Page 24 of Love on the Byline
Noelia hummed before she turned, her gaze scanning thecrowd. “Probably too early. My parents wouldn’t win any awards. And you?”
“Following in granddad’s footsteps, much to my parents’ dismay.”
“Way to be a rebel. I spoke at length with your boss,”Noelia said, the humor falling away from her voice. “He assured me thiswouldn’t be a hit piece. Brandon gets enough shit flung at him. We don’t wantto open the door to his private life just to have it used to try him in thecourt of public opinion.”
Blake chewed on that for a moment. She was there against herbetter judgement, but she still had journalistic integrity. Noelia seemed likesomeone who didn’t suffer fools, and she found her vehement defense of Bran intriguing.
“I’m not here to dig up dirt,” she said truthfully. “But I’mnot here to write fluff, either.” At least Blake hoped that wasn’t what hadbeen promised. No, Gideon wouldn’t have agreed to that.
Noelia’s gaze sharpened before she gave a quick nod. “Fairenough.”
“Is there anything I should know before I dive in?”
“Only that our Brandon can be a lot to take when he’s on,”the publicist confided. “I’m only asking that you give him a chance to showpeople who he is when he’s not.”
“If we agree to move forward, I’ll write what he shows me.”She wondered exactly what Noelia meant by on and worked hard to shakeher memories of their previous encounters. “That’s all I can promise.”
“Excellent.” Noelia gestured for Blake to follow as she headedto the trailer and reached up to knock. “Most of your time will be spent withhis assistant, Ollie. He’ll keep you abreast of Bran’s schedule, arrange foryou to have the access and time you need to do your thing.”
Ollie.
She did her best to temper her excitement at seeing himagain and tried—once more—to convince herself he had nothing to do with whyshe’d caved and agreed to this whole thing.
“If there are any problems, Ollie will handle them or informme if I need to step in.”
“What sort of problems do you anticipate?”
Her hand poised to knock on the door, Noelia turned and mether eyes. “I agreed to this exposé because I was guaranteed fair treatment. IfI find that’s not the case, I’ll pull the plug so fast you’ll be on the firstbus back to Peoria, or wherever you come from. And then I’ll do what I can tobring Sonja and the Gazette to its knees, and make sure the only paper thatwill hire you is the supermarket circular back home.”
Despite the chill that slid down her spine, Blake admiredthis woman. She held her gaze, hoping to show her she wasn’t the only alpha inthe room, so to speak. “Understood.”
Noelia barely knocked on the door before opening it,marching up the three steps as she called out. “Brandon, babe, are you inhere?”
Blake hesitated a moment before following and closing thedoor behind her. Steeling herself for her first interview with a bona fidecelebrity. Even if it was Brandon Peters, this was a different world. But shealmost tripped over her own feet when she came face-to-face with the very nakedmovie star.
“Hells bells, Brandon,” Noelia exclaimed. “Put on someclothes!”
The actor wrapped a towel around his waist and grinned ather, but the corners of his mouth tilted down when he noticed Blake in thedoorway. “Sorry, Nellie” he said, grabbing for a t-shirt on the couch. “Ithought you were Ols. He went to pick up some analgesic cream from the medic.”
He was well-built, it was an undisputable fact. And Blakecould see that he worked hard on his physique. She couldn’t help but notice thenasty bruise on his abdomen and pointed. “Work-related?”
“Bran does most of his own stunts,” his publicist said,brightly. “He’s always bruising this or twisting that. Longing to give me aheart attack. Oh, the insurance!”
“I see.” She pulled out a fresh notebook to jot down herthoughts.
He winked at her. “I have a rep to maintain.”
“Speaking of which, Ms. Dillon here assures me that herarticle will be fair and unbiased.” Noelia gave her a stern look. “And if itisn’t, then Mr. Cody’s attorneys are on standby.”
“I’m sure it won’t come to that,” he said.
Blake straightened. “I don’t have an agenda. I’m here togive the editor what she wants; a rare, behind-the-scenes look at one ofHollywood’s fastest-rising stars.” She turned to him. “But I won’t lie. I’ll tellit like I see it.”
He nodded. “I’d expect nothing less.”
“Excellent. Blake, you’ll have full access to Bran’s life,and our Ollie will be your guide,” Noelia said. “You’re in good hands, there.”
As if summoned, the door to the trailer opened and Oliverstepped inside. He stopped when he saw the three of them in the center of theliving space.