***** Dylan's Point of View *****
I left the guest house, shutting the door behind me and letting out a frustrated breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding in. Brenley was the most judgmental and irritating woman I had ever met. I spent all that time showing her around my house and garage, thinking she would be impressed, for her to just call me pretentious after! Me! Pretentious? She doesn't even know me!
The worst part was I was going to have to hang out with her every day for the next week. I had a feeling this was going to be the longest fucking week of my life.
I walked back into the main house and went down the hallway into the front room where my assistant Melissa and Scott, the director of the film crew, were waiting to talk to me.
I flopped down into one of the arm chairs and let out an exhale, feeling exhausted.
"This woman is the worst possible scenario we could've had for a winner of the sweepstakes," Scott told Melissa, shaking his head as he paced the floor with her nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, tell me about it," I laughed.
"Oh you haven't even heard the half of it yet Dylan," Scott told me. "When I talked to her in private earlier, the mic on my headphones was still recording. Listen to this," he said, pulling up an audio file on his phone and pressing play.
I listened to the conversation in silence and my eyes widened in surprise at different parts, shocked at a few of the things she said. I couldn't believe she turned down their offer to help her buy the house she wanted because she wanted to earn it herself. I thought that was really noble. I don't know too many people that would have turned down that offer. Come to think of it, I didn't know any. She didn't want fame or money either, and she made it sound like dating me was the last thing in the world she would ever do. That was a first. Most of the women I met would stab their best friend in the back just for a chance to talk to me, let alone date me.
Brenley was different than the L.A. women I met night after night, the ones that came to the parties and clubs I went to. They were almost all famous actresses, models or singers or people trying to break into the business. Any time I thought I might actually be making a connection with one of them and that they actually cared, I found out they were just trying to get something out of me. As soon as I told them I wasn't going to help them with their career, they'd disappear and move on to the next person with connections. They never really gave a shit about me. They were all fake.
When the recording of Scott's conversation with Brenley finished playing, my assistant Melissa said, "So she's not a fan, she doesn't want to date you or be famous, AND she can't be bought," she laughed. "Scott's right Dylan. This is the worst-case scenario. We have no leverage to control her."
"And why exactly do we need to control her?" I asked them with scrunched eyebrows, feeling confused.
"In case we ever need to persuade her to do something again for us in the future, or to keep her from talking to the media about something. It's always nice to have some kind of bargaining chip with people," Scott said. "This girl's dangerous because we don't have one."
I cut in and told him, "This girl doesn't have to be bribed Scott. Didn't you hear what she said at the end? She wants to help us out because it's the right thing to do and she knows how much it means to us. And you know what, the crazy thing is, I actually believe her," I laughed. "It seems like she genuinely likes to help people and do the right thing. All you have to do is appeal to her kindness if you want to get her to do something."
"Yeah I guess," Scott said half-heartedly, scratching his head with an exhale. "Bribery is just so much easier and less complicated."
Melissa nodded in agreement.
I laughed and said, "I have a feeling everything about this girl is gonna be complicated."
Melissa looked over at me, thinking for a few seconds before saying, "Not that I think there's any risk of this happening, because she's clearly not interested in you, but I want to remind you that she's off limits. She's a P.R. stunt for the movie studio, not a conquest of yours. We don't want this to get any more complicated than it already is. Got it?" she asked firmly, looking me directly in the eyes and waiting for an answer.
"Yeah, got it," I nodded. "I wasn't even planning on sleeping with her. You guys act like I just go around banging everybody. I could have a different woman in my bed every night if I wanted to, but I don't. If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty picky and it's been quite a while since I brought a girl home."
Melissa nodded and said, "Yeah I've noticed, but Brenley's a beautiful woman and I saw that gleam in your eye when you were listening to that recording of her, so I thought I better remind you," she said, clearly trying to fight back a smile.
I rolled my eyes and laughed, shaking my head. "There was no gleam in my eye. I think you've been reading too many romance novels."
Melissa didn't say anything. She just gave me a knowing look like she thought I was in denial. Damn that woman could be irritating sometimes. I wasn't even the least bit interested in Brenley.
"We do want you to try to be her friend though. It'll make for better footage this week if you two are smiling and look happy," Scott told me, bringing my attention back to him.
"Got it. Be her friend, make her happy, but don't sleep with her. Are we good now? Can I go?" I asked.
Melissa shook her head and said, "Almost, Mr. Impatient. I also need to give you the updated schedule for the week. You have to go along with her to all of these events."
She handed me a sheet of paper with a list on it.
My eyebrows raised and my eyes widened.
"What the fuck. That's a long list Mel. Do I really have to go to ALL of these?"
