Star Struck

by Goss, Shelia

  Jackie, Hailey’s assistant, stormed through the door. “I heard you hired a new assistant. If you were going to fire me, you could have called me,” she complained.

  “Jackie, we have company.” Hailey wasn’t in the mood to deal with her sometimes overly sensitive assistant.

  Brenda waved. “Hi, I’m Brenda.”

  Jackie ignored Brenda. “I know who you are.”

  “You’ve forgotten the golden rule. There can only be one queen in the midst.” Hailey pointed at herself. “And that’s me. Since you’re so concerned about your job, I’ve been saving some things for you.”

  Hailey handed her a folder filled with sheets of papers. “I need you to contact these people and see if they are willing to come on the show. I’ve already made some notes for you; so you really don’t have much to do.”

  “If I’m doing all of this, what is she here for?”

  Hailey pushed her towards the door. “You worry about the list and I’ll worry about Brenda. Now skedaddle.”

  “If looks could kill, I would have been dead on the spot,” Brenda joked.

  “She’ll be alright.”

  “As soon as I have her checked out thoroughly, you need to tell her who I am.”

  “Competition is good for the soul.”

  “That’s an evil young lady if I ever met one.”

  Hailey hoped Jackie wasn’t guilty of sending her the pictures and letters. She trusted her with so much of her day to day operations that it would be the ultimate betrayal. It would hurt her almost as much as Trevon’s upcoming nuptials. She slid the invitation out of her purse and read the date. She looked at her calendar. She needed to convince him that marrying that other woman would be a mistake. The countdown was on. She had exactly six weeks.

  ***

  Garrett sat behind the desk of his home office. He listened as Brenda gave him an update on the situation with Hailey. “The security system has been installed and I did a run through. All’s secure,” Brenda assured him.

  “I still can’t believe she was left wide open as far as security is concerned,” Garrett commented.

  “She was impressed with the new system. I showed her how to activate and deactivate. So far no more strange letters.”

  “Good. We’ll keep you with her a few more weeks and if nothing else happens, I’ll probably pull you from this project and reassign you.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” Brenda responded.

  Garrett stretched his arms out as he moved his head from side to side to release the tension in his neck. He had been in and out of meetings all day with prospective clients. Trevon had taken the day off which left him with handling everything. He was mentally exhausted and looked forward to a long hot shower and laying across his king sized bed.

  The business phone rang so his shower would have to wait. “I should have let it go to voice mail,” he said to himself as Shareeka’s voice blasted from the other end.

  “Aren’t those signs of cheating?” she asked.

  Garrett sat back down and shook his head. He wanted to laugh. She was concerned about Trevon cheating and here she was calling him wanting to hook up. “Baby girl, this is a conversation you should be having with Tre.”

  “He’ll only lie about it.”

  “Well that’s between you two. I’m out of it.”

  “What woman are you with now?” she asked.

  “Your wedding is six weeks away. I think you need to be more concerned about your husband to be than who I’m dealing with,” Garrett responded.

  “I hate all men right now,” she snapped.

  “Then why are you calling me?” he asked.

  “I thought we could hook up one last time,” she confessed.

  “Look Shareeka, I let our little fling or whatever you want to call it go on longer than I should have; but it’s like this. You’re marrying my boy and unbeknownst to him, me not sleeping with you is my present to him.”

  “But…”

  “There’s no buts. But I will tell you this. If after you are married, if I find out that you even look at another man, Trevon will know about it,” he threatened.

  “You wouldn’t?”

  “You don’t want to try me.”

  Shareeka stuttered, “I…I got to go. Tre’s coming through the door now.”

  Garrett hated to be rude to her but he knew Shareeka’s kind. If she thought she had the upperhand, she would use it to her advantage. He’s always made it clear that she had more to lose if Trevon found out about their indiscretions than he did; although truthfully, he didn’t believe it. As long as she thought it was the case, he knew she wouldn’t go blurting out their little affair in the heat of one of their disagreements.

  His rippling muscles relaxed under the hot water streaming from the showerhead. This was the first time in a long time that he was spending the night alone. He closed his eyes and instead of a relaxing thought, a woman’s face kept invading his thoughts.

  “Hailey,” he yelled as his eyes popped open.

  ~ 6 ~

  “One more…you can do it,” Ralph said, sounding like a military sergeant.

  Hailey and Brenda groaned from the intense workout her personal trainer was putting them through. Hailey wiped the sweat from her forehead as she did one more sit up.

  Brenda stood up first. “I thought I was in shape, but now I’m not so sure.” She picked up a bottle of water and took a sip.

  “I like to turn it up a notch when I get a new student.” Ralph winked his eye.

  Hailey used her towel to wipe the sweat off her neck. “But did you have to make me pay for it.”

  Ralph walked in front of her and placed his hand on her flat stomach. “It’s worth it.”

  She turned and admired herself in the mirror. “Somebody give him a raise. You got me looking good.”

  “No dear, it’s your hard work.”

  Brenda cleared her throat. “I hate to end this love fest, but Hailey we have to get going if we’re going to make it to the studio in time.”

