Guarding her body, p.1
Guarding Her Body, page 1
Guarding Her Body
Ella Goode
Contents
Summary
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
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Child actress Sadie Monroe grew up under the hot lights of Hollywood. Her good girl image takes a hit when it’s revealed her mom-ager has been stealing from Sadie for years. The scandal sites are ablaze again when semi-nude photos of her are released. Her new manager wants her to take advantage of this and pivot to a daring new role, but Sadie longs for a normal life with a husband and kids.
When Nathan Locke is asked to protect film star Sadie Monroe, he agrees immediately even though he doesn’t like celebrities. Sadie Monroe is different. Behind her glossy image, he can see both her fear and her longing. What might have started as a job becomes a mission for Nathan to protect not only Sadie’s life, but also her heart.
Chapter One
Sadie
The old mantra of be careful what you wish for runs through my mind as I scan my calendar for the next week. The shooting for Game Changer was over a year ago, but the release is right around the corner. My week is filled with promotions and interviews I have to do—the two things I dread the most when it comes to my job.
The truth of the matter is that I’m not sure this is something I ever wished for. It was more what I was told to do. For as long as I can remember, my mom was shoving me in front of the camera. At the age of seven I landed a role on a family sitcom that took off. A decade of my life had been on that show. It had vaulted me into stardom which had ultimately changed my life. From there, my mom pushed me into doing movie roles.
There was this fear I would be stuck as being seen as the little sweet girl that I played all my life. But I made the transition. I landed one movie after another. In the midst of it all, my relationship with my parents fell apart.
All I want to do is go home. To run from it all, but I don’t have a place to call home. Not anymore, at least.
“We’re going to go in through the back entrance,” Nathan says from the driver's seat.
I glance up from my phone to see a handful of paparazzi standing on the sidewalk ahead. I do what I always do: I slide down in my seat to hide from them before hitting the number for my new manager.
“You’re supposed to be in a reading” is the first thing out of his mouth when he answers.
“I’m going to be a few minutes late. Paparazzi are out in front of the hotel.” They are everywhere lately. “Make sure someone opens the back door for me.”
In the midst of finding out that my mom, who was my manager for my whole career, was stealing from me, I'd also found out she would tip the paparazzi off to my location. I thought once she was no longer in the picture that they would also go away. I guess that was naïve of me.
“Who cares about them? You don’t make Randle Beckstrand wait.”
“What do you mean ‘who cares?’ The detective said—”
Blake cuts me off. He always does. I thought going from my mom to a real manager would be more professional. I was wrong. “Stop worrying. You’re fine. Your new security detail starts today. In fact, you’ll be meeting your new bodyguard after the reading.”
Relief fills me that I’ll have an extra layer of protection soon. Everyone thinks this lifestyle is a dream. Yet I’ve been in it long enough to know it’s more of a nightmare most times. Most celebrities crave the spotlight, while I tend to shy away from it. More so now that one of my fans has become obsessed with me, causing me to have to look over my shoulder constantly.
It was surreal having an anonymous number text me last night with pictures of me changing in my own closet. A sense of fear that I’ve never experienced had filled me. I’m waiting for them to get leaked to the public. It’s only a matter of time, I'm sure.
The safety I'd thought I had in my new condo is now gone. After having a small meltdown, I did the only thing I could think to do. I called the police. A detective came out. There isn’t much he could do, but he had given me a card for a firm he thought might be helpful. He’d even called them and told them we’d be in touch. Locke Security. I had to make Blake promise he’d call them or I told him I’d be finding a new manager. It was the first time I’d ever made that threat. It looks like he followed through.
“At the hotel?” I question.
I don’t understand why any kind of meeting is happening at a hotel. At first I thought it would be in a conference room. That was until Blake texted me the hotel address twenty minutes ago when I asked where I was meeting Randle.
“Yes, at the hotel, Sadie. You’re a big girl. Your mommy isn’t your manager anymore. This is how things are done.” Ouch. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.
“Okay.”
“Good. Now go nail this. This is going to change your image from girl next door to sexy femme fatale.”
“Right,” I agree, still wondering why I’m doing this audition. Do I really want to play a sexy spy? “No full nudity, right?” I ask again to clarify.
“Go, you’re running late,” he says instead of answering, ending the call.
“You good back there?” Nathan asks as the car rolls to a stop at the back of the hotel. He’s been driving me for years. I’ve never gotten the chance to learn to drive myself. My mom always said it wasn’t necessary. I know now it was just another way for her to control me. Nathan has offered to teach me a few times, but I’ve never taken him up on it.
“I’m good.” He gives me a skeptical look. “Really,” I lie.
“For an actress you’re a terrible liar.” I snort a laugh.
“I guess I have another meeting here after this.”
“At a hotel?” He lifts a brow.
“Right! That’s what I’m saying, but this one is with a security company.”
