At the sound of her heels on the pavement, Julian threw aside his cigarette and offered a prayer up to God. He had sped home right after he left Demi's. Her...proposal had been on his mind ever since.
And the way she had grabbed his...
"You're smoking again? You have to quit that as long as you're working for me," she ordered. Demi stretched a heeled foot and snuffed the glowing cigarette out. Leaning her lithe body up against his broad, muscular one, she asked in a suddenly husky voice, "Have you thought about my proposal?"
Julian allowed his eyes to look at her, really look at her. Inwardly, he groaned. Her dress was the color of brown topaz and glittered similarly. It had a sweetheart neckline with spaghetti straps and fit her body like a floor length glove.
"You look like a slut in that dress," he said chokingly. Her glossed lips spread into a sultry smile as she pushed herself on tiptoes to be level with his ear. Her wavy blond hair brushed his neck. "You can take it off if you like," her tongue briefly flicked at his earlobe.
"This has to be sexual harassment," he growled.
"Not if you like it."
"That's exactly why its harassment. I'm being manipulated into liking it."
Demi stepped back and smirked at him. "You're a grown man Julian, I can't manipulate you any more than you wanna be." As if coming out of a seductive trance, she snapped at him and said waspishly, "Now come around back. Andre and others are waiting."
The others turned out to be her drivers, her publicist and numerous bodyguards. After piling into their respective cars, the first being Demi, Julian, Andre and Tina-the publicist- and the other for the bodyguards.
Not for the first time, Julian wondered why he was here. Demi rolled her eyes. "I take most of my team with me when I go to these red carpet events," she said, answering his unspoken question.
Had he said that out loud?
"Whose event is this anyway?" he muttered.
He wasn't too sure of it, but he swore Demi stiffened in her seat. "It's an album release party...you'll see. It's coming up now."
Looking out the window, Julian could see they were somewhere in Hollywood, in front of a club that had an old Spanish décor, with Spanish tiles and gaudy lion heads.
He could also see the red carpet and the hundreds of flashing bulbs of the paparazzi. Their voices- "Who is that?" "Whose in the limo?" "Better be worth these shots..."- could be heard by everyone inside the limo.
Julian swallowed and looked away, his gaze catching Demi, who was staring at him intently. As if putting a mask on her face, her features softened and she winked at him, before stepping out of the limo.
The bodyguards barely had time to get out and surround her before the paparazzi, lights and questions swarmed her...
Speaking of questions...some of them, Julian thought, were outrageous. Especially when he stepped out of the limo.
"Who are you?"
None of your business, he thought, walking forward.
"Are you Demi's boyfriend?"
He smirked at that, but immediately caught his mistake when the crowd collectively gasped and pressed their shutter buttons eagerly.
"How long have you guys been dating?"
"Are you going to get married?"
"Is there a baby?"
"Are you-"
Julian sighed with relief when the door of the club closed behind him, cutting off the eager reporters. How did they jump from being her boyfriend to her baby's daddy was beyond him, but he knew he wanted no part of that. Demi was a bitch, but he gave her props for being able to handle that...craziness.
"You learn to get over it," a deep voice said, coming from behind him. Julian turned to see Andre, one of Demi's assistants, smirking at him.
Andre was almost as tall as Julian, which meant something, since Julian himself was quite tall at 6'0''. His brown eyes sparkled with mirth and he had slight laugh lines at the corners of his mouth.
A man who liked to laugh, and had done so many times.
Julian returned the smirk. "Yeah, well, I guess I'm lucky. I only have to deal with this for three weeks."
Andre snorted. "According to the paparazzi, you're in this for nine months. You know, with the baby she's expecting and all."
They both laughed.
"So you heard that shit too huh?"
The pair lapsed into an easy conversation, ignoring the other people and celebrities in the room, for different reasons. Andre had already seen them all and Julian simply didn't care.
*****
It was well past cocktail hour when she found them. She began to look for him when the false smiles became too much on her cheeks and she felt her lips could crack under her expensive gloss.
She was bored and wanted to go home, maybe get a move on her proposition. She smirked.
"There you guys are!" she exclaimed. Two heads simultaneously swiveled towards her direction and greedy eyes gobbled up her approach.
But it was a pair of dark blue eyes that interested her the most.
Julian looked good tonight. Well, he always did, but he had a debonair quality to his looks today. His black designer, Armani perhaps, suit fit him well along his broad shoulders and muscular, lengthy limbs. His usually unruly black hair was slicked back with industrial strength gel and product.
Yes, definitely suave.
Tightening her hand on her champagne glass, she walked up to the tall gentlemen. "Julian," she gave a polite nod in his general direction, feigning disinterest. "Andre," she nodded again.
"Demi."
"Ms. Smith."
The two glanced at each other before looking back at her. Julian swiped a drink from a passing waiter's tray.
"I trust that you two are enjoying yourselves," she said, making it more a statement rather than a question.
Andre dutifully nodded, while Julian smirked at her over his glass. "Yes, I trust that I am rather enjoying myself," he muttered.
The two men snorted with laughter.
"What?" she barked.