  “Whose the boss?” Hailey teased.

  Ralph interjected, “On that note, I’m out of here. Ladies, it’s been a pleasure.”

  Hailey walked Ralph to the door. After saying her good-byes, she turned to find Brenda waiting at the end of the stairway. “What’s wrong?” Hailey asked.

  “There’s something about Ralph that doesn’t sit well with me,” she commented.

  “The fact that he didn’t make a pass at you, is that it?”

  “Yes. I mean no,” Brenda stuttered.

  Hailey laughed. “I was offended at first myself, but don’t worry; mister look like Jean Claude Van Damme is as heterosexual as they come.”

  “What’s his number? I need to set up a private session.”

  “Stand in line.” Hailey left Brenda standing at the end of the stairway as she headed upstairs to shower and dress.

  An hour later, they were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic although Los Angeles rush hour normally ended by ten. Hailey normally stopped to talk to a few people when she entered the office but today she was running late. Brenda had to pick up her pace just to keep up with her as she rushed through the door.

  Hailey waltzed in the conference room, and silence fell over the room as the members of her staff turned and looked at each other, avoiding eye contact with her. Brenda took a seat at the back of the room. “You all act like this is a funeral instead of a meeting. What’s going on?” Hailey asked, looking at John.

  John stood beside her and attempted to whisper. “Maybe we should talk in private first.”

  Hailey looked around the room. “Apparently, they already know whatever it is that you want to tell me, so spill it.”

  John pulled out a chair. “Have a seat.”

  She sat down and waited for John to take a seat. John handed her some pictures. “What the…” Hailey didn’t finish her statement as she flipped through pictures of her chronological comings and goings for the past few weeks. What really m
ade her mouth drop was the fact that the pictures all had the words “Hailey go to Hell” across them.

  “Everybody here got an envelope and it contained copies of these pictures.”

  “Where’s Bach? He should be in this meeting,” Hailey stated. Inside Hailey was furious and concerned. She hoped her nervousness didn’t show because she wanted everyone to know that she wasn’t going to let some deranged person take control over her life.

  “He’s on his way,” John responded.

  Brenda walked to the front of the room. “May I see those?”

  Hailey handed the pictures to her. “In fact, everybody here who got copies of these.” She held up a picture. “Please hand them to Brenda.”

  Brenda picked up a bin and had each person drop their envelopes and/or pictures into the bin. “I’ll be back.”

  Hailey addressed her staff. “I had other things to discuss like ratings, but I think in light of this, we could use a recess. The meeting will resume here in about thirty minutes.”

  The room cleared fast. John and Hailey were the only two remaining. Bach walked in the room and closed the door. “I reviewed the security cameras and there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.”

  “It had to be an inside job. In order for everyone to get a copy,” John stated.

  “Not exactly. I checked with the mail room and apparently, they received a box with instructions. They didn’t bother to look at the contents because the letter instructed that each staff member get a copy.”

  Hailey crossed her arms. She listened to John and Bach. “Is there anything you can do? The last thing I need is to have this information leaked to the media?”

  “Let me deal with that. You just make sure you get some personal security,” John said.

  “I have. Brenda is not just an assistant; she’s my personal security guard.”

  John said, “Well you could have told me.”

  “We thought it best the fewer people who knew the better. Just in case someone here on staff is responsible,” Hailey said, in her defense.

  Someone knocked on the door. Bach went to see who it was. When he moved, Brenda walked through the door. “Hailey, can I talk to you for a moment?”

  Hailey looked at John. “He knows.”

  “Let’s all have a seat,” Brenda said, as she walked towards the front of the room. “I checked this out with my boss and he agrees. Bach, I’m not trying to step on your toes, but we need to work together to make sure there’s a better system of screening people who have access to the building.”

  “We have a process in place and no disrespect, I don’t need you or anyone else to tell me how to do my job.”

  “Not saying that you do, but there are things we see that can improve the way things are done.”

  Hailey intervened. “Bach, I’m sure Brenda is only trying to offer solutions that will make your job easier not more complicated. Brenda, work with Bach and come up with the best solution.” She looked between the two. “I’m going to leave you all here while I go get something to drink. I need some air anyway.”

  John opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he saw the serious expression on Hailey’s face. “We’ll be here.”

  Hailey closed the door and released her breath. She went to her office avoiding eye contact with staff members as she passed them. Once she was inside of her office, she closed the door. Her mind was running a mile a minute.

  I can’t let this person unnerve me. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am and I refuse to give power to this creep. Sticks and stones…that’s all it is. As long as they don’t put hands on me, they’re only words; they’re only pictures.

  She dialed Trevon’s cell number. “I need to see you.” She paused. “No, not here. Meet me at your place.” After a brief pause, she stated. “On second thought, meet me at my place. I’ll find a way to get rid of Brenda.”

  This little plan of hers might work after all.

  ~ 7 ~

  Hailey convinced Brenda that she would be okay if she took a few hours for herself. After watching the security monitor to make sure she was off the premises, she rushed to get ready for Trevon. She sprayed on his favorite perfume on her pressure points. She put on a pair of hip-hugging Baby Phat jeans and short shirt to show off her toned stomach.

