Speaking of Parris, she thought it was past time, she gave her new friend a call.
“Has Casper been staying out of trouble?” she asked, after going through the pleasantries.
“You know your friend. He’s a handful but I love him.”
“No mushy stuff please,” Eva teased. “Tell CJ, the hit maker I called. I don’t want to hold you long. Just called to see how you were doing.”
“We need to get together. Girl, it’s been far too long,” Parris responded.
“I know. Let’s do lunch. My treat,” Eva said.
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you and a date come over next week for dinner?”
Eva didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t sure she would have a date. Folks would laugh if she admitted that. Most men looked at her as a trophy piece but she was looking for more. “I’m free Thursday. How about then?”
“Sounds good to me. We’ll see you around seven,” Parris confirmed before getting off the phone.
Trevor, next week, it’ll be you and I going to that dinner. You’ll see.
***
Garth rarely got a chance to see Eva in her work element. She seemed to light up when she was on stage talking to her guests and studio audience. He watched the taping from a room not far from the stage.
He listened as Brenda gave him an update on Eva’s case. “It’s good to hear that the fan mail has stopped. Let’s think about re-assigning you.”
Brenda said, “I would keep me on for at least another few weeks.”
“Oh no. I know you didn’t say that. Working for the diva Eva.”
Brenda laughed. “I admit when I’m wrong. She’s not as bad as I thought she would be. Don’t get me wrong; she does have her moments; but for the most part, she’s down to earth.”
“Wow. I’m shocked,” he said, as he handed Brenda an envelope containing her payroll check.
“Thanks Boss man.”
“If anything comes up, let me know. On Saturday, you can have the day off. I’ll be escorting Ms. Ward to a party.”
“It wouldn’t be the same party I’ve been invited to now would it?”
“You’ll have to wait and see,” Garth responded.
“I wasn’t going to attend. But I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
He ignored Brenda’s curiosity. The show was about to end and he wanted to avoid Eva until Saturday. He made a quick get away. He heard Eva yelling his name as he turned the corner, but he pretended like he didn’t.
After dropping off Brenda’s check, he returned to his office. He was spending too much time here lately. He needed a life outside of work. His rash decision to stop living the player’s life offered him more free time. Time that he wasn’t used to having. He had to admit that he was less stressed. He no longer worried about whether one of the women he was messing with would have a disgruntle lover lurking near by.
“Hi handsome,” Cheryl’s voice bounced through the room.
He was surprised to see her there. “Where’s Trevor?”
“He’s getting something out of his office. Thought I would come by and say hi to the best man,” she purred. She walked around to where he was sitting. She leaned in for a kiss. He pushed her away.
“You’re playing on dangerous territory. I told you it was over.”
“Can’t blame a woman for trying.” Cheryl moved closer to him.
“You best back up.”
“Or what?”
“What’s going on here?” Trevor asked.
Cheryl walked from behind the desk and wrapped her arm around Trevor. “I was trying to convince our best man to not cancel out on coming to our party on Saturday.”
“Yes, man. How would that look? My own best man, not showing up.”
Garth looked from one to another. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Great. Now that it’s settled, Tre and I must be going.”
Tre shrugged his shoulders as he followed Cheryl out.
Garth said out loud, “You two deserve each other.”
~ 11 ~
Entertainment Tonight followed Eva around the entire day. She was used to being in the spotlight, but she couldn’t wait for the day to be over with. In between shooting, she had Mo re-touch her make-up.
“Girl, thanks for letting me be a part of your ET spotlight,” Mo said, unable to mask his excitement.
“The Eva Ward Show is a team. My name is just on the billing,” Eva said.
“If I wasn’t scared of ruining your make-up, I would hug you,” Mo responded.
“You’re so dramatic.” Eva laughed.
“You’re not the only drama queen around here.”
“I see,” Eva said, right before hugging Mo and leaving the room.
Eva thanked the ET reporter and crew for featuring her. She had food catered to celebrate the event. She had forgotten that Brenda was lurking in the background until it was time to go.
“You startled me,” Eva said, as she picked up her purse and keys.
“Sorry. You were so busy being a gracious host, I didn’t want to get in the way.”
“You did get you something to eat didn’t you? If not, we can stop and pick you something up on the way to my house.”
“I got my fair share,” Brenda said, rubbing her tummy in a circular motion.
“I need to tell John something and then I’ll be ready to get out of here.”
“John’s gone for today. Said something about his little boy got sick or something.”
“I better call and see what’s going on.” Eva called John and was relieved to find out that, according to the doctor, his son was suffering from a sinus infection and with proper medication, would be fine.
Eva sat in the passenger seat and let Brenda drive. She had a lot on her mind so she took the time to think about things. Career wise, she was well on her way to being at the number two spot. Life was good in that aspect. Her love life was in turmoil. When she least expected, she would hear Garth’s voice saying she deserved better. Maybe he was right, but what if he was wrong? What if Trevor was as good as it got.
