by Peak, Renna
My eyes snapped to hers and I recognized her. Robin Axelrod. She was an actress, a famous, A-list movie star with a perfect body, gorgeous long, blonde hair and the biggest green eyes I’d ever seen. Of course he could have her. He could have any woman he wanted and he was demonstrating that fact to me right here in the hallway.
When our eyes met, hers widened with recognition. “Oh, God, you’re Jenna Davis! I am such a huge fan!” She wriggled away from Brandon and took a step toward me, hand extended.
I nodded, shaking her hand. I found the ability to force the politician’s smile to my lips that I’d learned so well over the years. “Nice to meet you, Robin.” I wasn’t sure how I’d been able to make words come out of my mouth. I really wasn’t sure how I’d been able to make them sound as normal as they did. I still wasn’t sure how I wasn’t passed out on the floor, since I still felt like I wasn’t breathing. It was almost like I was watching my body do what it needed to do and I was somewhere else, floating above it, still in shock.
She motioned behind her. “This is my, um, friend.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Brandon.”
I nodded at him, raising my eyebrows only slightly.
When she turned back to me, I saw him mouth the words, “Trust me.”
I searched his eyes for a moment then moved my gaze back to hers. I gulped down the angry lump that had formed in my throat. I turned my lips into another tiny smile. “I’m so sorry to interrupt you two.” I motioned with my arm down the hallway. “I think I took a wrong turn or two…”
She reached out and touched my elbow. “Oh, don’t be silly, it’s…” She cut herself off and leaned toward me. “Where did you get that pendant?” She looked behind her at Brandon and turned back to me, leaning toward me. Her eyes narrowed, examining the circular pendant that hung from my neck. “Brandon, did you see this?” She turned back around to face him.
He gave her a small shrug of his shoulders and she turned back to face me, taking another step toward me. “It looks just like your grandmother’s…” She turned back to him again, then turned back to me, peering at the necklace. “Doesn’t it?”
“Similar.” He grunted his response.
She reached out and touched a finger to the necklace sitting in the middle of my chest before pulling it away like it had burned her. She pressed her lips into a smile and looked back up at me. “I’m still hoping to get one of my own sometime.” She widened her smile and turned back to Brandon, raising her eyebrows.
I took a step back, covering the pendant with my hand. “You never know. The night’s still young.”
Her eyes crinkled in confusion as she made eye contact with me. “What are you talking about?”
I forced a smile to my face. “I’m really sorry to have interrupted.” I glanced between the two of them. “It looked like you were really in the middle of something.” I pointed down the hall. “I’ll just be on my way…” I clutched my shoes tightly to my chest and backed up several steps before turning to go back down the dark hallway.
“Jenna, wait.” Robin almost ran up to me. “I just want you to know, I’m a huge supporter of your father’s. You should have his publicity people contact mine. I’ll do whatever he needs, appearances, whatever. Can you get that message to him for me?”
I nodded, turning my lips up into my prim smile, quickly gulping down the knot that was forming in my throat. “Sure. Of course.” I motioned down the hallway again. “I need to get back to the party. I’m so sorry again. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
She smiled at me, shaking her head. “No worries. We were just having a little fun.” She glanced back at Brandon and back to me. “Get that message to your father’s campaign, okay?”
I nodded, forcing the smile to remain. “Sure. Nice to meet you.” I looked back at Brandon and nodded. “Brandon.”
The color had drained from his face. His gaze was planted on the wall across the hallway and he made no indication that he’d even heard me.
I turned to go back the way I’d come, softly padding down the hall in my bare feet.
Her voice carried in the quiet hallway after she’d gone back to stand with Brandon. “Great. All we need is America’s Sweetheart getting in the middle of this.”
10
Hot tears stung at my eyes as I raced back down the hallway. I wouldn’t allow myself to feel the pain that was coursing through my veins, not there. I needed to get out of there, away from the party and all of those people.
I took a deep breath before I pushed through the doors to go back to the party. I needed to find my father and tell him I had to leave. I’d tell him I was sick. Female problems. Something.
I edged my way through the crowd of people and tried to look for my father. It seemed impossible given the crush of party goers who filled the room.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and I spun around to face the offender. It was the venture capitalist’s sister, Amanda.
“Did you make the calls?” Her whiny voice sounded like nails against a chalkboard in my ears.
I leaned toward her, sure I’d heard her wrong. There were so many people and the place was so crowded, I could barely hear anyway. “What?”
She raised her voice, increasing the pitch of her whining. “The calls? About my stuff? What did they say?”
I took a step back, bumping into someone. I turned my head to apologize before turning back to her. I felt heat burn at my cheeks and I lifted my chin. “I didn’t make your calls. You should make them yourself.”
“WHAT?” Her voice ramped up into an even louder screech. “You don’t want a job very much, do you?”
I grabbed the paper from my clutch and shoved it back at her. I raised my own voice at the same time as the room went eerily quiet. “If you have time to micromanage, you have time to make your own fucking calls.” It seemed like everyone in the room had turned to look at us.
My face reddened in horror, burning even hotter than before, but everyone turned back to their own conversations without a second thought. I felt another hand on my shoulder, her brother, Ryan.