“Which one?”
“Locke Security?”
Nathan lets out a whistle at the name of the company. “They’re good, from what I’ve heard. It takes more than money to be one of their clients. You have to be referred to them.”
“That Detective Benson gave me their card. He made a call for me.” My phone beeps in my hand. “Crap. Sorry. I’ll text you when I’m all done.”
“Good luck. I’m going to hang around here. Text me if you need something.”
“Thanks.” I slip from the car as someone from the hotel opens the back door for me. I give them a smile, making my way toward the elevator and up to the top floor.
I suck in a deep breath, trying to get myself ready. It’s totally not creepy to be doing this at a hotel. Randle is a big shot director. This could open up a whole other world of acting gigs for you. Don’t get yourself stuck in the romcom box. That’s what my mom would be saying right now. I can still hear her in my head even if it’s been a few months since we last talked.
I don’t see what's wrong with romcom. I’m not sure I can pull sexy off. Or that I even want to try. The few kisses I had to do on set with Charlie in Game Changer were so weird for me. At least we’re friends, so that helped some.
It didn't help with the tabloids, though. They are now sure that we’re a thing, which both our managers and agents are letting everyone believe to help hype up the movie. I can’t wait for it to come out so all of this can settle down some. I don’t even want to be at this audition today. I’d requested to take a break for a while. I wanted to reevaluate things in my life with everything that went down with my mom. But Randle had insisted to Blake I was perfect for this role. That he had to meet with me now. Saying no to his request could be me creating career suicide.
I raise my hand to knock on the door, but it opens before I can. A slow smile spreads across Randle’s face. My eyes are almost level with his. I was told not to wear heels today. He’s only a few inches taller than me, which isn’t saying much. I’m barely five foot five.
It’s why my mom said modeling was never on the table for me. I'm way too short. I’d gotten a handful of modeling gigs over the years, but she always said it was because I’d made a name for myself and could now get away with my height.
“Miss Monroe.” I hold my hand out. He takes it, pulling me into the hotel room, the door falling closed behind us. I freeze as he wraps his other arm around me in a hug. His mouth brushes across my cheek.
My whole body locks up when I realize he’s pressing his hard-on into me. I try to pull back, but he only tightens the hold.
“I’ve been dying to meet you,” he whispers against my ear. “You’re even more stunning close up.”
“Thank you,” I get out. I pull back again. Thankfully, this time he releases his hold on me but doesn’t move away. Every instinct inside of me starts to rise to the surface, telling me I need to get out of here.
“You’re going to have to get used to men being close if you want to play the part of Angela Jane. She’s all about seduction.” He winks at me. “Let me get you a drink.”
“No thank you.” The words rush past my lips. I take a step back, glancing around the hotel room, wanting t o look anywhere but at him. The palms of my hands start to sweat.
“Trust me. I think you’re going to need it. I’ll make you one while you change.”
“Change?” I ask, confused. I glance down. I’m in a sundress and a pair of white slip-on sneakers.
“The girl-next-door vibe is cute, but I want sexy.” His eyes openly travel down my body and back up, making me feel all but naked. I fight not to fold my arms over my chest to try and hide myself. Neither of us make a move as the silence starts to stretch in the room.
“Is there a problem?” His tone changes. The warning is clear in it. I open my mouth to say something, but no words come out. “You can change there.” He nods toward a door. “Go,” he snaps at me.
I jump when a loud banging sounds from behind me. We both turn toward the door I just came through. Randle walks over to answer it.
“I said I wasn’t to be disrupted,” he bites out as he pulls it open.
My eyes widen as I see the massive man standing on the other side of the door in a suit. He has to be the biggest man I’ve ever seen in person. I have no idea who he is, but all the fear and anxiety that was rising inside of me seconds ago washes away when his eyes lock on me right over Randle’s head. My breath catches.
This man isn’t classically handsome. His face is all hard lines like it’s been carved out of stone. His nose has a bump in it, I’m guessing from being broken before. Maybe a few times, actually. I’m not sure what it is about him, but I find him all kinds of attractive.
“I’m not here for you,” he says dismissively to Randle. “I’m here for her.”
“Me?” My voice squeaks. Yeah, I’m never pulling off sexy.
“She’s in a closed reading right now. You’ll need to wait downstairs in the hotel lobby. I take it you’re her bodyguard,” Randle says. He tries to be dismissive right back to the man, but it’s not going to work. It’s almost laughable that he thinks it would.
“No can do. I’ll be waiting wherever she is. If she orders me down to the lobby, then that’s where your reading will be taking place.”
He just went from attractive to oh my freaking God.
Chapter Two
Sawyer
“Maybe you don’t know who I am.” Randle Beckstrand puffs his chest and pulls himself up to his great height of five ten.
