BETRAYED: A Hollywood Alpha Billionaire Romance (Los Angeles Lights Book 3) Read online

  BETRAYED

  LOS ANGELES LIGHTS

  [A HOLLYWOOD ALPHA BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE]

  BOOK 3

  AVARICE ROSE

  OTHER BOOKS IN THE LOS ANGELES LIGHTS SERIES:

  FOUND

  THREATENED

  BETRAYED

  REVEALED (coming soon)

  TURNED (coming soon)

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or in any means – by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission.

  Copyright © 2016 Avarice Rose

  www.avaricerose.com

  All rights reserved.

  CONTENTS

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  1.

  If I had known what a mess it would be to create a movie with my producer boyfriend, I would have probably opted out of the entire thing. Zack's ex-girlfriend, Rita, was making some strenuous demands about being the lead role, and I was going to have none of it. However, the resurfacing of this old tape featuring them doing the dirty had caused us to reconsider her as part of the production.

  It was remarkably illegal for a shifter and a human to produce an adult film, which made her threats seem almost psychotic. I wasn't sure what would happen to Zack if the tape was released, but it would be a circus attempting to keep a legal battle from erupting. I was sure I'd lose him forever if she didn't keep those snappy little red lips sealed. Instead of trying to steal the tapes like I had originally wanted, Zack convinced me to meet her for a deal. We set up a discreet date and time, making sure to only refer to our meeting area in code. Not even Zack's lawyer knew where we were going to be, even though Zack had informed him about the tape. It never hurt to have a little legal counsel case things blew up.

  The meeting was supposed to be a quick exchange: the tape for terms. Somehow, I knew Rita would try to drag it out and maybe insert things in her contract that we didn't want to do or simply couldn't. Any amount of money was okay as long as she kept her hands off of my darling Zack. I couldn't stand the idea of him returning to her, especially if it was to keep this stupid sex thing a secret. Why did this have to be such a mess?

  We took my old car so as to not attract attention from the media and sneaked out through the back of the mansion to walk through the maze and out into a field where my car was hidden. I had insisted on keeping my car for moments like this and even had it registered under a false name so no one could trace it. That was illegal, too, but it wasn't as horrible as the tape we were about to retrieve. I prayed she would be reasonable.

  On the way to meet the Hollywood princess of vengeance, Zack tried to keep up a light conversation over the sound of the radio. I didn't feel like talking, but I felt bad that he was trying so hard to keep things calm and normal. Absolutely nothing about this was normal, and I was about to drive off the road if he didn't shut up. I took a deep breath and implored him to keep silent so I could concentrate on the path in front of me. It wouldn't take very long to get to Rita. We could do with some silence.

  “I'm sorry, Sky,” Zack whispered through the dark. “I love you.”

  The slight whimper I detected in his voice shattered me. I reached over and grabbed his hand in a gesture of reassurance, hoping he'd forgive me for being so rude. I couldn't speak right now. I wanted so desperately to respond, but I simply couldn't speak. If I uttered any sound, I would start sobbing into the steering wheel, and we'd land in the bushes because of my poor emotional state. There’s only so much one woman can handle.

  Zack squeezed my hand in return, seeming to understand my feeling through the silence. How was he so calm right now?

  We finally pulled up to the edge of the field out near the highway, the drone of cars passing by in the distance created an eerie hum. I put the car into park, pulled up the parking break, and sat quietly while unbuckling my belt. In the distance, Rita appeared dressed in a black catsuit. What a drama mongrel. She had worn that purely for Zack. I wasn't one for slut shaming, but Rita was sincerely pushing my buttons here. My temptation to spit fire was immense. I exhaled and kept my head cool.

  Upon exiting the vehicle, my body began to shake beneath the weight of our situation. Rita held up a bag in her hand while waving with the other, coolly strutting across the thick sand covering the field. She pulled up her 20's flapper hat that was covering her face to reveal eyes that were heavily coated in eyeliner. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

  “Zack, darling,” she called with a gargantuan smile. “What a pleasure.”

  “Not under these circumstances,” I muttered in response.

  Rita turned to me with her plaster smile, curious of what I had said.

  “Rita,” I piped up. “You look ravishing.”

  Rita wrinkled her nose in response to my dry compliment and turned back to Zack, eyes abuzz with mischief.

  “Speak your terms, Rita, and then hand over the tape. We want to keep this brief,” Zack said through the darkness.

  I'd forgotten how scruff his voice sounded when he talks business. Lust overwhelmed my body in an instant, but I stifled the feeling. I didn't want to associate my sexual desire of Zack with Rita's presence. It would surely turn me off at a later date and cause issues. Still, I couldn't keep my eyes from trailing up and down Rita's long and slender legs. I had to hand it to her: she looked absolutely stunning in that catsuit. Bitch.

