Dirty by Lucia Jordan Read Free Book Online Page A

Marielle finished the afternoon table
read with Raven, she walked with him to the parking lot. "So I'll
meet you back here first thing in the morning. Should I wear any
particular type of clothing?"
    "If you want to make me happy" -- he gave her
one of Maestro's brooding glares -- "come naked."
    "I'd be arrested on the way over." She
glanced over at the set, where the crew was packing away everything
that needed to be secured and saw Vanessa talking angrily to
someone on her mobile. "What happens when your co-star arrives next
week, Raven?"
    "I lock you in my trailer and keep you as my
muse." He touched her cheek. "And take very long lunch hours and
breaks."
    He didn't sound as if he was joking but she
pretended he was. "I'll need to see the pay scale for that."
    "Inspiration is priceless." He looked as if
he wanted to kiss her but merely brushed his thumb across her lips
before he smiled. "See you tomorrow."
    When Marielle arrived at her apartment
building, she saw Jilly Sanders hovering outside the front entrance
and smiled as she walked up. "Well this is a nice surprise. What
are you doing here?"
    The smile her friend gave her seemed
strained. "I was in the neighborhood. Got a cup of coffee and a few
minutes to talk?"
    "Sure." She unlocked the entry door. "Come on
up."
    She started a fresh pot of coffee and put
some shortbread on a plate before she joined Jilly in the living
room. "I thought you were out job-hunting today."
    Her friend made a face. "I got a job."
    "Hey, that's great. Have a cookie."
    "No, thanks. My stomach's kind of in knots
right now." Jilly wandered around the room, inspecting Marielle's
framed watercolors and shelf of scripts from the films she'd worked
on. "How did things go with Vanessa Newell today?"
    "Not great. She really brought me back to
placate James Raven, which is really…" Her voice trailed off as she
saw guilt flicker across Jilly's face. "Not news to you at all.
Jilly?"
    "She hired me to replace you. She told me
about everything and then made me watch you with Raven on her
monitor." She hunched her shoulders and stared at the floor. "She
called you a starfucker."
    "Really." Marielle heard her coffee maker
beep and retreated to the kitchen to compose herself. When she
returned to the living room with her coffee tray she smiled at
Jilly. "I'd add some brandy to it but I have to get up early. Six
a.m. star slut set call."
    Her friend looked miserable. "Is it true? Are
you sleeping with him?"
    "I've never slept with Raven." She filled
their mugs. "We were too busy having sex. Cream and two sugars,
right?"
    "Marielle!" Jilly threw up her hands. "How
could you be so stupid?"
    "That sounds like Vanessa coming out of your
mouth." She sat down and helped herself to a cookie. "Maybe you
should gargle."
    Her friend flushed and sat. "I'm sorry. It's
just not like you. Having an affair on a set with someone like him?
You have to know he's only using you. You would not believe how
much that director despises you now. She's going to burn you for
this if the last thing she does."
    Marielle gave her a sad smile. "Why do you
think she hired you?"
    Jilly's blue eyes widened. "What?"
    "You're a great P.A.. Any production would be
lucky to have you on," she said. "But when was the last time a
director made you watch a scene rehearsal?"
    "Never." Her friend's color went from pink to
bright red. "That vicious harpy. She's trying to bust up our BFF.
Well, she's messed with the wrong people." She jerked her cell
phone out of her purse and began dialing a number.
    "Wait." Marielle grabbed her hand. "If you
quit she'll just hire someone else and manipulate them. I need you
to keep an eye on Vanessa -- without letting her know that we've
talked."
    "I'd be like a double agent." Jilly's anger
morphed into an evil grin. "While she's giving me the dirt on you,
we'll be getting the jump on her." She reached over and gave her a
one-armed hug. "What was I thinking? You're so smart."
    If I was, Marielle thought, no one