He leaned in to speak into my ear. “The job is yours if you want it. I need someone who can stand up to her, because I certainly can’t.”
I shook my head at him, glaring between the two of them. I turned around without a word to either of them, weaving my way back through the crowd. There was no way I’d subject myself to a person like Amanda on a daily basis, no matter how much I wanted a job. I almost felt sorry for him that he had to put up with her out of some sense of family obligation.
I saw my father standing with some other men on the opposite side of the ballroom. I wound my way over there after several minutes of twisting and turning through the crowd of people. I was barely holding it together, and the crowd of people was not helping anything.
He saw me and motioned for me to join his conversation. “Jenna. We were just talking about you.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Gentlemen, you remember my daughter, Jenna.” He looked down at me. “Jenna, you know the governor.” He motioned at the lithe, gray haired man standing in front of him. “And this is David, the state party chair.”
I nodded at both men with a forced smile, shaking their hands. I willed my emotions down into my stomach. I’d make my pleasantries, then go cry in the street if I needed to.
My father continued. “We were just talking about the future of politics in California. There are some fascinating things going on that you might be interested in, sweetheart.” He squeezed at my shoulder.
David was probably in his fifties with salt and pepper hair. He grinned at me. “We’ve got a state rep position that’s going to be opening on the north coast. With name recognition alone, Jenna, you could easily be elected to that seat. Easily.” He looked back over at my father, giving him a sly grin. “It would be a good place to start, don’t you think, Pat?”
My father squeezed my shoulder. “He’s talking about the senate seat that’s going to come open when I’m elected presid
ent.” He smiled down at me. “We’d love to keep that seat in the family, wouldn’t we, sweetheart?”
I’m sure that the smile I forced to my face looked fake, almost sickly. I looked at David, my gaze narrowed. “I don’t live on the north coast.” And I didn’t want to represent it. Not at that moment, anyway. All I wanted at that moment was to get the hell out of there, to go home and cry into my pillow.
All three men laughed, as though I was a naive child.
My stomach turned a few times, and it really did feel like I was going to be sick. It was the perfect excuse to get the hell out of there. I smiled at all three men, making eye contact with each, nodding along with their laughter at my expense. “I’ll certainly think about it. I’m honored that you’d consider me.” I turned back to my father. “I think I’m going to head out. I’m not feeling very well.”
He squeezed my shoulder one last time. “Of course, sweetheart. I’ll have Cade call a car for you.”
I nodded up at him, taking a step away from the group of men. “I’ll find him.” I smiled and nodded at each of the men and made my way to the doors of the building.
I spied Cade, the guard that had accompanied me that night, leaning against the wall just inside the door. He was a massive man and always made sure I felt safe wherever we were. I walked up to him, forcing another smile. “Hey, Cade. Is there any way I could get a car and go home?”
He smiled back at me. He’d become my favorite of the revolving cast of security people assigned to me. “Sure, kiddo. It might be a little while. Do you mind waiting? You can go back to the party for a while if you want.”
I shook my head. “Too many people. I’ll just wait in the lobby.” I pointed to the glass doors in front of us. “I’ll sit in there. I just need some fresh air.”
He nodded. “I don’t blame you. That place got crazy, fast. It’ll probably be about twenty minutes. Don’t go too far.”
I tilted my head, almost more from exhaustion than anything. “I’m not going anywhere other than that chair.” I pointed through the glass at the sitting area in the lobby.
He smiled again and nodded, motioning me to go through the doors. I walked through, taking a seat in one of the sitting areas of the large lobby. I tossed my shoes to the side of the chair and dropped my elbows in my lap, burying my head in my hands. I rubbed at my temples, just wishing to be home already. There was just too much that had happened for me to be able to process it. It wasn’t like I could let myself have a breakdown in the lobby, either, not with so many people around.
I sat there with my eyes closed, leaning over my lap with my head in my hands for several minutes. I didn’t want to let myself think about anything until I could get home. I just wanted a big bowl of ice cream in front of me—there was too great a chance that I wouldn’t be able to stop the tears once they started. I’d be knee deep in a river of tears. Until I could get home, to my own room in my own apartment, I needed to hold it together for my own sake.
I felt someone brush my shoulder with a fingertip, sending the same, stupid electrical pulses racing down my arm. I hated that he still had that effect on me. I hated him for having that power.
He knelt down next to the chair. He didn’t have to say a word; I knew him by his touch alone, but I still refused to look over at him.
His voice was barely above a whisper when he finally spoke. “Hey, Jen.”
I held my head in my hands, pressing my fingers into my eyebrows. I kept my eyes closed, knowing that if I saw him, I’d melt into a puddle. “Go away, Brandon.”
He traced a fingertip from my shoulder down my arm. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The hairs on my arms stood up at his touch. I hated myself for still feeling anything for him. Hated that he could do that to me, even after what I’d seen and heard that night. I shook my head, refusing to even open my eyes. “I’m done. I can’t do this. I’m not cut out for the secrets and the lies.”
“Whether it chose you or you chose it, that’s the life you’re in now, Jen.”
