Her Unexpected Valentine

by Sherelle Green

  Nicole took Monty’s phone and pressed play on a video. Within the first few seconds, her mouth dropped. Kendrick was in the room with two other men and six females. She immediately recognized Amanda as one of the females. They are sitting around a table sniffing what she assumed was cocaine, drinking and shooting what she assumed was heroine. Although she wasn’t sure what the drugs were and Kendrick only appeared to be drinking, it looked bad. It looked really bad.

  “He looks young,” Nicole said.

  “Yeah,” Monty said. “I don’t know what’s worse. If he was an adult or that he’s obviously underage.”

  “People do crap way worse than this every day,” Nicole said.

  “Um, keep watching,” Angelica said. A few minutes later, Nicole wished she’d stopped it just at the drugs and drinking, because watching Kendrick and Amanda have wild sex in a porno-style video before the whole room erupting into a sex frenzy was more than her stomach could handle at the moment.

  “Oh, my God,” Nicole said as she tried to hold down her breakfast. A part of her was completely shocked by what she was watching. However, another part of her felt so bad for Kendrick.

  “Who leaked this?” Nicole asked. There was no way Kendrick had wanted this getting out into the world. That’s probably why he hasn’t called me back.

  “I was only able to talk to Kendrick briefly when he called this morning and asked me to make sure you were okay, but I think Amanda leaked it.”

  “I figured,” Nicole said, handing Monty back his phone when Kendrick started throwing money at what she assumed to be strippers. She’d seen enough. “Why didn’t he just ask me if I was okay himself?”

  “He probably doesn’t know what to say to you,” Angelica said. “The Kendrick in this video is nothing like the man he is today. Up until you, Kendrick wasn’t even a PDA type of guy. I know you probably have a lot of questions and he owes you a lot of answers, but give him time. My guess is, he’s getting his lawyers on this right away.”

  “He is,” Monty confirmed. “That’s why he won’t be at the studio today. And I can only imagine how the agency is handling this. We may work behind the scenes, but The Gilbert Monroe Agency lands some of the largest clients in the world by offering them the best, drama-free film crew that they could ask for. They once let go of the lead technician because his friend had gone live on Facebook when they were hiring prostitutes.”

  Nicole shook her head. “My heart is hurting for Kendrick.” She pulled out her phone and tried to call him again. Still, no answer.

  “Give him time,” Angelica said. “And I’m sure if you can’t handle being here today, the producers will let you go home and bring in one of the temp makeup artists.”

  “No,” Nicole said as she composed herself to step out the meeting room. “Although I still need to process what I saw, I will not run out of here like an embarrassed little bunny.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Monty said. “Stand up for your man.” Both Nicole and Angelica turned to face Monty. “Too much?”

  “Just a little.” She opened the door and as suspected, there was a small crowd gathered around the meeting room waiting for her to come out. So many eyes, she thought as she looked around the room. The old Nicole would have hung her head and tried to be invisible as she made her way through the crowd. However, the new Nicole was done hiding.

  “Seriously, guys,” she said to the room. “Don’t act like that video is any worse than what most of you masturbate to on a daily basis. Next time I talk to Kendrick, I’ll let him know that he provided endless entertainment and jokes all day.”

  Everyone laughed and the tension was broken. Nicole knew that it was only temporary and that Kendrick would probably be the main gossip all day, but she hoped that people would stop giving her those puppy-dog eyes.

  “You’re my shero,” Angelica said as they walked through the crowd.

  “That was badass,” Monty said.

  Nicole plastered on a smile, when internally she was so frustrated she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. She glanced at her phone again, hoping she at least had a text message, but she didn’t have anything.

  Kendrick Burrstone, you have A LOT of explaining to do.

  Chapter 17

  “You have to call her, man,” Monty said on the phone. “It’s been two days, and the rumor around the studio is because Nicole was dating you, the agency decided not to extend her contract after today.”

  Kendrick could feel the blood rush from his face. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

  “I wish I was, man, but Angelica was talking to her earlier, and it seems as if it’s true. She seems to be holding up okay, but I shouldn’t be the one giving her updates. You should be.”

  Kendrick had been going back and forth with the lawyers for the past couple days, trying to get the video taken down. Unfortunately, since Amanda owned the video, she had every right to leak it. They were confident that they would get it removed, but it would take longer than expected and everyone knew that the internet always remembered.

  He’d just gotten off the phone with his mom, who’d suggested that he just own up to it, accept that it was out there and deal with the consequences. He knew she was right, and even though the lawyers were trying all different angles, the only thing that had been accomplished so far was him getting a restraining order on Amanda and her parents deciding to step in and get her the help she needed. It wouldn’t be easy for her, but she was no longer his problem.

  “I know, man. I want to talk to her, but I don’t know what to say.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know what to say?” Monty said. “Tell her that you messed up. Apologize. Beg for forgiveness. And praise her for standing tall amid all your BS. There aren’t too many women who could handle the situation with style and grace like Nicole is. We’re all disappointed that the agency isn’t signing her on.”

