’s never done that.” She also had a knack for sharing too much information.

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Mom. He probably had an early tee-off time and didn’t want to wake you.”

“But why not? Do you think he’s cheating on me?”

“No. Maybe there’s a problem at the dealership and he had to leave in a hurry. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose. He probably forgot to charge his phone.”

My mother’s latest husband owned a few car dealerships throughout the state. He pretty much let his sons run the day-to-day operations and only got called in when his opinion or his check book was needed.

“I
do
always have to remind him to charge his phone...”

“See, I’m sure that’s all it is. Now don’t worry. You’ll probably hear from him soon.”

“You’re right. I’m worrying over nothing.”

“There you go.”

“Why are you out of the office right now? I called there first and it went to the service.”

I sighed. “I need to drop a key off at one of the rental houses.”

“Why do you insist on working at that place? You should take Ralph up on his offer to work at one of his dealerships.”

“I can do this on my own. I don’t need any hand-outs from your husband.” I didn’t add the fact that I wasn’t like her; I wasn’t going to rely on a man to make things happen for me. Still, I couldn’t wait to get a better job so I could move back out on my own. How had
I
ended up as a boomerang kid?

“Fine, suit yourself.” She paused for a moment and I knew we were venturing into territory I didn’t want to discuss. “You know, I was on YouTube this morning reading some comments on that video—”

“I don’t want to talk about the damn video.”

“Oh, honey. My cell is ringing. Maybe it’s him.”

She hung up before I could say anything. More than fine with me. I’d done my daughterly duty for the day. I’d certainly had enough practice over the years. During my freshman year at college I’d taken a week off school to nurse her back to sanity when her fourth marriage fell apart. Yep, fourth.