Free Hollywood Hills 1 by Nikki Steele Page B

hands vigorously. “You’ll be handling scripts from screenwriters; when they come in I just hand them off to a reader, so keep an eye out for those. Sort my mail, please. You might be asked to send faxes, make copies, that sort of thing. Oh, and you might have to make hand deliveries occasionally. But above all is my schedule. I just need you to keep an eye on my meetings, make sure I’m not double booking people; I tend to forget how many things I commit to over the course of a day. You have no idea how many times I’ve double and even triple booked. I’m a mess.”
    “Sounds good,” I said. “I think I can handle it.”
    “Great,” he said with a smile, looking at me in the mirror. “The first thing I’m in desperate need of is a cup of coffee. There’s a Starbucks next door. Could you get me a quad venti non-fat latte?”
    I looked at him, confused, and he laughed. “That’s Starbucks speak for a large cup, lots of milk, and four shots of expresso.” He winked.
    I smiled gratefully. “Sure,” I said, and he handed me a random credit card. It was heavy; I realized it was a Black Amex.
    He walked past me, out to the hallway, then turned back. “Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, extending his clean hand. “It’s great to meet you.”

Chapter 2
     
     
    “Mom?” I called as I walked into the house. It had been a long day, but a good one. Christian had even covered for me when I spilled Archer’s coffee on the way back to the office.
    I saw the empty sofa and panic immediately shot through my system. Mom always watched the news at this time of day. “ Mom! ”
    “I’m in the kitchen!”
    I hurried in to find my mother standing by the stove, stirring sauce in a pot. “Mom, jeez,” I said, taking the wooden spoon from her, then guiding her to a chair at the kitchen table. “How many times do I have to ask you to stop doing things like this?”
    “What? Taking care of myself like an adult?” she asked, voice sour. It was an old argument, one we repeated almost every time I came to visit.
    I sighed, stirring the sauce and meatballs she’d taken from the freezer to heat for dinner. “Nobody’s trying to say you’re not an adult. I just want you to be careful. The doctor said you shouldn’t be on your feet for long stretches, remember?”
    “I’ve still got plenty of life left in me yet.”
    I smiled at her fondly. “Let’s keep it that way, then. Shall we?”
    She rolled her eyes, but sat down as requested. “Fine.” Then she became excited. “So, tell me all about your first day at work!” she said. “How did it go?
    I hesitated. I shouldn’t have enjoyed it—I wasn’t meant to enjoy it, but… “In a word? Amazing. Everyone was lovely.”
    “Did you see any stars?” she asked.
    I had to laugh. “Not today, sadly. But it was just the first day, after all. I’ll be sure to get their autograph for you, when I do. Today was about learning the ropes, that sort of thing.”
    She sat back with a dreamy smile. “I wonder what it must be like, living that sort of life. Being famous, having people wait on you hand and foot…”
    I couldn’t resist. “And yet you raise a fuss when I ask you to relax and let me take care of you. Hmm…”
    She ignored my little jab. “Do you think you’ll be happy working there?”
    “Of course!” I turned from her to drop pasta into boiling water, so she wouldn’t see my face. “Who wouldn’t? It’s a dream come true.”
    “What about your boss? Is he as cute as he looks in his pictures?”
    I turned back sharply. “How do you know what he looks like?”
    She waved her hand. “Oh go on—that breakup of his with that movie star, Crystal Holmes, was all over the magazines last year.”
    I had to laugh. My mother knew more about my boss than me.
    “Well?” she asked, eyebrows arched.
    I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. “He is kind of cute,” I admitted. “And you know what? He’s a super nice guy, too—way nicer than I expected.” I