Billionaire's Trust (Billionaire Erotic Romance: Never Never Man Series Book 5) (11 page)

“I told you ‘no’, Grey. Now… if you don’t stop, I’ll be forced to call security on you and create a huge scene. Is that what you want?”

I smirked and looked at her for another moment or so before releasing her.

“I love you,” she said, as she walked away.

When she passed by me, I swatted her on the ass with a quick strike. “You’re lucky I feel the same way.”

GREY

A few days after Maddie and I agreed to use the wrap party as the opportunity to announce our engagement, I swung by the studio offices to delegate someone to head up planning for the event. I’d arranged a meeting in the conference room and as I arrived, the person I selected stood from his seat at the table and greeted me.

“Mr. Sinclair,” he said. “Good to see you again, sir.”

“Trevor.”

As we finished our greeting, I took a seat at the head of the table.

“How are you enjoying your trip to the coast, sir?” he began. “Have you had an opportunity to drop by the set at all?”

“Yes,” I replied. “In fact, that’s part of the reason I need to talk to you today, Trevor.”

“Oh. All right,” he said. Grabbing his pen, he clicked it open and positioned his notepad within reach. “What did you want to discuss?"

“Well, the wrap party for starters. By my estimation, we’ll be done in less than a week’s time. I’d like to make it a huge event. Spare no expense.”

He nodded and took notes as I spoke. “I can handle that for you, sir. Not a problem. Do you have a preference for location or venue?”

“Not particularly…” I paused for a moment. “You know what? On second thought, check with Maddie Olsen. You’ll need to get her input for that.”

Trevor stopped writing as I finished my thought.

“Sorry, pardon me, sir. You said consult with Maddie Olsen? Did I understand you?”

I nodded. “You did.”

“Okay,” he replied with a leading tone. “Should I talk to some of the other cast as well and see if they have any preferences?"

I shook my head. “Why would you? Did I ask you to do that?”

“No, sir. You didn’t.”

To emphasize my point, I continued, “If I was marrying anyone else in the cast, I’d want you to check with them, but since I’m not, I don’t.”

Half-listening, Trevor continued to scribble markings in his notepad for several more seconds.

“Sorry sir,” he said as he paused and turned to look at me. “It sounded like you said you were going to marry Maddie Olsen. I apologize. I was making a note here."

“Yes,” I said. “You heard correctly.”

Trevor swiveled his head in my direction. Without blinking, he said, “You… are going to marry Maddie Olsen? The lead actress on the picture?”

“Trevor,” I said as I glared at him. “What the hell is the goddamn problem with you today? Yes, I am marrying Maddie Olsen. She also happens to be the lead actress on the picture. Because of that, I want to have her input on all facets of the party. And by the way, this news is to be kept in the strictest confidence. Do I make myself clear?”

I had no clue what was going on with him. Normally, Trevor was pretty reliable as managers go but for some reason, he was acting flaky as fuck.

“Y-Yes, Mr. Sinclair. I understand.”

I leaned away from him. “Why do I get the feeling you’re out of your league with party planning Trevor? Should I get Maddie in here so she can tell you exactly what she wants?”

Almost before I finished speaking, Trevor jumped in to fill the void.

“What? No sir, not at all,” he replied, as he patted the notebook with the palm of his hand. “I’ve got everything I need right here.”

Unconvinced, I frowned at him.

“Look I don’t know what the issue is here but I don’t have time to babysit you on this. Get Miss Olsen from the set and bring her here now."

“What?” he stammered. As he muttered, the man’s face lost all its color. “Sir, really, I can handle it for you.”

“You sick Billings?” I asked. “You look like hell all of a sudden.”

He shook his head back and forth in self-defense. “No, not at all sir. I’m fine. It’s just an unusual request so there’s a number of things to consider.”

I waved him off. “Let’s quit jerking around. I’ll get Maddie in here. This is a ridiculous goddamn exercise. A couple of goddamn guys planning an engagement party. Am I right?”

Reaching for a phone in the middle of the conference table, I dialed the extension for the set. I happened to glance up at Trevor in the process. I wrinkled my brow as I looked at him. He still looked as if he was about to pass out at any second.

“Hey, Trevor. Relax. Maddie will be here in less than ten minutes and give you some ideas. Jesus Christ, don’t get so worked up.”

Before long there was a knock at the door of the conference room. As it swung open, Maddie walked through it and I stood to greet her.

“Hey baby,” I said, as I walked over to her. Kissing her on the cheek, I gestured towards the conference table. “Maddie, you know Trevor Billings, right?"

“Yes,” she replied, as she tugged a strand of hair behind her ears. “Nice to see you again.”

He nodded as a meek smile spread to his lips.

“Sit down, Maddie,” I said as I gestured towards the table. “I hate to pull you away from the set like this, but having a couple of guys like Trevor and me trying to plan our engagement party is about as useful as a pecker on the Pope. Am I right, Trevor?”

“Uh, Grey!” Maddie said as she shook her head. “That’s terrible."

