Stepping off of the elevator, we make our way down the long corridor to our hotel rooms. Stopping in front of my room, Reagan loops his arm around my waist giving me an impish grin letting me know this conversation isn’t over.
“Don’t think I’m finished with you Savannah; I will get you drunk tonight and make you sing like a canary,” he laughs, turning to look back at me as he walks towards his suite.
“Oh Reagan, sorry to burst your bubble, but that will not be happening.” I yell over my shoulder; I can’t help but laugh at the look of pure annoyance on his face.
Walking into my room, I slam the door and toss my purse onto the bed. Stopping at the closet, I take out my dress lay it on the bed. Crawling on my knees, I look over the assortment of heels spread out across the closet floor.
I filled an entire suitcase with just my shoes; you can never bring too many. Picking out my black suede ankle boot stilettos, I head into the bathroom and get to work on my makeup.
It’s time to get my ass in gear and get myself beautified. Before I know it, the limos will be lining up out front to whisk us over to Vertigo for the Envy party.
~~~
I spin around in front of the mirror admiring my gorgeous, teal cocktail dress, placing my fingers on the gold shimmer waistline. I had the salon do a cute, loose braid that started at my left temple and wrapped around the back of my head leaving all my hair in big curls that stopped at the bottom of my back.
I decided to go with white shimmering eye shadow that contrasts with the thick black flick along the top of my fake lashes; with bright blue liner across the bottom of my eye, which really makes them pop.
I keep my jewelry simple and choose a large, diamond cocktail ring, gold bangles and a silver double heart pendant necklace that is outlined with diamonds.
I know there will be press all over the place, so I want to make sure I look nothing but fabulous. The main part of our job at Envy is looking the part. Eloise has drilled into all of her employee’s heads, to never leave your house looking anything but fabulous.
I send my mother a quick text before I head downstairs to the limos,
Me:
I’m heading out to the party for Envy’s Most Influential Man Issue. I wanted to see when would be a good time to video chat. I gotta tell you something about Logan. I want you to hear it from me.
I only make it to the lobby when she replies,
Mom:
Savannah, please tell me you are not getting back together with him…
I roll my eyes with annoyance; I need to watch how I phrase things. I cannot believe she would even let that idea cross her mind. I would…Never…go down that road again. I reply quickly as the limousines are already waiting,
Me:
OMG NO! I cannot believe you just asked me that, we’re not back together…nor will we EVER get back together. He signed up for a stupid television show where he’ll be discussing his numerous affairs :/ I g2g but will ttyl xoxo
Kayden has sent over three stretch limos, which made it a lot easier than all twenty of us trying to get cabs. He really has thought of everything.
The closer we get to the club, the more my nerves are beginning to get to me. I’m beyond nervous about seeing Kayden; I don’t know if he’s angry with me for slipping out while he was still asleep this morning or not. I don’t even know if he’ll act anything but professional tonight. Will he pretend as if nothing has happened between us?
“Earth to Savannah,” Rebecca says, snapping her French manicured fingers in front of my eyes and jolting me back to reality.
“Oh…what?” I shift in the seat, and turn to face her. She looks gorgeous tonight, too. Eloise will be pleased with our choices, I thought to myself.
“I asked you how last night went, but you were off in la-la land,” she laughs. “I said…I saw you leave with Kayden last night, sooooo did you?"
“Did I what?” I say, trying to play dumb. Why was everyone so damn fascinated with my sex life?
“Oh. My. God…You did!" She dramatically smacks her hands on the leather seats beneath us! “You got to experience sex with the world’s most sought after bachelor!” She stops talking for a moment to regain her composure, “You know every girl in America would kill to be you right now.” She says, inching closer to me, and smiles like the cat that got the cream.
All I can do is smile back at her and listen to her ramble on about last night, “I knew it, the way he was watching you all night…it spoke volumes.”
