think this will help with my acting?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It can’t hurt.”
There was a role coming up in an Anthony Price film that she would give anything for, and her agent had yet to get her an audition. But maybe if she had the right connections…
“I have a proposition to throw back at you,” she countered.
Dark brows drew together as his eyes narrowed. “You make me nervous when you get that look. Last time you had a lightbulb moment we ended up with a cappuccino machine in the break room that shot mystery liquid all over the walls and the floor.”
She waved a hand through the air. “Minor technical difficulty.”
He sighed. “Let’s hear it, Callie.”
“You talk to Olivia Dane about getting me an audition for this upcoming film of Anthony’s and I’ll pose for you.”
If Noah called the Grande Dane of Hollywood, who just so happened to be their number-one client and mother to the hotshot producer on the new film Callie was aching to get a part in, Callie would forever be grateful.
“I’m not asking you to have her give me a part,” she went on when he was silent. “I just want an audition to show them what I can do.”
God, she hated to sound as if she was begging, but, well…she was. She’d come to L.A. to pursue a dream, not to get this close and have a door slammed in her face.
Callie believed in fate and it was no coincidence she worked for the same plastic surgeon who catered to all of the needs of the most recognized woman in Hollywood.
“Please,” she said, offering a sweet smile.
His brows tipped down as he tilted his head. Damn, he had that George Clooney sultry look down pat.
“Your agent can’t get you an audition?” he asked.
Callie shrugged. “She claims this isn’t the right role for me. But I can’t prove myself if I don’t get the chance.”
He reached out, placed those large, masculine hands on her shoulders and all sorts of happy tingles spread through her. Mercy, she wanted those hands on her without the barrier of clothing.
One dream at a time, Callie.
“Your agent has been in this business for a while,” he told her, his voice softening as if he were trying to explain something to a toddler. “Maybe she knows what she’s talking about.”
“I don’t see how it would hurt,” she insisted. “If I don’t get it, I’m no worse off. But there’s that chance I could land this and launch into something I’ve been dreaming of my entire life.”
Dark gray eyes searched her face. “I can’t call her. I know how bad you want this, but I couldn’t live with myself if I threw you into a lifestyle that isn’t as glamorous as you think it is. You haven’t been in town that long, Callie. Why don’t you ease into this? Anthony Price is a big deal.”
No matter how sexy Noah was, she refused to let him ruin her dream. “Fine. I’ll get this audition my own way.”
He dropped his hands and placed them on his narrow hips. “Let your agent do the grunt work, Callie. Stars weren’t born overnight.
“You’re a beautiful woman. You won’t have a problem getting attention.”
Something very warm spread through her at his declaration. To think a man like Noah Foster thought she was beautiful, a man who created beauty for a living, was one of those compliments she’d keep locked away in her heart forever.
“I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars to pose.”
Callie froze at his abrupt offer. “Fifty thousand? Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?”
He chuckled. “You know, when you’re shocked, your accent becomes really strong.”
“I don’t have an accent,” she told him. “And get back to that offer. Are you kidding me?”
His smile faded. “I don’t kid about business or money.”
Fifty thousand could go so far. Her parents needed a new roof desperately and she could buy them a second car, something reliable. God, how could she turn down this offer?
As she ran through the pros and cons—and there were definitely more pros—Noah’s eyes studied her in that way that always made her nervous. For one thing, he was a Hollywood surgeon to the stars and she always felt as if he was analyzing her. Another reason was because, well, she found her boss drop-dead, curl-your-toes-into-the-carpet sexy. Why on earth the man was still single was beyond her.
Maybe he slobbered when he kissed—that was a total turnoff. Or maybe he was terrible between the sheets.
As she studied him, she knew there was no way a man like Noah Foster would be a slacker in the sack. The man exuded sex appeal, and he looked so amazingly perfect with clothes on she couldn’t even imagine what he did to a birthday suit.
Noah offered that killer, dimpled smile as if to reassure her of her future. He was not fighting fair with those damn twin dimples, and she had a feeling her resolve was going to crumble about as fast as her panties would drop if he’d offer that break-room fantasy of hers.
Yeah, she knew she couldn’t turn down that money. As much as she’d wanted him to talk to Olivia, she was grateful for the fact he had so much confidence in her to offer such a large amount.
“I’ll do the ad,” she told him. “If you’re sure my look is what you want plastered on billboards.”
Crazy thought, but whatever he wanted. He was the one paying.
“You’re exactly the look, Callie. I want to capture that youthfulness, that innocence.”
Callie laughed. “I’m not that innocent.”
“You moved here less than a year ago and you grew up in the Midwest.” His lids lowered slightly over those dark eyes as he leaned forward just enough to get into her personal space. “You’re practically still a virgin.”
Callie’s mouth went dry because the word virgin instantly brought to mind sex, and the word sex hovered in her mind while Noah stood this close with his bedroom eyes locked onto hers.
“I assure you, I’m not a virgin.”
Shut up, Callie.
“Good to know,” he told her with that cocky grin. “But I’m glad you’ve given in to the pictures.”
“Have you ever had to fight for anything you want or do you just flash that smile?” she joked.
Something dark passed over his face; his smile faltered, and he swallowed. But just as quick as it came, it passed. “You’d be surprised by what I’ve had to fight for and what I’ve lost.”
None of her business, she told herself. Everybody
