Star Bright - Book 2 E-Book

Carla Coxwell

• Herausgeber: Revelry Publishing
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Book 2 of the Star Bright New Adult Romance Series

A New Adult Romance Story

Jenny's life is finally on track until her past catches up to haunt her.

***Due to sexually graphic content and language that some may find offensive, this book is intended for mature readers only***

Jenny finally feels that she is able to focus firmly on her future. Although she missed out on a chance to land a steady soap opera gig, she has made her feelings for Jon known and is eager to try out for more auditions.

However, her life hits some rough water when a ghost from her past returns to ruin her present. With threats looming over her head, Rich enters her life again as a saving grace. Now Jenny has a blooming movie career and her past firmly behind her.

But things are not always how they seem and rising fame comes with a price. Jenny discovers love doesn’t always work out the way that she plans and friends aren’t always the people she thinks they are. As Jenny navigates Hollywood, she finds herself struggling to fit in with her new life.

With the walls closing in around her, will Jenny be able to face the fear head on, or will she merely sink and drown under the waves?

Download the story to find out what happens.

Leseprobe

WARNING

This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY.

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Please store your files wisely where they cannot be accessed by underage readers.

Copyright 2016 by Revelry Publishing

All Rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known, hereinafter invented, without express written permission of the publisher.

DISCLAIMER

This book is a work of FICTION. It is not to be confused with reality. Neither the author nor the publisher or its associates assume any responsibility for any loss, injury, death or legal consequences resulting from acting on the contents in this book. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Every character in this book is over 18 years of age. The author’s opinions are not to be construed as the opinions of the publisher. The material in this book is for entertainment purposes ONLY. Enjoy.

Other Books by Carla Coxwell:

Fifty Recipes For Disaster New Adult Romance Series (This series precedes “Star Bright New Adult Romance Series”)

Trying to win a competition for best chef is cut-throat business. Kiara Sands has just won the opportunity of a lifetime. When she arrives at Fission, she has no idea just how much her life is going to change. She’s immediately introduced to Jenny Foster and Robbs Martin, her competitors in the cut throat competition. The only thing Kiara finds more distracting than Robbs’ hateful attitude is the handsome executive chef, Paul Weston. It doesn’t help matters that Paul is quite taken by Kiara, and showers her with more attention than he gives her competitors.

Torrid Exposure New Adult Romance Series

April is finished with school and ready to build a career. Coming from a well-to-do family, she has decided to reboot her life completely. With family scars too deep to mend, April craves a fresh start. But the past is harder to shake than April ever would have imagined. At the center of it all is Bennett, an old family friend who is the heir to a billionaire media mogul company. Bennett and April haven’t been able to stand each other since they were kids. But as the world shifts, the two of them discover the past might be the key to their future.

Devil's Advocate BBW MC New Adult Romance Series

When Kristie comes home from college, the last thing she is expecting is her world to be turned upside down by the appearance of her step-brother, Gray. Gray is rash, impulsive and breaks the law. Kristie’s mom asks if she can try to befriend Gray, in hopes to get him on the straight and narrow. The plan backfires, however, as Kristie finds herself falling for Gray. Is it possible he feels the same way? The connection between them threatens to tear down everything Kristie has ever held dear.

Obsessed Bounty Hunter Romance Series

Jacqui Schneider couldn't help it. Every time the memories of her family's brutal murder haunted her, she had to escape. The only thing that could replace her sorrow was sex... and lots of it. Depressed and with no goal in sight, Jacqui continued on with her self-deprecating lifestyle until it all changed one day. Uncle Max, an old family friend, appeared unannounced. Jacqui was astonished when Uncle Max revealed a secret to her about her father. From those few words, Jacqui's world turned completely upside down. She really didn't know her own father. In fact, she didn't even know much about Uncle Max, except that he visited them for a few days at a time over the years.

