The Prada Paradox by Julie Kenner Read Free Book Online Page A

my way to upset her. I hurt her once. I’m not going to do it again.”

    “You’re a damn pansy-ass. Honestly, I don’t know why I keep working with you.”

    “Because I’m such a charmer,” Blake said, and this time the grin was real.

    “That must be it.” Elliot looked at his watch, then pulled out his cell phone, a sure sign that the conversation was over. “You got a big day tomorrow. Get some rest. We’ll clean this mess up later.”

    “I’m sure we will.” But the sarcasm was lost on Elliot, who was already telling someone on the other end of the phone to “Get him on the horn now, baby. We got things to talk about.”

    Blake just shook his head, not sure if the gesture was exasperation or fondness. The voice from behind startled him.

    “You got a live one there.”

    He turned to find Tobias, his gaze fixed on Elliot.

    “Don’t I know it.” As much as Elliot drove him crazy, though, he couldn’t completely fault the man. He’d signed with Elliot back when his only interest in Hollywood was getting fight-scene choreography work. And even though Elliot’s clients had been limited to actors, he’d taken Blake on simply because they’d gotten along and because Elliot thought that someone needed to show those effeminate action hero types how to really kick some butt.

    When Tobias had offered Blake an on-camera role, Elliot had truly stepped up to the plate, negotiating a sweet contract and making sure that the public knew damn well that there was a new star in the Hollywood sky. Blake still wasn’t entirely sure he was comfortable with being labeled a star months before his first movie even opened, but he couldn’t argue with Elliot’s results. He’d already landed foreign commercials, follow-up roles, and several endorsements.

    He’d accepted the role because he’d been financially strapped. Not so anymore, and that was in large part due to Elliot’s advocacy.

    The man might drive him crazy, but he was damn sure effective.

    “Let’s walk,” Tobias said.

    Blake fell in step beside him. With his scruffy beard and teddy-bear build, Tobias Harmon usually seemed like the least dangerous man on the planet. But he was also the kind of guy you didn’t see coming. In a town that watched carbs more carefully than the stock market, Tobias’s well-known glutton tendencies made him a bit of an anomaly. He was invariably invited to all the best parties. And yet he never quite fit in.

    Blake had liked the man from the first moment they’d met. “What’s on your mind?”

    The director glanced at him, but didn’t break stride. “Do you know when I met Devi?”

    “Years ago, I assume. You didTaming Lily when she was, what? Ten?”

    “I met her five years before that. She was five. Just finished with Spielberg, and I wanted her in my next project. We met at a hotel while she was doing the publicity dog-and-pony show. Her mom looked wiped out, but Devi was as fresh as a flower.”

    One of the production assistants waved at them, then rushed over with a clipboard.

    “She’s a professional,” Blake said, as Tobias started to scribble his name on various sheets in the mile-high stack of papers. She’d grown up in the loving glow of camera flashes. There’d been a few catty remarks from the occasional reporter, sure. But for the most part, she’d never had a reason to do anything but soak in the attention. Not until that son of a bitch assaulted her, anyway.

    Just thinking about it made Blake’s blood boil. They hadn’t been dating at the time—hell, they hadn’t even met back then—but he’d seen the damage that the bastard had done to her. It both broke his heart and made him want to lash out and hurt someone. No, not someone.Him.

    And so help him…if the police ever managed to track the guy down…

    Well, a background in martial arts could be damn useful at times.

    Of course, if he was going to kick anyone’s ass, he supposed it should be his own. After all, Devi had mostly recovered from her attack. She was off the drugs, back out