“Cal,” I say with a nod, trying to keep my cool, “how kind of you to show up without calling.”
“My lawyer did try to call your work line, but no one answered,” his tone cool, his eyes like glaciers - cold and hard - as they assess me up and down. This information does not phase me since reporters have been clogging our phone line for any information they can get about me.
“We’ve been bombarded with calls from reporters so that line goes straight to voicemail. Nice to see that you are finally doing your own dirty work for once by showing up in person though.” I make the first jab, not being able to contain my resentment toward him. The more I look at his sexy face, the angrier I get with him…and myself for how I am reacting to him. I look to the woman standing in front of me for distraction. “Hi, I’m Jenna. I’m assuming you are Cal’s mother?”
“Oh yes, Rosalind Harrington, but please call me Rose,” she says in her equally throaty, but feminine, voice. She thrusts out her hand for me to shake. “Thank you for accepting to see us on such short notice, Jenna. I’ve seen so many pictures of you the last two days, and I must say that you are even prettier in person.”
Surprised by her compliment since I just insulted her son, I shake her hand back and am about to say thank you for her kind words, when Cal rudely interrupts. “You were wondering if you were going to hear from me? Cut the bullshit, Jenna, how could you NOT hear from me? This story is everywhere, and your timing of planting it is brilliant. I brought my mother here to be a witness for the paternity test and then we will be leaving. My lawyer will be in touch with you once the results are in.”
“Excuse me, but did you just accuse me of selling this story to the media?” So shocked am I by his accusations that I don’t even realize I’m still holding onto his mother’s hand.
“Bloody right I am and don’t lie about it! I know your business has been doing well, and that this piece of information can bring your company into the spotlight you have been hoping for. One week together never brought out your calculating, manipulative bitch side.” His eyes rake up and down my body in disgust.
“Calvin! There is no need to be rude until we get the facts straight!” his mother chides, actually looking appalled at his behavior. I let go of her hand as if she has burned me. I stare at him with malice, his comment unleashing my pent up fury towards him.
“How DARE you!” I hiss, my anger mounting at each breath I take. “How DARE you come to my house, accuse me of lying and planting this story to boost my business! I would NEVER use an innocent child like that! Unlike you, I don’t want the spotlight! I never wanted the story to be made public. Once you refused to be part of her life, I was done with you! I never wanted to hear or see you ever again!”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he growls. “I never knew about a baby until you went to the tabloids. I would never refuse to see my own child!”
“Look who is lying now!” I yell. “How convenient that you have forgotten the email you wrote me stating that if the baby was yours, you have no time in your life for it. You even copied your assistant on it.”
“Valerie? When did you talk to Valerie?” His face looks confused as if he has amnesia.
“When did I NOT talk with Valerie? I ALWAYS talked with Valerie because you never picked up the phone yourself. Did you forget that you told me that she handles your phone calls when you are on set working? Every single time I called you, she picked up the phone. She even started to respond to my emails when you stopped. You were too much of a coward to talk to me. Never again, Cal! I am done with your bullshit and lies! You can talk with my lawyers.”
“Jenna, there seems to be a huge misunderstanding.” He plants his foot between the door and the casing and grasps the edge of the door, preventing me from slamming it in their faces. The color has drained from his face and his mother has her hand over her mouth, and is looking at him with despair. Normally I would have asked what is wrong, but I don’t give a shit about how this man is feeling. He needs to feel somewhat of the pain that he inflicted on me.
“You bet there’s been a huge misunderstanding, and it’s that you think you can waltz into our lives four years later just because the story has been made public, and now everyone knows you are a deadbeat dad!” He flinches at my words and my confidence soars. “I will not let you take my child away from me. I have been doing just fine without any help from you! I don’t want YOUR money OR YOU in our lives. It’s one thing to not want me, but to not want your own child? And then to finally show up only when the story will affect your career? DISGUSTING! I would never have slept with you if I would have known what a despicable human being you are. I want you to get the hell out of my life, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”
My chest is heaving and I am sucking in my breath as if I was just held under water. I am so furious that I don’t care that I cursed and called him horrible names in front of his mother. As I wait for him to lash back at me, I notice that they aren’t even looking at me anymore. They are looking down to their right side of me. His mother has tears in her eyes, and Cal just has a look of utter astonishment on his face. I realize who they are seeing. I don’t have to look down to know that she is there. I close my eyes, and I can feel her hand on the back of my thigh. I reach for her hand and look down at her. Her face confirms that she has heard the yelling – her lips are pouting and quivering, as if she is on the verge of crying. Those beautiful blue eyes watery. I give her a reassuring smile and squeeze her hand. This makes her feel better and she turns her gaze towards Cal and Rose. She is staring at them just as they are staring back at her. Can she tell she has the same eyes as them? Does she see herself in his face?
“I’m sorry, Jenna, I tried to keep her in her room, but she heard the yelling and got upset.“ I turn around to look at Robert, who looks helpless.