She needed to talk to her mother but it would have to wait. Brenda knew far more about her than she wanted anyone to know. Brenda didn’t need to know that she, of all people, couldn’t hold on to one man—a man that happened to be one of her bosses. A few tears ran down her cheeks and she gently wiped them away; hoping Brenda didn’t notice the tears.
***
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Garth said, as he paced the floor; waiting for Eva to answer the door. He knew she was ready because she buzzed him into the premises.
“Sorry, but I couldn’t find my clutch,” Eva said, as she opened the door. They both looked at each other and stared.
Garth was mesmerized by the woman that stood in front of him. With her hair pulled back in a bun and a few tresses falling into her face, her eyes sparkled just as bright as the long diamond earrings dangling from her ears.
Someone cleared their throat. He looked behind Eva and noticed Brenda standing there for the first time.
“Looks like you got this all under control Boss man, so I’m going to head out,” Brenda said, breaking the trance.
“Thanks for helping me get ready,” Eva said.
“Thank you for this dress,” Brenda returned.
“You look nice,” Garth said.
Brenda and Eva said, “Thank you” in unison.
They all chuckled.
“I’ll see you two at the party. I need to go pick up my date.”
“And who might that be?” Garth asked.
“You’ll see.”
Eva looped her arm through Garth’s. “Come on in. Would you like a drink before we go?”
Garth didn’t trust his emotions right now. Her perfume reached out to tease his senses. The cream colored dress was too long to be a mini, but short enough to accent her long legs. The five inch heels was enough to drive the average man over the edge. He had to get out of there so
on. “Don’t you think we should get going? We don’t want to be late,” he responded.
Eva seemed to purr. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you didn’t want to be alone with me.”
“What would give you that idea?” he stuttered.
She giggled. “Oh nothing.” She picked up her clutch. “Come on. We have a party to go to.”
Garth couldn’t hide his smile. The night with Eva would be far from boring.
***
Eva pretended to be enchanted by the music, but instead she was trying to get a grip on the feelings that came from nowhere. She asked herself. When did she start finding Garth attractive? Grant it, he was a good looking man; but he was always Garth, her buddy, her pal. The player. Trevor’s best friend. Tonight when she opened the door, she saw more than just a pal. She saw a man who for an instant made her forget the whole purpose of going to the party in the first place. She found herself attracted to him. She shrugged it off. It must have been the glass of champagne she drank before he came. Yes. That was it. Alcohol was the excuse.
Instead of thinking about Garth and admiring how sexy he looked in his brown Sean Jean pinstriped suit, she needed to figure out what she would say when she finally saw Trevor’s fiancé for the first time.
“How does she look?” she blurted.
Garth must didn’t hear her, because he didn’t respond. She reached and turned down the radio. “Didn’t anyone teach you any manners? Never, ever, mess with a man’s radio.”
“If you didn’t have it so loud, I wouldn’t have had to,” she responded. His attitude reminded her of why she had never looked past them being buddies.
“What’s on your mind?”
“All I wanted to know was how does she look?”
“I’m surprised it took you this long to ask me.”
He turned his system completely off. “She’s pretty.”
Eva grunted. “You would say that.”
“Well you asked,” he teased.
Eva rolled her eyes and turned to look out the window. It seemed no matter what time of day or night, traffic in Los Angeles seemed to be at a gridlock.
“She’s pretty, but doesn’t hold a candle to you.”
Eva looked at him. His eyes were on the road and the cars ahead. He took the next exit but was caught by the light. “Now you’re trying to pump up my ego.”
He looked at her. With the light beaming enough in the light, she could see his eyes. “There are millions of men who could do that. I’m telling you what I think. Although you try to hide it, you’re not just beautiful on the outside, there’s a beauty within you that few women can compete with.”
The sound of a horn blowing broke the trance. He drove on. They remained silent until they reached their destination.
They pulled up in front of the Renaissance Hotel. A valet took Garth’s keys. She waited for him to open her door. She took his hand and exited the car. He looped his arm around her as they walked inside the hotel. The elevator door opened to take them to the ball room. He leaned down and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her; instead he whispered in her ear, “Show time.”
~ 12 ~
Garth couldn’t resist teasing Eva. Whether she wanted to admit it, he could tell she was attracted to him too. Although they both were threading on dangerous grounds because of their affiliation with Trevor, he decided the day Trevor showed how insensitive he was to Eva’s feelings, that he would let things play out. He hoped Eva realized Trevor wasn’t the man she thought he was. Garth also hoped that she would look past his past and see that he was more than what she thought he was.
He felt like a million bucks walking in with Eva. He could see why Trevor got caught up. He knew he was the envy of all of the men; whether they were married or not. Eva was oblivious to the attention and clung to his arm as they made their way to the ballroom.
He spotted Trevor and Cheryl first. Trevor was dressed in a black suit and Cheryl wore a short strapless black dress. Her short Halle Berry hair do complimented her face. “There’s the happy couple,” he whispered.
Eva responded, “She’s cute, but she’s not all that.”
