Billionaires in New York Boxed Set: Billionaires in the City Books 1-3 Laura Burton (books to read this summer .TXT) 📖

“Noelle, have I ever let you down?” Frank held out his hand and took the woman’s hand in his, pressing his lips to her bony fingers.

“Hmm. There’s a first for everything.” She wiped her knuckles on her white pencil skirt and turned to the clothes rack sitting proudly in the center of the room.

Julie shot a nervous glance to Frank, who stood immobile as Noelle rummaged through the dresses like a bargain hunter as she made various noises of approval.

Noelle Sunderland was a formidable woman. She was one of Estelle’s most senior managers. Always scrupulously dressed with only the latest trends, she kept her figure to an eye-wateringly tiny size. She walked and talked as if she were Estelle Voir, herself. Julie wondered if the harsh exterior was a mandatory requirement to be at her senior level in the company. Are women only to be taken seriously when they walk around barking at people, treating the staff as peasants?

“Phil,” Noelle shouted, snapping Julie out of her thoughts. The door swung open and a tall, balding man wearing tiny black spectacles hurried into the room. He glanced at Julie and they shared a mutual eye roll.

“Get these downstairs,” Noelle snapped. Phil muttered something inaudible and wrestled with the clothes rack as he vacated the room. “Heaven’s sake… careful!” Noelle shot a steely look at Frank. “The photoshoot was delayed by an hour. You were lucky the model was late, otherwise I would be speaking to HR and having your head.”

Julie gasped, alerting Noelle of her presence. Noelle’s eyes darted across the room and she studied Julie for a moment.

“And you are?”

“No one, she’s nobody,” Frank said quickly. Julie stared at him affronted.

“I’m Julie Andrews. I made those gowns.”

“You’re a seamstress?” The hint of disdain in her voice made Julie’s blood boil. She offered a forced smile and a nod as Noelle tilted her head to the side as if weighing Julie up.

“You’ll do.” She turned back to Frank. “I’m taking her with me for the afternoon. You don’t mind, do you?”

Frank’s mouth hung open so wide, Julie saw every single one of his veneers. Noelle, however, did not wait for a response. “Come,” she barked and patted her thigh as if to summon a dog. As Julie followed, she glanced back at Frank who stood still, his face entirely red and his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping its last breath.

Chapter Six

An Unexpected Greeting

“Did you find anything?” Harry asked Benjamin as he greeted him by the car. They walked together as a rally of paparazzi swarmed them. Benjamin shook his head before he gestured for the rest of the security team to step in and manage the chaos. The team stood like guards and forced the people back to create a clear path to the doors of Estelle’s offices.

Paparazzi were like a different breed of humans. With no regard for personal space, they fought tooth and nail to get the best shot. Harry was used to it. His popularity soared three years ago when one of his movies broke box office records. It was a two-hour long space opera movie, with only one actor. Bradley Stokes. The whole shoot took less than six weeks and post production went surprisingly well. It was the least expensive movie he’d ever made, and it went viral.

Harry had many enemies. Which was odd, because he considered himself friendly and agreeable. But that was show business. It wasn’t personal.

He wondered why anyone would care about him dating Julie. She was a seamstress. What’s the big deal? Maybe the note he’d received the night before came from a disgruntled actor who didn’t make the cut, or perhaps Julie had an ex-boyfriend who couldn’t let her go? What did “Walk away now” really mean? Walk away from Julie or the current movie deal?

Harry shook his head and emptied his mind of his negative thoughts. He was scheduled to drop in on a promotional photoshoot for his upcoming release—a romance set in Ancient Greece, loosely based on Helen of Troy, the woman said to be so beautiful her face launched a thousand ships.

Julie’s face could do that, Harry thought to himself. His heart warmed at the memory of her pout as she blinked at him, fluttering her lashes. The warmth spread from his chest throughout the rest of his body and he became weak at the knees.

“Harold, we were not expecting to see you.” A tall lady with an austere expression held out her thin hand for him to take.

“I’m just checking in, Noelle, don’t worry. I’m sure you’ve got everything under control.”

Harry glanced at the set. A massive green-screen filled the back of the hall, and two people posed for the photographer. A team dressed in black were positioning huge spotlights and a woman was crouched down to adjust the dress on one of the models. Harry looked back at Noelle, then tuned back in.

“Sabrina is sick. No matter, I have a stand-in and Bertie will photoshop Sabrina’s head onto the stand-in’s body.” Noelle sounded bored; her eyes were drooping, and she stood resting her elbow in her hand and stroked a tuft of hair behind her ear. Harry turned and noticed the woman adjusting the model’s dress had moved. His mouth fell open.

It’s her.

She stood with her back arched and her right arm draped over the shoulder of Matt, the main character. He grasped the back of her gown roughly and her head went back, her long platinum hair flowing to her waist. Harry’s stomach tangled as he swallowed against the dryness in his mouth.

“Kiss her cheek,” Noelle, coming back to life, barked as she strutted across the hall to stand next to the photographer. Harry watched Julie flinch as Matt lowered his head to brush his lips against her cheekbone. Harry’s hands were balled into tight fists as he looked on. Julie’s eyes flitted to him and widened as a look of