Get the latest update on new releases from the author at:

https://www.carlacoxwell.com/newsletter

This book is Part Two of the “Star Bright New Adult Romance Series”

Book 1

Torn between her feelings for her agent, Jon, and Rich, a charming bad boy who has ties in the movie industry, Jenny finds herself working through her own past to try to get a grip on her present. As she struggles to learn the lesson that in Hollywood not everyone is what they appear to be, Jenny tries to become a person that she can be proud of. Will she be able to find love and success in Hollywood? Or will she be dragged down by her past forever?

Book 2

Jenny finally feels that she is able to focus firmly on her future until a ghost from her past returns to ruin her present. Things are not always what they appear when dealing with rising fame. Jenny discovers love doesn’t always work out the way that she plans and friends aren’t always the people she thinks they are. With the walls closing in around her, will Jenny be able to face the fear head on, or will she merely sink and drown under the waves?

Book 3

Jenny finds herself lost in Hollywood, her personal life open to tabloid drama. She has fallen into the clutches of Rich, a man who wants nothing else from her but to ride her coat tails to fame and fortune. With Rich blackmailing her, Jenny feels her grasp on her own life fading.

Book 4

Time is running out for Jenny's chance of getting rid of Rich, her blackmailer. While working out a plan to escape his clutch, she uncovers details of his past that explain why Rich is the man that he is today. As she navigates her life and strives to leave her fear in the past, will she lose everything she has worked hard to achieve? Will Rich forever have control over her or will Jenny break free and come into her own?

A New Adult Romance Series

Star Bright

Book Two

By Carla Coxwell

Copyright Revelry Publishing 2016

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Other Books by Carla Coxwell

About the Author - Carla Coxwell

Connect with Carla Coxwell

Chapter One

THE FEAR crushes me. I feel it on my chest, alive and burrowing its way inside of me. I gasp for air and spin around. Robbs lurks behind me, somewhere in the shadows. He calls my name. His throat is raw and hoarse. He calls my name again, and I scream, kicking off the ground with my heels. The world spins around me, and all I can think about is my child. I have to protect Maggie.

But Robbs comes out of the darkness. His hands are outstretched. I scream again, wildly, hoping someone will come for me. But his hands press against my back, and the world swirls in different shades of red as I connect with the stairs. I fall down them, and pain lances through me like a sharp blade.

Suddenly I stop falling. My vision goes in and out. Someone cackles over me – a sick grin twisting their face. More faces appear, laughing at me. They are clowns, I realize, as the pain makes my stomach ache brutally.

One more face appears. Robbs looms over me with a sick grin. He lets out another loud laugh and suddenly everything fades to black.

I awaken with a start, jolting upright in my bed. My fingers are wrapped up in my T-shirt, and I am panting. My entire body is covered in a cold sweat, my hair is stuck to my face. I let out a trembling breath, looking around the room in a panic, trying to remember where I am. A wild glance over at the night table shows me it is a little past three in the morning. I feel groggy and sick, as if I am going to vomit. My eyes land on chocolates on my dresser, and I remember Kathy gave them to me in an attempt to cheer me up.

Kathy. I am in Hollywood. I remember everything in quick flashing images. Moving to Hollywood to try my luck at acting. Meeting Jon and Rich and quickly becoming torn between the two of them. Jon and Kathy dating. Rich and I sleeping together. Losing out on a part in a soap opera only to find out that Kathy landed one. Jon calling me in to tell me he had received a sex tape from Robbs.

I shut my eyes tightly. I have been trying so hard to move on from my past. The terrible things that I have done to people, like Kiara and Paul. I remember how I used my pregnancy to get what I wanted out of them. I was a terrible person. Since Robbs pushed me down the stairs, I have been trying to be on the straight and narrow. Coming to terms with the fact I had suffered at the hands of an emotional and physical relationship is not easy. Yet it is even harder when that person returns to torment you.

I get out of bed, padding my way toward the bathroom. Kathy is fast asleep on the other side of our small apartment, which we’ve nicknamed “The Dollhouse”. Her first day of shooting on the soap set is in the morning. A part of me wishes it was me who was heading to the studio, but it would have meant having to sleep with Rich for the part.

