Before A Perfect World: Movie Trilogy, Book Two (The Movie Trilogy) Read online

  Before A Perfect World by Kimberly Stedronsky

  Text Copyright © 2014 Kimberly Stedronsky

  All Rights Reserved

  Editing by Editing4Indies and Undivided Editing

  Interior Design by Drive Around Publishing

  Cover Design by Najla Qamber Designs

  Cover Models Courtney Boyett and Willis Totten

  Cover Photographer WM Russell

  Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

  First Electronic Edition: July 2014

  First Paperback Edition: July 2014

  Before A Perfect World is a satire by Kimberly Stedronsky, and is not intended maliciously. Kimberly Stedronsky has invented all names and situations in her stories, except in cases when public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental, or used as a fictional depiction or personality parody.

  To Fools Rushing In

  Now Playing

  The Contender

  Crossfire

  Dark Victory

  The Crying Game

  Nobody’s Fool

  Ruthless People

  Spellbound

  Meet the Parents

  Perfect

  Coming Home

  Center Stage

  Starstruck

  Tension

  The Do-Over

  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

  The Sting

  Taken

  V for Vendetta

  Touch of Evil

  The Big Sleep

  In Time

  A Perfect World

  The Contender

  K

  Her text lit up my phone.

  V: I’m sorry- just one more question. Will there be a camera in the audition with me?

  I grinned, just as I always did when I got a new message from Vivian. I reached for my phone.

  Me: You won’t be able to see it, stop worrying.

  Scrolling upward, I read through our text conversation over the past twenty-four hours. When that first message had come through, I’d snapped the pencil in my hand in half.

  V: Keaton… Matthew is coming with me.

  I stared at my phone for almost twenty minutes.

  V: Keaton???? Did you get my text?

  Irritated, I drafted a quick reply.

  Me: I got it. Why is he coming?

  V: Because I can’t hurt him.

  I threw the pencil at the window.

  Me: I win every game that I play, V.

  V: I’m not playing games with you. He’s only coming for the audition. If I get the part, then I’ll be filming the movie alone. His first day of school is Tuesday.

  The teacher’s first day of school?

  Who gives a fuck?

  Me: Does he know about the baby?

  V: No. I’m not telling him until I decide what I want.

  Me: I thought you’d already decided.

  V: I told you that I loved you both.

  Me: You love me more.

  V: Keaton… please.

  Me: V, really?!

  V: UGH. I promised him that I wouldn’t do anything with you right now.

  At that, I nearly called her. Controlling my reaction, I tossed the script for Round Up onto the desktop, leaning forward to text with both of my thumbs.

  Me: By “do anything” do you mean let me make love to you?

  The forty-five seconds that passed felt like an eternity.

  I texted again.

  Me: I air quoted your ass. Don’t ignore the question.

  Her response slid through moments later.

  V: Yes! Anything. With either of you. Let me separate the baby, the movie, and the two of you so I can figure out what I’m doing.

  Me: And he’s willing to stand by and wait? What a pussy.

  V: Um… aren’t you standing by and waiting?

  I smirked at that.

  Me: I’m holding your career in my hands, and you’re having my baby. I’m not a pussy. I’m the smartest fucking lion you’ll ever meet.

  Another minute passed.

  V: Are you still letting me audition?

  I growled under my breath. She was also the hottest little opportunist that I’d ever met.

  Me: Yes, I’m still letting you audition. But now I have to play nice with Numero Uno.

  V: He’s going to be civil. I already talked to him.

  Me: Words are words until I’m three feet away from your passion potion.

  V: LOL Keaton. OMG.

  Me: I know you’re a star. You’d better prove me right. My casting director is already irritated that we’re giving you the time of day.

  V: I’ll do my best.

  Me: Be professional when you get here. Don’t complain, don’t apologize, and don’t blame.

  All I got in response was !?!?

  And then

  V: I’m not an idiot!

  Me: And don’t kiss my ass. It looks bad. Save that for after you get the part.

  “Mr. Thane? Miss Hale is here. Should I show her in?”

  I lifted my eyes from my phone at Kathy’s voice. My secretary peered over her glasses at me, and I nodded, leaning back in my chair.

  “Is she alone?”

  Kathy lowered her eyes. “No, she’s with a gentleman. Should I show them both in?”

  I slid my chair back and tugged at the collar of my shirt, assembling my confidence.

  She loves me.

  He’s here because she’s too nice to tell him to fuck off.

  “Yes, please, Kath. Thanks.”

  She nodded once. Her cool demeanor, coupled with her mid-forties professional mindset, made her one of my most reliable employees. She was beautiful and intimidating, often making many of the actresses waiting in the chairs outside my office contemplate leaving under her judgmental glare.

  When Vivian walked in, my heartbeat tripled.

  I watched her smile for the first time in over a month, and every nerve ending in my body came alive. She wore a blue, strapless sundress, the exact same color as her eyes, and my gaze fell to her stomach.

  At that moment, of all times, my mind decided to finally register that she was carrying my child.

  That I was going to be a father, and she was going to be the mother of my baby.

