I left the guest house, shutting the door behind me and letting out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding in. This woman was more judgmental and irritating than anyone else I think I'd ever met. This was going to be a really long fucking week.

I went back into the main house and walked down the hallway to the front room where Melissa my assistant and Scott, the director of the film crew were waiting to have a talk with me.

I flopped into one of the chairs and let out an exhale.

"This woman is the worst possible winner of this sweepstakes we could've gotten," Scott said, shaking his head and pacing the floor.

"Yeah tell me about it," I laughed.

"Oh you haven't even heard the half of it yet Dylan. When I had my talk with her the mic on my headphones was still recording. Listen to this." Scott said, pulling up an audio file on his phone and pressing play.

I listened to the conversation Scott had with her earlier in silence and my eyes widened in surprise at different parts.

As I sat back and listened I was shocked at a few things she said. She wasn't after money. The fact that she wanted to work hard and earn the house she wanted herself was really noble. I don't know too many people that would have turned down that offer. Come to think of it, I didn't know any. She didn't want fame either and she made it sound like dating me was the last thing in the world she wanted. That was a first.

She was different than all the L.A. women I met night after night, the ones that came to our parties. They were almost all actresses or models or singers trying to break into the business. I might think I was finally making a connection with one of them and that they might actually care but inevitably they always ended up trying to get something out of me. As soon as they'd find out I wasn't going to help them with their career they'd disappear and move on to the next person with connections. They never really cared. They were all fake.

When the recording was over, Melissa my assistant said, "So she's not a fan and doesn't want to date you, she hates celebrities, doesn't want to be famous, and she can't be bought," she laughed. "Scott's right Dylan. This is the worst type of person that could have won this sweepstakes. We have no leverage to control her."

"Why do we need to control her?" I asked.

"Well in case we need to persuade her to do what we want. It's always nice to have some kind of bargaining chip with people," Scott said. "This girl's dangerous because we don't have one."

I cut in and said, "This girl doesn't have to be bribed Scott. Didn't you hear what she said at the end? She wants to help because it's the right thing to do and she knows how much it means to us. And you know, the crazy thing is, I believe her. It seems like she likes to help people and do the right thing. All you have to do is talk to her and appeal to her kindness if you want her to do something."

"Yeah I guess," Scott said, scratching his head with an exhale. "Bribery is just so much easier and less complicated."

Melissa laughed and said, "I have a feeling everything about this girl is gonna be complicated."

She was right. This woman was definitely complicated.

Melissa stood there in silence for a few seconds before she looked at me and said, "Not that I think there's any risk of this happening because she's obviously not interested in you but I just wanted to remind you that you can't sleep with this one. She's off limits. This is a P.R. stunt for the movie studio, not a conquest of yours. We don't want this to get any more complicated than it already is. Got it?" she asked, looking me directly in the eyes and waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, got it," I nodded. "I wasn't even planning to sleep with her. It's not like I just go around banging everybody. I could have a different woman in my bed every night if I wanted to but I don't. I'm pretty picky and it's been quite a while since I brought a girl home if you haven't noticed."

Melissa gave me a hint of a smile and said, "Yeah I've noticed. But she's a beautiful woman and I saw that gleam in your eye when you were listening to that recording of her so I thought we needed to remind you."

"We want you to try to be her friend though. It'll make for better footage this week if you two are smiling and look happy," Scott told me.

"Got it. I'll try to be her friend. Are we good now?" I asked.

Scott rolled his eyes and said, "Almost done, Mr. Impatient. I also wanted to remind you that the whole point of this sweepstakes was that she would have the most amazing week of her life and see what it's like to live the glamorous life of a celebrity, going to a movie premiere, getting invited to an exclusive after party full of celebs, eating at gourmet restaurants, shooting a movie, shopping on Rodeo Drive. Here's your schedule for the week," he said, handing me a sheet of paper.

"I also loaded this calendar onto your cell phone and laptop. Just remember, you're supposed to take her along with you to each of these events," Melissa added. "And you'll have a film crew tagging along with you guys to get footage."

"What if she doesn't want to go?" I asked.

"Well, judging from her attitude today, that's definitely a possibility. You'll just have to remind her that all of these events are a requirement of the contract she signed to win the sweepstakes. She has to do all these press events with you or she's in breach of contract and could be sued for a lot of money she doesn't have," Melissa said with impatient annoyance. It was obvious she hated dealing with this as much as I did.

"Got it. Are we good now?" I asked again.

Melissa gave me the side eye. She had been my personal assistant for five years now and she was really good at her job and at putting up with my crap. And believe me, I gave her a lot of crap, but only because I knew she could handle it.

"Yeah we're good. See you tomorrow," she said, patting my shoulder as her and Scott got up, heading towards the door. He went outside first but before she went through the door she turned around, raising a skeptical eyebrow at me, saying, "Be good," before finally closing the door behind her with a smile.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. I don't know why in the world she thought I'd have such a hard time resisting Brenley. She was right that Brenley was beautiful but I was around beautiful women all the time. That was nothing new.

I went up to my room and stripped everything off and took a hot shower. That always seemed to help me sleep better. Sleep was something I struggled to get enough of these days. My schedule kept me so busy that if I didn't cut out some sleep time I'd never have any time for myself.

I shut the water off and grabbed a fluffy white towel off the shelf and dried off. Using it afterwards to wipe away the steam on the mirror and seeing my reflection. The long production days for months filming my most recent movie, The Long Road to Redemption, had taken their toll and I looked more tired and stressed than normal. I really needed this movie to be a success. Everything was riding on it.

I was in desperate need of a break but unfortunately I had another busy week ahead. My new movie had just started filming, plus I had the movie premiere for The Long Road to Redemption this week and I had to babysit Brenley all week and take her everywhere with me. To say I wasn't looking forward to it would be the understatement of the century. I got the impression she was impossible to impress and very serious, uptight and judgmental. The kind of person I normally avoided being around, but this week I had no choice.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth before pulling on some boxers. As I walked back into my bedroom, I noticed the blinds were pulled open and the french door to my balcony was cracked. I walked over to shut it when I heard the sound of the ocean and decided to open it and walk out. I looked out at the water and breathed in a deep inhale of ocean air. I loved the ocean and living right on the Malibu beach had always been a dream of mine and here I was.

I had everything I ever wanted. I was a movie star, I sold out huge concert stadiums and I had won Grammys and an Oscar. I stood there, leaning my elbows against the railing and letting out an exhale as I looked at the ocean. So if I had everything I ever wanted why wasn't I more happy? Why did it all feel so empty and unfulfilling?

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and I saw Brenley out on the balcony of the guest house curled up in a chair looking at a lit up tablet on her lap. I thought about texting her but then I realized I didn't have her number.

"Hey," I shouted, waving my hand at her when she turned around. It took a second of her looking around to figure out where the voice came from and when she did she smiled.

"Hey," she yelled back with a wave.

"Do you like the view?"

"Yeah," she said. "It's not too bad. It's a nice place to read."

"What are you reading?" I asked. "Some steamy romance novel?"

She laughed and shook her head.

"No, something way more exciting. A Real estate advice blog."

"Oh. Sounds riveting," I teased.

I saw her turn the tablet off and she let out an exhale as she stood up.

"Actually I think I'm done reading for the night. I'm too tired. Good night," she said, getting up and heading inside without even giving me enough time to say it back before she slid the door closed behind her.

If I didn't know better I'd think she was avoiding talking to me. "Good night," I said, under my breath as I walked inside. "What a strange woman," I said out loud, shaking my head in confusion.