"Yes," she said firmly. "The whole point of this sweepstakes was that she would get to see what it's like to live the glamorous life of a celebrity. You're going to take her with you to a movie premiere, an exclusive after party full of celebs, dinner at a gourmet restaurant, filming on a movie set, and shopping on Rodeo Drive. We're under contract for all of this with the movie studio so it's non-negotiable, unless you want to be in breach of contract and give them back the millions of dollars they've already paid you for it."
I took a deep breath in and let it out. "No, it's fine. I'll go," I grumbled. I hated being forced to do things I didn't want to do.
Melissa smiled. "I thought you would. I also loaded this calendar onto your cell phone and laptop, and remember you'll have the film crew tagging along with you guys to get footage for the show."
I nodded. "And what do I do if Brenley doesn't want to go?" I asked.
"Well, judging from her attitude today, that's a very real possibility. You'll just have to remind her that all of these events are a requirement of the contract she signed when she won the sweepstakes. If she doesn't do all these press events with you, she'll be in breach of contract and could be sued for a lot of money she doesn't have," Melissa said, sounding annoyed. It was obvious she hated dealing with all of this as much as I did.
"Got it. Are we good NOW?" I asked again.
Melissa gave me the side eye, fighting back a smile. She had been my personal assistant for five years and she had gotten really good at putting up with my crap. And believe me, I gave her a lot of crap, but only because I knew she could handle it.
"Yeah we're good. I'll see you tomorrow," she said, patting my shoulder as her and Scott got their stuff together and started heading towards the door. He went outside first, but before she followed him, she turned around in the doorway, looking back at me and firmly saying, "Be good," before finally closing the door behind her with a smile.
I rolled my eyes and laughed, shaking my head. I wan't sure why she thought I'd have such a hard time resisting Brenley. Yeah she was beautiful, but I was around beautiful women all the time. That was nothing new.
I went up to my room, stripped all my clothes off and took a long, hot shower. That was my nightly routine before bed because it helped me sleep better. Sleep was something I had been struggling to get enough of these days. My schedule kept me so busy that if I didn't cut out some sleep time, I'd never have any time for myself.
I shut the water off and grabbed a fluffy white towel off of the shelf, using it to dry my body off and then wiping the steam off of the mirror afterwards, seeing my tired reflection looking back at me. The long production days for months on end while I was filming my most recent movie, The Long Road to Redemption, had taken their toll and I looked more worn down than normal. The stress was also getting to me. I really needed this movie to be a success. Everything was riding on it.
I was in desperate need of a vacation, but unfortunately I had no time for one. I had another busy week ahead. My new movie had just started filming, I had the movie premiere for The Long Road to Redemption, and I had to babysit Brenley all week and take her everywhere with me. To say I wasn't looking forward to it would be the understatement of the century. She was impossible to impress and very serious, uptight and judgmental. That was the kind of person I normally avoided being around because it drained my energy, but unfortunately this week I had no choice.
I washed my face and brushed my teeth before pulling on some boxer briefs. As I walked back into my bedroom, I noticed the blinds were pulled open and the french door to my balcony was cracked. I walked over to shut it when I heard the sound of the ocean and decided to open it and walk out. I looked out at the water and breathed in a deep inhale of ocean air. I loved the ocean and living right on the Malibu beach had always been a dream of mine and here I was.
I had everything I ever wanted. I was a movie star, I sold out huge concert stadiums and I had won Grammys and an Oscar. I stood there, leaning my elbows against the railing and let out an exhale as I looked out at the ocean. So if I had everything I ever wanted, why wasn't I more happy? Why did it all feel so empty and unfulfilling?
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and I turned to see Brenley out on the balcony of the guest house curled up in a chair looking at a lit up tablet on her lap. I thought about texting her, but then I realized I didn't have her number.
"Hey," I shouted. It took a second of her looking around to figure out where the voice came from and when she finally saw me, I waved and she smiled.
"Hey yourself," she said back with a wave.
"Do you like the view?" I asked.
"What? Of you in your underwear?" she asked, holding back a laugh and that's when I realized I was wearing my boxer briefs. "It's nothing I haven't already seen plastered across billboards."
"No, of the ocean. Me in my boxer briefs was just an accidental bonus," I laughed.
She laughed too and said, "Yeah, the ocean is nice. It's a nice place to sit and read."
"What are you reading?" I asked. "Some steamy romance novel?"
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No, something WAY more exciting. A Real estate advice blog."
"Oh. Sounds riveting," I said sarcastically.
I saw her turn the tablet off as the bright white light from it turned dark.
"Actually I think I'm done reading for the night. I'm too tired. Good night Dylan Chase," she said, standing up with a stretch, yawning.
"You know you can just call me Dylan. The only people that call me Dylan Chase are the people that don't really know me."
She nodded and said, "Okay. I'll try to remember that. Good night," she said, giving me one last lingering look, before turning and disappearing inside.
"Good night," I said under my breath as I walked inside too. If I didn't know better I'd think she was avoiding talking to me. "What a strange woman," I said out loud, shaking my head in confusion.