I’m so grateful that everyone else is too consumed by their own conversations to pay any attention to ours. All I need is more people gossiping about my life.
“I’m surprised he didn’t ask you to be his date to the party tonight,” she says as she gazes at me with a confused expression on her face.
Oh God, here we go. Now because of one night, everyone will assume we’re a couple. This just went from bad to worse. Everyone who has a brain knows Kayden doesn’t date; he has casual, meaningless sex with women…nothing ever extends past that. Plus, I have made it very clear enough times since September that I have zero interest in getting into another relationship.
“We’re not dating and we’re not a couple…so I see no reason for us to come here together. That would just make others assume things that were untrue.” The more we talk about Kayden, the more I can’t stop myself from thinking about him…about last night.
“Well, his loss. So, do you think last night was a one-time thing?” She was persistent; I’ll give her that.
“I don’t know, I guess we’ll know after tonight. I haven’t heard from him at all today, so as far as I know, he’s done with me. I presume he’ll move onto his next conquest later,” The words hurt more saying them out loud, than they did when I said them in my head.
Before I have to think any more about it, mine and Rebecca’s cells start to beep simultaneously. We fish them out and open them, although I wish I hadn’t. I watch the TMZ video post of Logan outside The Ivy this evening. A TMZ reporter was talking with him about Dr. Drew. Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any worse, I’m proved wrong.
I can’t believe this has gone viral now. Vertigo is going to be filled with reporters focusing on me instead of Kayden or the magazine. If he didn’t already hate me, he certainly would by the end of the night. This is going to mean one giant media circus.
Rebecca leans towards my ear and whispers into it trying her best to not draw attention to us; it looks like no one else here had received the alert yet. “Don’t let it get to you Savannah,” she says, rubbing my arm soothingly. I take a deep breath in and try to hold back tears.
“Just please don’t leave my side…I need you to help me stay strong tonight,” I say with a small smile. “I will not allow Logan to ruin tonight for myself, Eloise…or Kayden.” I say as we prepare ourselves for the firestorm.
Paparazzi line both sides of the red carpet with determination burning eagerly in their eyes. I put my head down and repeat the all-important “no comment” until I get inside the club.
I make it safely inside Vertigo, smiling, waving and trying to ignore the most ignorant of questions from the press. Over the last few weeks, I have had many so called friends speaking to the gossip magazines with inside information on how I am handling my break-up from Logan.
Thankfully, Eloise spoke with everyone at Envy and informed them that they were not to speak a word to anyone about my personal life, or else their contracts would be terminated.
The paparazzi have even been chasing my parents all over their U.S. tour, throwing in comments about how sorry they were for me, believing that if they show some sympathy, my parents will sell my story. It’s situations like this that make me happy to work for a respectable magazine.
Rebecca and I search through the crowd of people, and after a few minutes we find Reagan. He hasn’t wasted any time and is flirting with a gorgeous blonde at the bar. Rebecca orders me a whiskey sour and sets it down in front of me, sending my mind racing
back to last night. I think the cherry trick caught Kayden, hook, line and sinker.
“Is it hot in here? I’m dying, and I am wearing practically nothing,” I laugh, fanning myself with my hand. Rebecca starts giggling at me as I press my ice cold glass against my chest.
“Umm…No. It’s perfectly comfortable in here Savannah. Is a certain someone from last night causing your body temperature to rise?” She smirks at me, resting her hands on her hips as she slides onto the chair at the bar and sips her Hard Lemonade,
“Well, as a matter of fact…Yes,” Those were all the details she was getting out of me.
“I don’t get you Savannah; if I had been the one beneath Kayden Knox last night, I would be shouting it from the rooftops. That man is a tall glass of freakin’ hotness!” Now she’s the one fanning herself.
“Stop imagining him naked!” I giggle, slapping her arm playfully.
“Okay! Geesh don’t get all physical on me, but come on, you gotta see that this is something to be proud of!”