I chuckled as I pulled out her chair for her. Before she sat, Maddie turned towards me and whispered, “Did you tell him about…?”

I nodded. “I did. Someone has to plan the goddamn party, Maddie. Why not him? Don’t worry, he understands it’s to be kept a secret.”

“Okay,” she said with a whisper as she sat.

Once she had, I snapped my sleeve at the wrist and checked the time.

“All right,” I began, as I leaned down towards Maddie and kissed her on the cheek. “I need to be going.”

“Oh!” she groaned. “You’re not going to stay? Well, that’s no fun.”

“You’re in good hands here,” I said, as I nodded across the table. “Right Trevor?”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Sinclair.”

As he replied, I happened to glance down at Maddie. I noticed a smile come to her lips the likes of which I’d never seen before.

MADDIE

A couple of weeks after filming ended, the evening of the wrap party arrived. We’d decided to hold it at the same hotel Grey stayed at when he first came to LA. Grey spared no expense, booking every room they had so the entire cast and crew could stay there. He hired Chef Claude to cater the entire event as well, ensuring the very best food imaginable.

I decided to get ready in Katy’s room and spend a bit of quiet time with her, before things got too hectic later.  We hadn’t been able to spend much time together as I finished filming, so it was nice to have an hour or two alone. Once we’d gotten ready, we made our way down to the grand ballroom where the festivities were well underway. 

The interior of the ballroom looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. Awe inspiring in its beauty, it boasted thirty-foot high ceilings, more than two dozen teardrop chandeliers, fawn-colored hardwood floors and golden neoclassical wall coverings.

Katy and I made our way across the splendor between groups of people, stopping along the way for an informal chat here and there. As we meandered along, crisply dressed servers carried trays of hors d'oeuvres and fanciful cocktails. 

We continued to the far side of the ballroom where it opened to an immense horseshoe-shaped balcony. Just beyond the balcony lay the hotel’s gardens. Perched at the property’s highest vantage point, the gardens offered a dazzling view of Beverly Hills below. We stepped to the furthest point of the balcony where the scent of night-blooming jasmine delighted my sense of smell. Katy and I stopped for a moment and looked out at the twinkling city lights below and then to starlit skies above.

“Maddie, this evening, it’s beautiful,” she began. “I still can’t believe Trevor planned the whole thing.”

I turned my head towards her as she finished speaking. “Oh I forgot to tell you, didn’t I?”

She looked back at me with a frown. “Tell me what?”

“Trevor didn’t do it. Carmen organized it.”

“Carmen?” Katy replied. “But you told me Trevor was in charge of putting it together.”

“Well, he was. For a couple of days anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“So you remember I told you Grey brought me into the conference room that day to discuss it with Trevor?”

“Yes.”

“Well, obviously Grey had no idea about the history between me and Trevor. And until that instant, Trevor of course didn’t know about Grey and me.”

“Yeah,” Katy said, as she chuckled. “I still wish I could have been there to see the look on Trevor’s face.”

I smiled and nodded. “Oh yes. It was priceless.”

“Sorry,” Katy replied, as I finished speaking. “You were saying… about the meeting in the conference room…”

“Yeah. Um so, Grey didn’t stick around for the discussion, but later on that night he confronted me. He said he’d never seen a look on my face like that before. At first I tried to dismiss it but you know Grey, he’s relentless. So finally, I just gave in and told him all about me and Trevor.”

“Oh dear.” Katy gasped. “What happened?”

“Well, Grey wasn’t happy, to say the least. But after he calmed down, I explained my side and my reasons for keeping it from him. I’ll say he accepted it, but… grudgingly.”

“What about Trevor?” Katy asked. “Did Grey go nuclear on him?”

“To my surprise, no, he didn’t. But, Grey told him he’d make sure he would never work in the industry again. So Grey gave him a choice. Resign or get transferred."

“What did Trevor do?”

“Uh, what do you think a weasel like Trevor would do?”

“Transfer. Definitely the transfer.”

“Yep.”

“Well, but you just said Grey threatened to blackball him from the industry so I don’t get it.”

“Yeah, he did.”

“Well what was the transfer for then? I mean, where did Trevor wind up?”

A wicked smile same to my lips.

“What?” Katy said as she leaned in towards me. “Maddie, where is he?”

I stifled a laugh as I sputtered my reply. “The
Brew Ha Ha
.”

Katy burst out laughing. “Hah hah! That coffee shop Grey bought? The one back in Indiana?”

“Yes.” I giggled. Katy’s hysteria was too contagious and I began to cackle right along with her. “H-He q-quit in less than a w-week. Hah hah hah!”

By now, we laughed so hard, we’d started to cry.

“Ohh, man…” Katy said, as she wiped tears from her eyes. “Well, couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Good riddance.”

After a few more moments of laughter over Trevor’s demise, our attention returned to the evening’s events.

“Are you nervous, Maddie? You know. About telling everyone?”

“No, not really. Excited more than anything else.”

“Oh my God,” she began. “I would be a total wreck right now if I were you.”