“I noticed.”
“Good, then we’ll move forward with my plan.” Robert moved to the door and looked back. “Man, you must have it bad.” He slipped out. Chase’s pen hit the closed door.
The whole morning he stayed in his office trying to get through the script. Every few minutes someone else would knock on his door. By noon he was a mess of tension.
He’d finally managed to put aside the disaster his life had become and get into the script when a tentative knock on the door brought him out of it.
“What?” Chase bellowed at the door.
The door opened a crack. “Um, if now isn’t a good time, I could come back later.” Natalie stood in the doorway, looking like she’d prefer to run down the hall than come in and talk with him.
“Why are you here?” he snapped. Chase’s heart beat un-steadily in his chest. The smell of strawberries wafted between them, making him want to grind his teeth together.
A tinge of pink covered her cheeks and neck. She slid her glasses back up her nose. “Robert asked me to meet him here.” She glanced toward Robert’s office. Her uncertainty and discomfort made him feel a little better, but it also annoyed him.
He’d covered her blushes with his kisses. Brought smiles and sighs to those lips. Slipped his hands around her waist and held her body against him.
“Maybe I should wait in the hallway…” Her voice brought his attention back to her face.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Have a seat. I’m sure Robert will be here in a minute.”
Natalie considered turning tail and running for the door. Chase’s intense gaze turned her knees to water, while it caused her battered heart to leap up in her throat. She glanced once more toward Robert’s office and then at her watch. He’d said noon. It was five past.
She couldn’t make any more excuses. Her legs were stiff as she walked into Chase’s office and perched on the edge of the chair. Her cheeks were on fire, even more so when his gaze dipped down to her breasts. Having not gotten the memo, her body responded instantly.
She pressed her knees together and straightened her skirt. Her hands turned white from clutching them together, and her stomach started to churn, just like the last time she’d been in here.
“Relax, Natalie. I’m not going to pounce on you.”
Her gaze jerked to his eyes. She remembered him saying that to her before. She couldn’t place when, but it raised the ghost of Saturday morning. The things she’d said. Her gaze dropped to her lap.
The urge to run out the door raced through her, but she stayed. Chase didn’t say anything else, but she could feel his eyes on her. The silence relentlessly continued. Maybe she could come back later? Or he could call her when Robert came in. She raised her head to suggest it, but stopped before saying anything.
Pain. For a moment, his eyes seemed like an open wound. A wound she’d caused. But then it was gone like she’d imagined it. Maybe she had. He couldn’t possibly love her. It just didn’t make sense. As soon as the next actress crossed his path, he’d be fine. He probably wouldn’t even remember her name. A pain stabbed through her heart at the thought.
“Sorry, I got caught up on a phone call.” Robert swept into the office and closed the door. “Wow, you could cut the tension with a knife in here.”
Chase broke their eye contact to glare at Robert. “What is this about, Robert?”
Robert smiled. “Well, I figured if we were going to ruin this woman’s life she should be prepared.”
“What?” Natalie’s hand began to shake.
Robert gave her a sympathetic smile and reached over as if to take one of her hands. A growl from the other side of the desk stopped him.
“We have to make this go away, and the only way to make something go away in Hollywood is to be up-front and honest so there is nothing to find. Then wait for some huge, new scandal for them to sink their teeth into.”
Natalie’s heart tightened, and her gaze flitted to Chase’s stern face. His lips were pressed into a thin line.
“Natalie,” Robert began, “we have to put all the facts out there. Chase has already said your relationship is over, which will make the press only wonder why it ever happened and probably make them back off. Especially if they think it was just another boss-banging-the-worker story.”
Natalie winced at the harsh words. Chase had told Robert they were over? She’d known when she left Saturday there’d be no turning back, but it didn’t stop the shooting pain through her heart or the upheaval in her stomach.
“You’ll be reporting to me from now on and the new CFO when hired. I suggest that both of you-” Robert’s fatherly stare went between them “-stay away from each other. The less you are seen together the more seriously our statement today will be taken.”
“That won’t be a problem. I’m going to help Reggie in Ontario later this week. He’s been having issues with some of the scenes.” Chase brushed his hand through his hair.
Her fingers itched to smooth it back down. Something she’d never do again. He was leaving? For how long?
“That’s a good idea. With you gone, the focus should go with you. What about the luncheon next week? Our nominations?”
Chase stood and walked to look out the window. “I’ll be back for it.”
Natalie could feel the tears rising, and her stomach rolled, as well. She cleared her throat. “If that’s…if that’s all, I’ll go to lunch.”
Robert gave her a sympathetic look and nodded. “Sure, Natalie. Why don’t you go home for the rest of the day? I think after the news conference this afternoon things are going to get crazy here.”
“Thank you.” She rose and walked to the door. She glanced back at Chase’s profile. “Have a good trip.”
“Are you sure?” Rachel eyed her as if she’d gone out of her mind.
Maybe she had. Maybe she’d lost it the moment she’d run into Chase that first day. If not her mind, she’d definitely lost her heart.
Natalie set her pizza down on her plate. More comfort food that just wasn’t comforting. She shoved the plate across the coffee table and pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders.
“I’ve got to know what they are saying. I need to be prepared for tomorrow.” Natalie’s eyes were dry, too dry. The kind of dryness that only happened after all the tears were gone.
Still watching her, Rachel clicked the remote for the TV and turned her laptop on. The bright light from the TV hurt Natalie’s eyes, but she didn’t care. Chase had caught a flight out in the afternoon, that much she knew.
“In a surprising turn of events, Pandora Productions in the news again shortly after their nomination for Best Picture for their production Night Blooming. The company has brought charges of fraud against their former CFO, Martin Morrison.”
A picture of Mr. Morrison being escorted from the building appeared on the screen behind Ryan Seacrest.
“Shortly after his arrest, Morrison leaked to the press that Chase Booker, co-owner of Pandora, had been having an affair with one of his staff.”
A shot of her escape from Chase’s house Saturday came up on the screen. She curled tighter into the corner of the couch. Clips of Alexis and Chase started to show on the screen.
“Alexis Brandt stated today that she and Chase never really got back together, and she was as shocked as everyone else by this turn of events. This afternoon, Chase Booker and Robert Addler spoke with E!”
The screen cut to the news conference. Chase stood behind Robert as he spoke to the crowd. “We have turned all our evidence on Martin Morrison over to our lawyer and the police. We were sad to see Martin go as we had always considered him an asset before all this came to light.”
Robert glanced back at Chase before returning to the microphones. “We are currently looking for a replacement CFO. We will not be promoting anyone within the company. In addition, we have shifted the accounting department to be more fully under my direction. This will enable Chase to spend more time in the field and to star in more films.”