  While Rita outlined her terms for the acting contract, I kept my eyes on that bag. I was desperate to have the tape in my possession and admittedly hadn't heard much of what Rita had said. I looked over at Zack who was deep in concentration, nodding every so often during her speech. Once she was finished, she handed the bag over to me but dropped it on the ground before I could grab it. Brat, I thought angrily while scooping the bag up off the ground. I hope this movie ruins you. It wouldn't. I knew it wouldn't. And I wasn't about to sabotage my own movie to get revenge on her. She wasn't worth my time. Who knows? Maybe her attitude and personality will improve with the role. Wishful thinking.

  “I'm just so pleased to be a part of this film,” Rita said with her plastic smile plastered across her face. “Zack and Rita together again! I'll put it all over my blog.”

  The triumphant claim stirred something primal inside of me that made me drop the bag and shove my finger in her face.

  “NOT together,” I growled. “You two are definitely not together again, and you will only work for us as a hired actor. Do you understand?”

  Rita regarded my finger with a smugly raised brow, grimaced, and then nodded slowly while keeping her eyes locked on mine. When I pulled my hand away from her face, she shrugged and clapped her hands together in an effort to lighten the mood, something I didn't really care to encourage.

  “Well, this is going to be oodles of fun,” Rita announced while wiggling her nose.

  She bid us farewell and disappeared into the brush, the catsuit cloaking her form as she walked, camouflaging her form as she disappeared into the night. No wonder she wore it. I looked down at my sundress and sandals, feeling incredibly self-conscious about my appearance after having been shunned by a Hollywood movie star. Zack wrapped a reassuring arm around me
when he noticed my demeanor change so quickly. I looked up at his smooth face and his beautiful eyes that were shining despite the darkness surrounding us.

  “Does this mean we're in the clear?” I asked, biting my lip.

  “Everything should be okay for now,” Zack responded with a sigh. “At least, I hope so.”

  2.

  After the embarrassing encounter with Rita in the fields, Zack and I began to make arrangements for the upcoming film. We finally had our locations picked out, and we were to meet with the new crew to lay out our expectations. The initial meeting went well, and I was surprised at the excitement that the crew displayed to be working with us, especially their praise for my script. I felt like I was on top of the world again. Zack proudly held my hand throughout the meeting and announced we would be overseeing every aspect of the project, including visiting locations with the crew.

  “It's not to watch over you in case mistakes are made. It's so you are confident in your work,” Zack explained. “Approach us anytime for any questions you might have, even ones you think don't matter. Everything matters in this production.”

  Zack's speech was met with applause. He certainly had a way of engaging people with his words. It was one of the things I continued to admire about him. He could answer any question with cool confidence, even if it had something to do with a false rumor or a past mistake. There was a time when making public appearances drove me into fits of anxiety where I would feel like my entire chest was under the pressure of an anvil, but Zack helped me through that time and taught me a few tricks of how to handle being in public.

  For the first time in months, I was practicing one of those breathing techniques in the middle of an empty university classroom just up the road from our production studio. My main character is a Biology student who is about to graduate and apply for a position at NASA where she can study the potential life on celestial bodies. Her candor is strong, and her intelligence is infinite, the strength of her mind overpowering any barrier standing in her way. This particular scene would accentuate her dominant personality as she defends herself eloquently to a professor who doubts she can succeed.

  “My performance on a test isn't going to determine whether I can think for myself,” Rita said with confidence into the lens of the camera. “But rather whether I can bend to your rules and structures. Discovering celestial life requires that I break those rules. I will get this job, and I will prove you wrong, Dr. Burt.”

  When the director yelled cut, the entire crew erupted in a fit of whooping and cheering that rattled me from my harrowed mind. I squinted down towards the front of the great lecture room, watching as Rita accepted handshakes and all manner of compliments from the men fawning over her performance. It made me ill. It wasn't as if she wrote the script. I was the one who came up with these amazing scenes! She merely regurgitated the lines and pretended to be what the character was all about. There was no way I could handle watching her succeed in the role I had created, but it was the deal we had struck. It’s hard not to be petty.

  Sometimes, you had to dance with the devil to get what you wanted.

  “So, does this mean you and Zack are through?” asked an actor who was sitting up near me.

  I slammed my script down on the table and glared at him.

  “Isn't there something you need to be doing right now? Going over lines?” I heatedly asked. “And no, this doesn't mean Zack and I are through.”

  “It doesn't appear that way,” he commented while pointing down to the crowd below.

  I couldn't help but look. Zack was patting Rita's shoulder, smiling broadly to the crew and other actors who were wearing the same false smiles. It couldn't be more than a display of recognition, something to convince everyone that we were all getting along. I should probably keep my head level if we were going to continue without the entire plan exploding. I was sure any peep from me would elicit Rita to reconsider keeping her little secret, which would completely destroy the project.

  It would be fine, I reassured myself. I don't have to dance with this devil for very long. Soon, she'll be out of our lives for good. Everything will be just fine.

  As I stared at the scene below, the young actor to my right leaned over and placed a small business card in my hand.

  “If you ever want to be treated more like a queen than a princess, give me a call,” he said, winking.

  I tossed his card over the desk with a smug smile and held up my middle finger, not bothering to respond to the offer. What a sickening thing to say, especially to his superior. It wasn't like me to let power go to my head, but this was certainly crossing a line, and I demanded a certain amount of respect.

