Red Carpet Arrangement. Vicki Essex

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

       CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

       CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

       CHAPTER NINETEEN

       CHAPTER TWENTY

       CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

       CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

       CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

       CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

       CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

       CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

       EPILOGUE

       Extract

       Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

      “YOU KNOW I could lose my job for this.”

      “You say that, but I get the feeling you’ve done this before.” Kat caught the gleam of mischief in her friend’s eyes and smirked. She knew the risks, of course, but was relying on her friend’s sense of adventure to get her through this.

      “You got me there. I’ve been sneaking into movie theaters since I was twelve.” Jamie flicked her hair out of her eyes. “A Hollywood movie premiere with press ID? Piece of cake. Besides, if either of us get caught, I’ll tell them you put a gun to my head.”

      “Gee, thanks.” Kat hadn’t even brought her wallet or ID along, in case she was arrested. Despite the risk, she didn’t have a choice. None of the usual methods of communication had worked—phone calls, emails, letters, even faxes. Face-to-face was her only option, and Riley didn’t exactly make his schedule public. Tonight might be her only chance to see him.

      Jamie didn’t know her true motive, though. She just thought Kat really wanted to see Infinite Destinies on opening night.

      They hurried along the chain-link fence behind the bleachers where the VIP fans sat. Kat wiped sweat from her brow and flapped her skirt to get some air circulating. Cheese and crackers, had it always been this hot in California?

      “Remember,” Jamie said, tapping the lanyard dripping with pass cards and badges that hung around her neck, “the bar codes on these aren’t real, so don’t let anyone scan them.”

      “You couldn’t have gotten the real thing?”

      “My workplace is so tightfisted with media passes, only the senior reporters get to come to these things. You’re lucky I’ve got mad Photoshop skills and access to a laminating machine.” They passed a pair of uniformed security men, and Jamie nodded as if she belonged there. Technically, she did—Jamie was a member of the press, just not a reporter yet, as much as she wanted to be.

      “I’m going to check in with my contact—he said he’d have tickets for me to get into the theater. Meantime, you can score a seat up here and I’ll bring the tickets around. If you get caught and kicked out before I get back, I’ll see you at home.”

      Kat grinned broadly in an effort to hide her tears. “This means a lot to me, Jamie.”

      Her friend gave her a funny look. “If I’d known you were such a huge Infinite Destinies fan, I could’ve arranged something less cloak-and-dagger.”

      “But where would the fun in that be?”

      Jamie chuckled and left.

      Kat took a deep breath and turned the corner. The air crackled with anticipation, the cheers and cries for attention rising and falling with every celebrity guest and cast member who arrived.

      The high white tower of the Fox Theater stood sentry against a darkening sky. The bleachers lining the red carpet teemed with screaming fans, some of them dressed like Riley’s character, the space pirate Captain Jaxon Killian in Infinite Destinies. They held up placards and posters, wore T-shirts with his face plastered on them. She smiled to herself, wondering what Riley would make of this spectacle.

      She measured the distance from the foot of the bleachers. There were probably prisons not so well defended as that red carpet. Directly in front of the bleachers stood a row of cameras with reporters parked in front of them, ready to conduct interviews. They were separated from the carpet by sturdy metal barricades draped with banners for the film. Beefy security guards and police officers patrolled the perimeter of the red carpet, interspersed with media coordinators wielding clipboards and headsets. The stars might pause to wave to the crowd, but it was no guarantee Riley would spot her in that colorful, chaotic throng.

      If only she’d thought to sneak in as a reporter...but it would’ve raised too many questions from Jamie, and Kat had already tested their friendship by not explaining how she’d ended up on her doorstep, broke and homeless in LA...among other things.

      The crowd roared as Infinite Destinies’ leading lady, Juliette Travis, swept onto the carpet. The gorgeous redhead blew kisses to the fans, then paused and slowly turned for the cameras, showing off her designer gown. Kat leaned over the railing to see if Riley was far behind.

      “Miss, you’re going to have to take your seat.” A security man with shiny black shoes gestured toward the stands. “You’re not allowed to stand here.”

      Her hands fluttered. “Oh... I’m sorry... I...I really needed to use the bathroom and I can’t quite find my way out.”

      His skeptical look traveled down the length of her lanyard. “Can I see your—”

      “Oh!” She waved to no one in particular. “I see my friend I was looking for.” She ducked around him and quickly walked to the other end of the bleachers. He called after her. Her heart pumped hard. If she didn’t lose the guard, she’d be hauled off for sure.

      She rounded the bleachers and slipped beneath the panel of dark purple fabric hanging around the base of the platform. Boxes and wires littered the cramped space under the stepped seating. She held her breath against the reek of sweat and spilled beer. The security man walked past, his shiny black shoes easily identifiable below the edge of the curtain. Kat waited ten seconds before escaping back into the crowd.

      On the red carpet, Juliette Travis was now signing autographs and taking selfies with enthusiastic fans on the far side of the aisle. Kat was so caught up watching the beautiful actress that she was startled when a high-pitched shrieking like the orgasmic throes of a banshee orgy pierced her ears. A storm of camera flashes nearly blinded her.

      “Riley!” a nearby girl screamed. “We love you, Riley!”

      Kat gripped the railing as relief, dread and anxiety surged through her.

      There he was. Riley Lee Jackson.

      Finally.

      * * *

      RILEY’S FACE HURT from smiling.

      It probably wouldn’t have if he’d been wearing his natural smile, but Sam had said it was too “smarmy” for the cameras. She’d actually coached him on how to smile his “charming” smile.

      Think about being buried in puppies, he reminded himself in his agent’s cheerfully precise voice. Though that was hard to do when his ears rang and a headache pounded against the back of his skull.

      “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

      He glanced down at his date. Her radiant smile did a lot to soothe him. “Nothing, Mom.” He grinned more naturally. “Just jealous that everyone’s eyes will be on you rather than me.”

      “Oh, you.” She slapped his arm. “You’re being silly.”

      “I’m not! I bet everyone’s wondering, ‘Who’s the schlup next to that gorgeous woman in the Alexander McQueen?’”

      Winnie