Page 24 of Some Like It Scandalous
“I won’t say a word,” he promised, but the man wasn’t exactly subtle. Leaning back in the seat, she glanced out the window. They were in North Hollywood and the streets grew more and more residential. Anna had called ahead to let Mrs. Brown, Derrick’s foster mother, know they were on their way. She’d sounded so relieved, and Anna had to wonder why.
When they pulled up at the front of the house, she didn’t wonder anymore. The lawn boasted a dozen reporters, and nearly twice that many cameras.Crap.
“Stay in the car, please, Miss Novak.” Kyle touched a hand to his earpiece. “David, head up and make sure Miss Novak’s appointment is present in the house.” A man exited the lead car and started across the lawn. Two more men stepped out of the car behind them and took up positions on the sidewalk, effectively blocking the press from coming anywhere near the car.
Kate touched her hand and Anna realized—belatedly—she’d clenched her fists. “We’ll take care of it. Worst-case scenario, we’ll make arrangements to bring Derrick with us and take the meeting somewhere else.”
On the porch, a young dark-skinned man answered the door and the cameras seemed to divide their attention between the cars and him. His eyes widened and he backed up, but David had already turned to intercept one of the reporters.
“All right, Miss Novak, what do you want to do?” Kyle glanced at her. Tension knotted in Anna’s belly, hard and fierce.
“I want to talk to Derrick.” And apologize.Good God, that poor kid.Hot on the heels of her anxiety came anger. How dare the press subject a kid to this? He had nothing to do with Armand or the ridiculous gossip piece.
“Clear the lawn,” Kyle ordered into his earpiece and then picked up his cell phone and punched in a number. “This is Kyle Johnson,” he began and rattled off the address. “We have several members of the press trespassing and causing a hazard on the street…” He paused. “Thank you.”
“Miss Novak, you stay in the car until I open the door, we go in the same way we exited your house yesterday. I want you right at my back.”
“What about Kate?” The poor woman certainly didn’t need to be jammed into this.
“I’ll be right behind.” Kate gave her hand a squeeze. “And I’ll have your bag.”
Anna nodded, still not entirely certain of all of this. It took some hustling, but Kyle got her up the walk and onto the porch just as a police car arrived. Kate and Kyle followed Anna inside when Derrick admitted them, but the others stayed out.
“Derrick.” Anna extended her hand. “I’m Anna Novak, we’ve spoken on the phone.”
Uneasy, the kid still took her hand and shook it briefly. “Sorry about the zoo, Miss Novak.”
“It’s hardly your fault.” She followed Derrick to the kitchen. Though the house was definitely older and showing signs of wear, it was clean and neatly kept.
“It’s Mrs. Brown’s fault.” Derrick scowled. “She saw a news report about you this morning and when you called to confirm, she called them.”
“Oh. Well…I’m still sorry that they’re out there, but I didn’t come to talk about the press. I came to talk about your future. Do you think we can sit down and chat for a bit?”
He shifted, eyeing Kate and then Kyle, before bringing his attention back to her. “Ma’am, if you don’t mind my saying—people like you and I—we don’t generally mix.”
Pulling out a chair from the tiny oaken breakfast set, Anna sat down and looked at the one opposite her. Derrick hesitated but took a perch. Crossing one leg over the other, she took a deep breath. Every word from this moment forward had to count. “When I was your age, I had two choices. Go to the local community college my parents could afford if I worked part-time or apply to several scholarship funds and go to the four-year school I’d been accepted at…”
Chapter 7
Armand
It was late afternoon by the time he returned to the tower. Anna was still out—or so Peterson reported to him on the elevator ride up. Unfortunately, a dozen reporters at the North Hollywood house had greeted Anna. Pride filled him, despite the interference of the press she’d held up beautifully. Her security team performed as expected and reported in regularly.
They had no new leads on who leaked her name to the press. Peterson did have a theory, though, and it was one Armand did not care for. His head of security speculated that Armand’s lingering presence in California had led to local reporters researching previous connections that might be present. Chances were, they’d looked into his past years at college and Anna’s proximity had given them a clue.
Their meeting served only as the final trigger. Showering off the sweat, he’d changed and walked back into the living room in time to see the front door open. Anna walked in, still wearing his suit coat from earlier. For the barest moment, he had a glimpse of the weariness in her eyes.
“I’ll let His Highness know when everything is ready,” Kyle told her and then his gaze flicked past her to meet Armand’s. He inclined his head. “Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Johnson.” The man headed for the elevator and Armand shut the door and locked it. Anna set her bags down stiffly.
“Have you eaten?”
She shook her head. “We didn’t exactly have the time.”
Eyeing her, he reached out and took her hand and tugged her toward the kitchen. She was quiet—too quiet—and he let her hand go and opened the refrigerator. “What’s wrong now?”
“Nothing.” Her flattened tone gave her away.