  When Zack climbed the stairs to meet me, I inadvertently met his kisses with cool indifference, feeling slightly peeved still by the cocky actor who I had just encountered. He pulled me into a hug.

  “Everything is going well,” he said while he planted kisses on my neck. “We should celebrate.”

  I pushed him.

  “I'm sorry. I'm in no mood to go anywhere,” I responded while gathering my script copies and purse. “I have too much on my mind.”

  Zack looked hurt. Without asking, he lifted my bag above his head and held it hostage until I told him what was bothering me. He wasn’t typically this coy – okay, that’s a lie - but I was sure he was sick of my bratty attitude and permanent pout that I had been wearing all day around the set. I didn't mean to be this way. I couldn't help that Rita made me feel so insecure. I explained all of this to him and then added what that stupid boy had said to me. Zack turned to look down the stairs at the diminishing crew below, checking to see if the actor was still hanging around.

  “Should I say something to him?” he asked, his eyes growing dark. “That is unacceptable. I should say something.”

  Gently, I took my bag back from him and placed it on the desk before taking his face in my hands. I smoothed a lock of hair behind his ear and looked deep into his eyes, searching for that spark that we had found the first night we had spent together on the pier. When he started to smile, I heaved a sigh of relief. There it is.

  “Zack, it's fine. He's just a little kid trying to get his piece somewhere. He probably thinks sleeping with me will catapult him to the top. That didn’t even really bother me, to be honest,” I explained.

  Zack smiled a little wider and placed a loving kiss on my nose.

  “Don't let this project get to you. You're a strong, intelligent, and talented woman who could walk circles around everyone here with the passion that fuels you. Rita’s talent shouldn't diminish yours.” Zack said.

  I didn’t say anything about Rita, but he was right anyway. I have been spending far too much time comparing myself to someone who has a different set of talents than I did. It didn't make me any less of a woman just because I couldn't act, and it didn't make her any less just because she didn't adhere to the same feminist lifestyle. The things I was attempting to espouse in my movie were what I was avoiding: strength and persistence despite obstacles. I smiled up at Zack who rubbed my cheek.

  “Now, let's go celebrate,” he said.

  I agreed that we should at least go out for dinner and a few drinks, something we hadn't enjoyed since we had started organizing the production. The long days we spent planning were met with mostly grunts at the end of the day and with me begging for us not to have to go socialize anywhere. He would always oblige, saying that he wants his honey to be as happy as possible.

  After settling in at home and showering, we dressed up in our best outfits and hit the town to go to one of the finest Italian restaurants on the strip. The owner of the restaurant, Frank, was incredibly excited to see us, greeting Zack with a huge hug and me with all manner of hand kisses. Blushing with delight, he led us to our favorite table and sent his best wait staff to serve us. We were thoroughly enjoying our wine and appetizers when I noticed a paper on the table next to us. The headline read, “Young feminist writer duped – Hollywood it-girl and billionaire supers
tar reunite and elope!” I grabbed the grimy paper from the table and held it up to Zack who regarded it with a tired stare.

  “Sweetheart, they'll say whatever they can to get a rise out of the public,” he said.

  “But is this really necessary?” I asked, tossing the paper on the table dramatically. “It's like they want to drive us insane.”

  Zack reached across the table to grab the paper, comically raised an eyebrow at the title, and then held it over one of the candles on our table.

  “Zack!” I whispered excitedly. “Don't!”

  I couldn't help but giggle maniacally as the edge of the paper caught up in flames, his eyes reflecting the fire with mischief and joy at the sight of this preposterous article being burned.

  A waiter quickly approached with a bucket of water, “my sincerest apologies, sir. It seems the trash has caught fire.”

  Zack dumped the paper into it, thanking the young man with a handsome tip. The waiter nodded with a smile, apparently amused by the display, and ran off to dump the contents out in the kitchen as to not disturb the other guests. Zack and I laughed as the waiter was followed our of the dining area by a trail of smoke.

  “Abracadabra,” Zack said jokingly before bursting into another fit of laughter.

  I covered my mouth with a gloved hand, the black silk soft against my cheek as my body shook uncontrollably through my own fit of laughter. Zack could be so absurd sometimes, and I think he meant to do it just to make me laugh. I looked him over with a renewed admiration, my chest suddenly filling with a feeling of hope and bliss instead of that dreadful anvil that has been weighing me down these past weeks. I lifted my wine glass up towards him for a toast.

  “To our fiery presence in this town,” I said. “And to your persistent comic relief.”

  Zack tapped his glass gently against mine and then drank to my toast, chuckling still as he took a sip. After my toast, we got lost in our delicious meals and desserts, our waiters entertaining us with compliments and samples of other dishes. We went home that night happier than we had been in a few weeks, and I relished the feeling of us being utterly satisfied. As we collapsed into bed, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and tipsily accounted all the ways that I adored him. He kissed me, wrapped me up in the sheets, and told me how much he loved me before we both fell into a rapturous slumber.