“Oh yeah, really something to be bragging about…Guess what everyone? I just became another notch on Kayden Knox’s bedpost. I think NOT!” I roll my eyes at her as she glares at me.
“I would be a notch on his bedpost any day, along with any other hot blooded woman on this planet. You won the jackpot last night, and if you play your cards right, I bet you a hundred dollars that you could be doing it all over again tonight.”
I set my glass down on a napkin, trying not to feed into Rebecca’s insanity. Kayden will more than likely leave here tonight with beautiful models, which are far more deserving of his affection. I was shocked I hadn’t seen him yet; he was probably avoiding me…just wonderful!
I glance around the night club which looks totally different than last night; the decor is beautiful, and anyone who is anyone is here.
“Looking for someone Savannah?” Rebecca asks sarcastically, startling me and making me jump,
“What? No,” I feel the heat rising to my face, “I'm just looking around; this place looks so different compared to last night. I didn’t think there would be so many people here.”
“Oh, cut the crap,” Rebecca playfully pushes on my arm, “I know you’re trying to spot Kayden.” She can see right through my lame lie. “You’ve got it bad, girl; I don‘t believe a word you say when you try to play it off as nothing.”
Was last night a one-time thing? Is he pissed at me for sneaking out during the night without so much as a goodbye? To top it off, my love life has peaked the media’s interest; when today is supposed to be all about him and Envy.
“I really don’t know.” I gulp down the rest of my drink and slam the empty glass on the bar. My life is one gigantic disaster.
Chapter Fourteen
Reagan finally decides to join the conversation, “Well I think that if Knox is as intelligent as he makes himself out to be, he will be begging for more. Only an idiot would pass up a chance to be with you.”
Reagan’s flavor of the hour starts to whine because his attention isn’t focused on her. Why are so many women so pathetic?
“Believe me, if you were not such a hardass and shooting my every advance down, just like Brooklyn, I would be fucking you into oblivion every chance I got,”
God, I wanted to smack that smart ass smirk right off his face.
“Reagan, don’t push your luck, I am not in the mood,” I say, giving him a stare down, letting him know I’m not in the mood for his bullshit. I flash a small smile, so he knows I’m okay, just to drop the subject of Kayden.
Reagan quickly moved onto to the next topic, “I’m assuming you got the TMZ text alert? The paparazzi looked like vultures out there waiting for your guys’ limo to arrive. I bet Paisley and Maverick are beyond pissed off right now.”
“Yeah, Rebecca came to the rescue, saving me from total embarrassment. That’s all I needed was to step out looking like a train wreck from crying my mascara off. I would have had to see that plastered all over the newsstands. My parents will most likely have their publicist make a statement tomorrow. I can’t believe Logan does this just as interest finally starts to die down!”
“I am not shocked at all that he did this; I’ve never liked him,” Rebecca says with anger radiating through her voice. She rests her hand on mine for a moment, giving me a sympathetic smile. I’m extremely grateful to have her and Reagan here with me. With Brooklyn in Vancouver and my parents on tour, I’ve felt very alone in all of this.
“It felt like all the reporters cared about was if I saw the breaking news…it’s like it completely slipped their minds they were here to cover the Envy party,” I need to drop the topic before I get myself all worked up again. “I’m done talking about this…I want to enjoy tonight and not worry about what will come tomorrow.”
“Good! We’re here to celebrate and celebrate we will,” Reagan says, tossing back a shot. “Focus on having fun tonight.” He pats my knee and heads off to the dance floor with the blonde he’s sitting with.
“I think staying here this week will be good for you Savannah. Everyone is assuming you’re returning to Los Angeles tomorrow with the rest of us, they’ll be scoping out LAX and your house for you. No one will think to find you still in Texas,” Rebecca said, reaching for my hand and pulling me towards the dance floor.
We spend the next hour dancing and mingling; I have not seen Kayden anywhere and mention it to Eloise when we find her. She explains that he’s in his office on a business call. It’s no sooner than she indicates this that I’m being dragged away by Rebecca. “What are you doing?” I ask dumbfounded.
