Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,207

Last year alone my movies made one-point-seven billions dollars net—and that was on revenues of eight-point-two billion. Look around you. This home might impress you but it isn’t my only one—I have two others. I am powerful. I don’t need some document signed by a girl I just met to make me feel that way.”

“Look, I didn’t—”

“If you want to leave, you can. No hard feelings,” he said, spreading his hands. “It doesn’t have to be complicated. There are some things I have to do to protect myself. It’s just the way my life is. But if you think you won’t get anything out of this, that’s where you’re wrong.”

“What will I get—lots of sex?” I said sarcastically, my heart thrumming in my chest.

He moved even closer to me. I could almost feel his breath on my cheek as he looked down at me. “More than you ever dreamed—if you want. I’ll have you begging me for more before the ink dries on that contract.” I swallowed hard, and tried to remember to breathe. Leo still hadn’t moved, his scent wafting over me—the sweetness of the wine, and something spicy.

“I wasn’t being serious about the sex thing,” I mumbled, as my heart raced.

“Do you want to stay?” he said coolly.

I nodded yes. And not just because it was my job. If only it was that simple, but the electric feeling surging up and down my spine wasn’t about a job well done. It was about the way Leo was making me feel.

A smile spread across his chiseled face. “Good,” he said softly. He picked up his drink. “So—do you want the tour? Most people want the tour.”

I gathered myself as best I could from the heat of the moment. “I’m not most people,” I said, which made him chuckle.

“No, Sophie Adams, you most certainly are not.”

The mention of my false name brought me back to job at hand. Find out more about this guy and his ways with women.

“All I want to see is L.A.,” I said.

“Is that all?” he said, amused.

I nodded. “Show me that view.”

He extended his arm. “After you.”

We walked across the glossy floors to the large doors that slid open on the balcony that wrapped around half the floor.

I leaned on the steel railing, looking over the edge. The street was so far below, tiny little dots of life. Ahead was the glittering lights of the city, sparkling like jewelry.

“So this is a million dollar view,” I said, the breeze light on my bare skin.

“It cost a little more than that,” he grinned. Leo leaned on the railing next to me, his forearm brushing mine. “What other auditions have you been on?”

I tucked my chin, embarrassed. “None. That was my first one.”

“You don’t say,” he said, turning to face me. “I never would have guessed.”

“Don’t tease me.”

“But I’m so good at it.”

“And don’t be arrogant, either,” I said, fixing him with my most stern expression.

“You know, if you’d played the part this well at the audition, you might have stood a chance. At least for a callback.”

“Well, I don’t have a lot of experience,” I said. He raised a brow. “In acting,” I clarified. My nipples suddenly felt stiff and I felt heat rise to my cheeks.

“Luckily for you, you’re standing next to someone who knows a thing or two about acting, auditions, casting…a general knowledge of the movie business, some would say.”

“No kidding?” I said. “Hmm, you know it’s so easy to forget what you do for a living.” When I smiled, he smiled back.

“Honestly, though. I could give you some tips. You weren’t as bad as you think.”

“My roommate says I should get over it,” I said. “She’s a dancer and jokes that her full-time job is getting rejections.”

“She’s not altogether wrong,” Leo said. “There’s a lot of rejection in the industry. It’s not for the weak hearted.”

“Good thing I’m strong, then,” I said, and believe me, it was all false confidence.

Leo looked at me carefully, his eyes scanning every inch of my face, and then down to my hips and waist. “I don’t think you’re an actress.”

“Wha—what? Yes I am. I mean, I'm trying to be.”

“You either are or you aren’t, and I don’t think you’re an actress,” he said, inching closer to me. “You hadn’t even heard of The Groundlings, and everybody who’s starting up in acting knows about The Groundlings. So why don’t you tell me what you’re really here to do.”

I couldn’t speak. I don’t think I moved. “Come on,