Roman-2(Lane Brothers, Book 5)(149)

Sasha pointed to her name tag. “Sasha Jones,” she said brazenly. “Atomic Magazine.”

The woman smirked. Her eyes tipped over Sasha’s shoulder and rested on the disheveled bed. “Sure, honey,” she whispered. She pointed at her own breast and the complete lack of name tag. “Crystal Carpenter. Escort. I think it’s my turn now.”

She shoved her way into the room, elbowing Sasha as she went, and slammed the door in her face. Sasha stood there breathless, feeling ice creep into her cheeks. Escort? Surely not. Thomas couldn’t have invited a hooker to his room. Could he?

Sasha felt her stomach sink. As she rushed down the corridor, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a cab. After hanging up, she noticed a message on her phone. It was from Kelly. It read simply: Warning. Whatever you do, don’t sleep with him.





Chapter Two




“Wow,” Kelly said, as she finished off the last sentence of Sasha’s interview. “You literally hate this guy. Are you sure you want me to print this?”

An image of Crystal’s platinum hair flashed through Sasha’ mind. “Yes,” she said, boldly. “I’m not afraid of a backlash. Bring it on.” She realized her hands were in tight fists.

She’d spent the taxi journey back to the Atomic office in something of a daze. Her body had been heightened with sensations, amazing sensations, but her mind was a blur of emotion. How could she have let herself get used like that? How had she let herself forget that Thomas Lloyd was an actor, that he made his living—and millions of dollars—from making people believe that what he was saying was genuine? If he just wanted sex from her, why bother insinuating that there was more going on? What kind of pointless mind game was he playing?

As she mulled the experience over in her mind, she flitted from anger at him to confusion over her own behavior. It wasn’t strictly true that Thomas had manipulated her. She’d known what she was getting herself into. Hell, she’d even known that had she not been there, the exact same thing would have happened with Alicia. But she’d still chosen to go down the same path. She’d wanted it just as much as he did. So what was it about the encounter that bothered her so much?

She could only come to one conclusion: Crystal. To have casual sex with a man was one thing. To have casual sex with a man who paid for it was another. To have casual sex with a man who paid for it and had the next woman lined up already was the kicker. He’d made Sasha feel like a prostitute. He’d placed her in a queue, a conveyor belt of women. Maybe he had a fetish for being interrupted by his next lay. Maybe he got his sordid, little kicks out of moving from one to the next to the next, all day long.

The whole encounter felt suddenly dirty. Not empowering at all. Just part of a spoiled, sick man’s needs.

Once back at her Atomic desk, Sasha had gotten to work immediately. The piece had practically written itself, her fingers flying across the keyboards. She’d been so absorbed in getting the story down that she hadn’t even noticed the sky darken and her colleagues start clearing off for the night.

It was seven by the time she was done and satisfied with the piece. Thomas had told her to portray him as he was. So she did. Her piece was entitled: Hollywood’s Most Eligible Bachelor’s Sex Addiction Hell.

From across the boardroom table, Kelly stubbed out her cigarette and immediately lit up another. “How did you get him to open up about this stuff?”

Sasha shrugged. “He liked the fact I didn’t have any preconceptions about him. He said he wanted an honest portrayal, so…”

Kelly waved the hand holding the cigarette, making trails of smoke waft across Sasha’s face. “I get that, but you come across as angry. What was it about his sex addiction that pissed you off so much?”

Sasha slunk down in her seat, embarrassed that her own feelings were so evident in her writing. She gritted her teeth. “Nothing. I just…the man’s a jerk.”

Kelly narrowed her eyes. Then a flicker of understanding flashed in them. Her mouth dropped open and her cigarette fell onto the shiny boardroom table top. “You fucked him.”

“What?” Sasha said, feigning insult.

“You did!” Kelly leapt up. “I know that face. It’s the face Alicia always had after she interviewed him. You slept with Thomas Lloyd.” She sat back down in her seat, gob-smacked. “I thought you were too smart for that.”

“Thanks. He was…”—Sasha ran her hands through her hair—“…persuasive.”

Kelly looked suddenly concerned. “He didn’t…?”