by Nelson, Cara
Chapter Eleven:
Thief or Thoughtless
“What a jerk.” I was mumbling and pacing around, not even sure where to place my anger. It was too late for a run and I was also in shock, really hurt that Simon was trying to take over my idea and turn it into nothing but a slick publicity stunt. It brought out the feisty beast in me that I tried to keep hidden. Well, tonight it was unleashed. “Who to call, who to call—Trinity, of course!”
“Hey Trin, can you talk?”
“Yeah,” she said, yawning loudly into the phone.
“Sorry, it’s kind of late. Where are you, anyway?”
“In New York, I was just settling down. I have to be on a set tomorrow morning at 7. Can you believe that shit?”
“Yes,” I said. Well, I could.
“Not all of us run on sunshine and love, baby.”
“There’s no sunshine and love right now, Trin. I’m so mad that I don’t even know what to do.”
“Why? What happened?” Trinity’s voice grew serious.
“Simon Jefferson, that’s what happened.”
“Did he spank you for not balancing your checkbook?” she said. She was joking but I was in no mood for it. That’s how Trinity tried to keep life in perspective, and I wished that I was that way just a bit more.
“No, but he’s being so controlling with this entire thing for my thesis. It’s crazy.”
“Simon’s a controlling guy. I’m sure you knew that.”
“I suppose, but I think he’s taking my idea and trying to run with it as his own. If he does that, I’m screwed…doomed…and screwed.”
“He’s screwing you twice?” she asked.
“Haha,” I said, but I’ll admit, it made me smile.
“Did you tell him about it? Maybe he’s just running with the idea because he likes it so much.”
“That’s basically what he said. Now I’m scared. You’re talking like Simon. This world has flipped upside down, I think.”
“I have to agree, that sounds scary, sista,” Trinity laughed. “So, how did this all go down? He was in Minneapolis, right?”
“Yeah, he just left this morning bright and early. Everything was great. Then he called tonight, and poof, it all went up in smoke.”
I went on to explain the conversation a bit and stopped only when I heard Trinity yawn. She’d probably been trying to stifle them the entire time. “Look, Trin, what do you think I should do? I really need your advice on this.”
“If I were you I’d just go and ask him about it. This is business, after all, not a personal relationship.” I was quiet. “Or is it?”
“It is just business, but it’s just so frustrating. I’ll admit that it’s easier to be mad at him over the phone because he’s not trying to hypnotize me with those big blue eyes of his.”
“You kind of like him, don’t you?” Trinity said. She was suddenly wide awake. I could tell because she was talking faster.
“Kind of, but that’s secondary to what needs to be accomplished here,” I said.
“You are horrible at separating logic from your heart. Simon’s the master of it, or so it seems from my perspective. This is something I do understand, actually, Jessie. It doesn’t pay to deny it or run from it if it’s living and breathing inside of you. Just give him a call and work it out. That’s what you want to do, anyway, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Then do it, girl!”
“Tomorrow, maybe, it’s too late now.”
“Now,” Trin said. “He’s two hours earlier than you.”
“It’s still too late.”
“Fine, suffer then, Jessie. But you’ll have to do it alone. I’ve got to get back to sleep.”
“Thanks for listening. Love ya,”
“Love back,” Trinity said.
I tried to call Simon and got his voicemail. “Hey, Simon, this is Jessie. I wanted to catch you and leave off where we left off…before I hung up. Sorry about that by the way.” Shut up already, I reprimanded. Then I ended my scattered voicemail rant, pressing the send button instead of the delete one so I could leave a better message. Ugh…when things spun out of control they really went haywire.
Simon didn’t call back that night. Did he get my message? Was I officially on his lunatic list, or whatever he’d call it? Probably Bad Business Proposition list.
*****
Morning came and I had to wait until at least 10:00 to Skype Simon so it wasn’t ridiculously early. I went to one class, came back home and tried to do some schoolwork, but it was not going well. I had to get this off my chest and jumpstart this again or else admit that I’d been duped by the guy. It just didn’t seem like him, though.
Finally at 10:00, I tried. There was no answer although it said he was online.
I called his phone at noon. There was no answer.
Okay, I was getting desperate and a bit crazy. At 3 p.m. I called his home—answering machine. Yes, it was obsessive, but I called at 4 p.m., too.
“Yeah,” a harsh voice said, almost out of breath. For a second I thought he was maybe having sex. No, there was no way! I hoped.
“Simon, it’s Jessie, I’m glad to get a hold of you. Sorry to bug you? Do you have time?”
“Not right now.”
“When will you?” I asked.
“Not sure.”
I paused, waiting for him to say something else. He didn’t. “You must be really busy, been trying to touch base with you again and get things organized, keep the project moving forward.”
“It’s moving forward.”
“Great, hey I just wanted you to know that I feel bad about the way things went down when we talked. I’m sorry for my role in it.”
“Oh, no problem.”
He didn’t take the hint. What about his role in it?
“Well, I’ve got to go. I’m in the middle of something.”
“Hey, are we good?” I asked. There was no answer, he’d hung up.
