One Night with a Star (Second Chances Book 2) (20 page)

Charles grinned. Simon would have loved to spill the beans about just how important he was in terms of studio brass, but Charles was only there as a last resort.

“Second Chances is important to all of us,” Simon spoke up as they’d planned. “It’s about building relationships with the residents of Twin Pines and their families.” It was about making a space for his own family to come together and grow. No job had ever been so personal in his life. “The studio wants to drive that point home, that this is a partnership, not a cold business transaction.”

“But that’s what you’re making it,” Neil charged on. “All this stuff about building an new building and all the things you can do for us? It’s just bribery, plain and simple. You celebrities think you can set your sights on something and then just come in and grab it.”

“That’s not a fair statement,” Spence argued, leaning on the table where he sat.

Several members of the board squirmed in their seats, sending uncomfortable looks to Neil and to Dr. Brunswick. Dr. Brunswick’s expression was tight and unreadable. Simon studied her and the other board members, his pulse kicking up. Neil didn’t have the support he thought he did.

“Look, I understand where you’re coming from.” Simon took what he observed and put it to use. “And yes, there’s definitely something to the belief that money is power and people who have money get what they want.”

“I always get what I want,” Ben threw into the discussion with a wry grin.

A flurry of uncertain chuckles rose up around the table. Simon definitely owed Ben a drink later for keeping the discussion light. Only Neil looked put out.

“You all know the reasons why we at Second Chances think that our production and Twin Pines is a good fit,” Simon went on. “It’s not just about numbers and bottom lines. It’s about enriching the lives of the residents, giving them something to feel a part of beyond their world, and about the ways they’ve changed our lives too.”

“What a load of shit,” Neil said, throwing up his hands and flopping back in his chair. “It’s about you butting into our business and taking over. Am I right?”

He looked for support around the table, but got very little.

Simon shifted, uneasy with the vehemence of Neil’s attitude. It wouldn’t be pretty, but the heart of the matter had to be addressed.

“There was no objection to filming until things started going south with you and Jenny,” he spoke directly to Neil. “Look, mate, I get it. No one wants to go through a break-up. But we all go through them. We don’t all try to lash out at other people when we do, though.”

“I’m not lashing out, I’m looking out for the best interests of Twin Pines,” Neil said, face splotching red.

Simon shrugged, spreading his hands in a gesture of ‘fair enough.’ He didn’t need to pound it to drive the point home to everyone else at the table.

One of the board members at the far end of the table cleared her throat and asked, “Are you certain there are sufficient safeguards in place to protect the privacy of the residents throughout production?”

At last, a real question. Ben jumped into action.

“The production has and will continue to go to great lengths to protect Twin Pines and its residents.”

Simon sat back, exchanging a glance with Spence as Ben handled that and a few more serious questions. There was no way to tell for sure what the board members were thinking, but as desperately as Simon wanted them to see things his way and to come out in favor of Second Chances, he was filled with a kind of confidence that he’d never felt before. One way or another, the important things would work out. He and Jenny and Daniel would be a family, no matter where they had to be to do it.

“Thank you,” Dr. Brunswick brought the questions to an end by putting her hands on the table and standing. “You’ve given us a lot of information and a lot to think about. Now if you’ll just give us a moment to deliberate. Board members, you can stay here.”

That was it. With a rush of chairs being pushed back and movement, the board meeting was over. Simon breathed in as he stood. They’d done the best they could. That was all anyone could ask. He exchanged smiles with his team members and nodded to Dr. Brunswick and one or two other board members on his way out. Neil sat stiffly in his chair, arms crossed, not looking at anyone.

“Well, how’d it go?” Jenny asked, hurrying to meet him as they left the board room and shut the door behind them.

Simon picked up his pace to reach her, slipping his arms around her and giving her a kiss. “It went pretty well, I thought.”

“You all did a fine job,” Charles said. “We’ll wait to hear what the board decides. If they decide against us, we’ll move to the next level and consider litigation.”

“Litigation?” Jenny paled.

“Honey, you didn’t think we’d just let them steamroll us, did you?” Yvonne asked, the smile on her lips that gave Simon nightmares. “This was just the first step.”

“Hopefully nothing more drastic will be needed,” Charles added. “Excuse me, I’ve got to call L.A.”

