Chapter 2

Chapter Two

For a solid minute, all Juliette could do was stand there in a bit of shock.

Her new client had just heard her bitching.

Her very loud bitching.

There was a real possibility that Simon was going to go inside, call his manager who, in turn, would call Vanessa, and she would be fired.

"Maybe I should just put the rest of my stuff back in the car," she mumbled, but before she could, Simon came back out, waving at her like he genuinely had just spotted his new best friend.

Great.

"Have you eaten lunch yet?" he asked, jogging back over and picking up her carry-on. "I was just going to make myself a sandwich and it would be easy enough to make two." He was smiling from ear to ear. "Don't be shy. I'm just a normal guy like everyone else. Come on in and let's get you settled!"

Then he was gone again and Juliette still couldn't make herself move.

Naturally, Simon came back again, still smiling. He stopped in front of her, resting his hands on his hips. "Okay, how about we have a conversation right here to put your mind at ease?"

She meant to respond, but he was already talking again.

"I hate travel days too. Sometimes it feels like everything goes wrong and it's frustrating. But when you get to your destination and can relax? It's all worth it!" He motioned to the house. "And this place is amazing. You're going to love it. You'll have the entire upper level to yourself. There are four bedrooms for you to choose from, but I highly recommend the one in the back corner. It has a king-size bed, its own en suite, and a fantastic view. But the choice is totally up to you."

Words were swirling in her mind, but she couldn't seem to make her mouth work.

Probably because you're afraid to say something stupid. Again.

His expression turned thoughtful. "You're shy. Or possibly embarrassed because I heard your mini tantrum." He shrugged. "It's not a big deal. You didn't know anyone was listening and you're entitled to be frustrated and express that frustration. Again, for the record, we didn't realize the road up to the house was going to be quite so treacherous. I sincerely apologize for any stress it caused you."

And still she couldn't speak.

What he did next took her completely by surprise. He picked up her last small bag in one hand and then hooked his free arm with hers and began to gently walk her toward the house.

"I can walk," she blurted out, and immediately hated her harsh tone. "Sorry."

"No apology necessary. I hoped that would be the move to snap you out of your funk," he said, his smile back. "Please come inside so you can relax. I promise you're not going to have to get back in the car or drive down the mountain again for two weeks unless you really and truly want to."

It wasn't like he was saying anything outlandish or surprising—knowing what she did about him—but she could already tell that Simon Bennett was nicer than the average celebrity. Besides carrying in her luggage for her, something no other client had ever even offered to do, he was also offering to make her lunch. He didn't offer for someone else to make her lunch, but to make it himself.

What's wrong with him? What made him this way?

"I'm a city driver," she said as they walked around to the back of the house. "You can put me in the middle of Manhattan or any major city and I can drive in the craziest of traffic jams without an issue. But that road…"

"Yeah, it was more than we were expecting too. Although I'll bet driving down the mountain won't be nearly as scary."

He paused and motioned for her to go into the house first.

"Oh, wow…you have this set up as a studio already," she commented, cautiously stepping into the space. There was a piano and a line of guitars, along with a large sectional and a pool table, another seating area, and a kitchen. "This is a brilliant use of the space."

Behind her, Simon closed the door and came to stand beside her. "I had to rent the piano, but I probably would have been okay without it. This was supposed to be more vacation than work, but I needed to write more than I needed to rest, so…"

Nodding, Juliette looked around a bit more. "Okay, so this is the lower level?"

"It is. There's also a bedroom down that hallway, plus a laundry room and a full bathroom." He grabbed her suitcase and carry-on and walked toward the hall. "And an elevator."

She grabbed the rest of her things and followed him. It looked like a barn door, but when he slid it open, there was indeed an elevator behind it. "I'm not going to lie; I'm a little relieved because the thought of lugging all this up the stairs…"

"I never would have brought us in this way if there wasn't an elevator. We could've just as easily gone through the front door, but with where you were parked, the lower-level door was closer."

They stepped onto the elevator, and Simon closed the door and pushed the button.

"I spoke to your assistant, Nikki. Is she here?"

"She's currently at the aquarium with her partner and their son," he explained. "They're staying in the guest house." He paused and laughed softly. "I know they could have stayed here too—the house is certainly large enough—but Nikki wanted their family to have their own space and privacy." He shrugged. "I still think they could have had that here in the house, but their son, Alex, is five and a little rambunctious. I'm not sure if they were trying to protect me or him."

