Her stomach growled loudly, but she ignored it. Just like she had done every other time it had made its presence known. There was no time to eat if she wanted to stay on top of this. Popping another mint into her mouth she told herself she’d take a break in a few.
“Damn it, Jasper,” she hissed under her breath for the hundredth time. How could he have been so stupid? The pictures that were going around were not good for his image. He was supposed to be staying low. Why did he think that it was a good idea to even go out to the club in the first place? It wouldn’t have been so bad if people hadn’t made gifs showing him humping Autumn, it really made it look like he was getting off. A twinge of jealousy moved through her as she watched his face, purely lustful. He’d probably taken Autumn to his hotel and screwed her on every possible surface. She shook out of it and tried to focus on the job, but it kept creeping back up on her.
His night of debauchery had blown up in her face. He was probably still in bed with Autumn cuddled next to him in a dreamless state after having sex all night. Hailey's jaw clenched as she pictured Autumn and Jasper naked in bed together. She told herself to think of him as a client, and nothing else. If she did that, she could make it through this.
Her phone dinged again, alerting her of yet another fire she was going to have to extinguish.
She swore to herself if her stomach growled one more time before she had a chance to eat, she was going to throw Jasper's account to Matthew and flip it off as she walked away. Damn rock stars thinking they could do whatever they wanted.
Hailey wanted to bang her head on her desk. She had truly thought Jasper wanted to change his life around and become a better person. He had seemed so sincere that she was rooting for him and working relentlessly to change his reputation for the better.
What an idiot she had been. It was obvious that Jasper didn't care about his reputation. The pictures that popped up every second of him and Autumn grinding against each other made that perfectly clear.
It seemed that her day was just starting, and it was getting worse by the minute. Not only did she have to deal with Jasper and Autumn's pictures, now Tara also decided to join in on the fun.
The pictures that had gotten Jasper in the mess in the first place were once again being broadcasted all over social media. Tara must have decided it was the perfect opportunity to run Jasper's name through the mud again. The door to her office flew open. Hailey knew it was Bill before she even looked up from the latest disaster she was going to have to deal with. He slammed her door shut and plopped down in the chair in front of her desk.
Hailey sent off one last tweet in desperation before taking her attention away from her electronics. The buzz and dings they made felt as if they were physically assaulting her, but she was now locked in a stare down with her boss and couldn't show any signs of weakness.
“So do you feel like you’re losing control of the situation with pictures of Jasper and Autumn being lewd?”
“I've gotten most of them removed already. Jasper went out and—against my advice—got too carried away last night and now I'm working tirelessly to get this cleaned up.”
“You should strap a leash on that boy, whenever you aren’t with him, he gets into trouble.”
“It wasn't just my client,” Hailey retorted.
“You’ve forgotten that Autumn wants to shed the good girl image. This is a great way for her to lose it. She was doing just what Matthew needed her to, your guy on the other hand is the opposite.”
She hated when Bill was calmly being condescending. He was so passive-aggressive sometimes.
“It’s not easy having a big client, I told you to let Matthew take over.”
“Bill, you know I can do this. I just need him to get his head out of his ass.” Hailey was frustrated with her boss, but there was no point getting all worked up.
“Right, but you might not be the person to pull him out. It might take someone with a little more experience handling rock stars. Like me, for example.”
“Bill, I have been here for hours trying to get this repaired. I have ideas on how to fix this. Just let me do my job please.”
“Don’t disappoint me, Hailey,” Bill got up and left the room.
She wanted to scream. Hailey pulled her phone out and called an old friend. She needed help, and he was the person to do it.
“Hey, Caleb,” Hailey said when he answered.
“Hailey, hi. How are you?”
He sounded surprised to hear from her. They had met during freshman year in college. He had a special charm about him that made her feel at ease. They had become friends and stayed in touch. This was the first time she’d used their connection to help with work.
“I'm not so good. I need a favor,” she admitted.
“What can I do for you? Are you in trouble?”
Hailey smiled as Caleb switched from old college friend to lawyer mode. Hailey explained the situation that Jasper was in and what Tara was doing to make the matters even worse. When she finished, Caleb let out a low whistle.
“Is it too much? Is there nothing I can do to take action against her?” Hailey asked not trying to hide the panic in her voice.
“I didn't say that. You realize that you are talking to the best lawyer out there, right?”
Hailey smiled, some of the unease lifting from her shoulders. “Of course I realized that. That reason alone was why I called you.”
“Let me make some phone calls. I should be able to get back to you in a couple of hours. I will do what I can to help you resolve this,” Caleb said to her.
“Thank you so much, Caleb. I owe you.” They hung up and Hailey felt like she was at least making a little progress.
The next phone call wasn’t as great.
“Hailey,” Jasper's voice was raspy when he answered.