  The buzzer sounded indicating to her that someone was outside her gate. She pressed the button after confirming it was Trevon. A few minutes later Trevon was knocking at her door. “Thank you for coming,” she said, as she gave him a quick hug.

  “No kiss.”

  “Maybe later,” she responded.

  “Garrett told me he upgraded your system.” He followed her to the living room.

  “Why didn’t you suggest the change?”

  “Like anyone can tell you anything,” Trevon responded.

  “When it comes to my safety, I would have listened.”

  She sat down on the couch and he sat on the opposite end. “It’s a mute point now. Garrett’s taken care of it.”

  “But the point is, you should have.”

  Trevon moved closer to her. He picked up her leg and removed her slippers. He massaged her foot. “I must admit when I come over, I lose all my senses. You have a way of doing it to me.” He planted kisses on her toes.

  Hailey began to squirm. Her plan was backfiring. With each touch of his lips, her body betrayed her and reacted. She jerked her foot away. “Ouch,” she said, when it bumped the coffee table.

  “Baby, you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she snapped.

  “What was so important that you needed to see me?” he asked smugly.

  Hailey crossed her legs and looked Trevon straight in the eyes. “I’m really concerned about my safety.”

  “That’s why we have Brenda with you and if you like we can hire a few more people to watch the outside of the gates.”

  No dummy, I want you to say you won’t leave my side until they find out who’s sending me these letters. “She can’t be with me twenty-four hours a day.”

  Trevon pulled out his cell phone. “Let me get Garrett on it right away.”

  Hailey reached up and took the phone away from him. “That won’t be necessary. You being here makes me feel secure.” Hailey moved closer to him so that her ample chest was at his eye-level.

  He cleared his throat a few times. “Uh…what are you doing?”

  “Isn’t this what you came over here for,” Hailey said, as she pushed him backwards on the couch and planted kisses on his lips as her body covered his.

  Trevon wrapped his arms around her and they did the tango with their tongues for several minutes. He sounded out of breath when he said, “If you don’t stop, I won’t be able to.”

  “Then don’t.” Hailey took off her shirt and Trevon was in the process of removing her bra, when the buzzer from the gate sounded.

  “Darn it,” Hailey blurted out. She left Trevon on the couch as she went to see who was at her gate. She yelled, “It’s Garrett. Bring me my shirt.”

  “What is he doing here?” he asked.

  Hailey pulled her shirt on. “How am I supposed to know? He’s your buddy and business partner.” She looked in the nearby mirror to make sure her hair wasn’t all over her head and before Garrett could ring the doorbell, she had the door open.

  ***

  “Strange meeting you here partner,” Garrett said, after hugging Hailey.

  Trevon responded, “I was in the neighborhood.”

  “Yeah right.”

  “Gentlemen, there’s enough of me to go around,” Hailey teased. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I could use a drink.”

  “I am a little thirsty,” Garrett responded.

  Trevon followed behind them. Hailey looked in the refrigerator. “All I have is soda and iced-tea.”

  “I’ll take tea,” Trevon responded.

  Garrett said, “Give me a can of soda.”

  Hailey got a few glasses and put some crushed ice into each. She handed each a glass an
d a can of their desired drink.

  She stood while the men took a seat on the bar stools. “Did Brenda tell you about the pictures?”

  “That’s what I came over here to talk to you about. I wasn’t aware you had company.”

  “I didn’t know I was going to have company either,” she responded.

  Garrett looked between the two. “Regardless, we were able to eliminate your employees finger prints but whoever this person is isn’t in any of our databases.”

  “And how is that helping my situation?” she said, in between sips.

  “At least we know this person doesn’t make it a habit of breaking the law,” Trevon answered.

  Hailey’s house phone rang. She looked at the caller ID display. “Fellows, I have to take this. Make yourselves at home.” She walked out and left them in the kitchen by themselves.

  “Your girl called for you at the office. I lied and told her you were on assignment,” Garrett said.

  “I am.”

  “Hailey’s not your case or did you forget?”

  Trevon’s eyebrow raised. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you wanted my girl for yourself.”

  Garrett laughed. Little did he know he already had his girl, but he knew he wasn’t talking about Shereeka. “Man, first of all, Hailey’s not your girl and if I did have a thing for her; it would be between her and I.”

  “Why are you here?” Trevon asked. His chest seemed to stick out further.

  “I’m here on business. I can’t say the same about you.”

  “What else did Shereeka say when she called?” he whispered.

  “Oh don’t be asking about your fiancé now. I think its best you ask her yourself. As you keep telling me, I need to stay out of your business.”

  Trevon reached in his pocket for his cell phone. “I forgot it’s in the living room.”

  “Use mine.” Garrett handed Trevon the phone. “Better hurry up though. You don’t want your jump off to hear you.”

  The expression on Trevon’s face was priceless. Garrett laughed as Trevon took the phone and walked out on the back patio.