  Every possessive instinct in my body fired up, setting off signals in my brain that completely counteracted my measured attempts to remain distant and collected. Even as he walked in behind her, I wanted to go to her, lift her into my arms, and kiss her.

  All of her.

  “Keaton, you remember Matthew,” she began softly.

  I gave her a crooked grin, nodding and holding my hand out to Numero Uno. He was slightly taller than I was, not nearly as built, and continued glaring at me through his asshole hipster glasses like he wanted to sing me a fucking Buddy Holly song.

  “V. Well, this isn’t at all awkward. Fowler, are you staying for her audition?”

  He dropped his arm over her delicate shoulders, ignoring my outstretched hand, and I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep from forming fists at my sides.

  “Don’t be rude,” she snapped at him, turning to me. “No, he’s not. That wouldn’t be professional.”

  “And you are a professional,” I added, grinning at her openly now. Hell, if he was going to be an enormous prick, then so was I. I was the one running this clusterfuck, and I
was about to make him fully aware of that. “You look beautiful, V. You’re glowing.”

  She stiffened, and he reached for her arm, openly glaring at me. “Listen,” Fowler growled. “I’m not going to stand here and pretend that I like you, because I don’t. What you did to Vivian was predatory, and you took advantage of her while she was grieving.”

  I stood perfectly still, my eyes shifting to Vivian. Her little jaw set, and she flashed daggers at him. “Matthew, you promised you’d be civil.”

  I held my hand up to her. “No, no, it’s okay, kiddo. I don’t mind being lectured by self-righteous Clark Kent. Was it hard to protect your identity while working at the Daily Planet?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Oh, the glasses, I get it. Clever.”

  “You’re quick, Woody Allen. So this May-December thing is working for you, then?”

  “Guys, come on.” Vivian stepped between us, and her bright eyes flashed to mine. “Keaton, stop it.”

  “Okay, let’s get this show on the road,” Max interrupted us, shuffling in behind Matthew. Frank followed, his beady eyes immediately drinking Vivian in. “You must be Vivian Hale. Pleasure,” Max added, holding his hand out to her.

  Before she could reach for it, Frank threw his arm in her direction, turning to me. “Keaton. She’s perfect.”

  “I know,” I agreed, and Vivian blushed prettily as I gestured to the open area in my office near the bar. “So, Mr. Fowler, if you’ll excuse us, we have an audition to attend to.”

  Numero Uno was ready to explode, which was entertaining as fuck to watch.

  And then Vivian turned to him, taking his hands like she’d taken mine so many times and lowering her voice.

  “I’ll be out in just a little while. Thank you for coming in with me.”

  I needed to swallow, but I couldn’t.

  My throat refused to cooperate. Jealousy was an unfamiliar emotion for me, and now it was lighting up my veins, goading, grinding at my chest.

  “You’ve got this, Vivian,” he said, calm and reassuring. “Show them what I already know you’re capable of.”

  “V,” I ordered, commanding her attention. She turned to me, taking a steadying breath as Fowler left the office.

  He slammed the door behind him.

  “I’m trying not to be nervous,” she whispered at my side, under her breath. “If I break out into hives, you have to distract them.”

  “I’ll need a moment alone with Vivian,” I said to Max and Frank, taking her hand in mine. The adjoining lounge separated my office by French doors, and I shut them behind us.

  The moment I closed the mini-blinds on the glass windows, I turned to pull her into my arms.

  She ducked from my kiss, pressing her forehead to my chest. “Keaton. God, I promised, please. Don’t kiss me.”

  “Jesus Christ. It feels so good to hold you,” I murmured against her hair, inhaling her floral scent as she gripped my upper arms with her fingers. “How do you feel? Are you sick? Can I get you anything?”

  “Just some water. And I’m okay,” she managed. I slid my hands down her sides, and she drew in a sharp breath as my thumbs brushed over her stomach.

  “V.”

  I couldn’t form the right words to say to her. Every sentence seemed insufficient to the way that I was feeling. Knowing that she was there, in my arms, my child growing inside of her… I let the emotions take over for a few stolen moments.

  “I know. I know, Keaton,” she hushed, bravely raising her face to mine. “I feel so close to you. I can’t even explain what this feels like. I’ve made him a promise, and I’m making you one too. I won’t kiss him, and he won’t touch me. Let me focus on one thing at a time. I want a clear head, and I don’t have that with the audition of my whole career waiting for me through those doors.”

  “Why don’t you just tell him about my baby? Maybe he’ll walk away, and it’ll make everything more clear.”

  “Would you walk away? If this baby wasn’t yours?”

  I caught her chin in my hand, lifting her face to mine. “Probably.”

  “Really?” She sounded deflated.

  “I’m being honest. There’s something primitive about seeing you here, now, knowing that I put my child inside of you.”

  She gave me a dirty look, but I could tell that she was holding back a smirk. “You’re kind of a caveman.”

  “I still haven’t shown you my mountain rape cave.”

  She giggled. “Okay. Just let me focus on the audition. I can’t screw this up, Keaton, and I know you need someone to carry this role. I’m not asking you to do me any favors. Either I earn it or I don’t.”

