Savage Redemption: Savage in Love, #4

By Lark Anderson

WANTED: Bad Boy Boyfriend for career boost.
 

Nova Ellis here! Usually, I'm known as America's Sweetheart, but right now, I'm ranked #1!
As in: Hollywood's Most Desperate Woman.

For my friends, a bad breakup means a trip to the ice cream aisle, but for me, it's a slide from A-list actress to QVC.

But I can fix this! All I have to do is fake date my brother's bad boy best friend for a PR boost. Or rather, ex-best friend. I'm not the only one with bad breakups!

Sexy troublemaker Kade Savage has a reputation that lives up to his name. Once upon a time, he was my girlhood crush, until a terrible mistake cast him out of my life. I swore never to forgive him, but fate had other plans.

Seeking redemption, he agrees to the charade, and shenanigans ensue. I tell myself it's just a job, but this man makes my heart race faster than any marathon could, and apparently, the feelings are mutual. My team thinks it's fake, and I'm scared to find out what my brother will do if he learns the truth.

SPOILER ALERT: He does!!!
 

Is it possible I've found love with America's newest bad boy? Or was he just really good at following the script?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lark Anderson
• Release date: Jan 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201448028

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

NOVA

A tired groan escapes my lips as I sift through the files of countless eligible men, trying to find the perfect one to date.

I used to pick ones I thought I’d have chemistry with, thinking it could eventually lead to more, extend beyond the contract into a happily ever after.

I was wrong. There are no happily ever afters in Hollywood. My career path is a ladder with spiked steps, broken rungs, and a fiery pit burning brightly beneath my feet.

Which is why the only acceptable choice is one made strategically. A man who is ambitious and knows what’s on the line. A man who can keep his damn dick in his pants, even around pretty redheads with plumped-up lips.

Clint Aspen. Jax passes a picture of the in-demand movie star strolling on a beach. He’s perfect. Every woman wants him. Every man wants to be him.

I push the photograph back. And he’s a douchebag. Next.

Frank Larusso. Tough as nails. Family’s from Sicily—

Didn’t a video come out of him crying in police custody?

Jax slams his fist down on the table. Shit, that was him?

Who’s next?

Johnny Reddington—

Is old enough to be my father.

But young enough to be considered a silver fox.

Pass.

Jax throws the rejected stack of files into the trash bin. You’re not making this easy on me.

Why does it even matter? All I want to do is work.

Jax’s Irish blue eyes bore into mine. I’ll tell you why it matters. He digs through his briefcase, taking out a magazine and tossing it in front of me.

Nova Ellis Cheated on Again!!!

I exhale sharply. Maybe it will make me more relatable.

Wrong, Jax says firmly. It tells people you’re undesirable, and before you open that smart mouth of yours, yes—it absolutely matters.

A knock sounds on the door and I look over to see my assistant Colleen strolling into the room looking like she’s just come from the spa. She’s sporting a splash of pink in her hair that wasn’t there yesterday, and her mustard yellow pantsuit perfectly complements her dark skin tone perfectly. Just once, I’d like for her to look as disheveled as I feel inside.

She sets her coffee down, taking a seat next to mine. What did I miss?

Jax throwing every eligible bachelor in Hollywood at me.

No pity here. He is your publicist, and our success rests on your ability to attract a desirable mate.

I spike a brow. Please stop calling my romantic prospects ‘mates?’ That’s not what I’m about.

Jax smacks his forehead with his hand as though he’s just had an epiphany. Holy Jesse—is that why you keep getting cheated on? Because you’re not giving it up?

It’s Jesus, Colleen corrects.

He fixes a judgmental gaze on Colleen. Taking the lord’s son’s name in vain is extremely disrespectful.

Colleen rolls her eyes. Oh, my God—

Jax grits his teeth. So you’re going to double-down, are you?

I bury my face in my palms, exhausted from lack of sleep and dealing with Jax’s epic tantrums. Can we focus on why we’re here?

Have we thought of having Rachel change up her image? Colleen says. We might not need a man if we can make her exciting in other ways.

If we make her unrecognizable, it’ll be harder to find her work. Producers are counting on her to pull butts into box office seats, which won’t happen if people can’t identify her. We’ll put her in sexier clothes, but her trademark long blonde hair and emerald green eyes stay.

Jax’s phone buzzes and he looks down at his screen. A flicker lights his eyes, and I know I should be worried.

Aiden Pakwell’s interested.

Absolutely not! I cry out, balling my hands into such tight fists, my knuckles turn white.

Jax’s gaze narrows. He’s hot, from a legacy line—

And gay. I widen my eyes to get the point across. You think it’s bad that Felton Plumwick left me for another actress, imagine what the tabloids would say if they found out Aiden Pakwell was cheating on me with a man.

