by Suzie Nelson
Chapter 6
Danica opened her eyes slowly and while her tired irises adjusted to the white haze of daylight, she had a sudden panic of feeling confused. Last night’s date with Jordan and their evening of vigorous lovemaking suddenly flooded her memory and she realized that she was lying in Jordan’s bed on soft Egyptian cotton sheets. Danica turned and reached out her hand expecting to find Jordan lying beside her but there was only the cold empty space of where he had been sleeping.
Why would he not still be beside her wanting to cuddle? Had he changed his mind about their relationship in the pale morning light? These questions ran through Danica’s mind as she hurried to find something to wear. She couldn’t see her dress on the floor and then she remembered that Jordan had taken it off in the lobby.What if it was still lying there for anyone to see? Danica scanned the room hoping to see a dressing gown or blanket that she could throw on but the only thing she could find was Jordan’s crumpled shirt still lying on the floor. She slipped it on, fastened the buttons and raked her hands through her messy locks.
When she opened the bedroom door, Danica was wondering whether she should head to the lobby, pick up her dress and try to make a quick exit but she heard the clatter of pans coming from the kitchen. Danica wasn’t sure if it would be Jordan or his maid in the kitchen but the smell of fresh coffee lead her that way without a further thought.
“Good morning.” Jordan was cracking eggs into a hot pan when Danica walked in a little embarrassed at her appearance. “It suits you,” Jordan smiled and was clearly unconcerned about her attire.
“Thanks, I didn’t have anything else to put on.” Danica made her way over to the island where Jordan was cooking and perched herself on one of the counter stools.
“Your dress is being dry cleaned and I have sent out for some clothes for you. My man should be back soon with some outfits for you to pick from.” Jordan looked fresh faced and full of joy as he scrambled the eggs and lifted the toast from the toaster.
“You must be a morning person?” Danica spotted a filled coffee mug in front of her and helped herself to a mouthful.
“Guilty as charged. I run first thing every morning, make myself breakfast and then review the morning papers. I’m a creature of habit – but Barrack is on his way over.” Jordan slid a plate over to Danica filled with buttered toast, eggs and a few rashers of crispy bacon.
“He is? Why?” Danica was thankful for the deliciously looking food and eagerly tucked into the heavenly mound in front of her.
“I’m not sure exactly. He said it was important and that he had to speak with both of us immediately.” Jordan put his plate next to Danica’s and sat beside her. “I didn’t tell him that you stayed over but I said I would make sure you were here, so we don’t have to rush. I’m sure he just wants to go over the images from last night and discuss whatever the papers are saying about it.”
Danica continued to eat her breakfast and didn’t think anything unusual about Barrack’s early morning visit. “You didn’t need to get me any clothes, you know, I could have just worn my dress.” Danica looked up at Jordan as he took his first bite and she was secretly happy that she didn’t have to go home in last night’s outfit.
“It’s not a problem. We couldn’t have you wearing the same thing when Barrack gets here, it would give the game away a little – don’t you think?” Jordan winked at her and Danica had a small moment of insecurity.
“Should we keep it a secret from Barrack?” she asked. Jordan had made such a point last night about them being open and honest with each other that she couldn’t understand why he would now want to pretend that nothing happened.
“We don’t have to.” Jordan turned his body towards her and gently stroked the side of her cheek. “I just thought we might want a bit of space so that we can decide what we are before Barrack and the whole world finds out.”
Danica didn’t really understand what he was saying and her eyes must have conveyed her confusion as Jordan quickly placed his hand over hers. “I want to be with you, Danica. No doubt about that. I want us to be a couple, I just didn’t want to rush you into anything.”
His reassurance calmed her instantly and she was glad to see that the same desire and intent still blazed in his eyes as it had the night before. “You’re right.” Danica squeezed his hand and smiled. “Let’s just keep it between us for now and when we’ve had some more time we can tell Barrack. Everyone thinks we are in a relationship anyway, we might as well enjoy playing our parts for the camera.”
They laughed together and Jordan poured Danica some more coffee. They spent the next hour talking about Jordan’s friends and Danica’s plans to be a designer until her new clothes arrived. She picked through the multiple bags and wondered if she could keep everything.
“Your man certainly has good taste.” Danica lifted up a cream Burberry dress and hoped that it would fit her.
“Just keep it all. I will take back anything you don’t want but if you like it, just have it all.” Jordan sat himself down on the couch and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. He couldn’t help himself but gaze at his beautiful semi-naked lover.
Danica smiled happily andchecked the rest of the designer bags in front of her. “Thanks, I think I should stay here more often.” Playfully, Danica unbuttoned her shirt and let it rest open on her bare body. Jordan’s eyes immediately stopped on her bare chest.A sudden twitch occurred in his crotch as he watched her undress.
His oversized shirt fell off Danica’s shoulders. Fully naked now, she walked along the couch. “Oops,” she smirked.