Simon kept his arm around Jenny’s waist and steered her toward a row of benches at the corner of the lobby. “Don’t worry,” he told her. “The meeting went really well.”

Jenny shook her head. “I expected there’s be a fight, but I’m not sure about bringing in the big guns from L.A.”

“It won’t come to that,” Simon reassured her.

He was confident that it wouldn’t. You never knew with Hollywood, though. He and Jenny sat on one of the benches. Spence and Ben sat across from them on another, and Yvonne strode off down the hall to make a call.

“You should have seen the way Simon set down your friend Neil,” Ben told Jenny, grinning.

Jenny turned a wary look on Simon. “You didn’t.”

Simon held up his hands in defense. “I was a perfect gentleman, I swear.”

“He was,” Spence seconded.

“That’s what made it so beautiful to watch,” Ben added.

Jenny relaxed a bit. None of them were in the mood to talk, though. Not with so much on the line. Charles finished his call, then came back to join them. Yvonne too. Their whole group could do nothing but sit and wait.

After what felt like an eternity, the boardroom door opened and Dr. Brunswick stepped out. Simon and the others rose to their feet. Simon’s heart beat fast.

“The board has made its decision,” Dr. Brunswick announced.

Chapter Nineteen

Jenny almost wanted to laugh at how fast her heart was beating. Almost. She rose when Simon rose, and faced Dr. Brunswick. There was enough latent energy buzzing around the Second Chances group to light half the state of Maine.

“The board discussed the issues at stake,” Dr. Brunswick began. Jenny held her breath. “We’ve decided to proceed with the production.”

For a moment, the announcement hung there in the air, pulsing with promise.

Moments later, the Second Chances gang broke into shouts of relief and jubilation. Simon squeezed Jenny’s hand, but that wasn’t enough for her. She threw her arms around him, hugging him for all she was worth. They’d made it. The show would film nearby. Simon wouldn’t have to go away, and he and she and Daniel could be a family. The shock and amazement of that realization buzzed through her.

“We won,” she sighed against Simon’s ear.

“Of course we did, love,” he replied. The ease in his tone was one thing, but the wave of relief that passed through his body was another entirely. He let out a breath as he hugged her, then squeezed her tighter, energy renewed. He tilted back enough to meet her eyes, then, with a broad, triumphant smile, kissed her.

And what a kiss. Whether he intended it to be so intense or not, the moment their lips met and parted, the moment their tongues caressed, Jenny began to melt. She wanted this man more than she’d ever wanted anyone. The taste of him, the scent of his skin and the way he felt in her arms was life and happiness. One simple kiss, and her body thrummed with need for him. Her heart ached and her knees went weak. She didn’t care that their friends and even some of their foes were nearby, all she wanted was to promise the moon and the stars to Simon, now and forever.

“This means everything,” she whispered between impassioned kisses.

“I know,” he replied, nipping at her lips and holding her tighter. A rumbling laugh filled his chest and vibrated through her. “I know.”

All of the doubt and frustration she’d lived with since that morning over a year ago when she woke up to find Simon gone had vanished. She kissed him again, her heart swelling, because he was here, in her arms.

“For the love of God, you two should get a room.” Even Neil’s sullen complaint couldn’t dent the joy.

Jenny let go of Simon and pivoted to find Neil striding across the hall several yards away. He was red-faced and his lips were curled in a sneer.

“I’m sorry,” Jenny called out to him as he passed. They were just words to him, she could see by the bitterness that hung on him like an anchor, but she meant it. She was sorry he couldn’t let go of what was never meant to be, and that he was such a prick that he couldn’t handle not getting his way.

“Don’t go anywhere, Neil,” Dr. Brunswick called after him. “We still have to meet to hash out a few of the details.”

“I’m just getting some coffee,” Neil groused back at her. He glanced to Jenny and Simon as he continued down the hall. “I need something to get the bad taste of those two out of my mouth.” He narrowed his eyes, then slouched on.

Yvonne hummed in disapproval, but a wicked grin tilted the corners of her mouth. Even Dr. Brunswick sighed and shook her head, then turned to Charles.

“I kept my mouth shut while the whole board was assembled,” she told him, “but you’re the rep from the production company, aren’t you?”

“I am,” Charles answered with a nod and a hint of a smile.

