"What the hell are you talking about?" I shot back. "You're trying to put this on me? You sick, twisted, lying, manipulative asshole. Why would you do this?"
"You know I was perfectly justified doing what I did," he retaliated. "You should look in the mirror before you start throwing insults around. You're no better than a cheap liar. It's the attention you wanted, wasn't it? Well, now you've got it."
I looked at him like he had grown two heads. "What are you talking about? I'm not the one who embarrassed you on stage just now."
"No you've already had your chance. Unfortunately for you, I’ve seen to it that the story will never be published. "
"What story? Are you going to explain yourself and spit it out, are you going to keep being a cryptic jerk?"
“This little indignant act is getting old Chloe. We both know what you did; now you have to live with the consequences.”
“I didn’t do anything!” I shouted. I was frustrated by his accusations that I had done something, yet he wouldn’t say what it was I did. “Just tell me what you’re accusing me of.”
“Enough!” he shouted. “I’m not an idiot and I refuse to waste any more time on someone like you.” He spit out the last words and made a sharp turn not waiting for my reply as he stalked off out of the exit to his waiting limo.
My mind was in a whirl, I felt faint again. Each second I was fighting the urge to cry or to run around like crazy and break everything I saw. In the end, I was too exhausted to do anything but slink down to the floor and rest my head on my knees.
"Do you need anything? Can I get your car for you?" I looked up into kind blue eyes that looked familiar to me. The woman who helped me off the stage was kneeling in front of me, her hand on my shoulder. I nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak just yet.
My anger and rage had evaporated with Jake's exit. All that was left was a deep sense of sadness. I had such great hopes for tonight, and they were not only dashed, but set on fire and burnt to a crisp, then the ashes were spit on. She squeezed my shoulder in a sympathetic gesture before moving away to get my car.
I sat on that floor trying to block out everything around me. I heard snippets of conversation and whispers from the event workers who had heard about what had just happened. They whispered behind their hands and gave me curious looks, but kept their distance. It made me even more anxious to get out of there and go home. I wanted to give in to my urge to cry my eyes out, but knew I had to hold it in. I wouldn't embarrass myself any further tonight in front of these people.
The kind stranger finally came back and held out her hand to help me up. "Your car will be coming around the back entrance. It will be easier to get out and avoid any press or curious onlookers," she said, leading me to the exit.
"Thank you," I managed to say. "I really appreciate it."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry about what happened. I hope you will feel better.”
“Somehow I doubt it,” I said sadly. I gave her a half hearted smile and shrugged my shoulders. The back of my eyes burned with unshed tears, and I was trying to keep them from spilling.
The car finally pulled up and I got in without waiting for the driver to open the door. Once inside, I realized the driver was the same one who had driven me here, which meant he was Jake's driver. I briefly wondered if he had heard what just happened. The furtive glances he kept shooting me through the rearview mirror confirmed that he did know about it.
I kept head turned towards the side, staring unseeing out the window. I didn't know if he wanted to talk, but I didn't want to give him an opening. My main goal right then was just to get home as soon as I could where I could curl up in a ball and block out the world.
After what felt like eternity, we finally pulled up outside my apartment. I opened the door and shot up the stairs without a word or a backward glance. Once inside, I felt the total weight of tonight's events finally come crashing down on me. I wondered if Jake had made me promise to win him just so he could humiliate me like that on stage. I thought about Caroline and his conversation from earlier in the night and wondered if she was in on it as well.
My anger came bubbling back up to the surface. In a fit of rage, I threw a vase of flowers against my wall. The loud cracking sound as it hit the wall and the shattering of the glass was very satisfying. So I found more things to throw—the television remote, wine glasses, picture frames, and books all felt my wrath. After I had destroyed everything that wasn't tied down or too heavy to lift, I was exhausted mentally and physically. I lay on the floor panting trying to catch my breath. I eventually fell asleep there, too tired to even make it to the bedroom.
Chapter Three
The bright sunlight streaming through my windows woke me the next morning. I had to squint my eyes and shield them from the sun. My head was pounding with a massive headache and my body ached from sleeping on the hardwood floor. I craned my neck from side to side, rubbing the back of it trying to work out a kink when my phone rang.
"Chloe, are you all right?" Allison asked. Her voice was laced with concern. All the events from last evening came flooding back at her question—the auction, Jake's cruel behavior, and my humiliation on stage. I dreaded finding out how Allison had heard the news.
"I'm okay," I croaked into the receiver. "Why do you ask?"
"Don't give me that bullshit, Chloe," she scoffed. "It's all over the papers what happened last night. That bastard."
A feeling of dread settled in the pit of my stomach. "What's in the paper?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer. "What have you heard?"
"You haven't seen it yet?" She sounded surprised.
“I just woke up, actually. Tell me, how bad is it?"
"Uh, I'll be right over." She hung up the phone. I felt like a nervous wreck waiting for Allison to come over. I just wanted to forget last night ever happened, but judging from Allison's reaction, it seemed everyone had heard about my humiliation. I was tempted to turn on the computer and see it for myself, but decided to wait for her to come over, afraid to face the news alone.