Garth laughed. “Women.”
As they got closer, he asked her, “Ready? We can turn around now.”
“Let’s do this.” She squeezed his arm tighter.
Trevor was busy talking to a guest so didn’t see Garth and Eva walking towards the receiving line. Garth could feel the venom beaming from Cheryl’s eyes as she plastered on a fake smile. “Garth, so glad you could make it. And this is?”
She’s good. Real good.
“Eva Ward. You know the talk show host/ex-super model,” Garth said, adding fuel to the fire.
Trevor turned around just at that moment. If looks could kill, Garth and Eva both would be dead.
Eva reached out her hand and barely touched Cheryl’s hands. “It’s about time I met the woman who captured Trevor’s heart.”
She hugged Trevor and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Congratulations,” she said.
Garth hugged Cheryl. She whispered, “This was a bad idea.”
He pulled back and then shook Trevor’s hand. Trevor mouthed the words. “We need to talk.”
He shook his head up and down to acknowledge him. He grabbed Eva’s hand as if they were a real couple and was ushered to a table near the front.
He pulled out the chair for Eva. “Have you had enough?”
Eva accepted the drink the waiter was offering and took a sip. “Dear, I’m just getting started. Did you see how that heifer rolled her eyes at me?”
“She doesn’t even know you. You’re just being paranoid,” Garth lied.
“I’m a woman. Trust me she knows. She knows that Trevor belongs to me.”
Garth rubbed her back gently. “Calm down. You want Trevor to see what he’s missing right?”
“Yes.”
“Then for tonight. Pretend like we’re more than buddies. Pretend like we’re new lovers.”
“I can act, so that shouldn’t be too hard.”
Garth placed his other hand over his heart. “Well, I’m offended.”
Eva laughed. Her laugh was like a drug to him. She responded. “You’re so silly. I actually like seeing this side of you. Show it more often.” She winked.
Trevor was taping him on his shoulder before he could respond. He said, “We’ll be right back. Behave.”
Eva held up her drink as if doing a toast. “Tre.”
“Eva,” he responded, before leading Garth away from the crowded room.
“Man, why did you bring her here?” Trevor blurted out as soon as they were outside in the corridor.
“When I got my invitation to this shindig, it said, it was an invitation for two.”
“Out of all of the women that you know, you couldn’t find someone else to bring with you?”
“Tre. If you’re serious about getting married, you need to get used to seeing Eva out in social settings. Remember, we are friends. Just because things didn’t work out with you two; doesn’t mean her and I will stop being friends.”
“You two don’t even like each other. You just hung out because of me. So come on. This was her idea wasn’t it?”
“There you are. I was wondering where you two went off too,” Cheryl said, as she reached for Trevor’s hand.
“We were discussing some best man duties,” Trevor lied.
“I’ve left my date long enough, so I’ll leave you two love birds out here to do what you do,” Garth said, as he excused himself.
***
Eva signed autographs while waiting on Garth to return. She noticed Cheryl in the corner and that prompted her to turn up the charm. She flashed her million dollar smile and laughed at some of the not so funny jokes as people kept making a beeline to her table. She felt a slight victory when she watched Cheryl storm off.
She knows and now she knows I know she knows.
“Folks, this will be the last autograph. We’re here to cele
brate the upcoming nuptials of my friend and I don’t want to steal the spotlight from the bride to be.”
She heard a few disappointed grunts. Garth showed back up at the table as she signed the last napkin.
“Can’t leave you anywhere without a crowd forming,” Garth teased.
“It happens.” Eva motioned for the waiter to bring her another glass of champagne.
Garth intervened and took the glass away from Eva and placed it on the table. “I think you need to slow down on those.”
“Last time I checked you weren’t my daddy.”
He held up the glass. “Go ahead. Bottoms up.”
Trevor and Cheryl stood in front of the room before Eva could respond. She ignored the drink and turned her attention on the couple. The band stopped playing music. The band leader handed a microphone to Trevor. The noise level around them died down.
“I want to thank you all for coming tonight to share with us as we celebrate our upcoming nupitials.”
Eva wanted to puke as Cheryl smiled and seemed to hold on to Trevor’s arm a little too tight.
Cheryl took the microphone from him. “We know that this last minute engagement party is coming a little late with the wedding not far off, but we just wanted to show our appreciation for you all.”
Cheers were heard around the room. Eva took the glass that was sitting in front of Garth and gulped down the contents. She ignored his concerned look.
“The food is ready, so eat up and let’s party,” Trevor said.
“I’m not having buffet style at my party,” Eva stated as Garth helped her stand up.
Her head was feeling a little woozy. Maybe she should have listened to Garth and not drank that last glass. She leaned on the chair for a few seconds to catch her balance.
“Are you okay?” Garth asked.
“Oh, I’m fine.”
She smiled and spoke to people as they made their way to the buffet line. She did her best to stand up straight and not wobble. Garth’s hand on her back seemed to hold her up.
Betrayed by Love Page 5
