Hollywood Princess (Hollywood Royalty 2)

“Hey,” I say from the outside. “I was wondering if Kellie was home.”

She smiles big and nods. “Yeah, she’s in the shower.” She steps to the side and lets me in. She closes the door behind me and locks it. “You can wait in the kitchen,” she says to me, and I follow her into the house, taking in the high ceilings in the foyer. I scan the pictures on the walls of her during her awards shows. Her face still looks the same as when she started. “Can I get you something to drink?” the woman asks when we get into the kitchen and I see papers all over the island.

“I’ll have a bottle of water if you have one.” I walk over to a stool and sit down on it. She comes back and hands me the water bottle.

Leaning her hip against the counter, she faces me. “You going to tell me why you’re really here?” I take the cap off my water and take a sip. “I hope you know that isn’t liquid courage in that bottle; it’s just H2O.”

Her snarky comment makes me put my head back and laugh. She comes over and sits on her stool in front of her computer, but I don’t have a chance to answer her because Kellie enters the room.

“Hey, look who dropped by,” Cori says with a smile plastered on her face, leaning back in her chair.

“I was in the neighborhood.” I smile at her and take in her appearance. She is wearing loose joggers and a shirt that goes off the shoulder. Her bare feet expose her hot pink toenails.

“You were in the neighborhood?” she asks and walks into the kitchen. “I find that really hard to believe.” Grabbing a plate from one of the cupboards and then opening the oven, she plates her own dinner of chicken and veggies. She looks at Cori. “Do you want some?”

“No,” Cori says, grabbing all the papers in front of her. “I think I’m going to head out and work at home.”

“You don’t have to do that just because I’m here.” I look over at her, and she stops mid cleanup. “I mean, you will be with her on the tour, so it’s better for all of us if we are on the same page.”

Cori doesn’t know what to do, so she just sits back down. Kellie grabs her plate and comes over to sit on the stool next to me. “Let’s get this over with,” she says, cutting her chicken and biting a piece.

I start from the top, not sugarcoating anything. “Are either one of you interested in how I got to your front door?” I ask them, and then Cori looks up at me. “I told the guy I had papers for you from Tommy, and he let me in.”

“Well, he knows Tommy,” Kellie says between bites, “so it’s not a stretch.”

“Knowing Tommy and making sure crazy people don’t come to your door are two separate things.”

“So you admit you’re crazy?” Kellie says. “I mean, that’s a good start.”

“Don’t make a joke about this. I could have been a madman.” My fingers start to drum on the island nervously.

“You are a madman who just admitted you’re crazy,” Kellie mumbles while she chews. “Seriously, it’s one of my last free nights, and I don’t want to spend it hearing a lecture, so just get on with it.” A lecture … did she just say that?

“You need to be smarter and safer,” I point out, and she stops with her fork halfway to her mouth. “I can’t do my job if you throw yourself in harm’s way.”

“Explain to me please”—she throws her fork down, and it clatters on the white plate—“how me being in my home is throwing myself in harm’s way?” She shakes her head, grabbing her water bottle and drinking. “This isn’t going to work if the only thing that comes out of your mouth is shit.”

I’m about to lose my shit, and I think Cori feels it because she finally speaks. “Children”—she raises her hands—“this is getting nowhere.” Then she looks at Kellie. “Eat.” She points at Kellie’s plate, and then she looks at me. “I will look into it and find out why Juan let you in.”

I nod at her. “You have a security system in this castle?” I throw in castle because I know it bothers her, and I’m not wrong when she grumbles.

“There is, and I will start using it,” Cori says. “Now, can we talk about what is expected of us during this tour? I will make sure we do our absolute best to follow all rules.”

“She doesn’t speak for me,” Kellie says, chewing.

“I do speak for her when it comes to her safety.” Cori’s voice gets louder, and Kellie rolls her eyes.

“I’m sitting down with my team tomorrow, and we are going to go city by city and have things set up in case something happens.”