“Barrack will be here any minute.” Jordan put his coffee cup down as Danica moved one of her legs between his.
“Well, then you better be quick.” Danica wanted to feel Jordan’s hands on her again, she wanted him to touch her and caress her as he had last night.
He sat upright on the couch and slowly ran his hand up the inside of her thigh. Danica parted her legs wider as Jordan’s finger gently grazed her vagina. Danica arched her head back and sighed as she felt Jordan’s fingers slip inside her. She lifted one leg and rested it on the couch while Jordan started to kiss her inner thighs.
For a second, she could feel his hesitation as Barrack was expected to walk out of the elevator at any moment but Danica wasn’t going to let him stop until she had peaked. Jordan started to move his hand away but Danica reached down and firmly put his fingers back on her clit. He looked up at her in awe of her boldness. She was the woman who knew what she wanted and he admired that about her the most.
“You’re not done Mr. Ramsey until I cum.” Danica pressed his hand again and Jordan continued to slide his finger in and out. Danica moaned out in delight and as he increased the speed she called out, “Yes, yes.” Finally, Jordan put the tip of his tongue on her clit and teased it gently until Danica screamed out in pleasure.
Suddenly, the elevator pinged and Danica crouched on the floor. Barrack walked out of the elevator with his face in a pile of newspapers which gave Danica enough time to throw on the cream Burberry dress that was just at her feet.
“Oh good, you’re both here.” Completely oblivious to the fact that both Jordan and Danica were gleefully looking at each other and out of breath, Barrack raced over to the living room and threw down the tabloids on to the table. “We’ve got a total shit storm on our hands! Your pretend relationship is completely blown.”
“What are you talking about?” Jordan leaned over and started to flick through the papers. Each one had an image of himself and Danica on the front page with the words ‘fake’, ‘sham’ and ‘made-up’ spread across everything.
“Have you not seen the news or listened to the radio today?” Barrack looked at the pair as though they had been living under a rock. “Both of your faces are on all the TV news networks, the entertainment channels, and all the papers – they know that the relationship was a pretense.”
“But how? We haven’t said anything to anyone!”
Danica was sure that her manager was probably trying to frantically get in touch but Danica hadn’t looked at her phone once this morning.
“Some fucker recorded our meeting at the diner. Some useless nobody that recognized Danica managed to record the conversation and has sold it to E News. They have been playing the recording on repeat for the whole morning and it’s been published in practically every paper. We’re fucked!” Barrack rested his hands on his waist and as he looked down at the pair, he spotted the bags of clothes. For a second he wondered why there would be so many shopping bags but he just assumed that Danica had arrived after a spending spree.
“Didn’t you see the tabloids when you were out shopping today?” Barrack looked at her as she gave him a completely puzzled look.
“Shopping?” Danica had no idea what he was talking about but Jordan quickly jumped in when he noticed Barrack eyeing up the bags.
“None of the shop assistants said anything to you when you bought all these clothes this morning?” Jordan pointed down to the bags hoping that Danica would follow the hint.
“Oh, no.” It finally clicked in her brain that she had to explain the collection of shopping bags in Jordan’s living room. “I got a few funny looks but no one said anything to me.” She looked back up at Barrack hoping that he would accept her story as she tried to conceal her confusion.
“I just can’t believe this is happening after everything was going so well. I’ve been on the phone all morning with different journalists trying to think of something to say but how can we deny it when the recording is out? Everyone can hear us fucking talking about the benefits of the arrangement and now it’s brought up the whole child labor scandal again!”
“It has?” Jordan stood up as it was starting to dawn on him how terrible the revelation was for his company.
“Yes, of course, it has. That’s the reason we did all of this in the first place but now we look even worse than before.” Barrack looked down at his phone as it started vibrating.
“Shit.” Jordan lifted his hands to his forehead and wondered how they would ever be able to explain any of this. It didn’t matter now that he and Danica were having a real relationship, everyone had heard the negotiations and they would always be seen as liars.
“I better find my phone, Chelsea is probably trying to ring me.” Danica stood up and stepped over the shopping bags at her feet.
“I’ve spoken with Chelsea, she’s trying to handle things at her end but you’re both screwed.” Barrack didn’t mince his words as Danica walked passed him and headed down the hallway.
“I think I left it in the kitchen.” She pointed down the hall but no one was paying any attention to her. Danica walked away knowing that her phone was in Jordan’s room and that she would have to sneak in and out without Barrack noticing.
While Danica tried to find her phone, Edward Ramsey arrived in the lobby in the foulest of moods. “So you’re both here, cowering away while there is a fucking manhunt going on outside? As if our problems couldn’t get any worse, you idiots decide to hold negotiations in the middle of a fucking diner!” Edward was dressed in his usual black business suit but he looked far from professional.