“Tomorrow, damage control. Meet me at the children’s charity one o’clock. Look nice please, I’m going home to crash for several hours.” She didn’t wait for a reply and hung up the phone. If he was there, then she’d know he was trying to help and if not she’d let it go. Covering her bases, she texted Carl the location and time. She’d thought to get his number in case she couldn’t get in touch with Jasper. Then she went home and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
***
The next day she spent the morning considering quality jobs for Missy June to audition for and sending out emails. The social media storm had calmed a bit and Tara was lying low. Hailey had a feeling she was just waiting to pounce. When she got to the kids’ home, she was happy to see Carl and Jasper were already there. They both leaned against the car with their arms crossed. It was almost comical how they looked next to the bright colorful bus that took the kids on field trips.
Jasper straightened up as soon as he noticed her. His mouth opened but Hailey put her hand up to stop whatever he was going to say. She didn’t want excuses, and she was ready to just be professional. If she treated him like any other client, then it would go a lot smoother. If she let him talk first, she worried it would cause her to chicken out.
“I contacted a lawyer yesterday.”
Jasper's eyes grew wide and his stance became defensive.
“He is confident that he will have Tara remove the pictures from all her social media sites by the end of today. He’s good at what he does, and I have all the faith in the world in him. He will have this resolved quickly.”
Jasper's eyebrows knitted together, and he cocked his head as if he was trying to figure out what she was saying. “I don't understand what Tara has to do with this. I was with Autumn all night,”
Hailey hated that her heart dropped when he mentioned spending the night with Autumn. She ignored it though and moved on with her plan. “The pictures of you and Autumn are also being taken care of. Tara decided that your night of fun with Autumn was the perfect kindling to set your career on fire, and not in the good way. She has been posting pictures she has of you and her all over her social media today. I guess she was s
aving some because now there are new ones.
“What? Are you serious? What a bitch!” He pulled his phone out and looked at the pictures, his eyes growing wide.
Hailey put her hand on his shoulder but retracted it as soon as his warmth seeped into her palm. “It’s being taken care of. There’s nothing we can do but wait for my lawyer to do his thing. The media is going to be here soon so I suggest we get over to the kids and get dirty.”
“Thank you, Hailey,” Jasper said grabbing her hand and squeezing it.
She ignored the fluttering in her stomach and took her hand back, wiping it on her jeans. “It's my job,” she said, her voice sounding uneasy even to herself.
“I know and you are doing a phenomenal job. For what it's worth, the other night got out of hand. I didn't mean to drink as much as I did. And I felt awful when I realized how I had acted.”
He looked miserable. Maybe he was sorry. She liked this Jasper. This was the Jasper she wished was around all the time, or maybe this was the Jasper who she needed to steer clear of. Because this Jasper was the one that she could easily see herself falling for.
Hailey shook her head at the thought, as one of the heads of the charity approached them. “Hailey, I'm so glad you called. It was great timing. We have a lot to do today, and I was afraid we weren't going to be able to finish it all by ourselves.”
“I'm glad to help, Rachel. I wish I could do this every day. Helping the kids is my favorite thing to do,” Hailey said, gushing over Rachel.
She had to admit she was jealous of Rachel and what she did daily. There were stresses in her job. It just seemed this would be worth every stress that you had to undergo. Every time she worked with the kids, she went home with a sense of accomplishment. Something that rarely happened in her real job.
“I'm so glad you came. Come on, the kids are waiting for you.” Rachel turned around and they walked through a gate where ten kids of all different ages turned to look at them.
Hailey saw the faces light up when they realized who Jasper was. Two of the older girls sported matching blushes while two of the younger boys took on a look of hero worship.
“We are going to build a fence today, and we need to do some weeding,” Rachel said, pointing to stack of wood and power tools.
“These are different kids.” Jasper said surprised. “Where are all my buddies?”
“Some kids can’t come all the time, others get put in different foster care. They won’t always be the same,” Hailey told him.
She noticed his face had fallen; he was missing some of them. It was sweet.
Just when they were getting into the swing of things, the media started to set up. Hailey hated she had to let them in on her special time with the kids. The moment they arrived the shift in the energy was clear. Hailey walked over to Rachel, who was on her knees helping a girl who must have been four pull weeds.
“I'm sorry I had to call the paparazzi,” Hailey said, bending down and pulling a weed they had missed.
“I understand. Don't feel bad, Hailey. We love having you here, and I know how much you enjoy being here with us. Who knows, maybe the exposure will help the foundation as well. I'm not too proud to take handouts, especially for these guys.” Rachel rubbed her dirty finger down one of the little girl’s noses making an adorable streak.
The little girl laughed and did it right back to Rachel so they had matching smudges.
“I want one too,” Hailey declared, giggling along with the two of them.
The little girl turned and ran her tiny finger down Hailey's nose giggling like crazy.
“Is it my turn?” Jasper squatted next to Hailey.
Hailey pushed her finger into the rich soil and ran her hand down the side of Jasper's face, leaving dirt streaks everywhere she touched. Rachel and all the kids laughed at Jasper as he stared at Hailey in shock.
“I can't believe you did that,” he said, making everyone chuckle even harder.
“A little dirt won't hurt,” Hailey replied.
“Let's see,” Jasper said right before both of his dirt-covered hands cupped Hailey's face caking her cheeks.
Hailey gasped as soil hit her face. “Nope, didn't hurt at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure that mud is good for the pores.”