That made her laugh. "My nephew is six and the last time I stayed with my sister and her husband, I fantasized about going to a hotel. I adore Brandon, but he has way too much energy sometimes."

"That's what kids are supposed to be like, right?" The doors slid open and Simon stepped back to let her out first. "Why don't you walk around up here and let me know which room you prefer? Like I said outside, there are four, and…"

Juliette walked down the hall to the back bedroom and smiled. "This is the room you were talking about, isn't it?" she asked over her shoulder.

"It is." He walked into the room with her luggage rolling behind him. "I almost consider this like a second master bedroom. I want you to be comfortable, and this room really has everything you could want in a home away from home."

She laughed again. "This room is almost as big as my apartment back in New York, so, um…yeah. This is definitely everything I could want."

For a moment, Simon didn't say anything, but he was watching her with a smile.

Actually, he watched her for so long that she started to squirm.

"What?" she said with a little too much snap. "I mean…why are you watching me like that?"

He shrugged. "It was nice to see you start to relax with me. And smile. I was afraid you were going to frown the entire time."

Now she did frown. "Entire time? I've been here for all of seven minutes." But she felt her lips start to twitch. "Sorry. I'm just a little…"

Simon held up a hand to stop her. "You're whoever you are," he said. "And that's totally fine. I didn't expect you to show up here and be completely comfortable with me. We just met. I do pride myself on putting people at ease, and some take a little longer than others. So…take your time, Juliette."

"Um…I actually go by Jules…"

He grinned. "I know." Then he turned and walked out of the room. "I'm heading downstairs to make lunch. Feel free to join me after you unpack."

"Um…okay. Thanks!" But he was already gone. With a soft sigh, Juliette turned and looked around the room. It really was almost as big as her apartment, but way more soothing. This was all soft grays and lavender, crisp white trim, plush carpeting, an enormous window, and a bathroom that rivaled a luxury spa. "This definitely isn't going to be a hardship."

That was her first thought. The second? She could unpack later.

Placing her purse on the bed, she left the room and decided to check out the others up here. It didn't take long to realize Simon was right about which one was the best. The other three were perfectly fine, but they each only had queen-size beds, two of them shared a bathroom, and none of them had the view hers did.

"Okay, so he doesn't lie and he genuinely wants me to be comfortable," she murmured as she walked back to her room. And as great as that was, it was still wildly unfamiliar to her. All of her previous clients had an agenda and either dark secrets or bizarre habits, and most of them she didn't catch onto right away. So, as nice as Simon was, she just had to keep her guard up so there wouldn't be any unwelcome surprises.

In the past, she'd dealt with clients' infidelities, drug addictions, sex addictions, nasty hygiene habits, eating disorders, and, in one particular case, physical abuse. Simon Bennett might be the poster boy for good behavior and being a friend to everyone, but that usually meant there was something big he was trying to hide.

The next few weeks were going to be spent getting to know each other and working on a plan moving forward for him and the documentary crew. The more Juliette had read in the file Vanessa emailed her, the more she felt like this was a glorified babysitting gig. Still, beggars couldn't be choosers, so…here she was.

Before going downstairs to join him, she took a moment to freshen up. The drive from the airport had been long, and then the drive up the mountain had terrified her to the point that she'd cried. So maybe taking a few extra minutes to simply breathe and relax wasn't the worst thing she could do. And fifteen minutes later, she felt brave enough to head downstairs.

She found Simon in the main kitchen, but she stood back and observed for a minute. The man was attractive. That was a given. He had that rumpled look about him right now—sandy brown hair with gorgeous and undoubtedly natural highlights all askew, a scruffy jaw, and it didn't seem possible for a plain pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt to look so good, but they did. He was tall and lean and if she went for nice guys—or clients—she'd be in serious trouble. Fortunately for her, she seemed to only gravitate toward guys waving huge red flags.

And she'd never get involved with a client.

Too messy.

"Hey! I'm glad you came down. I made a couple of turkey clubs." He held up a plate to show her. "I know you and Nikki spoke about food so we could make sure you had things you liked stocked here, so I consulted the list before making your sandwich. I hope that's okay."

Seriously, was this guy for real?

"It's fine, Simon. Thank you. You really didn't have to make anything for me. I don't expect you to wait on me."