Barrack stepped back and waited for Jordan to respond to his brother. The tension between them all was thick but then interrupted by Danica’s sudden arrival back into the room. “I have a ton of messages on my phone…Oh?” She looked straight at Edward and then back at Jordan with a puzzled look.
“Edward, this is Danica Cliffe.” Jordan stood between them awkwardly but Edward ignored all civil pleasantries.
“I know who she is, Jordan, you’re both on every front page!” Edward glared at Danica with disdain as though she had singlehandedly caused the whole problem.
“Danica, this is my older brother, Edward.” Jordan ignored Edward’s rudeness and went over to stand by her so that she wouldn’t feel like an outsider. Danica didn’t say anything to Edward as she tried to nervously smile at him.
“I should really go, Jordan. Chelsea has called me like twenty times and I have loads of voicemails from reporters.” Danica leaned into Jordan and tried to talk only to him but all her words could be heard by both Edward and Barrack.
“You’re not going anywhere Missy until we sort how to fix this cock-up.” Edward barked his orders as though he was talking to a naughty school girl.
“Don’t shout at her, Edward, this is not her fault.” Jordan stepped forward unafraid to face his brother’s wrath.
“No, I guess it’s not. It wasn’t her bright idea to meet in a fucking public café, was it?” Edward wasn’t backing down while his anger was still coursing through his body.
Danica squeezed Jordan’s hand gently and with a steady glare, she confronted Edward. “Edward, none of us wanted this to happen and in hindsight, we obviously shouldn’t have talked so openly in the diner but it’s done now. There’s nothing productive about blaming each other, it won’t solve our current problem.” She stood firmly in her place next to Jordan. She had no idea how Edward was going to react but she wasn’t going to let anyone talk to her like that.
Jordan held her hand tightly, ready to jump in to defend her if needed. He knew Edward was not accustomed to being spoken to so bluntly. Edward took a moment to size up Danica and although his fists were still clenched from the frustration he knew that she was speaking logically. The audio recording was being played everywhere and the damage had already been done to the Ramsey Enterprises, all they could do now was to figure a way out of their nightmare.
“Not just a pretty face then, Miss Cliffe,” Edward grinned. The tension immediately drained from the room and everyone took a relieved sigh in their minds. Edward looked down and noticed that Jordan and Danica were holding hands but he remained silent on the point as Barrack scrolled through his phone.
“I think we may have a way to turn the media attention around.” Barrack moved towards them all with his phone in hand. “I have an invitation here for you both to appear on the Morning Daily show with Sally Joy. She has interviewed everyone, it would be a big deal for us…lots of views. If we can think of some way to turn this around, explain the relationship, we could try and use some of this media attention for our benefit?”
“How on Earth can we turn this around, Barrack? They have the tape!” Jordan wasn’t sure if he could face another blasting by the media and he didn’t want to put Danica through any unnecessary questioning.
“They have part of the conversation, not every word.” Barrack looked hopeful for the first time since he walked through the door.
“I thought you said we were completely screwed?” Jordan’s brow frowned as he wondered what his PR guru was up to. The truth was starting to be twisted again and Jordan was not in the mood to be played for a fool.
“They have a rough recording that someone made on their phone. You can kind of hear what we are saying but it’s not pitch perfect, word for word exact. We have a little room to wiggle out of.” Barrack looked over at Edward and hoped that he could get some support for the interview from the older, angrier brother. “Tell them, Edward. You must have heard the recording?”
“Of course I have, it’s on every station.” Irritated by Jordan’s lack of knowledge, Edward sided with Barrack and tried to convince Jordan of the media benefits. “It’s a scratchy recording. If we listen to it and bend it in our favor we could try and salvage some bit of dignity from the whole thing. It’s a long shot.” Edward glanced over again at Danica and she realized that she was still holding Jordan’s hand. She loosened her grip and dropped his hand as Edward moved his eyes away.
“I’m not sure about this. We could look like total idiots trying to convince everyone when they already know the truth.” Jordan noticed that Danica had moved away from him so he turned hoping to get her opinion. “Danica, what do you think?”
Every man in the room looked at her, each of them with their own interests and agenda’s riding on her words. “I really
can’t say either way without hearing the tape. It might not be as bad as we think or it could be worse. Either way, my manager will kill me if I agree to anything now. I really have to talk it over with her.” Danica knew that she was speaking sense but she really just wanted to get away from everyone. It was all too much, too overwhelming; she just needed to get out of there.
Jordan looked back at Barrack and Edward in full agreement with his lover. “Danica’s right. We can’t agree to anything until we hear the tape.”
Chapter 7
“This whole fucking thing is a disaster!” Chelsea Kane sat across from Danica in her uptown office. Danica had gone straight from Jordan’s apartment to Chelsea’s office hoping that her manager might have some sort of plan. “Even though it was Jordan’s people that set this all up, everyone thinks it was you because of that bloody tape.” Chelsea puffed away at her electronic cigarette like it was morphine but the reality of the media nightmare wasn’t fading away.
