by Juniper Hart
“There she is!” he called to the others. Like a swarm of flies on an abandoned hamburger, they flew toward Gena, surrounding her in a din of rapid-fire questions. “Gena, how long have you been seeing Arden Morrow?”
“Gena, look over here, please!”
“Miss Averson, is he in your house now?
“Gena, are you in love with Arden?”
“Miss Averson, are you the reason things ended with Arden and Leona Davis?”
Shocked and uncomprehending, Gena fought her way through the mass of reporters, flashes of light blinding her temporarily as cameras were thrown in her face. Pushing her way up the stairs, she unlocked the door quickly without a word, closing them out behind her.
Mittens stood at the door, looking agitated.
“What the hell was that?” she demanded of the cat, her heart racing. Mittens mewled in response and hissed before sauntering away. She willed herself to take deep breaths and dropped her keys on the banister.
Arden Morrow again? What do these people want with me? I returned the damn phone to the Sprint store four days ago. She could not understand why there was suddenly a crowd of paparazzi outside her house. Because I answered one call? Investigative journalism is really going to hell. Talk about fake news. This is where rumors start.
Her cell phone began to ring, and Gena snatched it up, trying to steady her racing heart. “Hello?”
“Honey! Are you all right?” Andrea Averson breathed into her ear.
“Yeah, Mom, are you?” Gena responded, equally as alarmed.
“What is going on over there?” Andrea demanded. “Are you sleeping with an actor? What happened to Chad?”
“Wait, what?” Gena cried. “Who told you I am sleeping with an actor?”
Andrea gasped, as if Gena’s words were a confession. “Oh, so it’s true! Oh, honey, Chad must be devastated! How could you do that to him?”
“Wait a second, Mom. Slow down. I am not sleeping with anyone. Where did you hear that?”
“Well, in the magazine, dear. It’s hot news. Arden Morrow is a big name. He’s a Hollywood actor, you know. He has his own people for everything. You can’t hide something like this forever.”
“What magazine?” Gena questioned.
“Fame. No, wait, Physique. Yes, here it is. There’s a picture of you in front of your house, and the headline reads, ‘Morrow’s Easy A?’ Now, I’m not sure what that means—”
“What!” Gena shrieked. She bolted toward her laptop and waited with feverish impatience for it to load.
Come on, you stupid piece of crap, load! she yelled silently at the computer. That bitch reporter made up a lie and printed it in a magazine? No, there are laws against printing false news… aren’t there? In this day, it was impossible to say what was allowed. There was so much BS online now, who could possibly monitor all the fake crap going out?
“Honey, is Chad there? Let me talk to him. He must be beside himself.”
“Chad left days ago, Mom,” Gena answered without thinking, her mind focused strictly on finding the article.
“Oh, Gena, what have you done? You threw away a stable and loving relationship for a few cheap thrills? This actor isn’t going to remember your name next week!” her mother cried. “You must make things right with Chad. He is your future, not an actor. I know it seems very exciting right now, but that excitement fades over time. He is using you, honey. Think of your priorities. I have raised you better than that!”
“Okay, Mom, I’m on it,” Gena replied tightly. Andrea didn’t hear the sarcasm in her voice, but it didn’t matter—Gena couldn’t focus on speaking to her mother and dealing with this new mess at the same time. “I gotta go.”
She hung up before her mother could respond and quickly typed in a Google search for the Physique magazine. As her mother had stated, Gena graced the front page of the rag with the disgraceful headline. The picture did her absolutely no justice, and Gena’s face burned in shame. Swallowing the disgust in her throat, she began to scan through the untruthful article, her blood beginning to boil with anger.
“Love nest… small town girl… heavy breathing on the phone… oh, my God! What a pack of lies!” Furious, Gena jumped out of her chair and threw open the front door before she could rethink her actions. Collectively, the hyenas stopped talking to stare at her expectantly. “I am not sleeping with Arden!” she howled at them, her face red with rage. “Get the hell out of here!”
Turning to slam the door in her wake, she heard one call out to another, “Did you hear that? She called him Arden!” The group erupted into a loud buzz, leaving Gena to bang her head against the solid wood.
“Miss, you cannot come in here!”
Arden paused on the stairs and listened to Shawna arguing with someone at the front door. To his surprise, he watched as a tall, slim girl pushed past the tiny housekeeper. He found himself temporarily lost for words as she stormed the interior.
Who is this now?
“Where is he?” she snapped, glancing down the narrow hallway. Her head turned upward, and she caught Arden’s bemused expression. A strange feeling slithered through him as their irises connected, but it was gone before he could identify it.
“Arden Morrow, I need a word with you,” she told him flatly. His mind twisted into a dozen thoughts, immediately looking to her hand for a subpoena. He couldn’t imagine who else might be so brazen as to attack his house, if not a reporter or a lawyer.
“I’m sorry, you are…?” he asked innocently, somehow aroused by the fire in her blazing hazel eyes. Her mouth twisted into a grimace of anger, and he immediately guessed that he had asked the wrong question. For some reason, however, he wanted to anger her further.
That is a strange thought to have. You don’t know this woman. Why would you want to make her mad?