"It's really not like that," he said, grabbing a bag of chips from the pantry. "I was already making myself something. So tomorrow, if you're making lunch for yourself, feel free to make an extra sandwich or salad or bowl of soup for me. I'm not fussy." He put the bag down on the table and then grabbed their plates from the kitchen island.

Hopefully tomorrow Nikki would be with them, so this didn't feel so…awkward.

No, not awkward. That wasn't the word.

"I also grabbed you a bottle of black cherry soda. It was on the list, and I have to admit, I thought I was the only one who still drank that." Smiling, he held out a chair for her. "You have excellent taste. We're going to get along great!"

Intimate. This felt intimate.

Yeah, Nikki was going to most definitely need to be here until Juliette got more comfortable with Simon's level of…

"Juliette?"

Oh, right. He was waiting for her.

"Thanks," she murmured before taking her seat. Simon sat across from her and, naturally, was smiling.

"So," he said, picking up his sandwich. "Tell me about yourself. What made you want to become a publicist?"

It was on the tip of her tongue to say something snarky about how it was too late for a job interview, but kept that to herself. Instead, she gave him the short version of her resume.

"I've always been someone who saw the potential in others. What I learned early on was that it wasn't something people saw in themselves. My best friend's family had a PR firm that I interned with while I was in high school, and it just fit. At first, I was assisting the senior publicists, but I gained a lot of knowledge from shadowing them. I saw what they were doing right and what they were doing wrong." She picked up her sandwich. "Honestly, I never felt the need to try another career; I just felt at home with that kind of work. It's like second nature for me."

He nodded and Juliette was certain that was the end of that and took a bite of her sandwich.

Of course, it was delicious. The perfect turkey to bacon ratio, and the bread was toasted exactly the way she liked it.

"I'm guessing the PR firm is Prestige and the best friend is Vanessa," he said casually. "Is that why she didn't fire you after the video and nude photos of Roxie got out?"

Well…crap.

Normally, Simon wasn't a confrontational guy. There wasn't a point to it. But…he always had Nikki do a little research when someone new joined his team, because if he was going to be working closely with anyone—like Juliette Bellucci—he wanted to know the kind of person he was dealing with.

As soon as he'd left Juliette upstairs, he'd pulled out his phone and read the report Nikki had sent him a week ago. Because he had no idea how soon she'd be joining him, he essentially speed-read the entire thing and got the gist of it.

And from everything he found out, he was skeptical that she was a good fit.

But…he also believed in giving people a chance. And knowing what he did about the whole Roxie situation, he doubted any publicist could reign that train wreck in. However, he was also curious to see how much accountability Juliette was going to take for it.

Or how much she was going to place blame on everyone else.

She finished chewing before taking a sip of her soda and then gently clearing her throat. When she met his gaze, it was neutral, and her entire demeanor became stiff.

"Roxie had been a client of mine for two years. I'd come to accept that there were going to be times when she was going to push every boundary, but I was always ready for it and managed to clean up the mess before most people were even aware of it. This last…incident…got posted overnight, but I had it down within minutes of waking up." She shifted slightly in her chair. "As I explained to Vanessa, I am only human, and I do require sleep. It may not be a great defense, but that's all I've got. If there were a way to predict when someone's going to do something…inappropriate, I would have figured it out by now. All I can say is that I know I screwed up, and I'm thankful that Vanessa had enough faith in me to keep me on." Another pause. "If you're not comfortable with me being part of your team, I will respect that."

He nodded and was about to speak when…

"But I think it would be incredibly closed-minded of you to not even give me a chance," she went on. "I'm good at what I do, Simon. From what I understand, you're doing this documentary under duress and there are some boundaries you wish to have in place that the producers are maybe…shall we say…pushing? Well, that's what I'm here to help with. I don't need to know why you have those boundaries; all I need to know is that you have them. So maybe before you show me the door, you give me a chance to prove to you I am the right person for the job."

Then she surprised him by picking up her sandwich and taking another bite, effectively putting an end to her speech.

"I almost want to stand up and applaud," he told her, leaning back in his chair. "That was a very effective and impassioned speech. I'm thoroughly impressed. I would never ask you to leave before giving you a chance. That's not who I am. The only reason I brought that whole situation up was because I needed to know if you were going to be honest with me. I get that sometimes a publicist's job is to basically blow smoke up people's butts." Then he chuckled. "Something you should know about me is that I'm not big on vulgarities. I don't think they're necessary."