“You’re the one I need to speak with, then,” Dr. Brunswick went on.

Charles nodded. “You don’t mind if Yvonne accompanies me, do you?”

Dr. Brunswick cast a quick glance at Yvonne, then sighed, “I guess not.” She turned and headed back to the board room, where most of the board members were filing out to be on their way.

“Looks like it’s just going to be the heavy-hitters for this round,” Yvonne said, turning to Jenny and Simon, Spence and Ben. “You chickadees wait here. Once we’re done in there, I think we should have a real celebration.”

Jenny had never seen the tough woman smile so much. She looked as though she’d single-handedly won World War Three.

“I’ll call Tasha at school to see if she wouldn’t mind hosting a small party at Sand Dollar Point this evening,” Spence said, stepping to the side and taking out his cell phone.

“Yeah.” Ben followed suit. “Let me make a few calls to put my ducks in a row. I might stay up here for the weekend after that.”

They all peeled away from the gathering point in the lobby, leaving Simon and Jenny to themselves. Heart still beating double-time, Jenny turned to Simon with a grin that felt like it would lift her right off her feet.

“I can’t believe everything actually worked out,” she said. “Nothing ever works out this well.”

“It will now,” he contradicted her, sweeping her back into his arms. “Now that you’re with me.”

He kissed her again, arms snaking around her, hands spreading across her back. She gave herself up to that kiss, letting it wash through her soul like summer waves on the beach, taking away all her troubles and filling her with confidence. It filled her with something sizzling and restless too. She hummed low in her throat, raking her fingers up through Simon’s hair as she leaned into him. She wanted to laugh and she wanted to sing. It was ridiculous that she could be so turned on in such a public place by something as simple as a kiss.

“You know,” Simon panted, giving her a chance to breath, “I think good old Neil might have had a good idea.”

“What?” She giggled at the mischievous lilt in his voice as he backed her toward the door to the abandoned wing of the home where Second Chances filmed.

“We’ve got a couple of minutes,” he went on, his accent thicker as he smiled through his words. “It’ll take them a while to iron out the details, Spence is talking to Tasha, Ben’s gone off to do Ben things.”

“What are you saying?” Hot, giddy tendrils of desire raced their way up and down her back, not to mention through other parts of her that were heating up at epic speed.

“I’m saying that Neil’s suggestion might just be a good one.” He wedged her against the closed door of the Second Chances wing and brought his mouth slanting down over hers, drawing a restless moan from the bottom of her soul. His responding growl had more than a little laughter in it, and he snuck a hand under her suit jacked to caress her breast. “I think we should get a room.”

Jenny laughed. “Simon, we’re in a nursing home.”

“So?” he chuckled, pushing the door open behind her. “That just means there’s lots of rooms. With beds.”

It was crazy, pure and simple. She was out of her mind to even consider it. But as soon as they slipped into the abandoned wing, something bold and naughty in her came alive. The hallway had a few packed up pieces of equipment stored here and there, and while most of the rooms were empty, a few were still furnished and decorated for filming. Jenny peeked at a few of the doors, but her mind could barely function enough to stay upright, let alone figure out which one was most likely for illicit activities. Simon had tugged her blouse out of the waist of her skirt and slipped his hand along her skin. His fingers sought out the lower edge of her bra and pushed it up so he could close his hand around her.

“Simon,” she gasped, not sure if she wanted to laugh or moan at the same time.

“Jenny,” he echoed her, all business. “I want you. I want you now, and I want you always.”

She melted into a sigh. How could a girl say no to something like that. She spread her hands along his chest, reaching for the buttons of his suit jacket, and then his shirt.

In the blink of an eye, they were madly undressing each other. It was as ridiculous as it was hot. Somehow, Simon managed to steer them around a doorway and into one of the furnished rooms. In amongst the standard hospital bed and cabinets was the framework for sound and lighting equipment. They dodged their way through it, a button popping open here, fabric being tugged out of a waistband there.

They didn’t even make it to the bed. Breathless and aching, Jenny found herself pushed up against the only wall that didn’t have equipment lining it. Simon lifted her to the tips of her toes as he kissed his way down her neck. She arched her head back as best she could to give him more access to the skin he’d exposed by unbuttoning her blouse. He managed to unhook her bra, and even though she was in no position to take it off, he pushed it aside enough to bring his mouth down over her breast.

