Touching the Billionaire (Bad Boy Desires Book 1) Read online

  I had just enough time to take a quick breath before Theo said in Jack Cole’s character, “Come on, let’s get in here.” He tugged me along, pushing me against the wall and then pressing his body close to mine as if we were in a tiny closet. In my experience, most closets had enough room that he didn’t have to crowd me using all of his body, but this was a movie with highly sensual elements so I understood what was going on in the scene. Along with pushing the plot about bad guys, it was designed to show the chemistry between the two characters.

  “Don’t stand so close,” I hissed as my character Nicolette, and tried to push him back.

  He pressed his finger over my lips and his eyes glared at me as he shook his head. He leaned in, bringing his lips next to my ear. “Be quiet. You’ll get us killed.”

  The script called for us to wait a few minutes while bad guys ran around outside the closet. But that didn’t mean there was nothing going on in the scene between our characters. With his body pressed against mine, his breath in my ear, I knew I was supposed to be acting like I was affected by his nearness. And I was affected by his nearness but whereas Nicolette was supposed to have a sensual response, I was more annoyed. Annoyed that I had to do this test again, and irritated that Theo thoroughly expected me to not live up to Nicolette’s persona. Interestingly, sensual effect and annoyance could sometimes be interchangeable.

  “Your pursuers are gone,” said Corrine to let us know to move on in the scene.

  I looked up at Theo, expecting him to back off because that was what Nicolette expected at this point. Instead, he looked down at me with a smug expression.

  “You can get off now,” I said as Nicolette. He had me pinned in so tightly though, I couldn’t push him away as the script called for. In fact, it felt like he leaned in closer. He had one hand pressing against the wall by the side of my head, while the other hand sat on my hip. He was changing the script slightly – enough that I knew he was testing me. Because I understood what he was doing, I stayed in character in the scene.

  “I just saved your life, honey,” Theo’s character said. “You should be thanking me.”

  I scoffed. “You put my life in danger. I wouldn’t need to be saved if it weren’t for you.”

  “Well, that’s not quite right,” he said, as his hand on my hip slid a little bit lower and behind me, just above my butt. I wanted to knee him in the groin, realizing he was going to be one of those types of actors. Like Rich Kipling.

  I stared at him defiantly, just as Nicolette would do. “It’s exactly right.”

  Because of his position, I couldn’t easily get my hands on his chest and push him away as the script dictated, but since he was ad-libbing, at least in terms of his actions, I thought I would do the same. After all, Nicolette was a kick-ass woman who wouldn’t let any man, even a sexy, successful man like Theo Wolfe take advantage of her.

  I slid my hand between his thighs, bringing it as close to his nuts as his hand was to my ass. His eyes flashed but to his credit, he didn’t break character.

  “Careful, honey, I’ve got important things there,” he said, off-script but in character. I had to give him credit for recognizing that I wasn’t intending to give him a hand job.

  “Then perhaps you should keep your hands off of me and better protect what you think is so important to you.”

  He smirked in amusement as he slowly moved back and away from me.

  “Cut,” Corrine called out. “Somebody get a bucket of water and toss it on those two.”

  Since the scene was done, I moved out of the corner and turned away from him to take a breath.

  Theo came around to stand in front of me with his hands on his hips. “We have a script for a reason. There’s no need to ad-lib.”

  “Are you sure? Because I’m pretty sure the script doesn’t call for you to grab my ass.” I knew I was risking my job by confronting him, but he had some nerve calling me out when he started it.

  “There are some things you have to do to embody the character,” he said.

  “Exactly. Are you telling me that Nicolette Vane wouldn’t bust a man’s balls if he was taking advantage of her?”

  Theo jerked back, like I’d slapped him. It was an odd response. Like he didn’t realize he was taking advantage of me.

  “I told you she was perfect,” Jon said.

  I agreed. I felt I was perfect for this role. But I was pretty sure, after nearly grabbing Theo in the nuts, that I was going to be fired.

  “I’ll take a look at the tape,” Theo said. I was surprised he didn’t fire me right there, but perhaps with his director and producer there, he didn’t want to look rash or like he hadn’t given me a fair chance.

  I picked up my bag and tossed the strap over my shoulder. I started toward the exit.

  “Where are you going?” Corrine asked.

  “I’m going to see my sister.” I didn’t wait for their response because I was sure I just lost the job.

  As I exited the studio, I walked off my annoyance. I continued up the street and my annoyance turned into anger at myself. This job was going to be the perfect opportunity to relaunch my career and I let my own annoyance get in the way of it. Even as a kid working in the industry, I knew how powerful people could be. How they could act entitled or like they owned me and the others who worked for them. And of course, I heard my mother many times complain about the way she’d been treated or what had been expected of her and how little control she felt she had to fight against it. A sticking point between her and my father had always been that he hadn’t done enough to stand up and protect her. Of course, my mother was a very strong woman in her own right. Maybe the industry had made her that way. Now, she was almost a living legend and I doubted many people pushed her around anymore.