I step inside the bathroom and splash cold water on my face, trying to forget the nightmare. It is the same thing every night – the same terrible dream, a strange mix of memory and twisted horror movie imagery – that has kept me exhausted and out of sorts the past week. I look at myself in the mirror. The moon casts a shadow along the bathroom, making my features look haggard.

A week ago, Robbs returned to my life. The asshole had sent Jon a sex tape. He hadn’t said anything to Jon, just sent the tape. But as soon as I looked over and saw a scene from it, briefly, in the privacy of my bedroom after Jon sent me the email, I threw up. The sight of Paul and I entangled together was too much to bear. The threat is clear – I have this tape. I can ruin you at any moment. You thought you escaped but you will always be under my thumb.

Robbs and I had been so pleased with the plan originally. It was the perfect way to set-up Paul and put Kiara in her place. I had detested her for so long. It clouded my judgement. But now that lapse in judgement was coming back to bite me in the ass, big time.

I splash more water on my face to keep a panic attack from blooming. I have been locked up in my room the past week. Finally, Kathy asked what was going on and I told her. She knows about Robbs and filling in the blanks is easier than telling Jon the entire story. How do I tell him that I slept with Paul in a scheme to get back at Kiara? Why don’t you just paint Terrible Person on my head and be done with it? My feelings for Jon are so strong that if he decides not to speak to me anymore or drop me as a client, I would be heartbroken.

I turn off the faucet and sit down on the bathroom floor. The tiles are icy cold, and I draw my knees to my chest, closing my eyes. My past will forever haunt me. I could move anywhere in the world, and Robbs would be there, looming over me, a horrifying specter of my past.

I feel frozen, unsure how to plan out my next move. Rich had even called me yesterday although I can’t fathom why. Last time we hung out, he told me I had to sleep with him again for a soap opera part, and I told him to fuck off. Part of me couldn’t face Jon. I was unsure what to say to him or how to act around him. As my agent, he would want to discuss the tape. As a possible love interest, he would want to know more about the tape. It was a lose-lose situation.

I make my way back to bed. I tell myself I will call Rich in the morning. At least I won’t have to explain anything to him. And if he is an asshole, then perhaps letting out my pent-up aggression on him might serve me well.

Chapter Two

“There you are. I almost didn’t recognize you. You look...” Rich pauses, as though uncertain how to continue.

“Like a mess, I know,” I think to myself, but he’s in no position to comment on it.

I don’t give him a verbal reply but give him a short nod “hello” instead as I take a seat.

Rich sits down across from me. It is mid-afternoon the following day, and the coffee shop we are sitting in is a far cry from the one where I had told him off. That place was a bit of a dive and had served run-of-the-mill coffee. This place was high-end with coffee names I can’t even pronounce. I am also pretty sure I saw a famous reality star ordering in front of me when I came in earlier.

Rich looks great, as usual. My attraction to him, even though our last meeting had been so sour, is still strong. Today there seems to be something different about him. His suit looks new, and his eyes are a sparkling and bright, as if he is going to tell me something interesting.

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to return my call.” Rich takes a sip of his coffee.

“Me either,” I admit. “But I’ve had a rough week so you caught me with my guard down.”

He leans forward slightly, as if to tell me a secret. “Listen, I know our last meeting didn’t go so well. And I understand why. I wasn’t my best self then.”

“No, you weren’t,” I reply crisply. “You were a total prick.”

“I was. I see that now. I’ve missed you this week.”

I make a non-committal noise. The last week I have been solely thinking about myself, Paul, Robbs and Kiara, lost in the ghosts of my past. There has been little thinking of Rich, despite his being a jerk.

He clears his throat. “I know things got a little messy there, near the end, with the soap opera audition. But this week has been pretty eventful for me, and I’d like to make it up to you.”

“Make it up to me how?”

“There is this big blockbuster film about to hire some minor roles. Speaking roles and enough to get you noticed by some important players in town.”

“And...?”