I justified that he must be really busy and tried not to make a lot out of it, but it was hard. I was officially freaked out. Wow. Some guy was messing with me and he was practically on the other side of the country. He was doing it on purpose, I just knew it. But there was more at stake than me being bent out of shape about it, there were peoples’ futures on the line, too. Simon had clearly thought that just because I was nice he could be a jerk. Well, he was wrong!
*****
Brynn smiled and waved at me, meeting me by the luggage rack of LAX airport. Thank goodness for Southwest and crazy affordable airfares and my parents willingness to give me my birthday money early for my emergency.
I’d determined that I was going to find out what was happening with Simon face to face. I knew I owed him an apology and he owed me one, too. Whether he knew that, yet to be determined. So, I’d say sorry first, but after that, it was time for the smack-down. I was going to get the truth from him about what was happening, bring out what I’d learned from journalist Brynn and ask the tough questions. Are you trying to cut me out of my own idea?
“Hey,” Brynn said, coming up to me and giving me a big hug. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“You didn’t give a warning, did you?” I asked.
“Nope. I told Gauge, but he won’t say anything. He’s the guy who doesn’t want to get involved, especially with something like this.”
“I feel so dramatic. I can’t stand it,” I said, lifting my shoulders up. Then I glanced over to the luggage carousel and saw my hard covered bright green suitcase moving slowly in my direction.
“You still have that thing?” Brynn asked.
“I can’t help it, I love it. Plus, if anyone tried to steal it they’d be easy to catch.”
A half hour later we were walking into Brynn’s comfy, cozy apartment and I instantly felt a bit more relaxed. I was trying so hard to calm down before approaching Simon, but truthfully, I was scared senseless. And nervous…really nervous!
“Maybe this wasn’t such a grea
t idea,” I said, staring at Brynn and then taking a sip of my wine.
“Don’t be silly, it was the only idea,” she said.
“I just can’t figure out why he wouldn’t at least call,” I said. “Do you know something and you’re not telling me?”
“I don’t know anything. They had the last few days off of practice. I don’t think anyone’s seem Simon at all, not that it would be so unusual. Hunter is off to New York to see Trin and do whatever it is they do, and me, I’m here working.”
“And enjoying time with your boyfriend. Is that going good?”
Brynn smiled. The contentment on her face created a bit of envy inside of me, but also made me so happy for her. “We’re great.”
“I can tell. You radiate like the sun.”
“I sure could use some tan from that sun. I cannot believe I’m more pale than I’ve ever been even though I live in LA.”
“You look great. Hey, I have an idea, let’s go to the beach and hang out this afternoon. That would be so much fun.”
“No,” Brynn said.
“Something else?” I offered.
“I am working and you are going to go visit Simon this afternoon. That’s why you’re here, after all. I don’t know what’s going on with him, haven’t been able to get in touch, but you’ve got to figure it out.”
“That’s not fair, I miss you.”
Brynn looked at me and tilted her head. “Go get ready. I’ll drop you off over there, on my way to work, okay.”
“What if he’s not home?”
“Then you can do a stake-out or take a cab back here.”
I knew that Brynn was right and that I’d gone through a whole lot of effort to deal with this situation. I just wasn’t as keen on it now that I was actually here, ready to live the moment I’d played out in my head for the past few days.
Brynn dropped me off outside Simon’s large house. I knocked on the door and waited, my heartbeat jumping.
Chapter Twelve:
Talk to Me
The soft tapping kept going, not stopping the entire time I made my way over to the door to my apartment. I looked through the privacy hole and saw some golden blonde hair. Then its owner looked up and I saw it was Jessie.
I opened the door, completely surprised. “Jessie? What are you doing here? I was just listening to my messages. Did you say you were coming to town?”
“No, I didn’t say,” she said. She was looking at me so analytically and I felt like I was on trial for something. Admittedly, our joint venture had gotten off to a rocky start, but too be impatient that she’d come to LA. Was I missing something?
“Well, come on in, sorry, didn’t mean to keep you standing there.”
I moved to the side and she walked in, glancing around. “Is this a good time?”
“I have a conference call in an hour, but yeah, it’s fine.”
“Thanks for the time. I appreciate it, Simon.”
“Why don’t you have a seat. Want something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks…to the drink that is. I’ll sit down if it’s okay.”
I looked at her, but bit my lip. I was thinking, you’ve got to be kidding. If it’s okay to sit down.
I saw that Jessie was clearly really nervous, fidgeting with her fingers and her eyes darting everywhere due to an unusual lack of focus. And although I wasn’t too sensitive a guy it was obvious that whatever she had to say was giving her a great deal of inner turmoil.
“When did you fly out here?”
“Last night.”
“I’m sorry if you left me a message, I didn’t get it, yet.”
“Of course, otherwise you would have called back, right?”
I didn’t answer but definitely heard the prissiness in her voice. I didn’t have time for figuring this out. “Well, I have an hour. Why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind,” I offered, turning sideways and looking at her.