I decided to get cleaned up before she arrived. I could just picture how I looked with my hair a crazy tangle and mascara running down my face, not to mention the crumpled dress I still wore from last night. Looking in the mirror just confirmed my suspicions. I only had enough time to brush my teeth, wash my face and change into some comfortable sweat pants and t-shirt before I heard the buzzer.
Allison stood there panting out of breath as if she literally ran to my place. Her hands were on her hips and she was bent over trying to catch her breath. I stepped aside for her to enter my apartment. She sat down on my couch and stared at me before she spoke. I felt uncomfortable under her gaze. The wounds were still raw and I felt completely exposed before her.
"That motherfucker," she said finally.
I let out a small smile at that. Allison certainly had a way of putting things. I didn't disagree with her as I sat down next to her on the couch. She turned to me, a look of uncertainty flashed across her face before she grabbed my hands. "It's not good,” she said.
I closed my eyes, fearing the worst. "Let's hear it."
"I think you should see it for yourself." Allison took out her laptop from her bag and went to a popular gossip website. Right there on the front page was a picture of me on the stage looking pale and shell shocked, standing behind Jake. He was holding the mic in the picture. The headline read "Billionaire Jake Powers Rejects Date With Auction Winner".
Billionaire Jake Powers may be a notorious playboy, but he won't just settle for anyone, it seems. Powers rejected a date with an auction winner at last night's Auction for St. Raphael's Children's Hospital. The mysterious woman, who we have learned is Chloe Harper, bid a whopping $50,000 for the chance to go out with Powers, but all that money wasn't enough. Powers claimed she wasn't "up to his standards" and promised to pay the bid price himself so he wouldn't have to go out with the buxom lady.
I couldn't read any more. I felt the bile rise
in my throat and had to swallow to keep from throwing up all over my couch in front of Allison. As if being humiliated wasn't enough, they had to go and make it about my weight. It just added insult to injury. I closed monitor handed the laptop back to her.
"Can you believe what that bitch Sandra said? After all we'd done for her," she said, placing the laptop back into her bag.
"I didn't read that far," I said. "I couldn't get past the first paragraph."
"Oh. Forget it then."
"What did she say?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"You sure you want to know?"
I wasn't sure, but nodded my head at her to continue anyway.
"She said you were obsessed with Jake and that you would do anything to get him to notice you.”
I shook my head in disbelief. "That’s not what happened at all. I can't believe Sandra would say those things."
"Some people just have no class," Allison replied, pursing her lips. “We should really sue her for talking to the press since she did sign a nondisclosure agreement.”
"What am I going to do?" I whispered in agony. "How can I ever face anyone again?"
Allison turned her head sharply to look at me, her eyes blazing with anger. "You don't have to do anything. It's not your fault Jake Powers is a bastard. You're the one who was wronged. If anything, you should demand a public apology from him."
"That's the last thing I want," I said. "I just want to forget the whole thing—pretend it never happened."
"It will all die down eventually. You’ve just got to get through the frenzy now. Maybe you should go away for a little while until things settle," she suggested.
I shook my head sadly. "Where would I go? My face is plastered over the newspapers and gossip rags. I'm a laughing stock, or worse, a pitiful loser," I replied.
"You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself," Allison said, shaking me by my shoulders. "This whole pity party is getting old, and I know that's not you. Chloe Harper is a fighter. She doesn't let one asshole ruin her life and her self esteem. You've come too far, worked too hard for that."
I looked up at her, noticing the kindle in her eyes and I took strength from her words. She was right. I wasn't made to mope, and I certainly wasn't going to give Jake that kind of power over me. I was the innocent party in all of this.
"You're right, Allison. But there is one thing that still puzzles me," I said, recalling Jakes words. "Last night Jake accused me of something, but I’m not sure what it was.”
“What do you mean? What did he say?” she asked.
“He said that I had done something to him, but he wouldn’t explain. I honestly have no idea what he was talking about.”
“Hmm that’s weird. Is that why he decided to humiliate you on stage?”
I cringed at her casual mention of last night. “I guess,” I replied. “He said something about a story. Like I had tried to sell a story or something, but that makes no sense.”
“These typical rich assholes always think they’re justified for acting like complete jerks.”
“I guess you’re right, but it’s just been bugging me. Something must have happened I think for him to do a complete 180, you know? I just can’t figure out what, and he wasn’t exactly forthcoming about it.”
“I wouldn’t think about it too much,” she said. “He doesn’t deserve any more of your time thinking about him.”
“I wish I could just forget this whole nightmare and pretend none of it ever happened,” I said.
Allison gave me a sympathetic smile and patted my shoulder. “It’ll all be a distant memory soon enough,” she said. “You just have to keep on keeping on, boss.”
Allison packed up and after a few more worried glances my way, she soon left. I promised her I wouldn’t do anything stupid, although I don't know what she thought I was capable of. I sat back on my couch and allowed myself the luxury to think about Jake one more time.