  “You’re right. I’ll contact her and ask her if we could meet at her place tonight. There have been a few random media folks staked outside my place.”

  “Sounds good.” Kendrick disconnected his call with Monty and called Nicole. She answered on the fourth ring.

  Her sultry voice filled the line. “Hello?”

  I forgot how much I missed this voice. “Hi, Nicole, it’s Kendrick.”

  “I know,” she said. “I was waiting for you to call.”

  “I’m sorry it took so long. I owe you an explanation, and I was wondering if I could stop by your place tonight so that we could talk?”

  She was silent for a few seconds before responding. “Sure, I’m free to talk tonight. Does seven work for you?”

  “Yes, that works. I’ll see you then.” After he hung up the phone, his heart rate turned to normal. You ruined her career in the industry. He tried to shake the thought from his head, but he knew it was no use. He’d been thinking it ever since Monty told him that the agency wasn’t going to hire her permanently. He had a meeting with the agency tomorrow morning, and he was pretty sure he knew how that meeting would go.

  His uncle called, interrupting his thoughts. “Hey, Unc.”

  “Hey, so I’m calling because I had my financial adviser look into your finances, and everything looks good. It will be hard work, but if you want to do this, I think you should hit the ground with both feet.”

  Kendrick gave a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Unc. That’s the best news I’ve gotten all week.”

  “I know,” he said. “But remember that those who love and care about you will love you regardless of that video going public or not. We all make mistakes, but mistakes build character. You don’t want to know what I was doing at that age, but that’s a conversation for another day.”

  “I look forward to it,” Kendrick said. “And thanks for all your help.”

  “Anytime, nephew.”

  As Kendrick disconnected the call, his mi
nd drifted back to Nicole. When he’d first met her, he was worried about dating someone who he worked with and it damaging his career. Little did he know, he’d managed to do that all by himself.

  * * *

  Nicole was a nervous wreck as she waited for Kendrick to arrive. When he’d called, her heart melted at the sound of his voice. She missed him so much, and she couldn’t believe that after everything that had happened, this was her first time seeing him.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Kyra asked. “I don’t mind.”

  “I’m sure,” Nicole said. “We need to have a private conversation about everything.”

  “I understand. If you need me, I’ll be around, so give me a call.”

  “Will do.”

  Once she was alone in the apartment, she took a deep breath. You’ll be fine. You’ve had a lot of time to process the video. On the day that the video had been released, photos had been released later. When she thought about the entire situation, it almost seemed like she was watching someone else go through it, not her.

  She jumped when she heard the knock on her door. When she opened it and saw him standing there, she had to do what she’d wanted to do for the past few days.

  She leaped into his arms, pulling him into her embrace. He caught her and lifted her off the ground. When his lips found hers, she kissed him with all the built-up passion she had.

  “Hi,” she said when he’d lowered her to the ground.

  “Hey back atcha.” He placed one more quick kiss on her mouth before walking into her apartment.

  Nicole motioned for them to sit on the couch. There was a nervous energy in the room, and she assumed that neither was too thrilled to have this conversation.

  “I guess I should just get to it,” Kendrick said. “First, I want to apologize for any of the pain and embarrassment that video may have caused. After I dropped you off four days ago, I got a call from Amanda saying that she wanted to meet. I told her no, but in the end, I knew she wouldn’t leave me alone unless I saw her face-to-face.

  “When I met with her, she told me that she needed me to get her hired by the agency so that she could jump-start her acting career. When I told her no and asked that she go back to rehab and take care of herself, she snapped. By the end of the conversation, she was threatening to make a move that would jeopardize my career.”

  “Based off what you’re saying,” Nicole said, “she must have had her contact release the video the next day?”

  “Yes, she did. That next morning it was flooding the internet. And I know I should have called you right away and told you about everything that was happening, but I was part shocked. Part pissed. And part doing damage control.”

  “You still should have called me,” Nicole said. “Do you know what it was like walking into the studio and having everyone know what’s going on except for me? Although I know you’re going through a lot, it was the worst type of attention.”

  “I know it was.” He lifted her hand in his. “And there is no excuse for how I handled this with you. When I didn’t call you that first day, I think I pushed it off even more because I was scared to talk to you.”

  “Why?” she asked. “After all the serious conversations we had, why were you nervous to talk to me?”

  “Because somewhere through the course of our friendship and then us dating, my feelings for you deepened in a way I’ve never felt with anyone before. To know that my past was exposed in such a damaging way was a lot to handle. But knowing that I could possibly lose you to this nonsense was even more nerve-racking.”

  “Kendrick, I’m not some precious doll who can’t handle it when times get hard. Am I pissed that Amanda released that video? Yes. Do I hate that thousands of people got to see you naked and possibly even saved the video for their own personal collection? Absolutely. Am I upset that you didn’t call me until days later? You better believe it. But never—despite the fact that we weren’t working through this together—did I think about abandoning you. I’m not that type of person.”

  “I know you aren’t,” he said. “Nicole, you are everything I ever wanted for my future, and I was so caught up in trying not to have any repeat relationships like I had in the past that it never occurred to me that I’d be the one who caused you to lose out on an amazing career opportunity.”

