Free Hollywood Hype: A Sexy Billionaire Romance (The Director's Assistant Book 3) by Nikki Steele

Chapter 1
     
     
    I picked up my phone . I put it down.
    What the heck had just happened? I read the headline in front of me again.
     
    DIRECTOR CAUGHT IN FILM SET SEX TAPE WITH MYSTERY WOMAN.
     
    I skimmed the article, searching for answers. “O n-set scandal… explicit video… close employee… ” I murmured as I read, hoping to get to the part where it was all big joke. I had to be the girl the story referred to—there was last Friday’s date, and Archer was mentioned specifically by name.
    Last Friday—the night Archer had tied me up and then made love to me on the jungle film stage. I stumbled, grabbing at a chair for support, my eyes blurry. How had this happened?
    Had Archer secretly filmed us? I immediately pushed the thought from my mind. Not only did I not believe he could do such a thing, but he was mentioned specifically by name. If anyone could be suspected of releasing the sex tape, it would be-
    I leapt for the phone; suddenly terribly afraid.
    It rang before I had a chance to dial, and I hit the answer button frantically. “Archer? Whatever you’ve read, I swear I had nothing-”
    “Josephine, good morning.”
    My blood went cold. I would have recognized that grating voice anywhere. Richard McNamara ; cigar smoking CEO of Janus.
    “What do you want, Richard? Did you do this? What have you done?”
    “So many questions. Here’s one for you.” His voice became hard—dangerous. “ Do you have my tape, Josephine? Or shall I give the world yours? ”
    I closed my eyes, the thousand daggers in his voice piercing my flesh. “You’re lying. There’s no way you could have a tape of us.”
    “Maybe, maybe not,” he said, suddenly whimsical. I heard him ash his cigar—a series of distant taps—and then draw a deep lungful of smoke with a sigh. “Though of course that does beg the question of how I know you slept with Archer in the first place.”
    “A lucky guess.”
    “Perhaps. And would it also be a lucky guess if I told you how much I enjoyed watching him tie you up, that first time? And that latest tape—the one you made last night... it didn’t make the papers, but it will if you don’t do what I want. I must say, watching you on film is so much more fun than looking at photos.”
    He chuckled. “Josephine? You’ve gone all quiet.”
    “You… monster . What do you want?” I croaked.
    “The tape. I don’t appreciate the way you’ve been stalling.”
    “I haven’t been stalling. I’m trying to get it.”
    He tsked. “Now, now, I’ve seen the videos, remember? I know you have it in your dirty little hands right this minute.”
    “I… I gave it back. I need more time.”
    He sighed—a rough, harsh sound. “You know, it would be a real shame for a man like Archer, already so much in the public eye, to be caught with his pants down like this. Sex tapes can go one of either two ways—boost a career, or ruin it. Which way do you think it would go when Janus owns the media?”
    “You… you sick…” I couldn’t finish my sentence, too overwhelmed to think clearly.
    “Then there’s the reputation of the young lady involved. They haven’t released her name yet, have they?”
    “ Go to hell .”
    “I have to say, Josephine, I knew you were photogenic but I had no idea you were such a screamer! To think you couldn’t find a career in Hollywood. I’m sure there’s an entire genre of film you’d be perfect for.”
    I bit down on the knuckles of one hand to keep from hurling abuse down the phone. So this was how people felt before murdering someone. I could relate to the plea of temporary insanity—if he’d been in front of me I might have picked something heavy up and hit him with it, unable to help myself.
    “This is all very simple,” he continued. “You give me the tape you were tasked with providing, and I give you the tape of your on-set sexcapades. Otherwise I’ll release your tape to the press. You have till the end of the week. In the meantime, your story