Not Wanted in Hollywood by Leonie Gant

about Alistair was going to be in his
favor.
    “ The girls
are not particularly fond of him,” said Denise.
    That was a mild way of putting it.
    “ But he
brings money to the table,” she mused.
    I nodded,
letting her go ahead with her one sided negotiation.
    “ I think that
I will let him continue with his filming, temporarily,” Denise
continued. “However I will be watching very carefully. If I find
that he is in any way acting inappropriately with my girls, I will
be forced to reevaluate my stance.”
    I nodded
again. “Thank you,” I said as I held out my hand.
    She grasped it strongly. I could see the
excitement in her eyes. She looked like someone who had found a
project and was going to grasp hold of it with both hands. I had a
feeling that Alistair wasn’t going to know what hit him.

Chapter Seven
    After giving Denise,
Alistair’s card and extracting a promise that as soon as the police
gave her control of the club, she would contact us, I realized that
I hadn’t had a chance to eat and swung into a diner. As I sat down
in a booth my phone rang.
    “Trudie, where are you?” barked Alistair.
    “ I’m grabbing
something to eat,” I said. “I’ve spoken to Denise Pollard and she
has agreed to temporarily allow you to continue filming, as long as
there aren’t any unfavorable incidents with the girls.”
    “ That’s good,
very good,” said Alistair in that rushed way he had of speaking.
After working for him for a month I was very much aware that the
only words he heard me say was ‘continue filming’. I could see I
was going to be busy trying to keep Alistair and Denise from
rubbing each other the wrong way.
    “I have meetings with that new lawyer of mine
all afternoon. He has just gone through the proposal for this shoot
and he is concerned about some of the legal ramifications.”
    Color me surprised. The lawyer was concerned
that there may be legal fallout from videotaping men in a strip bar
without their knowledge. I did not see that coming.
    “ I need you
to finish transcribing some of the footage as well as my notes,”
Alistair said. “Hugh has gone home so the office is closed for the
day. You can work from home and I expect that transcribing to be
done immediately.”
    After being given my orders I tucked my phone
in my bag. I did not see this job going well. It seemed to be
unraveling. There was a part of me that hoped that Alistair’s new
lawyer was so horrified by the project that he would bury it under
piles of paperwork.
    My plate of
food was placed in front of me and I looked up to thank the
waitress, only to be faced with my own special brand of
torment.
    Dominic
Caldwell slid into the booth opposite me and gave me that smile
that only he seemed to be able to do. A smile which brought to mind
a combination of innocent puppy dog in pet shop window and
alligator just before attacking its prey and dragging it into the
swamp. I looked around desperately, evaluating the exits and how
soon I could get through them, into my car and out of the
state.
    “ Don’t
panic,” Dominic murmured. “You’re perfectly safe.”
    I think I was going to take that statement
with a pinch of salt. Dominic Caldwell had, during a previous
encounter, kidnapped me. Twice. For most people that kind of
background to a relationship might lead you to expect it to be
strained. Dominic was not most people. For some reason he thought
we had bonded. The thinking processes of some people absolutely
amazed me. He confused me and frankly he scared me. If Griffin was
mad at me for being friends with Travis, he was going to be
apoplectic when he discovered that I was having lunch with Dominic.
Because he would find out, that was just the way that my life was
going.
    “What are you doing here?” I croaked.
    “ I thought it
would be useful for us to have a conversation,” Dominic said. “But
please, eat your lunch. I wouldn’t want it to get cold.”
    I looked down at the burger and fries sitting
on the