“Mommy, you need to get ready for swimming.” She starts to pull my hand back inside the apartment. “Let’s go have some tea first since it makes you feel better.” She suddenly stops and places her little fists on her hips. She looks at Cal and screams as loudly as her four-year-old voice will let her, “STOP YELLING AT MY MOMMY, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”
25
It figures that the first time she repeats curse words, it would be in front of Cal and his mother. I can just picture them testifying in court against me, saying what a horrible mother I am for teaching my daughter curse words. I’m trying not to laugh at the outrageousness of it all by biting my lip.
“Avery,” I say, as I get down to her level and look in her eyes, “Mommy didn’t mean to call her friend that bad name that you just said. Please don’t repeat after me, ok?”
“What bad words, Mommy?” Avery asks, looking confused.
“The bad words that Mommy said.” Trying to make her understand without saying those exact words again is trickier than I expected.
“Silly Mommy, I didn’t say any bad words! I was just calling him by his name. You said his name was fucking asshole,” she says in her sweet little voice.
I hear a giggle, and look up to see Rose’s hand over her mouth, stifling her laughter.
“Unfortunately, that is not his name.” It has been my name for him though!
“You called your friend a bad word, Mommy?” she whispers with a shocked look on her face, not believing that I did something bad.
“Yes, I did. Mommy was a little upset and should not have said those bad words. It was an accident, and I will try very hard not to do it again.”
“Mommy, you need to say you are sorry to your friend,” she says with big round eyes.
Damn it! An apology is the last thing I want to say to this man. To make matters worse, Cal is standing there with a twinkle in his eye and a smirk playing on his lips, thoroughly enjoying this scenario. He deserves every bad word I choose to call him. I want to punch that smug look off his face.
“Yes, Avery, Mommy will apologize to her friend,” I say with a big sigh, “Cal, I’m sorry for calling you those bad words.” Not
really!
“Apology accepted,” he hunches down to Avery to introduce himself. “Avery, my name is Cal and this is my mother, Rose.”
“Rose? That is my middle name, Avery Rose Pruitt!” she announces with excitement.
Both Cal and his mother look at me, their eyes questioning if her middle name is for his mother. I nod confirmation as that was the only thing I was willing to give her of his when I named her.
“Your name is beautiful, Avery. We came all the way from London to play with you.”
“London? Do you know Wendy, John and Michael? They live in London. Do you see Peter Pan flying to their house?” she quizzes them, showing off her love for Peter Pan.
“Yes, Avery, I know all about Peter Pan,” Rose says, “Can I join you for tea and tell you all about them?”
“Yes, you can. Mommy, let’s go!” she says, as she starts to pull me towards her room.
“Avery, your mommy and Cal need to talk about some things. Is it ok if you show me your room and you and I have tea together?” Rose looks at me for approval.
I nod my head yes. “Go ahead and have fun with Rose, Avery. She flew a long way just to have some alone time with you. Mommy will be in her office talking with Cal.”
“Okay, Mommy. Let’s go, Rose!” Avery grabs Rose’s hand to take her to her room and stops to introduce her to Robert. “Uncle Robert, this is Rose. She knows Peter Pan!” She excitedly says. “C’mon Rose, c’mon Uncle Robert, I will race you.” She takes off toward her room ahead of them.
I turn my attention back to Cal and realize I have not officially invited him in as he is still standing in the doorway. I turn to my side and wave my arm, gesturing for him to come. He nods his head and enters. I look out into the hallway when I hear a door slam, but see no one walking around. I shut the door and walk toward the living room.
“Are you the infamous Robert, Jenna’s assistant?” I hear Cal ask Robert with his hand extended out for a handshake.
Robert blushes and shakes his hand back. “That’s me! Can I get you anything to drink or eat, Mr. Harrington?”
I look at him with murderous eyes. Why in the hell is he playing lap maid to the devil? I have no doubt that his big boy panties just got all wet from looking at Cal.
“Please call me Cal and water would be great, thank you.” Cal takes off his coat and Robert grabs it for him, as if he is his butler.
I follow Robert into the kitchen and whisper into his ear, “I need you to go into my bedroom and call my lawyer to see if I can set up a meeting with him tomorrow. And stop being so fucking nice to him. He is the enemy!”
“Sorry!” Robert whispers back, “he’s just so hot, Jenna!” I roll my eyes in disgust and head back into the living room with Cal’s water while Robert proceeds to my bedroom.
“Why don’t we go into my office?” I lead the way and shut the door behind him once he has entered.
“This place is nice. How long have you lived here?” he asks while looking around my office.
“Ten years,” he looks at me in surprise, “my grandmother left it to me.” Not understanding why I felt the need to tell him that, I rub my palms against my legs, sweat starting to form on them due to my nervousness. Deciding not to want to look directly into his eyes when talking, I turn my back toward him and look out the window.
“So, help me understand how this has all been a big misunderstanding?” I look over my shoulder at him when I don’t get an immediate response.
