Star Attraction Read Free

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rid of him soon.   “We’re on ten,”
she said.   “You aren’t lost, are
you?”
    “I, um, no,” he said, with a blink
and shake of his head.   “I’m going
to Room 1012.”
    “Right, well, it’s this way, the
door next to mine,” Zaira said, leading him down the corridor.   “You must be doing that new film
studies course Brad Clarke is giving this term.   I must admit I’ve never liked any of his films, but of
course it’s a matter of taste.”
    The tall dark stranger hesitated
for a moment in the corridor, and handed her back her papers abruptly.   “Here you are, I’d better give you
these, or your students will get even more of the nonsense you’ve just been
talking off the top of your head,” he sneered, before continuing down the
corridor on his own.
    Zaira was astonished by his
rudeness; he’d seemed so friendly, and genuinely interested in the things she’d
been saying.   She followed him and
saw to her dismay that several reporters and students had gathered outside Room
1012, and were now taking photos of the gorgeous stranger.  
    Oh no! she groaned inwardly.   Of all the people in the universe she
could have bumped into and insulted!   Brad Clarke, Hollywood’s hottest new director, famous for his pride,
arrogance and temper.   Brad Clarke,
famous for his womanizing, flamboyant lifestyle, and vast wealth.   Brad Clarke, the man who was coming to
see her tomorrow to discuss the novel she had written with a view to buying the
movie rights!  
    Reflecting that she couldn’t mend
any fences now, since she was already very late for class, Zaira hastily
trotted into her lecture hall and began to apologize, introduce herself, and go
over the book list all in one breath.

 
     
     
     
CHAPTER TWO
     
    Later in the privacy of her small
office, as Zaira sipped her coffee, she recalled the amazing sensations her
first meeting with Brad Clarke had produced.   For one thing, even though she’d seen photos of him in every
glossy magazine in the world, somehow in person he had seemed so ordinary, so
genuine.   He certainly hadn’t
behaved like the arrogant beast she had been led to expect.   His last remark had simply been a
feeble attempt to restore some of his own wounded pride.  
    Zaira could see why he had the
reputation of being a womanizer; Brad Clarke had looks every woman would swoon
over, she admitted reluctantly.   But he had not been in the least predatory towards herself, though Zaira
put that down to her prim and proper exterior in her university uniform, as she
considered her tailored suits and spectacles to be.  
    If the truth were told, Zaira was
anything but conventional; however, for one so young to be lecturing at
university, she had decided early on that she would not get anyone’s back up by
trying to assert her own style, or stand out from the crowd.    She had won every scholarship,
award, and honor possible in her field by the time she was twenty-two due to
her sheer hard work and determination. After a few years' study abroad, she had
come back home to New York and to her old university to finish her Ph. D.   Money was tight, so Zaira could not
afford to alienate anyone until her studies were finished.  
    Zaira was teaching all the hours
in the day in an effort to pay for past mistakes she wished she could put
behind her, and the role of prim professor suited her.   She didn’t want anyone to recognize her
at university, after the disgraceful fraud and bankruptcy case she had had to
endure.   It had been dire necessity
rather than any burning desire to write a bestseller which had now put her in
the path of Brad Clarke.
    Zaira had always been fascinated
by history, and so it had been easy for her to dash off a light-weight
historical novel about the life and times of Shakespeare and his famous love
triangle with his patron, the Earl of Southampton, and “the Dark Lady.”   Amazingly, it had not only been
accepted for publication, but within a few