Page 20 of Behind the Scenes

“Help her with what?” he asked, happy at least that she’d listened to him about having her bodyguards around whenever she left the apartment.

Carla stood up to her full height and smiled. “Alexis decided she wanted new furniture. It’s due here this morning, so she got the guys up early to help move it all in.”

She hurried down the hall and ducked into the kitchen out of sight, leaving Hunter standing there in the hallway feeling disgusted. Last night, he thought he’d seen a different side to Alexis, but he’d been wrong. She was exactly what he expected when he got this assignment.

A spoiled diva who thought waking up an entire group of men to move her furniture because she wanted to redo her office was anything close to okay.

Spoiled and bored.

He wanted nothing to do with that shit. Closing the bathroom door behind him, he stripped and let himself enjoy a hot shower as he tried to put all he’d thought about Alexis hours before out of his mind. He should have known better than to let himself think she could be more than a shallow movie star.

People were what they were. They couldn’t be blamed for that, even if Hunter felt disappointed that Alexis had turned out to be merely what the rest of the world thought she was.

Well, maybe not that bad since he had no evidence of her sleeping with a married man or refusing to help a poor relative. It didn’t matter who Alexis Marchand was anyway. He had a job to do, so he’d do it. He didn’t have to like or respect her.

After the longest shower he’d gotten to enjoy in months, Hunter headed toward the kitchen and the smell of coffee brewing. On his way, he saw the bodyguards moving furniture into the room that had been Alexis’s office.

But what they carried in wasn’t a new desk or anything else for an office. He still hadn’t seen Alexis yet that morning, so he asked one of them, “Who’s with Alexis?”

The man whose name he didn’t remember at the moment wiped the sweat from his brow and pointed down the hall. “No one. She’s in her room.”

At least he didn’t have to worry about that or chasing her down somewhere. The whole furniture thing still disgusted him, so he walked to the kitchen for a much-needed cup of coffee. It probably wouldn’t put him in a better mood about everything, but at least it would help him shake the last bit of sleep from his head.

Thankfully, everyone else in the house seemed preoccupied doing Alexis’s busy work, so he could drink his coffee alone. Staring out the window in the living room, he watched as the people of the Upper West Side headed off toward work or school or wherever they may have been going. He doubted many of them had the luxury of living in a penthouse apartment like Alexis and her assistants, and yet he suspected those people appreciated what they had more than she did.

“The sooner I find out who’s stalking her and finish this assignment, the better.”

When he finished his coffee and the last trace of sleep had left him, he walked back toward the kitchen to start his day. He needed to get copies of those letters from the LAPD first. A call to his old partner would do the trick. Mike never had a problem helping him on cases when he could, and Hunter doubted this time would be any different. If anything, he suspected the LAPD would be happy for the help to get this case off their desks since the longer it remained unsolved, the worse it looked for them.

While he stood at the sink reminiscing about his days back in LA, Alexis joined him in the kitchen. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to see her all smiles for him.

“Good morning, Hunter. Come and see what just arrived!” she said excitedly.

But he had no interest in seeing anything. He didn’t want to have to stand around staring at her purchases and complimenting her on the early morning shopping haul.

“I’m good. I’m sure if you’ve seen one room, you’ve seen them all,” he said, dismissing her as he washed his coffee cup.

Unfortunately, that answer didn’t dissuade her. She grabbed his arm as he turned to leave, and he looked down with surprise at where her hand sat. She may have been used to everyone around her fawning all over her expensive things, but he had no interest in joining her this morning.

Smiling up at him, she said, “I really want you to see it. I insist!”

There was no point in fighting her, and if he ever wanted to get to work, he figured it would be easier to just go along with her on this. He’d pretend to like whatever she showed him, and then he’d be free to get on with his day.

Alexis tugged his arm to lead him to the room, stopping in front of the door. Turning to face him, she beamed, “I can’t wait to show you this.”

Forcing a smile, he nodded. “Okay. I’m here, so let’s see it.”

She opened the door and there in front of him he saw a brand new bedroom set, ready for whoever would stay there. Lauren hurried around the bed finishing up as she straightened the tan and white bedspread.

“Well, what do you think?” Alexis asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.

“It’s nice,” Hunter said, not really caring about her furniture buying spree.

She walked into the room and spread her right arm out like those models on game shows did when they showed off the prizes contestants could win. With a huge smile, she said, “It’s yours.”

Hunter could honestly say he’d been rendered speechless very few times in his life, and most of those times involved something horrible and grisly on the job. Now, as he stood there in the doorway to the room she’d made for him, no words came.

She’d left him speechless.

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