They’d say she turned him, Colleen says matter-of-factly. Because it’s alllllllways a woman’s fault when a good man doesn’t like women.

I press my back against my chair and fold my arms over my chest. Exactly.

Jax slumps, looking utterly defeated. What do you propose, then? If we want to launch her from girl-next-door to spicy siren, we can’t have every man she dates cheat on her.

What if we have Nova, her ex, and the tramp go out together? So it doesn’t look like he was cheating, Colleen suggests. They could be snapped getting soft serve. Wait—scratch that. They need to be photographed together on a hotel balcony. So they can act like they didn’t know they were being photographed.

Are you suggesting that Nova Ellis—America’s flippin’ Sweetheart, pretend to be part of a threesome?

It’s called a throuple, Colleen adds. They’re becoming more common among the younger folks.

My brow shoots up at the audacious suggestion, but it’s my publicist who speaks.

Heck, no. That might serve the younger crowd, but anyone in a happy marriage or in their thirties will vilify her.

The corners of Colleen’s mouth dip into a frown. You’re probably right.

Look, I really appreciate what you guys are doing for me, and I understand what I need to do to save my career. I’m totally down with getting back on the horse…but…I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe it would be better if I just date around. I could be seen with a new guy each week.

Colleen points her pen at me. I like the way you’re thinking.

But that’s not going to work, Jax interjects. Men can get away with that, but women are held to stricter standards. The key to a woman’s box office success relies on other women, and if they feel like they can’t trust you around their man, they won’t support you.

I shake my head in disgust. That’s bullshit.

He’s right though, Colleen says.

Hey! I thought you were on my side.

Colleen looks away guiltily, taking a big gulp of her coffee.

We could go with a younger no-name actor, Jax suggests. Someone hot that would typically have no chance with Nova. Women would drool over his washboard abs, and instead of feeling threatened by you, they’d envy you.

My brother Andy, who is my lawyer, charges into the room, slipping his cell phone into his pocket. What’d I miss?

Jax gestures to the trash can. Your sister rejected every single prospect I had lined up for her.

Because they’re all assholes, I counter. And now he wants to make me a cougar.

Andy snickers. You’re twenty-eight. You could hardly be seen as a cougar.

Cougar or not, it doesn’t matter, Colleen says. We all know that younger men can be unpredictable in these matters. Remember Jack Pittman? He had a six-month contract with Sandra Rose and was caught with a stripper two weeks in. It only made Sandra look like a fool after her husband left her for a younger woman.

Jax buries his face in his palms. Going younger is a risk. Going older is a better bet, but Nova here is dead set against it.

I’m not against it, but maybe pick one that’s not my grandfather’s age, I snap.

Oh, my God! Colleen enthuses.

Again with the blasphemy. Jax shakes his head from side to side.

Colleen ignores him. We stop looking in Hollywood.

Jax perks up. An oil heir?

No. I slap a hand down on the table for emphasis. They keep too tight a leash. If I’m promoting a movie, I need to move around. Besides, they have no motivation to stay faithful.

Exactly, Colleen says. We need someone outside of Hollywood. Someone we can manipulate. Someone with a killer body and a desperate need for cash.

Jax nods enthusiastically. In their thirties, older than Nova, but not by much.

Pictured together a-sap. Colleen’s fingers fly over the screen of her phone because playing ‘Let’s Find Nova’s Next Boyfriend’ is something she lives for.

Yeah, yeah, Jax nods. Someone she knew before all this. She could have been involved with him before Felton got caught dipping his quill in other ink.

Colleen continues with, So Nova was never cheated on. They parted, and Felton was caught out first.

Exactly, Jax finishes.

Wait a minute, what the hell are you guys talking about? You want to pair me with an ex-boyfriend?

No, but someone you have a history with. A prom date…the boy next door growing up….

Kade Savage, Andy interjects.

All heads turn toward my brother.

Ab-so-lutely—NOT! I snap. There’s no way I’m going to involve myself with him.

Sounds familiar, Jax says. Did you mention him in an interview?

He was Andy’s best friend throughout high school, Colleen says. He’s been mentioned when people from Nova’s past were interviewed.

The one that caught her skinny dipping? Jax says.

That’s the one! Andy smirks.

That’s perfect! Jax enthuses. It establishes that she’s not rebounding. She’s making a play for someone she’s wanted—

It’s a bad idea! I blurt out.

Colleen pulls out her phone. What’s he look like now?

He has a history, I plead. A bad one.

Colleen’s thumbs fly across the screen of her phone, and when they stop, her jaw gapes open. Kade Savage is H-O-T—hot!

I wouldn’t know, I spit out. I haven’t seen him in…has it been eleven years?