He lets out a long breath and rakes his hand through his hair. He takes a sip of water and begins. “Do you remember how I told you how Valerie and I first met?” I nod my head and he continues, “I really didn’t think anything of it when she told me she should handle my phone calls and emails while I was on set. She made it sound like it was the professional thing to do and that all assistants did that. I never bothered to ask my fellow actors if this was normal, nor did I ever notice any missed calls or emails. Fast forward to when I met you. I told her we were emailing, and that hopefully you would soon be calling as well. I told her that you were a priority in my life, so to please make sure I knew about any missed emails or phone calls that she might see before I did. She never in the past acted jealous over anyone, so I had no reason to be suspicious of her. I believed her when she told me you hadn’t emailed or called, especially with how reluctant you were with keeping in touch when we went our separate ways. One time I thought I caught her talking to you, but she denied it, and said she would have told me if you called. Then my phone conveniently broke, and she got me a new phone with a new phone number. All of my contacts were in the phone, so I again had no reasons to be suspicious. She said my emails had been hacked into, which is very common for this industry. I asked her to send you my new email address and she told me she did. As time went on and I didn’t hear from you, I resigned to the fact that it was only a fling. Again, I had zero reasons to think anything was amiss.” He moves to stand next to me to look out the window.
“In order to prepare for one of my movies, I had to be in a certain kind of shape, so the studio hired a trainer for me. The trainer happened to be a female named Geri Roberts. Valerie was on vacation when I had my first meeting with Geri. She was gone for one week and had not met or known about Geri. The only detail she knew was that I was going to be working out with a different trainer other than my own. When Geri called wanting to talk with me, Valerie told her I would call her back, but never gave me the message because she had no idea of Geri’s relevance - just that it was a female that she had never heard about. This went on for almost two weeks. Geri finally complained to the studio about how I never returned her calls, when I had been waiting to hear from her. I thought SHE was the unprofessional one. When I found out that Geri had been calling me all along, I questioned Valerie, who in turn confessed that she was in love with me. I fired her, and had a restraining order placed against her. That was two years ago.”
I close my eyes and cross my arms. As his words slowly fill the pieces to the puzzle, my emotions are completely overwhelmed.
I am angry with him for believing her when she told him I didn’t call.
I am angry with her for lying to him and denying my daughter her father.
I am scared that having Cal in our lives will bring these types of crazy people to us.
I feel betrayed by Cal thinking I was the type of girl who would use our child to heighten my career.
I am mad at myself for caring what he thinks of me.
Sensing my despair, Cal stands in front of me and grabs my arms, which forces me to look into the turmoil playing in his own eyes. “Jenna, you’ve got to believe me when I tell you that I had no idea that you were still trying to contact me.”
“So YOU were not the one who write that email saying you didn’t want to be in Avery’s life?” Skepticism laces my voices as I still have a hard time believing that he has known nothing about this.
“No, I stopped seeing emails from you BEFORE I left for Hong Kong.”
“What?” I say, with shock, “there were more emails after that. She must have deleted them before you logged on to see them and obviously, your account wasn’t hacked at all. She probably changed the login information so you wouldn’t check for yourself.” I shake my head in disbelief as I’ve never known someone to be that cunning. “I have every single email correspondence in a file that I can give you if you want to read them.”
“No,” he lets go of my arms and rakes his hands roughly through his hair. “I don’t need to see them. I believe you, Jenna. Do you believe me though? I know we don’t know each other that well, but you’ve got to believe me when I say I would never have abandoned you both if I had known the truth.”
Either the pain reflecting in his eyes is real, or he is the best damn actor on the face of this planet. “I don’t know what to believe, Cal,” I say softly, still feeling that I’m in some sort of nightmare right now.
He starts to pace around my office like a tiger locked in a cage, “I
can’t fucking believe this! I can’t believe I have had a child for the last four years and had no idea about it. That fucking, conniving bitch!” he spats. “She is lucky I already have a restraining order against her.” He suddenly stops pacing and looks at me. “How did the press find out about Avery if you didn’t tell them?”
I look down at my hands, trying to phrase my words carefully without darkening Layla’s reputation. “Long story short, Layla told the wrong person at the wrong time.”
“Why would Layla tell someone?”
“Does it even matter at this point? It was an accident.”
He ponders this and looks out the window and then back at me, his eyes having a dangerous glitter to them. “So if she didn’t inadvertently tell this person, who then went to the press, I still wouldn’t know about Avery?”
I give him a knowing look and watch as his jaw clenches with anger.
He turns his head at the sound of Avery’s voice as we see her and his mother coming out of her bedroom through the glass of my office French doors. We watch in silence as she shows Rose her shopping cart of fake food and her little kitchen that is close to the real kitchen. Rose has a look of pure bliss on her face as she sits and listens to her granddaughter play.
“I’m sorry, Jenna,” his voice thick with regret, “so very sorry for all the lies that were told to you. I’m sorry for not being there for you when you were all alone dealing with this.” Before I can react, he pulls me into his arms, hugging me to his chest. I keep my arms at my side as I don’t want to touch him. I don’t want to feel that hard chest under my cheek. I don’t want to smell that damn intoxicating cologne of his that is making me remember things that I don’t want to remember. I try to push away from him, but he’s crushing me.
Heartbreak Warfare (Let Me In Book 1) Page 20