“Honestly, I don’t have the time or patience to play with you, Mr. Morrow,” she told him, and Arden found himself slowly descending the stairs toward her, his curiosity fully piqued.
Well, she doesn’t seem to be serving me court papers, and I get the sense that she is not looking for my autograph…
“I apologize if you think I’m being coy, but I have no idea who you are,” he replied smoothly. He stood before her, and despite her lean frame, he was still forced to bow his head slightly to look at her.
“I would be Gena Averson,” she told him, gritting her teeth. “I’m sure you recognize my picture.”
The name meant nothing to Arden. Through his peripheral vision, a flash of recognition flittered across Shawna’s eyes.
“Oh…” the housekeeper muttered, stepping back. Gena whirled and threw her hands up in exasperation.
“She seems to know who I am!” she snarled, folding her arms over her chest. “I assume you do, too.”
Arden glanced at Shawna for an explanation, but she continued to shuffle away, as if she was trying to make herself invisible. “Hang on, Shawna, who is this?”
“Oh, seriously? Are we going to do this?” Gena snapped. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”
“Shawna?” Arden demanded. “Are you going to explain?”
Shawna inhaled sharply and met his gaze reluctantly. “She’s the one the tabloids say you are having an affair with,” she mumbled. Arden began to laugh, but he saw the expression on the women’s faces.
“You’re serious?” he scoffed. Indignation overtook Gena’s face, and Shawna looked like she wanted to disappear.
“I’m glad you find this hilarious.”
Instantly, Arden lost his bemused grin. This was the first he was hearing about any of this.
“What? When did this happen?” he demanded. He turned to Gena, shaking his head. “I knew nothing of this,” he told her.
“Well, that’s just perfect. We can agree that it never happened. Now I need you to make a statement or have a press conference or whatever the hell you people do when crap like this happens and make it go away!” Gena retorted, her hands on her hips. “The press was camped outs
ide my house all night!”
Arden was suddenly enthralled by her livid movements. Watching her was like poetry, her hands a flurry of nervousness, like she couldn’t quite decide which position would be the most threatening to him. He suddenly understood his desire to see her incensed.
“I see,” he drawled slowly. “What makes you think that they will believe me?”
Stupefied at his answer, Gena’s mouth dropped open. “Wh-what do you mean? It never happened! They have to believe you!”
Arden shrugged nonchalantly and flopped unceremoniously onto the bottom step, his bright eyes fixated on Gena’s face. He had never seen a more expressive person, of that he would have bet his entire fortune.
If she could harness that passion, she would make for a great actress, he thought, trying desperately not to show his mounting interest in this spitfire. He hadn’t asked for her to storm into his life, but he’d be damned if he was going to let her walk out without enjoying her for a few minutes, at least.
“Did you tell them that the affair never happened?” he questioned. He propped an ankle over his knee, relishing the anger the flippant motion seemed to instill in her. For a moment, Arden thought he saw puffs of smoke emanating from her nostrils.
“Of course I did!” she almost screamed. Arden did not flinch.
“Well, if they didn’t believe you, what makes you think that they’ll believe me?” Gena’s mouth began to move, but no sound emitted, as though her vocal cords had dissipated during her visit. “You see what I mean?” Arden asked smoothly. “I fear that there is not much I can do, either.”
“You can try!” she exploded, pounding her fists against her legs. For a moment, Arden was reminded of Malik having a temper tantrum.
I thought I was trying to get away from people like this in my life, and yet here comes another one, knocking on my door. He pushed the thought of his publicist from his mind. Gena Averson was a much more interesting pastime.
“May I ask why they think you and I are having such relations?” Arden asked curiously. He was sure he had never seen Gena before, and the paparazzi tended to pick up a scent from somewhere.
I wonder where they found her. I should ask them for tips. He watched as her face turned crimson, the freckles on her nose almost completely disappearing from the stain.
“I… I found your cell,” she mumbled, averting her smoky eyes. “And I returned it to the store.”
Arden arched an eyebrow. “Yes, thank you for that. Sprint called me, and I had them send it to me. How would you finding my phone have anything to with this? Are you suggesting that the employees at the store made something up to tell the tabloids?”
Gena shook her head and dropped her head in embarrassment. “No…”
Arden peered at her expectantly, his eyes narrowing as he tried to comprehend what she was hiding. It dawned on him suddenly.
“Oh, you answered it before you returned it, didn’t you?” The understanding smacked him with another jolt of pleasure. The story was amusing him more than it should have, given this woman’s clear ire. Gena was silent, chewing on her lower lip in shame and frustration. “Well, that will teach you not to answer phones that don’t belong to you,” he told her smugly. Her head jerked up, and she glared at him.
“I answered the phone thinking it was the owner calling it! I didn’t answer it to become some Hollywood punchline!”
“Even so, you should be more careful in the future,” Arden chided. He was seeing how far he could goad her, how many more contortions her face could create.
It isn’t fair to do this to her… but it is the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed! How many more things will I get to see like this? Arden told himself, his eyes unable to look anywhere but at her face. Gena’s complexion changed several times as she realized that he was enjoying her reactions. She took a deep breath and tried again in a steadier tone.
