I get out, look up and down the street and immediately spot one of the paparazzi’s cars. I start to run, moving as fast as I can, going up and down more different streets, in and out of places that I know have multiple entrances due to their size. I continue my game until I’m so tired that I can’t run anymore and decide that I’m done caring about proving I don’t need a bodyguard. I head east to the lake and when I see the beach, I immediately run to it. I collapse on the sand and look up at the sky, sucking in as many breaths as I can to calm myself down, but instead of calming dawn, I sit up and start to cry. I wrap my arms around my knees and put my head down and let it all out because even if I wanted to stop, I couldn’t. I cry out all of my fears from last night, my anxiety of being chased and the loss of my freedom. I cry until I have no more tears to shed. I take some deep breaths and just stare out at the lake, its soothing waves calming me down.
I realize the gravity of what I just did by losing Mason. I also realize the benefits of having Mason with me, especially with Avery. Now I feel like a fool. Cal is going to be livid and I’m going to have to apologize to him. I groan out loud and am even more mad at myself. I look at my watch and am shocked to see I have been gone for close to three hours. I start to swipe the sand off my legs and grab my sunglasses that I took off.
“That was not the smartest move to ditch your bodyguard, Jenna.”
I whirl around to see Chase walking toward me, his long hair pulled back into a ponytail, aviator shades covering his eyes. With his camera put safely away in his bag, I let my guard down, especially with him saving me last night.
“I realize that. I’m not too proud of myself right now,” I sigh, actually starting to feel ashamed.
“I can’t blame you, though. Hell, I can’t even imagine what you are feeling right now.” He just shakes his head and looks at the lake.
“Chase, what’s a guy like you doing in this business? You seem so nice and intelligent.” Not to mention hot, but he doesn’t need to know I think so.
“I’m obviously not that intelligent, otherwise I wouldn’t be in this business,” he jokes with a sad smile. “Honestly, my family situation back home is not good and the money is helping out. Once things are better, I plan on quitting.”
“Will you go back to Canada?” I ask, wondering if he has a special someone at home. He’s too good looking not to.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of digging Chicago.” He smiles, “C’mon, I’ll walk you back home.”
We start walking back to my apartment in compatible silence. As we get closer, we start to see the other paparazzi members waiting for us.
“Get your game face on.” Chase recommends as we see Danny Salari leading the pack.
“Thanks again for last night, Chase.” I sincerely say as I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t intervened.
“I’m glad I made it there.”
“Me, too.”
I put my head down as keep moving forward as they surround us both and start snapping photos.
“Wow Jenna, two guys in one day, you sure do move fast. And with one of our own! Canada, how did you get so lucky as to fuck that?” Danny taunts. Don’t say anything, Jenna. Keep moving forward. My building is in view, the police barricades close.
“Watch your mouth, Salari!” Chase warns.
“What will you do about it, Canada? Absolutely nothing because you are too much of a pussy!”
All of a sudden, I hear a crack and a thud. I turn around to see Danny on the ground, blood pouring from his nose while Chase stands over him and is holding his hand with a pained expression on his face. Chase just punched Danny in the nose and I feel even worse that he did it for me.
“Chase!” I yell, getting his attention to see if he is okay.
“Keep going, Jenna! I’ll be fine.” He motions with his hands for me to keep going, grabs his bag off the ground and starts walking in the other direction.
“I’m going to fucking sue you, Chase! You asshole! You broke my nose!” Danny screams. I run the rest of the distance to the barricades and breathe a sigh of relief when I enter my building.
My relief is short lived when I see one of the doormen pick up the phone and say “she’s here” into the receiver, no doubt letting Cal know my arrival home.
Time to face the music.
30
I creep toward the front door of my apartment, dread and regret making me walk at a snail’s pace. I feel ashamed by my actions and don’t know how to make it right. I’ll just have to apologize to both Cal and Mason and reassure them I won’t ever go rogue again. I take a deep breath as I stand in front of my door and slowly open it.
Robert and Mason are sitting on the couch while Cal is standing, staring out the window. All three men look at me as I enter the apartment. I can feel Cal’s anger radiating off of him and decide to apologize first to Mason, whose clothes are drenched from sweat.
“I want everyone except for Jenna out of this apartment.” Cal growls as he turns around and looks at me. Robert and Mason look at Cal, then at each other, and decide not to leave. For both of them to defy Cal’s order must mean Cal is beyond furious.