“Sure do. Randle Beckstrand. Two-time Oscar nominee and one-time Oscar winner for the movie Computation. You have the twenty-fourth highest box office gross of any director, averaging $85 million per film. However, it’s been seven years since your last hit. This current film you’re reading for has a $100 million budget, and the press says it might be your last chance before investors write you off and move on to the next hot director.”
I fold my arms across my chest and wait for his response. It takes a while. Both he and Sadie are stunned into silence.
“It’s $90 million. I average at least $100 million,” he finally says, but his chest has deflated like a popped balloon.
“I must’ve misread,” I lie. “Go ahead and do your reading.”
“We can’t do it while you’re here,” he whines, but he knows he’s defeated.
“Why? I’ve been on sets before. There are at least fifty people involved in filming a scene, even the sex ones, so just pretend I’m one of the lighting crew.”
Randle throws out a few more arguments, but my ears are closed. I tune him out and watch Sadie. I haven’t been on a lot of sets because celebrity work is my least favorite, and as the owner and head of Locke Security, I get to pick and choose what people I want to work with. On the whole, celebrities are spoiled babies who want to constantly be in the public eye while simultaneously complaining about the lack of privacy. One of our clients says he has a stalker but will call the paparazzi and leak restaurant and shopping excursions so he can stay in the tabloids. He and his pay-for-play girlfriend have stylists who plan their workout gear so that even their gym shots aren’t candid. It’s a world I don’t enjoy, but when Sadie’s assignment came across my desk, I had to work it.
“She’s a nice girl,” Benson had said in his call to me. “She’s not a regular celeb, and she’s really fucking scared. Be a pal and take this one on for me.”
“You still owe me for the off-the-books work I did to keep your judge safe,” I reminded him.
“Yeah. I know. Put this in the ledger in the credit column. Thanks, man, and I’ll buy you a beer next time.”
“At this point, it’s going to be a whole case.”
I’ve always been drawn to her, like millions of others, but the photo that accompanied the request showed her with a pain in her eyes that made me want to smash everything in my vicinity. I don’t know if it’s real pain. She’s a boss actress, so it could be made up, but it was enough to get me here to this hotel.
“Fine.” Randle tosses the script to Sadie. “Start reading. Maybe you’re not even the right person for this part.”
I open my mouth to tell him to straighten out his attitude, but Sadie holds up a finger. “Let’s do this.”
She must want the part. I settle my shoulders against the door and watch as she transforms herself. It’s astonishing. One minute she’s a quiet mouse, and the next minute she’s a siren. What had one of the broadsheets said about her? That she was a candle which time and experience had fanned into a flame and that the public hoped to see her burn eternally.
As I listen to her read the lines, I want to burn with her.
“You say you want me, but I haven’t seen any proof of it.” She peers under her lashes at Randle.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I have to clasp my hands behind my back because I’m filled with the urge to strike Randle down and not because he was an asshole earlier but because she’s looking at him like she wants to eat him up. Fuck. That should be me. Instead of learning how to fire a gun, read crowds, do profiles, I should’ve studied acting. Then I would have the privilege of being the object of that hot-ass look.
“I’ll do whatever you want. Just point me in the right direction.” Randle is not an actor. There’s not an ounce of believability in his lines.
Sadie runs a hand across her neck. My knees tremble. “That necklace of your mother’s…that belonged to my mother. I want it back.”
“The blue diamond? That’s her favorite. Let me give you something else. The Tiffany pearls would look beautiful on you.”
Sadie turns to the side, and I can only see her profile now. It’s still the most beautiful thing in the room.
“If you aren’t willing to do what I ask, simply say that, and I won't seek you out again.”
“I…Let me think about it.”
What a loser. He’s choosing his mother over Sadie? Just give her the damned necklace.
She shrugs and takes a seat. The side of her dress slides down far enough that you can see a hint of the ball of her shoulder. It’s one of the most erotic things I’ve ever seen. Sweat starts to bead across my forehead. Not popping a woody is taking every ounce of energy I’ve got.
“You know where to find me.”
Randle slaps his script against his hand. “Let’s move on to page 70.”
I shake my head and tell myself to pay attention. I’m hired to protect Sadie, not to fuck her.
“Seventy?” She flips the script. “The love scene?”
“Yeah. You haven’t done one before, and I want to see how comfortable you are in these settings. I once had an actress freeze up on me because she couldn’t have some guy between her legs on camera. You’re not going to have a problem with that, right?”
Oh fuck. I crack my knuckles. She might not have a problem, but I will.
Chapter Three
Sadie
The words on the page all start to blur together when I realize what he’s suggesting. Why the heck did I agree to this audition? I shouldn’t even be asking myself that question since I already know the answer. Everyone has been pushing me to expand my horizons. To be honest, I’m content in my romcom bubble. Since my mom is no longer in my life, I’m starting to wonder if acting is even something I want to do. It’s all I’ve ever known. There have never been any other options for me.