Just the thought of him sent a little stab of pain to my heart. My eyes pricked with tears as I recalled his cold demeanor last night and his utter disregard for my feelings. He was like a stranger to me. The thoughtful caring man who I thought I knew was gone.
I had to marshal all my strength and put Jake behind me. My anger at him would keep me going. There was no way I would ever talk to or see him again. I had to remind myself that it was all his fault; I never did anything to deserve that kind of treatment. Besides, I was better off now without someone like him in my life, I reasoned.
Chapter Four
Life hadn’t returned back to normal one month after the disastrous auction. Though Allison and I had hopes things would die down, they didn’t. It seemed every day, there was a new story or new twist to the never ending saga.
Ex-clients and women I’d worked with came out of the woodworks, giving false or unflattering details about me. Though there were a few who defended me, the majority was negative. I was bogged down by phone requests for interviews and paparazzi snooping through my garbage and practically stalking me, trying to get the most unflattering pictures possible to sell.
My life, in short, had become a nightmare. I felt like I was about to go crazy at any moment. I couldn’t eat or sleep due to all the stress. The worst thing was the notoriety had affected my business. We hadn’t had a new client since the whole fiasco started. The calls that we did get looking to be set up turned out to be hoaxes and prank calls.
I was a laughing stock and my reputation was in ruins. I knew Allison kept the more unsavory bits of information from me, and I was grateful for it, but I realized it must have been stressful for her too.
“We really need to do something about this,” she said one afternoon. We had just heard from a client who called to terminate his contract. He was the fifth person to do it since the auction. “This is getting ridiculous now.”
“What can we do?” I asked. “We can’t force them to use our services.”
“I know that, but it’s not right. We didn’t do anything wrong, but we’re still the ones getting punished for it.”
“Yeah, you’re right, but I just don’t see what we can do?” I felt hopeless. All the stress and negative press had worn me down. I couldn’t go anywhere without strangers pointing at me and whispering behind their hands. My business, which I had built up from scratch, was suffering. And to top it off, I still couldn’t get Jake out of my mind.
Though I tried not to think of him, I couldn’t help but be reminded of him everywhere I went. The press hounded him just as much as they did me, if not more. Each day, it seemed he was pictured out with a new sexy woman on his arm attending some premiere or gala. It was as if he was rubbing it in my face. I tried not to be hurt, tried not to care, but I couldn’t get my traitorous heart to cooperate.
My one saving grace was anger. It was the anger that kept me going. It kept me from calling him, begging him to take me back. Even though I missed him, I also never wanted to see him again. I was still furious at him and I knew I could never forgive him for humiliating me.
“There’s got to be something,” Allison said, recalling my attention. She sat in thought, biting her bottom lip as she stared unseeingly at the ceiling. After a few minutes she turned to me, a determined gleam in her eyes, before she picked up her purse and cell phone. “There’s something I need to do,” she said standing up and making her way towards the door.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“There’s something I have to do,” she said before walking out.
I sat and stared after her as she walked out. It was very unusual for Allison to just get up and leave the office without an explanation. The look she gave me before leaving worried me, and it briefly crossed my mind to go after her or call her but I decided against it. I didn’t want to go out and face the paparazzi that would be inevitably waiting for me outside. It was enough having to deal with them coming and going from work, I didn’t want to give them more opportunity to snap shots of me.
Allison eventuall
y came back an hour later. She was uncharacteristically silent and wouldn’t tell me where she went or what she had to do.
“What do you mean, you had to go out?” I asked. “Where did you go?”
“There were some things I had to take care of,” she said evasively.
I pursed my lips at her. I didn’t like being kept in the dark, but I knew she was stubborn and wouldn’t tell me, so I let it go reluctantly.
“Did you give any more thought to going away on vacation?” Allison asked casually, as she looked up at me over the papers in her hand.
“What vacation?” I asked.
“We talked about it weeks ago. Don’t you remember?”
“No I don’t,” I replied. “Besides, what about work?”
“What work? It’s not like we’ve got clients anymore,” she said.
“That’s true,” I agreed. “Where would I go anyways?”
“Anywhere but here. Don’t you just want to get away from the craziness? To some remote location somewhere to relax?”
The idea appealed to me. It would be nice to just get away, I thought. I could escape the paparazzi, news of Jake, and just hideaway in my own private bungalow at some secluded resort. It would give me an opportunity to rest and recharge. I was growing more and more excited at the prospect.
“You’re right. It would be nice to escape this nightmare I’ve been living in for the past month. I just need to decide where to go.”
“I know just the place!” Allison said.
“Oh? Where?”
“You just leave everything up to me boss. I’ll book everything today, and you can be off this week.”
“Hmm, I don’t know if I trust you, Allison. Are you going to send me to some Godforsaken place with mosquitoes and no running water?” I said, eyeing her warily.
“Ouch that hurts,” she said, placing her hand over her heart. “And here I thought we were friends.”
“You know what I mean Allison. I think your idea of remote relaxing location and mine may be a little different.”
Billionaire Matchmaker: Complete Series (Contemporary Romance) Page 9