Jasper smiled and stood holding out his hand in a peace offering. Hailey eyed it with suspicion before shrugging her shoulders and taking his hand so he could help her up.
The tension that had been between them seemed to dissipate after their little dirt fight. Hailey helped Jasper and half the kids build the fence. They developed a good system and were chugging away. Carl and Rachel had the other half of the kids pulling weeds and tending to the plants. The sun had started to set by the time they finished everything.
“Thank you so much for coming. We wouldn't have been able to finish if it wasn't for you,” Rachel said, beaming as she looked around at what they had accomplished.
“It was our pleasure.” Jasper smiled as the paparazzi snapped picture after picture. He scowled and turned away from them. “Next time I come, I'll make sure the paps don't find out.”
“We don't mind them. It is great to have the help. If that means we must deal with a couple of nosy photographers then so be it.” Rachel picked up one of the smaller kids who was half asleep walking.
“I know, but I think it would be more fun if they weren't around,” Jasper told her.
Once again, Hailey's stomach did its annoying flutter thing. She was going to have to get that thing in check soon.
“I have to get these guys out of here. Thank you so much for coming. Please come back whenever you want.” Rachel herded the kids to where grownups were waiting to take them home.
Each one of them came over one by one and hugged the three of them. With every little set of arms that wrapped around her, Hailey lost another piece of her heart.
Jasper grabbed Hailey’s hand, but when the flashes started going off, he dropped it quickly. They walked back to where their cars were parked and the paparazzi started to pack up for the day.
Hailey retrieved her phone from her car and noticed a pending voicemail. The message was from Caleb. He explained he’d been able to get Tara to remove all the pictures from her social media, and that he was looking into an order to get her to cease all her actions toward Jasper.
Hailey hung up the phone and smiled at Jasper. “My lawyer was able to get the pictures Tara was posting removed. It looks as if some of your reputation has been salvaged today.”
“Hailey, I'm really sorry. The other night was not supposed to be as rowdy as it got.”
“Jasper, I was on my phone all day yesterday trying to do damage control. You have to live your life, some of your sponsors don’t see it that way though. I was just doing my job.”
“You're right. I promise to stop pulling stunts like the other night. You did a fantastic job cleaning up my mess, again. Let me make it up to you. Let me take you out to dinner.”
Hailey should decline. It wasn't professional at all, but she had to admit she had fun with Jasper and spending more time with him didn't seem like such a bad idea. “Alright, let me go home and get cleaned and I can meet you somewhere in an hour.”
“How about Carl and I swing by and pick you up?”
“That sounds good.”
“You know Tara called me the night before last. I wonder if she wanted to tell me about her plan,” Jasper said, not moving from his spot in front of her.
“She called you?”
Jasper nodded and dread filled her body.
“I think it would be a good idea to change your number.”
“I think you're right. I'll do that tonight after dinner. See you soon.” Jasper walked toward Carl.
Hailey forced herself to get into her car and not watch his fine form walk away. She shook her head at the inappropriate thoughts that seemed to always happen when Jasper was around and drove home to get ready.
Chapter Ten
“Why did I invite her to dinn
er?” Jasper mumbled under his breath.
“What was that?” Carl asked as he opened the door for Jasper to get inside.
“Nothing,” Jasper answered, as he buckled his seatbelt, and threw his head back on the seat.
“I like her. She's a good girl. I don't know why you are fighting this.”
“I'm fighting it for that exact reason,” Jasper admitted, his eyes shut tight against the array of emotions pummeling him.
“You need to let her decide if that is a good enough reason. I can tell you are hurting her every time she sees you with Autumn or anyone else.”
Jasper kept his mouth closed not bothering to answer. He was doing the right thing by keeping Hailey at bay. Jasper let out a bitter chuckle. How long was he going to pretend he was doing the right thing? Hell, he had invited her to dinner not even a minute after telling himself to let her go.
Man I’ve been a selfish dick.
“We're here,” Carl said as they arrived home.
Jasper trudged up to his penthouse, the dirt and sweat from the day’s activity coating him. He liked it though. Jasper hated the thought of having to wash it off. It showed him that he was still able to do something for others and get his hands dirty. He wasn't the rock star playboy with a bad attitude and even worse reputation. He was Jasper, the man who people watched checker players at Central Park, and built fences and gardens with underprivileged kids.
He was someone Hailey could be with. But that wasn’t truly his whole persona. There was a wild rocker in him, and that’s why innocent Hailey was off limits to him. He’d just hurt her, he knew it. Jasper ground his back teeth together as he stepped in the shower.
He pictured Autumn hoping to drive Hailey out of his mind. Autumn wasn't naïve in any sense of the word. Everything she did was calculated. She made her way into America's hearts as the sweetheart she portrayed on television. Now she was ready to shed that persona and become something less sweet, and more provocative. It was funny how she was the opposite of what he thought when he’d started dating her.
He thought he’d forgotten about Tara and that he could move on from what she did to him. When Hailey had told him that she was re-posting those pictures… those fucking pictures that started him down the road he was on; he wanted to find Tara and yell at her. Of course, that’s probably what she wanted too.
Managed 3: A Rock Star Romance Page 7