  I supposed if I wanted to, I could evoke the power of being her daughter to protect myself but I was determined to make it in this industry on my own merit. I didn't want to be known as Kate Talbot’s daughter and have people think that the only reason I was getting work was because of my relationship to her or even my father.

  I also wasn’t going to sleep my way to the top and I very much didn't want to let men like Theo Wolfe think that they could have their way with me because they had power over my career. It was quite possible that I had just ended my new career before it even started and while that made me angry and maybe I should’ve controlled my own irritation a little bit more, I wasn’t going to blame myself too much. It wasn’t my fault that Theo Wolfe had roaming hands, nor was it unreasonable of me to expect him to keep his hands within the context of the scene we were playing.

  I finally calmed down enough that I was able to wave down a taxi to drive me to my sister's office downtown. While I was in the car, I called my agent to let her know that I potentially needed her to find me new job possibilities.

  “Oh God. What did you do?” she asked when I explained to her that Theo Wolfe was probably going to fire me.

  “He was going to grab my ass, so I responded in kind.”

  “That script has all sorts of grabby touchy sexy bits. It’s part of the script. You’re not eleven years old anymore, Maddie. If you want grown-up roles, you're going to have to do grown-up things.”

  I decided not to remind her that I didn’t go by Maddie anymore because everyone thought of Maddie Fox as being eleven years old. Now, I went by Madeline Fox because I was grown-up. “There is nothing in the script that called for grabbing my ass.”

  There was a pause and then she said, “Listen, I’m not telling you that you have to put up with men grabbing your ass, getting handsy or saying inappropriate things to you-”

  “Except you are about to tell me that I have to put up with that stuff.”

  “God, I hate that I’m going to have to say this but to a certain extent, you have to put up with the fact that men can’t handle boobs. There is a limit though. You have to decide what that limit is just like the rest of the women do in the rest of the world everywhere that they work.” />
  I sighed, because I knew she was right. The question was, what was I willing to put up with. For years and years, the generation before me put up with much more. Until recently, society figured boys would be boys and men would be men and it was just something women had to put up with. But we don't or at least we shouldn't.

  Perhaps if I wasn’t fired, I’d have an opportunity to make a change in the industry. Just because a character was a misogynist pig didn't mean the actor or producer or director or any other man or woman on a set or involved in showbusiness should feel entitled to touch or otherwise make anyone else uncomfortable. Perhaps I should’ve gone into law after all.

  The car pulled up in front of my sister’s building and I paid the driver and got out. “I’ve got to go but if you see anything else that might be fitting, let me know.”

  “Are you sure you’re fired? How about I call Corrine and ask her what’s going on.”

  “This wasn’t a test to see how Theo and I were together. It was an audition and I suspect at this point, Theo isn't going to want me.”

  “I’ll see if I can get a hold of her and find out what’s going on. If Theo is adamant about getting rid of you, how hard do you want me to work to make her change her mind? I mean. if he was grabbing your ass and it wasn't in the script, you might have a complaint there.”

  “Well, since I threatened to pop one of his balls, I'm not sure I actually have a complaint. I'd like to have the part but I don't want you to have to sacrifice your reputation or put me in a position where I'm going to have to deal with a bunch of animosity."

  And I had to concede that he didn’t actually touch my ass, but still, the move felt aggressive to me. I couldn’t be sure if he was trying to grope me for his own satisfaction, or if, like he said, he was acting the way Jack would. Either way, I responded in kind. I’d have to take the fallout, whatever it was.

  We hung up on the call and I entered my sister’s office building, taking the elevator up to her office.

  “Hey, how did the test go today?” my sister Nadine asked when her secretary let me in to see her.

  “Don’t ask.” I flopped down onto the couch in her office.

  “Oh dear, what did you do?” She came around her desk and went to the little kitchenette she had in her office where she stashed her favorite whiskey.

  “Why do you think I did something?” I was a little bit incensed that she figured it was my fault that everything went badly.

  “Okay, so what did they do?” She held up her bottle of whiskey and shook it as a gesture to ask me if I wanted any. I held my thumb and forefinger up to indicate I wanted just a little bit.

  “Theo Wolfe was about to grab my ass and so in response, I threatened to grab his balls.”

  My sister laughed. “You’re the only woman in the world that would complain and retaliate at having Theo Wolfe grab her ass.” She poured each of us a finger of whiskey. She handed me a glass and then took a seat in the chair across from me.

  “It wasn’t in the script!” I hated that I was having to defend myself.

  “Doesn’t acting involve some level of interpretation of the characters and what they might be doing in the situation?” she asked.

  “Well, I interpreted his almost grabbing my ass to mean I should almost grab his balls because that’s what my character would do. But I’m pretty sure I’m about to be fired.”

  Nadine sighed. “So...are you here for legal advice?”

  “No. I just wanted to come and say hi. It’s possible though I’m going to have to stay with you a little bit longer than I anticipated since I’m probably going to be fired.” Perhaps if I talked about my impending firing enough, it wouldn't hurt so much when it finally came. For a little added fortification, I downed my drink.