That works, Jax says, rubbing his hands together greedily. It means that when you go out, you’ll actually be getting to know each other and you won’t have to act as much.

I’ll get him on the phone, Andy says.

Please, don’t! I plead. Remember the accident?

Andy’s face grows dour. That was over ten years ago. Kade is a good man.

He could have killed someone! He could have killed you.

But he didn’t, and he won’t, Andy says firmly.

I remember that coming up in a backstory piece on you, Colleen says. But you never talk about it. You refuse to.

Because it was terrible. He was like family until he almost killed Andy. Then, we never heard from him again.

Wasn’t he young? Colleen says. Maybe cut him some slack? If anything, it gives him a bit of bad boy appeal.

That’s an understatement. Once upon a time, I’d have given anything to be Kade Savage’s real-life girlfriend. Now, my stomach twists with the thought of even seeing him.

He grew up in a rough area, but he and Andy became fast friends after his father brought him to work on a job on our property. He came over often, becoming like family. In my teens, I started to see him differently, admiring his muscular physique. Dreaming about him day and night. He never noticed me, though. Or at least not in that way. I’d watch from afar as he’d get ready for dates at my house, always longing for it to be me on his arm.

But that was before he drove my brother’s car over a cliff, breaking Andy’s collarbone and setting him back a year academically.

That boy is bad news, I insist.

Andy smiles softly. Sis, I rarely ask anything of you, but I beg you to take Kade into consideration.

Just his name is boss, Jax says.

I roll my eyes, returning my attention to Andy. Do you think a man like him can be faithful for the duration of the contract? He was with a new girl each week in high school.

I guarantee it.

Andy has always supported me throughout my career, offering sound judgment and working countless hours to ensure my success. For whatever reason, he wants Kade Savage for the job, and I can’t say no to him.

Fine. I wave my hand dismissively. Get him on the phone.

CHAPTER 2

KADE

Oh, you poor thing. Why don’t you come in out of the heat? Lauren Rutger says in shorts so small her ass cheeks are hanging out the back.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy the view, but she is the wife of my client. I can’t afford a lapse in judgment.

While I appreciate the offer, I’m afraid there’s still a lot of work to get done.

Just let them do it. She gestures to the contractors I hired to pour the cement for her and her husband’s new pool and cabana.

Lauren’s been making eyes at me ever since I took on the project, coming out each day in smaller and smaller clothes. So far, I’ve thwarted all temptation, even with her inflated breasts crammed into a too-small bra top.

If she were single, instead of being married to someone twice her age, I’d take her up on the offer. Lord knows I need a distraction from my life. It’s been too long since I’ve had the pleasure of a woman’s company, but this season sees me working fourteen-hour days, six days a week, and if I were to slow, I could lose my position.

Lauren toys with the tie between her breasts, tugging on the string gently. I don’t want to say no, and in my youth, I sure as hell wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to bed such a fine and eager woman, regardless of the consequences. But that time has long since passed.

I grant her a smile and a rove of my eyes to let her know that she looks just fine, and say, Regretfully, I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass.

The corners of her mouth downtick into a frown. Well, regretfully I’m going to have to ask you to hurry your ass up.

After she storms off, I direct my attention to the men who are all donning smirks. The assholes are really going to give me hell the next time we go out for beers.

My phone buzzes and I look down to see a text from an unknown number.

Unknown: Hey, it’s Andy Ellis. Long time no chat. I have a proposition for you. Give me a call back.

How about never…

I pocket my phone and bark out, Back to work.

Sure thing, Casanova, a skinny fellow named Todd says.

Jacob cuts in with, I don’t know how you passed that ass up. I would have bent her over—

That is our client’s wife you’re talking about, I snap.

Tell that to the wife, Todd snickers.

Like I said, back to work.

We toil in the hot sun, measuring and marking to the client’s specifications, and just as the day’s about to wrap, out comes Mr. Rutger himself.

I’m about to open my mouth when I see that he’s red-faced, his lips curled with seething rage.

Did you make a pass at my wife?

Oh, holy hell…

No, sir. I did not.

That’s not what Lauren says!

There’s no way I’m going to win this battle. Even if he believed that his twenty-three-year-old wife was the one that made a pass at me, he’s still going to want to take it out on someone, and it certainly isn’t going to be his hot young wife.

I’m sorry if she misinterpreted any of our interactions—

Misinterpreted? Do you call staring at her breasts whenever you address her a ‘misinterpretation’? Do you call asking her to rub your aching muscles a ‘misinterpretation’? God—what women have to put up with. Savages.

The irony that my last name is Savage is not lost on me.

Over Mr. Rutger’s shoulder, I see Lauren standing at the window, arms crossed over her chest, a smug smile on her face. She knows she’s won. There’s nothing I can do to salvage my reputation with this