“So, you’re not going to call off the wolves?”
Better the wolves than the bears, he thought irrelevantly. Again, Arden shrugged, seemingly unmoved by her plight. “They’ll call themselves off when they realize they have nothing. Don’t worry about it—shouldn’t take more than a couple days.”
I really should do something about this. I don’t need the publicity, but it’s Hollywood gossip. It won’t call attention to the real reason I’m out here.
Gena ground her teeth to keep from screaming profanities at him and whirled to leave.
“Oh, Ms. Averson!” he yelled at her retreating back. “Thanks for returning my cell phone. Can I offer you a reward?”
She did not respond, and Arden stood at the front door, watching her take off down the dirt road.
“She is mad,” Shawna murmured from behind him. “I thought she was going to give you the finger.”
“Yes, she is,” Arden agreed, smiling softly. She may not have sworn at him, but he could feel the remnants of her passion on his skin like a warm mist. He hoped that her lovely face twisted in anger would stay impressed in his mind forever. He could not remember the last time he had felt so content staring at something.
Realizing that she was out of sight, he turned to face Shawna.
“You read that article?” he asked, and she nodded quickly. “Do you still have it? I wouldn’t mind reading about what my love life could have been.”
Shawna hurried off to find the magazine, and Arden grinned to himself. What he had told Gena was true; the story would stale, and the reporters would disappear… eventually.
6
“Malik, what are you doing here?”
The agent walked into the front of the farmhouse and patted Arden on the back heartily.
“How could I stay away when I heard the good news?” he announced in a mock jovial tone. Arden blinked, staring at him, confused.
“What good news?”
“Oh, are we still keeping your young girlfriend a secret from the world?” Malik joked, strolling into the warm living room. Arden grunted.
“Please don’t tell me you’re buying into that tripe also,” he groaned, joining his longtime friend. They both sat on the sofa and regarded one another.
“What a shame. You could use a young, hot thing in your life, Arden. It might help you overcome whatever this insanity is that you’re feeling lately.”
“She’s not as young as she looks in the pictures,” Arden replied softly, purposely ignoring his agent’s dig. Malik’s eyebrow raised so high, it seemed to sit atop his shiny skull.
“You know her?”
“Well, no, not exactly. She came here yesterday, furious about the paparazzi being all over her lawn.” Malik’s eyebrow did not reclaim its normal position.
“And?” he demanded. “What did you tell her?”
Arden shrugged. “What could I tell her? It will all blow over in a few days. Especially when you formally announce my retirement.”
Malik paused for a moment, his brain speeding up. “Maybe that’s not such a good idea, Arden,” he said slowly.
“What?”
“Announcing your retirement when this story just broke. It will look bad for everyone. They’ll start digging around in your past…”
Arden laughed. “So what? They’ve been doing that from the minute I made my debut in Hollywood. If they haven’t found anything yet, they aren’t about to find anything now.”
Malik’s face twisted into a scowl as he seemed to realize his client was right. Still, it didn’t stop him from grasping at straws. “How about this girl? What do you know about her? She could have skeletons that you don’t want associated with you. Really, Arden, think about what this could mean as exposure for the Enchanted.”
“So, what do you propose—forget about telling the world I retired and just disappear? I have other contracts pending. I can’t just walk away like that without an explanation to anyone.”
“You already have!” Malik said abruptly, but then quickly regained his composure. “I’m just giving you the same advice you gave the girl;
wait it out until this crap dies down, and then we’ll make a formal announcement.”
Arden considered Malik’s words for a long moment. “Okay, we’ll wait for a while. But I don’t want to prolong this forever, Mal. I want to forget about La La Land and move on with my life.”
Gena’s face was gaunt from lack of sleep, and there were dark circles under her eyes.
You look like a raccoon. This is not good. Take a deep breath, splash some cold water on your face, and look out the window. They cannot still be there. It rained last night, and no one wants to sit in the rain all night. Dousing her tired face with icy water, she cautiously crept up to the bathroom window and pulled the lacy curtains aside. Dammit! They’re still out there! Don’t these people have lives of their own?
It was five-thirty in the morning, and Gena had to start her shift at the hospital. She knew that there was no way she was getting out the front door without being accosted. The previous day, she had snuck into the backyard, climbed over the fences of two neighbors, and slipped down Chestnut Avenue without ever seeing her own street. She had been fuming the morning before, wracking her brain for a solution to the madness.
She finally realized that she would have to track down Arden Morrow and speak with him face to face. She cursed herself for returning his phone.
If I still had it, I probably could have figured out where he is, she thought, but that point was moot. No good deed goes unpunished. Instead, she thought about where she had found the device in the first place. Jogging at top speed, she made her way into the convenience store across from Christie Park.
“Good morning, Gena!” Max called out, and Gena offered the old man a quick smile.
“Hey, Max, how are you doing?”
“Not bad, considering the alternative,” he joked back and coughed to follow up his morbid humor. Gena smiled affectionately at him. He had been a fixture in the community for as long as anyone could remember.
“I have a question for you,” she asked the old timer. He nodded easily, his watery, red eyes focused intently on her.