  “Go earn your part, Miss Hale.”

  She nodded, taking a deep breath and turning toward the French doors.

  “V?”

  She turned, raising her eyes. “Keaton?”

  “I wouldn’t walk away from you, kiddo. Not in a million years.”

  She smiled, her entire face lighting up exactly the way it did the first time that I’d met her.

  When we moved into the open space, Max and Frank sat on the couch with their iPads, and I flipped open the script. She widened her eyes, gesturing to the stapled papers in my hand. “You’re reading opposite of me?”

  “Someone has to. Would you prefer Frank?” I suggested.

  She tried to hide her grimace, and I remembered her calling him an asshole in the car on the way to the hotel. He started to stand, and she shook her head quickly.

  “No, no, just clarifying. Okay, I’m ready.”

  I smiled at her, disarming, willing her to calm down. “Page eighty-eight.”

  She nodded, and I saw her fingers shaking as she turned the pages over. Max typed something on his pad, and I watched her eyes dart over to him.

  She was nervous.

  “Hold on.” I turned toward the bar, tossing the script onto the counter before gathering ice into a glass. “You wanted some water. Sorry, I almost forgot. Hey, I’m going to turn these lights on, okay?”

  Before she could answer, I flipped the panel near the bar open and adjusted the lighting.

  I knew that she had only stage experience, and the bright lights came to life directly where she stood on the carpet, casting Max and Frank into the shadows.

  She smiled gratefully, accepting the glass from my hand and taking a quick drink. “Okay,” she agreed, lowering the glass to the table near the couch.

  “Kristie,” I began, “we got a tip that the next murder will be at Paramount Park, near Ogden, Utah.”

  She realized that I’d started reading, and I watched her entire posture change.

  Her eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly, and her mannerisms that I’d fallen so deeply in love with came to life before my eyes.

  “And you’re going?” she demanded. “Two of the investigators were already killed, John. Two. They can’t catch this man. He’s like a ghost,” she cried, her blue eyes immediately sparkling with tears. “I love you too much to let you do this.”

  I almost couldn’t read the script.

  I was no actor, and I was too concentrated on her eyes to focus on myself.

  She gave me an encouraging look, and I glanced down at my line.

  “You knew when you married me what my job entailed, baby, I have to go-”

  “Then I’m coming with you,” she declared, lowering the papers in her hand to her side, taking a step closer to me. I focused on her mouth, her perfect heart-shaped lips, and slid my hand up her bare arm.

  “Don’t kiss me,” she hissed, one frustrated tear slipping down her cheek. “When you kiss me, I forget what I’m so mad about. I forget everything.”

  I smiled slowly, lowering my lips to hers.

  I kissed her. God, I kissed her, with all of the pent-up longing that had been building since I last held her in my arms. She cried out into my mouth, protesting at first, but my lips coaxed her cooperation.

  She dropped the script and wrapped her arms around my neck.

  “I lo
ve you so fucking much,” I hushed, my tongue plunging and tasting the familiar kiss that had filled my dreams every night. I had no idea if the line was in the script, or if Max and Frank were watching us. She tasted like Jolly Ranchers, and I groaned, tasting her.

  She responded to me, crying out as I gripped her ponytail and tugged. Her neck was mine, and as she broke away, I heard her murmur, “Coffee and Red Bull.”

  When I smiled, she caught herself, panting softly in my arms.

  “Sex and candy,” I replied, pressing my mouth to her ear.

  Visibly shaken, I watched her struggle to collect her thoughts.

  “I’m coming with you,” she cried, clinging to my neck. “I won’t interfere in the investigation. I’ll stay at the hotel. Please, John.”

  I paused for a moment.

  She was brilliant.

  It wasn’t until she called me ‘John’ did I realize that she was still fully in character, speaking her lines, auditioning for my film.

  Max’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “Keaton, Ash is here. Do you want her to do a read with him?”

  I untangled her arms from my neck, turning to my casting director.

  “Ash Salter?” she breathed. “The Ash Salter?”

  Frank grinned. “She’s definitely working for me. I say we let her read with Ash.”

  I stepped backward, adjusting my collar and looking down at the script that had fallen to the floor.

  “Yeah. Bring Salter in. Same scene. Is that okay?” I urged, watching her react to my order.

  “You want me to read this scene with… Ash Salter?”

  The door opened, and Kathy led the two-time Oscar winning actor behind her.

  I turned to Vivian, watching her face go white and her fingers move to scratch her neck.

  And I pinched her nose.

  She jumped, bursting into laughter, and I smirked.

  “Be cool, kiddo.”

  She batted at my hand, her voice lowering. “Okay, boss.”

  Paternal instincts went out the window, and my instant hard-on was nowhere near professional.

  I wanted her.

  Now, later… always.

  “Keaton, it’s great to see you again. Mr. Lander,” Ash said, greeting us, and I watched as People’s Sexiest Man Alive turned toward Vivian. “You must be Miss Hale,” he chuckled, his signature sky-blue eyes gleaming. “I’m looking forward to reading with you. I admit though, it’s a little intimidating to read with the director’s fiancée.”