She looked at me and our eyes locked, until she shook her head like she was trying to stop it from freezing in place. “Look, Simon, I’m sorry for the way I acted on the phone the other night. You caught me off guard, but that was no excuse for having such lousy manners. Unacceptable really…”
“Jessie, you don’t need—“ She put up her hand to stop me. I wanted to tell her I had no hard feelings, but instead I listened, trying to focus on what she was saying, but honestly, those full beautiful lips of hers distracted me. They were so amazing, plump and seductive, mostly because she didn’t realize that she was that type of woman. And that was hot! But I was a bit put out by this burst, this interruption that seemed unnecessary to me. We had a lot of work to do for this concert and was traveling out here really the best use of her time?
Somehow, in Jessie’s rambling confession, I found myself moving closer to her, trying to acknowledge I was listening. Only moving closer didn’t help. I was doing a half decent job at best, because the closer I got to her, the more I just wanted to kiss her. Partly, so she’d just stop talking and take a breath, but mostly because she was so beautiful and irresistible. I wanted her lips pressed against mine. I moved in and before she probably realized what was going on, I pressed my mouth against hers and kissed her softly, then more urgently.
Her lips opened slightly in response to mine, letting me know it was okay. She didn’t mind. Maybe this was the perfect way to recharge our working relationship. Or perhaps this was about something more than botany, it was about a growing chemistry between the two of us. I slowly pulled away and looked at her.
Jessie was looking at me with her eyes wide open and a soft, almost angelic look on her face. “Why did you do that?” she asked.
It was a fair question, but one that I had no answer for. I’d indulged in the moment and got carried away.
Chapter Thirteen:
Whoa and Wow
There I was, just inches from his perfect face, staring at two large blue orbs while my lips tingled from the amazing kiss that he’d just planted on me. Talk about unexpected! But definitely in a good, do it again kind of way. Why the heck did I ask him why, though? It was completely unnecessary. What did I expect him to say, really? Well Jessie, I’m so hot for you and I can’t stop thinking about you. My face flushed.
“You okay?” Simon asked, looking at me. Even with a bit of a smile on his face, he looked so thoughtful and concerned.
“I’m good. That was nice…just surprising.”
“I’ve been trying not to kiss you since I first met you,” he finally said.
The guy knew the right thing to say in this situation, that much was for certain. Maybe that was how he made peace with someone. I liked it, but apologies would be nice, too.
“Look, I’m sorry to barge in on you like I did, Simon. I just felt bad about our last conversation and then when you just blew me off, it well, kind of tripped me up. That’s how I ended up in LA. I promise I’m not crazy or a stalker or anything.”
“All this is because I didn’t call you back?” he asked. He looked genuinely shocked and that was not something that I’d anticipated in all my scenarios.
“Well, yes. We had two bad conversations and then you blew me off.”
“I didn’t mean to, honestly, I was just so busy,” he said earnestly. I looked at him, Mr. Business, as I liked to think of him as, and was completely befuddled now. Suddenly, everything I had to say didn’t want to come out of my mouth.
“I, uh, I really don’t know what to say. I’m kind of at a loss. Funny that I had plenty to say when I was thinking about it.” I chuckled a bit at my confession, but figured I might as well get it out in the open.
“Would you like a glass of wine or something?” he asked.
That was so nice. “I’d love one. You don’t mind?”
“I am around people who drink all the time. I don’t care. Plus, you don’t look like you’re really the type to get all bent out of shape drinking alone.”
“Well, I’ve got that going for me, I guess.” I laughed as Simon walked
over to a small bar area and pulled out a bottle of wine. I watched his ass the entire time, which was really perfect. Not flat and not too bubbly, just the type you’d like to cup in your hands. OMG, I’d been listening to Trinity too much.
“Red okay?” Simon asked. He turned around and gave me a funny look. I think he busted me checking out his ass.
“Perfect,” I said. “Wait, what about your call?”
“Actually, give me a minute, I’m going to call and move it back an hour.”
“Will whoever be okay with that?” I asked.
“Yeah, of course.” For Simon that was a no-brainer. I guess it was when you were the boss.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your day,” I said. Shut up, I thought. My rambling was even driving me insane.
“I’m glad you did.” He walked back over to me, handed me the wine and I saw that it was a very full glass. Was he trying to get me drunk? Or was he just as interested in getting me to relax and finally breathe as I was? I felt like a balloon that inflated was too full and might burst at any second.
“So,” I said.
“Anything you’d like to ask?” Simon looked at me and raised his eyebrows. I think he fully expected me to respond.
“Why didn’t you call me back? Are you going to run with the idea and cut me out of the loop?” I spoke so fast, like I wouldn’t have been able to get the words out if I didn’t.
“That was two questions, but I’m going to start with the second one. No, I’m not cutting you out of the loop. This was your idea and you must not think very highly of me that you think I’d do that.”
“Sorry, but it really feels like you just took over. And then you didn’t answer my calls—“ Maybe I’d offended him by suggesting it, but it was how things looked to me.
“No worries, and now to answer your first question, Jessie, the reason I didn’t call you back was because I was out of town and busy.”
“Too busy to even shoot me a text message?”