“Well, I thought about a role for you,” Rich says. Is he being sincere? I wonder to myself. “I can get you an audition. I’m working on the hiring for the roles, too. It’s about a ninety-percent guarantee I can get you this role, Jenny.”

I stare at him, feeling unsure. On one hand, I want to jump at this chance. A role in a blockbuster film? That will bounce my income up considerably. Worrying about jobs will fade away quickly. On the other hand, what if Rich is going to tell me the other ten percent is only promised by sleeping with him? I bite my bottom lip, looking around the coffee shop, as if some answer will pop out at me.

“I know you are hesitant. I understand why. But think about it, at the very least. It is a big deal, after all.”

“You’ll have to go through my agent,” I reply on a whim.

A shadow crosses Rich’s face, briefly. “Go through Jon?”

“Yes, that’s right. He’s still my agent, and I want to go through the proper channels. You say this is a legit offer, right? So then this shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Right,” Rich replies. “Of course. I’ll go through Jon then.”

I take a sip of my coffee and force a smile, knowing this means I’ll have to talk to Jon. “Great.”

<<<>>>

Jon calls me a few hours later, leaving me a message to come in to see him to discuss an interesting offer that crossed his table. I dread the encounter. There is simply no way that Jon will not want to discuss the sex tape. I take a cab to see him and arrive ten minutes early with my heart pounding.

As I make my way to his office, I ask myself what I am so afraid of. I realize it is his judgement. If I begin to tell him why the sex tape exists, then I worry I will have to explain the rest. Drudging up the past is something I am avoiding. Yet it feels as if I soon will have no choice if I want to keep hope alive that Jon and I will be an item.

His assistant is at her desk. Her hair seems to grow larger each time I see her. Today it is swept up in a large bun. Her lips are bright pink to match the pink sunflower dress she’s wearing. Her nails are a neon yellow, and she gives a wave when she sees me. I wonder where in the world Jon found her. She buzzes me in and leads me to the office.

I step inside, looking around. Jon is pouring himself a cup of coffee at the other side of the office. He looks up at me when I enter and smiles. His smile is guarded. He is unsure how to approach me. I give him a smile back, although I am sure it looks forced.

“Jenny. Long time no talk,” he says.

The last time I was in here, he had asked me about the sex tape. I merely asked him to send me the email and then bolted, avoiding his calls ever since. Now he is looking at me and I feel naked. I wonder if he watched the video. I feel mortified.

“I got your call,” I say, sitting down on the couch near his desk. I am hoping that if I keep this unofficial, he will not feel prone to lecture me about the tape. He sits down on the chair across from me, and my heart constricts. I hoped he would sit next to me. Now I feel as if I am about to be interviewed.

Jon quickly recounts hearing from Rich and the offer he and I discussed earlier. I pretend I have no knowledge of it and when Jon wraps up, I study him. He looks tired and his hair is messy. His glasses rest on the bridge of his nose. He is looking at me kindly, as if I am a wounded bird he wants to pick up and brush off. My heart skips a beat. I’m struck by how handsome he is and how much I still have feelings for him.

“That’s an amazing offer,” I reply slowly. “What do you make of it?”

“That depends. Am I still your agent? I know we had been discussing you possibly finding other representation but we haven’t mentioned it since...” He trails off and I swallow my sense of worry.

“I think you should still represent me,” I reply. “At least for now, if that is okay. I haven’t exactly looked into going with anyone else.”

“That’s fine. I think we still have some things we need to discuss. We haven’t talked about the email I got a week ago.”

I shift in my chair, my skin suddenly itchy. “Do we have to?”

“If you get this role on this movie, and Rich isn’t pulling our leg with how much press it could possibly give you, then this person who sent the tape could go to the press. He could leak the tape. If you know who sent it, then we should contact them. Maybe even get a lawyer now before it really does comes back to ruin any future opportunities for you.”

I think of seeing Robbs in some court room, or a lawyer’s office. I think of his grinning face as he leaks the video to the Internet. Everyone seeing me having sex. I shudder.

“If we poke this person, they could just fight back against us,” I say. “It might be better if we just ignore it.”