  “You know you can stay as long as you want.” She downed her drink and looked longingly over the whiskey bottle and then gave her head a shake. After all, it was still the middle of the day. “I do have a thing that I’m doing tonight so I won’t be back until late.”

  I stood and took my glass, putting it in the little sink in her kitchenette. “It’ll give me more time to wallow in my despair. I know you don’t want to be around for that.”

  She rose from her chair and put her glass next to mine. “Just don’t eat all the ice cream. Or drink all my booze.” Then she grinned and reached out to give me a hug, patting my back as she did. “It’s all going to turn out fine, Madeline. You know how this business is. You might be a little rusty but you’ll find your footing again.”

  “You know those are mixed metaphors, right?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  “I do and I appreciate your support.”

  Push and Pull

  Theo

  I watched as Madeline strode out of the room. I couldn’t decide if I was pissed that she was threatening my nuts or impressed that she had the balls to do it at all.

  “You better not fire her,” Corrine said. “Come look at the test. You might not like that she’s a woman who isn’t impressed by you, Wolfe, but you’ll like what you see on the screen.”

  “She acted exactly the way Nicolette would,” Jon said, going over to join Corrine to watch the playback.

  I made my way over to watch as well. I knew they were both right. I could feel the power and tension radiating between the two of us during the scene. I was testing her and she knew it. She not only knew it, but also she stood up to it. She never broke character. I had to give her some credit for that.

  Corrine played back a few minutes of the scene and she was right. All that snap, crackle and pop I felt bouncing between us showed up on the screen. It was exactly what this movie needed. And Jon was right that she did exactly what Nicolette would have done in the same situation.

  Even so, I had so much riding on this movie. She’d proven herself in this one little scene but could she carry a movie? Could she continue to provide the level of tension and chemistry between us to make this movie work?

  “So, what do you think? As someone who’s investing a lot of money in this project, I’m telling you, Theo, you need to keep her,” Jon said.

  “I don’t know why you all think I’m getting ready to fire her.” I shoved my hands on my hips and glared at both of them, even though they were right, because for a moment, I had thought about firing her. I mean, who did that? Who grabbed their boss’s balls? Okay, so she didn't grab my balls, which might have been why I didn’t fire her right then and there. But her long fingers were precariously close to body organs that I highly valued.

  “Besides, if you fire her, she might sue you,” Corrine said, looking at me intently.

  “You know the contract is left open for us to replace her up until a certain time, right?” I replied.

  Corrine shook her head. “I’m not talking about her suing you for breach of contract. I’m talking about her suing you for grabbing her ass.”

  I made a face. “I was just interpreting the scene.”

  Corrine got close to me, staring me in the eyes. “And she was responding to your interpretation with her own interpretation.”

  “She threatened to pop my ball,” I said, feeling like a pussy for letting her get that close to me.

  “She got as close to your ball as you got to her ass.” Corrine patted the camera. “I’ve got it all on film if you need to see it again.” She sighed and looked at me with a combination of annoyance and frustration. “Theo, she’s exactly what you said you wanted for this part. And to be honest, you were pushing her and doing it in a sexual manner. Now, I know that no woman has ever told you ‘no’ or suggested the way you are around them is inappropriate, but what you did was borderline harassment, and now you’re pissed because Madeline called you out on it which is exactly what Nicolette would do.”

  Fuck. She was right. I knew I wasn’t a perfect man. I wasn’t a saint. But I also wasn’t a man who would put his hands on a woman who didn’t want them there. I wasn’t the type of person who would
use his position to take advantage of a woman or to manipulate her. At least I thought I wasn’t. And yet, I was very much afraid that was exactly what I had done.

  “You should call her and apologize and then congratulate her for a job well done,” Jon said.

  “You definitely need to apologize to her,” Corrine agreed.

  “You just need to make sure that you maintain that tension between you two,” Jon added. He put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t make too nice with her or you might lose that chemistry.”

  He had a point. Television history was filled with characters that had great chemistry from the push and pull in the tension between them but then lost it the minute they got rid of the push and indulged the pull. Chemistry wasn’t well understood, but it was known to be fragile and so I would need to work to maintain a constant push and pull between Madeline and me during this production. That didn’t mean I was going to continue to be aggressive and obnoxious with her. But it did mean I would have to continue to act in a way that brought out that fire in her eyes that I saw as my hand slipped lower along her hip and as she met me stare for stare, and action for action during the scene

  “We’ll continue as scheduled. If you think she needs to be reassured, you call her.”

  Corrine’s eyes narrowed in disapproval. “Don’t be an asshole, Theo. You should call her.”

  I looked at my watch. “I’ve got to run. I’ve got another meeting. We start again next week. I’ll see you then.”

  Like Madeline had done a few minutes before, I strode out the door with no intention of looking back. I had no meeting to get to but I didn’t like the unsettled feeling I had about how the scene had gone or being chastised by my director and producer. I needed to wrap my head around this. The pressure I was feeling to make this project go off well was starting to fuck with me and turn me into something I wasn’t. It wasn’t a good feeling to think that I could be like that. Yes, I had a reputation as a womanizer, but I’d never disrespected a woman or touched one who didn’t want me to.