I opened my eyes, turning my head to look over at him. “No. That’s the life you’ve chosen. That’s not the life I’m choosing.” I sat up in the chair, shaking my head. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
He tilted his head, his eyes trying to meet mine. “Jen, you just have to trust me. I love you. You have to know that, too. I love you. I need to hear you say that you love me, too.”
I stood up, the hot tears now burning behind my eyes, threatening to spill and never stop. I shook my head, still refusing to meet his gaze. “No. I don’t believe you anymore. Not after tonight.” I reached up and pulled the pendant from my neck, breaking the clasp. I turned to him and shoved it into his hand. “Give it to her.”
“Jen, I gave it to you.”
I shook my head, my gaze rooted to the carpet. “I don’t want it. Not anymore.”
He pressed it back against my hand. “Even if it’s over, Jen. Even if you never speak to me again. I need you to have it. I need you to know how much I love you. How much you mean to me.”
I felt a strong arm on my other elbow and I looked up at Cade. “Miss Davis, your car is here.”
I shoved the necklace back into his hand, closing his fingers around it before finally looking up at him. I could see the sadness in his hooded eyes as his hand closed around the pendant. My own eyes had to hold everything I was feeling in that moment. Regret. Anger. Sadness. And love. I couldn’t forget that, even though I knew we were done. He had to know it was over, too, whatever it had been. I could barely force out a whisper. “Goodbye, Brandon.”
11
Cade and I left from the side entrance, away from the media that had gathered to get their celebrity photos. We rode in silence back to my apartment. I knew I was making the right decision about Brandon. It had to be a clean break—I couldn’t allow myself to be hurt by him again. My heart couldn’t handle any more pain. Not from him.
All I wanted that night was to get into my pajamas and drown my sorrows in red wine and ice cream. It didn’t seem like it would be too much to ask, not after the night I’d already had.
We pulled up to my apartment building and the first thing I noticed was the crowd of people that shouldn’t have been there. They weren’t just people, but people with cameras. Paparazzi. Shit.
Cade and I got out of the car. It wasn’t as though there was a back entrance to my building that I could have sneaked into. There were news crews and reporters surrounding the entire building, leaving my options severely limited. Word must have leaked about my father, even though he’d told me he was going to control the story. Someone must have alerted the media early.
I told myself it wouldn’t be that hard. I just had to remember to say nothing but “no comment” and I’d be fine. I could say it a few times before getting into the one place I knew I’d be safe. The one place I could let go of the emotions I was stuffing down in that moment. I only had to say “no comment” a few times and I could go to bed. I could go cry.
The chorus started as soon as I got myself out of the car. Almost like parrots squawking at the top of their lungs. “Jenna, Jenna, Jenna, Jenna.”
I stared straight ahead, making eye contact with no one. Cade was big enough to force a path through the crowd of people for me to get through. He easily cleared the reporters out of the way and we made a beeline for the front doors of the building.
As we neared the glass doors, the questions started. “Jenna, how do you respond to reports of your father’s infidelity?”
“No comment.” I stared straight ahead, my only mission to get in that glass door, so close and yet still so far. I wondered how many more “no comments” I’d have to make before I got there. Three? Four? Five?
“Jenna, have you spoken with Marian about these reports?”
“No comment.” Marian? Why would they ask about my mother that way? I put the thought out of my mind. Two more? Maybe three more questions before I got to the door.
“Jenna,
did you submit to the DNA testing?”
The question stopped the forward motion of my feet. I turned in what seemed like slow motion toward the reporter. I probably hadn’t heard the question correctly. I was still in shock from the other events of the night. “What?”
“The DNA testing. Did you submit to that yourself? Did your family request that you submit to testing?”
I cocked my head to the side. This didn’t seem to have anything to do with my father’s affair. This wasn’t something I could just say “no comment” to and walk away. “What are you talking about?”
The squawking around me continued. Jenna, Jenna, Jenna, Jenna, Jenna. Cade pulled at my elbow to get me to come with him into the building.
“Jenna, have you known all along that you weren’t a Hennessey? Or were you just made aware that the DNA testing shows you aren’t the daughter of Marian Hennessey?”
My mouth opened, my jaw dropping to the floor. Surely, I had heard those last questions incorrectly. That was impossible. It was all impossible, unthinkable. “What?” I was barely able to croak out my response.
“Jenna, are you saying you didn’t know? Are you saying you were raised to believe that you were actually the child of Marian Hennessey? You’re telling us you didn’t know until this moment that you aren’t genetically related to the Hennessey family?”
My vision clouded and I was dizzy. I couldn’t stand any longer and I felt my legs giving out beneath me. I somehow managed to walk in the direction I was being pulled, though the entire thing seemed to be happening inside a dream. I wasn’t going through the doors of my apartment building now. No, now I was being pulled back toward the street, another arm pulling me into a different car.
I heard a woman’s voice from somewhere. I recognized it. I knew it was Krystal, even though my thoughts were only swimming in a daze around my foggy brain. “Miss Davis has no comment on any reports at this time. The Davis campaign will issue a statement shortly. We ask that you respect Miss Davis’ privacy at this time. Thank you.”