I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat and start apologizing, “Cal, I…”
“You little fool! Do you know what could have happened to you out there?” he yells, his eyes demanding in fury, the vein in his neck bulging with each breath.
“I’m sorry, really I am. Mason, I’m sorry!” I turn to Mason, who just nods at me, acknowledging my apology without any words.
“What were you hoping to prove, Jenna? Did you know you caused a three-car pile-up with your little stunt?” His nostrils flaring with disgust at my actions.
I feel even more remorseful now and just look down at my hands.
“Tell me, Jenna, what were you hoping to prove?” Cal shouts at me as if I were a child. Although I understand him being upset, I don’t appreciate him treating me this way in front of Mason and Robert.
“C’mon Cal, she apologized. Jenna, you won’t do that ever again, right?” Robert asks, looking tired from all of the worrying I’ve put him through.
“I promise, I won’t ever do that again.” I confirm, hoping that this will calm Cal down and we can move on from this.
“You’re damn right you’ll never do that again because THIS is why you need a bodyguard, Jenna!” He grabs a large zip lock bag off the table and makes his way toward me.
“NO Cal! She’s had enough for today!” Robert yells as he tries to grab whatever is in Cal’s hand, but misses.
Cal shoves the bag in my hands and I gasp at the sight of a black-and-white photo of Avery and me. Our eyes have been cut out and there is a gooey red substance all over the photo. The words “DIE” scrawled in the same red substance.
I look up at him, then at Robert, in complete horror, my brain refusing to register what it just saw.
“This,” Cal takes the bag out of my hands and shakes it in my face, “is WHY Mason is here! You could have gotten yourself killed today!” he spats at me.
“STOP Cal! You’ve made your point!” Robert shouts out in frustration.
With my eyes refusing to look away from the image of Avery, eyeless and bloody, bile starts to rise up my throat and I take off in a run for my bathroom, shutting the door and barely making it to the toilet. When I think my body can’t take anymore, the dry heaving turns to wails as I scream and cry at the thought of anyone hurting my daughter. I lay on the floor of the bathroom, my body trembling and heaving with each tear that falls.
Eventually exhaustion takes over and the tears dry up. I continue to lay on the floor in a daze and before long, my inner voice tells me to get up. I stand up and flush the toilet and look in the mirror. My eyes are red, my whole face is puffy and swollen from crying. I wash my hands, brush my teeth and gargle with mouthwash. I untie my hair from its ponytail and decide to go back out there to find out more details of where the photo came from.
Cal is sitting on
the floor of my bedroom, his back against my bed, waiting for me. His one knee is pulled up, supporting his arm that hangs over it, while his other hand lays against his thigh. He lifts up his head and looks at me with eyes filled with anguish. I walk up to him and as I approach, he holds out his hand to me. I reach out to grasp it, thinking he needs help getting up, but instead he pulls me down into his lap and hugs me tightly. The unexpected comfort undoes me as I clutch at his shirt and sob into his chest. He rocks me silently, letting the wetness of my tears soak through the expensive fabric of his shirt. We stay this way until my tears end and continue to just hold each other.
“I’m sorry, Jenna. I shouldn’t have done that.” I hear the regret deep in his voice. “I was scared and angry when Mason came back without you and I needed you to understand the real reason why he was here. Last night’s incident just moved up the process of him arriving sooner.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the photo? When did we get it?” I softly ask, needing some answers to so many questions.
“It arrived in the mail last week. Robert found it and immediately called me. I went to the police, who got the FBI involved. They tested it for fingerprints, but it came up empty.”
“Last week?” I look up at him in disbelief. “Cal, you can’t keep these things from me!”
“You’re absolutely right, Jenna. But with everything that’s been going on, I wanted to shield you from it and hope it didn’t happen again. I know that was wrong.”
“You have to communicate with me, Cal. I can’t be left in the dark about something so serious, despite you wanting to protect me from it.”
“Can we make a pact that we’ll both work on communicating better with each other?” he asks and I nod in consent, vowing to work on it from my end.
“Good.” He leans down and kisses my forehead. I look at those lips and start to remember how they made me feel. Heat starts to pool inside of me and I look up to see him watching me, his gaze alternating between my lips and my eyes. I swallow and lick my dry lips, which make his eyes darken with desire. He bends his head, his lips descending slowly to mine when a knock on my door stops him.
“Cal, your agent keeps calling you.” Robert’s muffled voice is heard through the door.
“Be right there,” he calls. He looks back down at me and smiles.
