The twins gave him delighted smiles as they saw his enraptured state. They took his hands and pulled him out into the hall to meet the others.
The first person he noticed was the Sergeant. She’d switched to her black fatigues which was an aggressive look for a party. Frankly, she looked badass.
“If I’d known we were going to a party tonight I could have bought you some casual outfits,” Ben said.
“I’m on duty. Security duty. Is- am I inappropriately dressed? I only have uniforms-” she stumbled.
“No! It’s fine for tonight! You look- perfect!”
Evelyn’s face lit up in a broad smile then her cheeks turned deeply red, so Ben looked away to the others entering the hall.
Trish was wearing a tight crop top showing off the subtle cage of muscles on her toned tummy and tight black leather pants which did incredible things with the muscles of her butt. She gave him a grin telling him she caught him checking out her ass. She gave it a little wiggle for him, and he had to look away but not before she saw his smile and snorted gently.
Catherine was a vision in her red off the shoulder cocktail dress with white pumps.
The ladies were very pleased that they’d mesmerized Ben. The Sergeant continued to blush.
The group headed downstairs to speak to the concierge. The man quickly arranged for a stretched limo to take them up the hill to the address La’Shia gave them.
Ben admired the homes and the scenery as they made their way up the hills until they pulled into a driveway which led to a sprawling mansion. Ben paid the driver then exited with the ladies and took a look around the grounds. Well-groomed privacy hedges blocked the view of the home from the street. A gorgeous modern fountain sat in the middle of the circular driveway and caught the light from the last rays of the setting sun.
They could already hear the faint thump of music from the party within the large house. Before they could press the doorbell, the door opened, and Ben saw Tilisha standing there with a delighted smile on her face. One of La’Shia’s crew, the dancer was bouncing on her toes excitedly as she grinned at him. The deep scoop neck on her glittering silver top was threatening to display her delightful bosom.
“Ben! You’re here!” she squealed happily.
Slightly dazzled by the jiggles she was sending through her cleavage, Ben finally managed a smile and reached out to hug the woman. She purred happily in his embrace, and when he pulled back, Ben went through the introductions for his party.
“La’Shia told me we are going to get to dance with you tonight! She and Brooklyn are also going to film it to study your moves!” the woman gushed.
Ben nodded with a faint smile. So the ladies made plans for his visit. He didn’t have any objections to their request for a dance or three, but he wasn’t going to push himself for them. As he’d promised Gabriella, if it became too much, he’d walk away.
Tilisha guided them forward towards the back of the house and Ben was impressed with the build of the home. He heard subtle gasps and giggles coming from behind him and glanced back. Lisa, Lori, Lucy, and Tina were all smiles as they looked into the rooms they were passing. Excitement gleamed in their eyes. Ben took another look into the dining room they were walking by and saw the people gathered there. He thought some of the faces looked familiar, but he was no expert on celebrities. He assumed they were in the music business like La’Shia and Killah D.
They arrived at the back of the house in a large entertainment room. It could have been a family room, but it was enormous, and the back wall was open to the patio outside. A DJ was set up in one corner of the room and music was playing for a few guests dancing in a large open area. Other guests were standing or sitting at the edges of the room talking and drinking.
Tilisha led the ladies over to the bar to get a drink as Ben stopped at the entrance. There was a face he recognized standing in a group nearby. Mr. DeMonte! He smiled and nodded to the man who immediately left the group and approached. Ben held out his hand, and they shook. “Phil! Fancy meeting you here! Do you travel in these circles too? Is Eric here?” Ben quickly scanned the room for the man’s business partner, but it was too crowded to spot him. He looked back at the actor.
Phil smiled, but Ben could see some tension in the man’s body language. “Is something wrong?” Ben asked.
“Hi, Ben. I don’t normally attend these parties, but I got a call last night from La’Shia’s publicist inviting me. She called shortly after we had dinner together when it hit the news. Eric had to head back to New York.” He paused to take a breath. “As proven, news travels insanely fast in this town, so I wanted you to hear it from me first. I was… indiscreet last night when I was speaking to the studio exec who turned us down. He called me shortly after I left the restaurant. Someone called him to tell him who I had dinner with. He said some rude things and I got angry,” Phil said uneasily. “I might have mentioned you were considering backing the project.”
Ben was truly amazed at how quickly the grapevine functioned here. He waited for the actor to continue, but that seemed to be it. Phil was watching him nervously for a reaction. Ben let him off the hook. “I don’t know what that means, but it doesn’t seem like a big issue to me. When I said I wanted to be a silent partner, I just meant my name shouldn’t appear on the final product or be used in any marketing. I hope you can restrain yourself from blurting my name in anger in the future,” he said with a smile and saw the tension drain away. A smile reappeared on the actor’s face.
“Should we hug it out?” Ben asked with a grin.
“I’m good!” Phil said holding up his hands as he grinned. “Besides, I’m already getting a crazy number of calls since that report on us dining together. If people heard we hugged, I might have to get a new unlisted number!”
Ben shook his head in wonder. “I don’t get it.”
Phil leaned in to speak privately with a grin. “They think I have an inside line on the mysterious Ben Shepherd.” He glanced back at the group he’d been speaking with and saw a few frowns sent in his direction. “To defuse that, why don’t you come to meet some of my colleagues before they lynch me.” Ben sighed and nodded, following the actor over to the waiting group who were all trying to appear cool and relaxed. Phil looked over his shoulder at Ben and snorted. “Actors.”
-=-
It was getting late in the evening, and some of the crowd was leaving which was ok with Ben because his cheek muscles were getting tired from all the smiling.
He caught a glimpse of the Sergeant as she patrolled the room, watching for threats. He’d seen a few men approach her, likely in an attempt to get to know her but each time she’d quickly scanned them with her eyes and moved on without a word. The effect this had on the men was both amusing and painful to watch. So far none had gotten angry, and he hoped none did, for their sake.
His mind went back to earlier in the evening when the twins rescued him from a dull conversation to guide him out on the dance floor. He’d enjoyed that, especially when Tina and Lucy joined them. Ben got to dance through some songs, enjoying the excitement on their faces until he left the dance floor to get some water, only to be captured by another group eager to talk with him.
After a short time, he managed to slip away from the group and headed over to the far edge of the property to look out over the city below. The view was lovely, and Ben took a few deep breaths of the evening air to center himself.
“Mr. Shepherd?”
Ben considered pretending not to hear, but the accent caught his attention. He turned to look back at the source of the question.
Star of the big screen, song and dance man extraordinaire, and heart throb to millions, Lawrence Manning smiled as he approached Ben and held out a hand to shake. Ben gripped and shook it.
“Hello, Mr. Manning.”
“Please, call me Lawrence,” he offered with another charming smile.
“If you call me Ben.”
Lawrence nodded to him. “Ben, I heard you met with Dwayne Johnson. He’s being offered the lead role in a movie about you.”
Ben looked the man in the eye and nodded.
“It’s being said that you’re endorsing him as-”
“No. I spoke with the man. I shook his hand, as I shook yours. That’s all,” Ben said firmly.
Lawrence gave him an evaluating look then nodded. “Fair enough. All cards on the table, I’ve been offered the role as well. If they want to make another action hero movie though, I’ll bow out.”
“Have you seen the script?” Ben asked, anxious to know just how much of his life they were going to expose.
The actor smiled. “Not yet, but even if I had, I couldn’t tell you anything about it. Not if I wanted to work in this town again.”
Ben nodded as he realized a non-disclosure agreement made sense.