She sucked in a breath and swallowed a groan as his tongue flicked across her nipple. The muscles in her core clenched with need for him. He reached for the hem of her skirt as his mouth continued its work, driving her wild with desire. She wanted to dig her nails into his back or through his hair, or even to reach for the bulge in his pants to stroke him, but instead her hands were planted against the wall to keep herself as grounded as she could be.

She needed that anchor when Simon drew his hand up between her legs to caress her hot, wet center. She cried out when he slipped his fingers inside of her panties to stroke her. Her body shook with the pleasure he drew from her. If he hadn’t been holding her up with the press of his free hand against her side, she would have melted into a pool at his feet.

“I’m going to spend the rest of my life making you come,” he said, tracing kisses up over her chest to her neck and her ear. “You won’t know what hit you.”

She signed in response, grinding her hips against his hand. Right now she didn’t care about the risk they were taking or the fear of being discovered. All she cared about was the heat and the pressure that was building in her so fast she thought she might scream. His fingers worked magic across her clit, dipping lower to stroke. He slid one inside of her to tease while his thumb continued slow circles around her nub.

All at once, her orgasm crashed over her. “Simon,” she breathed out, clutching his sides. Her inner muscles clenched around his finger, and he slipped a second inside of her to feel her pleasure more fully. He groaned in approval, his free hand tightening over her breast. She closed her eyes and rolled her head back against the wall, enjoying every second of pleasure that coursed through her. Before it was even done, she wanted more.

She lowered her hands to fumble with the fly of Simon’s pants, making quick work of the closure. He was hard and hot and ready as she slid her hands around him to free him from his briefs. Good. She didn’t want to wait. She needed him inside of her now.

“Wait, wait, wait,” he stopped her, voice tight and strained.

“Wait?” she panted, eyes wide.

He took half a step back, reaching into the pocket of his pants before they could slip too low on his thighs to tug out his wallet. He flicked it open, pulled out a condom, then let the rest of the wallet drop, unheeded.

“I will never be unprepared again,” he said, half laughing, tearing open the wrapper.

“You plan on finding yourself in this sort of situation again?” she said.

“With you as my girl?” he asked, rolling the condom on, then grabbing her around the waist and lifting her. “Absolutely.”

Jenny laughed and panted with expectation all at once. It took a little bit of finesse to find the right leverage, and Jenny thanked God for panties made from stretchable fabric, but with a cry of victory, Simon sheathed himself inside of her. She hummed and bit her lip at how perfect he felt filling her. It was no small task for him to thrust over and over as he held her up against the wall, but each one of those thrusts was a revelation. She was sweating and right at the edge of coming again in no time. Simon’s uniquely masculine sounds of pleasure and the strength in his entire body as he plundered her drove her straight to heaven.

She sighed with pleasure as a second orgasm took her. Shortly after, Simon let out a pitched groan of his own and thrust even harder, before sagging against her and the wall. It took several more seconds of the two of them panting and relaxing, inch by inch, for reality to return. Jenny couldn’t remember when she’d wrapped her legs around Simon’s hips. She didn’t ever want to let him go, but for the sake of both of their sanity, she unwrapped herself slowly, aching in the most delicious places, and set her feet on the ground.

Simon let out a breath and withdrew from her. It took him another few seconds to right himself and remove the condom.

“That was something else,” he said, searching for a place to discard it. He had to settle for pulling a handful of tissue from the box on the cabinet near them and wadding everything together.

Jenny couldn’t help but laugh. Ah, the glamorous side of sex in strange places. “So it’s your plan for us to do things like this more often?” she teased.

“I hear elevators make for good sex spots,” he laughed in return.

She did her best to straighten her clothes and make herself look presentable, though she wouldn’t be entirely comfortable until she could go home and change entirely. “I think I’d rather stick to bed,” she said, then added. “Maybe an occasional sofa.”

“Tables work too,” he told her, then broke down into the most joyful peals of laughter Jenny had ever heard.

By the time they cleaned, brushed, and straightened themselves enough to head back to the lobby, Spence and Ben had finished their business and stood with their heads together. The second Jenny and Simon emerged from the Second Chances wing, the two of them looked up. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what they’d been doing.