It was her turn to nod, but she didn't comment.

"I appreciate you not blowing smoke, Juliette. I much prefer honesty, even when it's not pretty."

"Oh. Um…"

"You mentioned boundaries, and that is exactly what I'm dealing with. People think because I'm nice and fairly easygoing, that I'm also a pushover. That's not the case. I've been standing firm on what I will and will not share for the sake of this film." Pausing, he leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "One of my biggest faults is that I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt and sometimes miss the fact that I'm being manipulated. Even when it's people that I most trust."

For some reason, he almost felt like he could bare it all to her right now.

But he didn't.

Which really proved what he'd just said to her.

I'm far too trusting…

"Good to know," she said, her tone very businesslike. "I've had to step in on behalf of my clients before in similar situations, so you can rest assured that I'm completely comfortable putting people in their place."

Of this, Simon had no doubt.

Juliette was a little hard around the edges—that was obvious whenever she spoke—but if he had simply seen her and not heard her? He would have pegged her as being completely different.

She was petite, maybe five-foot-two, tops. Her hair was long and wavy and jet black, her eyes a brilliant shade of green, and when she smiled, he saw she had dimples. Everything about her exuded confidence, but when you took a little more time, you could see a sadness and a hint of uncertainty in her demeanor. Then her New York attitude came out—that and clearly her Italian heritage—and it all made for a beautiful and exotic-looking woman.

"Have you always been successful in those endeavors?" he asked.

"Yes."

His eyes went wide. "That's it? Just…yes?"

"Client confidentiality," she explained. "I don't believe in taking no for an answer. When I tell someone what my client is willing and unwilling to do, I don't allow anyone to tell me otherwise."

"Okay, but…"

"I find creative solutions," she corrected. "We compromise. And when I say we, I mean my client gets their way and offers something else that is better for the project. In your case, I would say if there's an aspect of your life that you don't want discussed, we offer a…" She paused for a moment. "We offer an exclusive song that will only be available for the documentary. Well…at least until a month after it releases. Then you can release the single. Honestly, they're already getting access to you behind the scenes, whether it's writing music, rehearsing, or just hanging out at home. Fans are going to come out to theaters in droves for a chance to hear a Simon Bennett song that they can't hear anyplace else."

"Wow…that's a great idea! I never would have thought of that. I've gotten so used to them telling me what they want that it never occurred to me to give them other options."

She smiled, obviously pleased. "This is what I do, Simon. I find the solutions. For the next two weeks, we're going to brainstorm a bunch of ideas that I can dole out in different situations. We don't want to give them all the best ideas right out of the gate. We want to always have something in our pocket for when they push too far."

He was seriously impressed. For the last few months, his stomach had been in knots because it felt like he was getting backed into a corner with how much access this crew was going to get. The director seemed ready to go for the jugular, and Simon had no idea how to hold him off.

Until now.

"I'm going to need to know what topics are off-limits and hard noes for you," she went on. "I don't need to know specifics if you don't want to share the details with me. I just need to know what I'm working with."

This was where he struggled. It would probably be best if she knew what he was most concerned about, but even with an NDA, there was always the possibility of her saying something to the wrong person.

When he didn't answer right away, she caught on.

"My credentials speak for themselves, Simon," she said. "Even when a client behaved at their worst, no one ever heard it from me. I've seen and heard things I will never disclose to anyone. I'm a vault. And, again, I don't need specifics. I'm not here to make you pull all the skeletons out of the closet."

"O-kay…"

"But," she quickly interrupted, "if I know what they're pushing you for and why, the better I'll be able to keep them from finding out."

Damn.

With a sigh, he raked his hands through his hair. "My childhood is off-limits," he said gruffly. "Plain and simple. All anyone needs to know is that I grew up in a small town in eastern North Carolina, I'm the middle child, and my parents divorced when I was a kid. End of story."

She nodded.

"Your younger brother plays in the NFL, correct?"

He nodded. "Jax plays for the Wichita Warriors and is freaking amazing. I swear he was throwing a perfect spiral when he was three. He works hard and he's incredibly talented. When I watch him play, I'm completely in awe of him. Sports were never my thing, but I love watching him do it and be completely amazing at it. Seeing him and his team win the Super Bowl was one of the greatest moments of my life."

"I'll bet," she replied. "So I have to ask—is Bennett a stage name? Because I know both your brothers have the last name Wylder. I would have thought that name would work great for a rock star."