“You’re going to Kayden’s office. You’ve spent the entire night searching this place for him, for God’s sake. If you want to see him…go see him!”
The idea of walking into that office after what we did in there last night… “I…can’t,” I stammer out, trying my best to stand my ground and not let her persuade me into barging in there. I’m being pathetic; I know better than to think that he would have been waiting for me to arrive. Kayden is well known for being a serial dater; he was probably thrilled when he woke up, and I was gone.
“You can and you will. You’re being such a drama queen right now; you need to march your ass up to that door and walk through it. Go see Kayden; it’s the perfect place to talk about this with him. It’s away from the crowd; you don’t want to have this conversation in public. Someone could tell the press about what they overhear, making your life even more complicated,” Rebecca explains to me.
“Okay, okay, you’re right. I’m just nervous. What if he gets irritated with me for bothering him? He could be busy with a very important phone call.”
Kayden opens his office door at the same moment Rebecca pushes me into it, causing me to slam into his rock solid chest. Someone, please kill me now.
“I am so sorry," I squeak out as I back up a step, and lock eyes with Kayden. He has his hands on me to prevent me from falling, and the heat radiates through my skin, making me weak in the knees. The effect he has over me after such a short amount of time is terrifying, to say the least.
“Ladies,” was all he said as he looked from me to Rebecca.
“Hello Kayden, I was just…leaving. Savannah has come to see you.” Well, so much for not leaving my side tonight.
I’m a ball of nervous, and seriously contemplate turning around and bolting straight out the freaking door. “This was a mistake. It was Rebecca’s bright idea to come and find you; I don’t want to bother you. There are a ton of people out there waiting to see you.”
Kayden quickly snaps me back to reality and shocks the hell out of me by pulling me into his office, and slamming the door behind me. “Savannah what the hell is going on?”
Not being able to look at him, I keep my eyes locked on the floor, “I felt bad for slipping out of your room this morning; I wanted to see you and explain.”
Releasing his grip on my arms, he rakes his hand through his hair. I drag my eyes over his body, and I feel my hear
t flutter as I take in Kayden wearing his Gucci suit and mint green tie that’s causing his eyes to appear an even darker emerald color.
“Okay, then explain away,” he says as he sits down on an oversized chocolate colored couch, resting his hands behind his head and kicking his foot up onto his knee. I can’t stop the images of us on that couch last night from consuming me. I try to regain my composure as I make my way over to the couch. I hate the pull I feel towards him; it’s confusing the hell out of me!
Why does he have to look so damn good sitting there? I slowly sit down a little ways away from him, trying to keep my distance. Just smelling his intoxicating cologne is turning my brain to mush; I don’t think I could hold myself together if he touches me again.
I clear my throat and smooth my dress out as I turn slightly to face him, “When we fell asleep, I felt amazing. Everything that had been stressing me out had vanished. The only thing on my mind was you, me and everything I had experienced with you last night.”
He shifts on the sofa, turns towards me and places his hands on top of mine. I instantly suck in a sharp breath of air; every time he touches me it sends shockwaves throughout my body. “I felt the same way and believe me it kind of freaked me out, too.” He drawls, letting out a husky laugh. “I’m used to meaningless sex. I have been with a lot of women over the last few years, and none of them have affected me the way you do.”
He’s looking at me so intensely, I can feel every word he was saying, and I know he’s being honest with me.
“I hooked up with someone on Halloween, a few weeks after I broke off the engagement with Logan. I was petrified to put myself out there again.”
At mention of me sleeping with someone Kayden instantly tenses up. I close my eyes for a second to try and keep the tears from falling. I hate how he’s making me feel; I tell myself not to fall for anyone ever again and yet here I am, falling for a womanizer!
Savannah Series Boxed Set: Four Full Novels and One Novella Page 14
