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“I’m done.”Cheyenne tossed the last letter onto the pile and sat back on the plush chair Julian had brought in an hour earlier, along with a delicious meal of fresh fruits and pastries, creamy smoothies and freshly-squeezed juices. She’d finished the work in several hours, mainly due to the high number of inappropriate messages. At last count, Julian had fathered two dozen love children and had offers for twice as many more. She handed him a tidy stack of papers. “You should read these. There are some meaningful letters and a few from ill fans. This one–” She held out a letter by her fingertips, “Belongs in Division 72.”
He read the letter and grimaced. “Division 72?”
“Yeah, the stalking department,” she said automatically. Then, she froze. The number of the stalking division probably wasn’t everyday knowledge. “Isn’t that the number of the stalking division? I heard it on the news, but I could be wrong. Maybe it’s thirty or something. Anyway, you should send that along.”
His gaze was suspicious, as she shuffled the rest of the pile. “I discarded the letters that weren’t dangerous but definitely onthe wrong side of creepy, mother of my child sort of thing. Oh and I found this letter. It’s not from a fan, but some sort of kids’ charity. They want to thank you for your…” She started to read. “Whoa. That’s a lot of zeros.”
Julian swiftly took the letter. “That shouldn’t have been with the general mail. Please don’t mention it to anyone. Be right back.”
Okay, so not only did he surreptitiously volunteer his time to help people, but he also gave away gobs of money without telling anyone. His kindness and compassion made it even harder to keep her distance. He called her a distraction, but he was proving a far greater one to both the case and her. “He can’t seriously be that awesome.”
“Sure I can.”
She pivoted. Why did he always show up at the most inopportune time? He grinned widely. “I can absolutely be that awesome.”
“I didn’t call you awesome.”
“Yes, you did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“I heard you.”
“You heard wrong.” Time to make her escape. “Now that I’ve finished your mail, I’d better go. I’m sure they could use my help on set.” She took a step toward the door.
“Nope.” He stopped her with a single succinct word, stepping closer. “Remember how I mentioned this was only a week’s worth of mail? Well, I’ve been a little behind.”
Uh-oh.“How behind?”
“Two months.”
“Two months?” Mental math churned the numbers. “One week’s worth took me three hours, eight more weeks is going to take me…”
“A while.” He leaned comfortably against the desk. “And if you keep distracting me, it’ll take even longer.” He strode toward the exit, stopped just before it. “I’ll just get the rest of the mail. By the way, I think you’re pretty awesome, too.”
“Julian, look this way!”
“Julian, I love you!”
“Julian, you’re awesome!”
Julian waved at the excited, screaming and waving fans, smiling at the same compliment his personal assistant had given hours before. It was relatively tame compared to some of the other adorations, yet coming from Destiny, it meant infinitely more. Of course, she’d tried to get out of it. He wouldn’t allow it.
The crowd surged forward, and security formed a tighter circle around him. He forced himself to maintain the smile through the discomfort. The fans had come a long way to see him and deserved his attention. “Hi everyone!” He smiled and greeted, making eye contact with as many people as possible. He was attending a fundraising dinner for the Special Olympics, a cause close to his heart, and they’d set up a red carpet prior to the event. He was always happy to do publicity for such a fantastic program and would be giving the keynote speech later.
“Hey, buddy.”
Julian turned to Zachary, who was smiling broadly, probably due to the very glowing actress on his arm.
“Hi Zach.” He shook his friend’s hand, then smiled down at the women dressed in red sparkles. “Hi Jess.”
“Hi Mr. Starcroft,” she gushed. “You remembered my name.”
“How could I forget with Zachary saying it every two minutes?” He winked. “Plus, you are the body double.”
“What can I say?” Zachary hugged his date. “This woman is stunning.” As Jess blushed, he turned back to his friend. “Where’s your lovely lady?”
“Julian’s lady?” someone screeched.