He chuckled. "First, I don't really consider myself a rock star. I'm a singer, a songwriter, and a musician. When I think of the phrase rock star, I think of guys like Dave Grohl or Springsteen or Jon Bon Jovi." He shrugged. "I believe my music has more pop and blues elements to it."

"And the last name?"

Another shrug. "Ironically, when I auditioned for the reality show, they told me my last name was working against me. If people heard Wylder, they'd think wild, and if I went out there crooning some classic Elton John or Billy Joel, they'd be disappointed. So I went with my mom's maiden name instead."

"Wow…okay. I just learned something new about you." She smiled. "Now, back to your family. Your older brother works in finance?"

Another nod. "Noah has always been a numbers guy. Honestly, Jax and I don't know how he does it, but we're glad he's gifted in that way. He manages both our finances, and I can honestly say I'd be lost without him. He's the only reason I know how to handle my money. It's all invested and making money for me. I never would have known how to do any of that without him."

"You are such a diverse group. And your mother's a nurse?"

"She is, and we're all so proud of her. She went back to school when Jax was in college and she followed her dream." Taking his phone from his pocket, he showed Juliette a picture from the graduation. "Obviously it's an old picture but look at the smile on her face. I feel like we may all have some big career accomplishments, but watching my mother walk the stage at her graduation? And knowing she was the oldest one in her class? It made everything else seem insignificant. Our mom is our hero."

If he wasn't mistaken, Juliette's eyes seemed to tear up. "Wow…that's…that's quite possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever heard." She let out a soft sigh and Simon wanted to take a moment and savor it, but he immediately began to tense up because he knew the next question.

Juliette studied him for a long moment and must have picked up on his body language and put it all together. "It's your father that you don't want discussed." And it wasn't a question. "Done." Then she picked up her sandwich and took another bite.

Was that it? Was it really that easy? She wasn't going to push or ask any more questions?

Picking up his sandwich, he was about to take his own bite, but his mouth had other plans.

"You don't want to know why?"

She shrugged. "Simon, you're not the only person with family issues. Chances are, if the director really wanted to, he'd go out and get someone to dig up dirt on you. Or if he really wanted to know about your family, trust me, he'd find out some other way. We just need to stay one step ahead of him."

"Okay, but…"

"Any chance your younger brother would be willing to play a bigger part in the documentary? You know, something to draw in the sports fans?"

"I…hadn't thought about asking him. It didn't seem relevant."

Another shrug. "Just something else to consider." She took a sip of her soda. "Thank you for getting this. It's a vice that I just can't seem to break. Although…I drink too much coffee, I enjoy eating foods that I probably shouldn't, and then…this. I love ice cold, fizzy, black cherry soda. Ridiculous, right?"

That made him chuckle. "Not at all. I love it too, and normally I'm a healthy eater. I drink a lot of water, but sometimes I just want a soda. It doesn't make us bad people."

They ate in companionable silence for a minute, but Simon was eager to get to know more about her—and not as a publicist, but as a person.

"So, tell me something about yourself," he prompted. "Your last name is very unique. Is it Italian?"

"It is," she replied with a small smile. "My grandparents were both from Italy—and I mean both sets. I speak fluent Italian, I can make pasta and sauce from scratch, and food is definitely a love language in my family. But…I am also a very stereotypical Italian New Yorker."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, I'm a little loud and have a bit of an attitude," she admitted. "Not that you have to worry. That side of me only comes out when I'm off the clock and out with either friends or family."

Simon felt himself grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. The fact that she felt like she could share that about herself meant they were already making serious strides in getting to know each other. "Good to know! And I'm not going to lie, I want you to feel comfortable enough around us that you let that side out if you need to."

But Juliette shook her head. "That's never going to happen. You're a client. I work for you and I pride myself on being professional."

"I get that, but while we're here or when it's just us and Nikki around, I don't want you to feel like you can't be yourself. That would be exhausting."

"Let's just take things one day at a time, okay?" she reasoned. "I feel like we're already doing a good job of playing the getting to know you game."

"I don't really consider it a game," he argued lightly. "It's important if we're going to be spending a lot of time together to genuinely know and understand each other.

She didn't look fully convinced, but he wasn't deterred.

They had a few weeks before the tour started back up, and he had a feeling this time in the mountains was about to get a whole lot more interesting.