  “The agency can kiss my ass,” Nicole said. “I know that video was a lot to handle and any company would be freaking out, but to not extend a permanent contract to me because you and I date is completely ridiculous. So, I don’t need to work for a company like that. I appreciate the opportunity I had because I learned about the film industry, and had it not been for the agency, I wouldn’t have met you, Monty or Angelica.”

  Nicole adjusted herself on the couch so that she was facing him more. “And a silver lining did happen. I actually got an offer to work on two commercials being filmed in Miami. They contacted me earlier today.”

  His eyes widened. “That’s great, Nicole. I’m so proud of you. I know you’ll do great in Miami.”

  Huh? Was that a brush-off? “Yeah, I’m sure I will too. And speaking of Miami, I was actually hoping we could talk some more about it. You know filming ended today for the commercials and documentary, so I’m not in LA for that much longer.”

  “I know,” he said. “That’s another reason I wanted to see you today. I wasn’t sure when you were going to head back home, so I wanted to make sure I cleared the air.”

  Yup, definitely a brush-off. “So that’s the only reason you came over when you did? Would you have even come over to clear the air if I wasn’t leaving?”

  Nicole was fed up, and although she had hoped that her conversation with Kendrick would give her clarity on their relationship, proving that she should stay in LA and work it out, the conversation was managing to do the complete opposite.

  “That’s not the only reason,” he said. “Yeah, it was a big reason I came over when I did, but it’s because I couldn’t leave things that way.”

  Nicole wasn’t sure what had come over her, but her tolerance level was finally running on empty. She opened her mouth to give Kendrick a piece of her mind when his phone rang.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve been waiting on that call. Give me one second.” He walked into the kitchen to take the call, leaving a fuming Nicole on the couch. A few minutes later, he returned. “I hate to do this, but I have to go. You know I wouldn’t leave if it wasn’t important. Can I call you tomorrow so we can set up another time to meet?”

  Seriously! “Yeah, sure.” With that, he kissed her cheek and walked out the door. Twenty minutes later, Nicole was still in disbelief at how terrible that conversation had gone, so she called her favorite person in the world.

  Her grandmother answered on the first ring. “Hey, sweet pea. Are you okay?”

  Nicole had told her grandma what had transpired, however, when Gran had asked her what she was going to do about Kendrick, she’d told her she had to wait until after she’d spoken to him.

  “No, I’m not okay,” she said. “Kendrick just came over, and basically, it doesn’t seem like he wants to continue our relationship.”

  “Sweet pea, did he say those exact words?”

  “No, he didn’t. But he implied them. Everything he said implied them.”

  “Did you flat out ask him if he wanted to continue dating?”

  “Of course not, Gran,” Nicole said. “I had to maintain some bit of dignity.”

  “Well, if you didn’t ask him, then you really don’t know how he feels, now do you?”

  “I know that if he cared about me like I cared about him, he wouldn’t have left my apartment tonight without me being absolutely certain on where we stood.”

  “I understand that, sweet pea, but men are different creatures. They don’t think the same way we do. They don’t process things the same way we do. So whenever you say
to yourself that it’s the way you would have handled the situation, remind yourself that men are not the same as women.”

  Nicole sat back on the couch and let her grandmother’s words sink in. “I don’t know, maybe you’re right. Maybe I just need a break.”

  “Listen, why don’t you come home for a few days? I know you have some stuff in the works in LA, but why don’t you come home and clear your mind?”

  Nicole smiled. A visit with Gran would do her some good. “I’d like that, Gran,” she said. “And I think I need this trip ASAP. I’ll book a flight that leaves tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good,” Gran said. “I can’t wait to see my sweet pea.”

  “I can’t wait to see you either, Gran.” Nicole disconnected the call feeling a lot better about the situation than she had before. Maybe Gran is right. When I get back to LA, I’ll finally just tell Kendrick how I feel and be honest.

  Chapter 18

  “She’s where?” Kendrick asked for the third time.

  “How many times do I have to tell you?” Kyra said to Kendrick, who was standing in the doorway of the apartment. “Based off your last conversation, she said she could tell that you didn’t love her, so she moved back to Miami. She said there was nothing left for her in LA.”

  “So she just left without saying goodbye? That makes no sense.”

  Kyra frowned. “I guess it makes about as much sense as a video leaking on the internet and instead of talking it out with his girlfriend, the star ignores her.”

  “Point taken,” he said. “Do you at least have her address in Miami?”

  “Why?” Kyra asked. “Do you plan on flying down there and telling her that you love her and you’re an idiot?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Probably in that exact order.”

  Kyra quirked an eyebrow. “How do I know that you aren’t just saying that so that I’ll give you her address?”

  Kendrick sighed. “Although I really want to express these feelings to Nicole first, I can tell you I am completely and irrevocably in love with her. She’s not just my present. She’s my future, and right now, all I can think about doing is hopping on a plane to see her and either convince her to stay in LA or tell her I’m willing to move to Miami.”