“Why don’t you get freshened up and then come out so we can talk about how we are going to utilize Mason.” I nod my head as we untangle our arms and help each other up. I watch him walk out and close my door, deciding that I need to stay away from any physical contact with Cal. You are fresh off of a break up, Jenna, you are just emotional. Focus on keeping Avery safe! With that pep talk, I go into the bathroom to take a shower to clear my head.
31
All paparazzi are questioned by the FBI and a restraining order is in place against Danny Salari. He keeps his distance but stares at me with menace in his eyes whenever I see him. He pressed charges against Chase for his broken nose and Chase was arrested, but got out on bail a couple of hours later.
Jax told the paparazzi that he broke up with me and stories are running rampant that Cal is to blame, especially with pictures of us around town together. I can’t even keep up with the amount of stories that are being told about me and my relationship with Cal so I don’t even pay attention.
I thought it was going to be weird having Mason accompany me everywhere I go, but after three weeks of him being my shadow and personal chauffeur, I have actually started to enjoy it. It is especially nice when the paparazzi start getting aggressive with being in my personal space. Avery, at first, couldn’t understand why he was with us all the time, but now enjoys having another adult wrapped around her little finger. Layla now requests to go everywhere I go just so she can stare at Mason.
“Mason, is your love tank full?” she asked him on a day we met for lunch.
“No ma’am,” he says, his sunglasses blocking us from seeing his expression.
“Do you want it to be?” she asks with a sly smile and a wink. While Mason usually shows no emotion at all, he couldn’t contain the corners of his mouth from lifting in what would be called a smile.
Mason and I are coming back from the grocery store when I hear a strange male voice in my apartment. Cal and a sharp dressed man with gray hair and a beard stand up upon my arrival. What is Cal even doing here during the day? I look around for Robert who had to of let them in, but he’s nowhere to be found.
“There she is! The woman who’s been causing all the uproar!” the strange man laughs and I immediately do not like him.
I give Cal a quizzical look and notice that he seems agitated, his jaw locked, mouth set in a thin line. “Jenna, this is my agent, Philip Logan. We had a break from shooting and Philip wanted to meet you.” I shake his extended hand and smile politely.
“Nice to meet you, but I could have met you on set or at your hotel. What are you both doing here in my apartment? Where is Robert?”
“What a lovely home this is too - this view is spectacular! Cal, did you buy this place for her?”
My mouth drops open, insulted that he would think I might not be able to afford this place on my own. “No, I bought this place with the money I make in prostitution.” I snide sarcastically. I look at Cal to see his lips twitch from suppressing a smile. “Why are you both here again?”
Philip throws his head back and laughs, “You are a sassy little thing - I love that!” I can already feel a headache forming from the annoying sound. I look behind me as I hear the front door open and close to see that Robert has joined us and is helping Mason put my groceries away. He gives me a warning look to behave, which makes me question even more what is going on.
“Let’s sit down, Jenna, and make ourselves comfortable.” Philip sits down and I have to bite my tongue from reminding him that this is MY home, not his to make himself comfortable in. With him being Cal’s agent, I need to watch what I say and play nice.
“Besides coming into town to check in on Cal and discuss business, I wanted to meet you in person because, well, we need your help.” He looks over at Cal who shakes his head at him.
“I told you no, Philip.” His tone of voice firm. “Leave it alone.”
“My help? With what?” I ask, confused and suspicious of what they could possibly want from me.
“Nothing, Jenna,” Cal says, giving his agent a warning look.
“Cal’s movie that he shot last year is releasing in two weeks and well, the studio is concerned over the recent headlines that paint Cal in a negative light.” His agent turns his full attention on me, ignoring Cal.
“No, Philip!” Cal raises his voice. I look from Cal to Philip, not understanding what is happening.
“The recent photos of you guys together around town looking like one big happy family have been great for publicity and repairing Cal’s reputation, but the studio is requesting a little more from you.”
“Philip, I don’t fucking care what the studio thinks!” Cal interjects, his face red from anger.
“Cal, this is one of the biggest studios in Hollywood, they can crush your career! If you want any kind of future as an actor or director, we need to comply with them.” Philip pleads with Cal.
I finally find my voice that was suppressed from shock. “All this time here with us has been for publicity?” I gasp, looking at Cal. I feel like I have just been punched in the stomach. We’ve been going out more together, Avery and I showing him the city per HIS request. He claimed that since Chicago was going to be his new home, he wanted to get to know it better. So on his days off, we’ve been taking him to all of the tourist attractions and then our favorite local places. I never doubted for one second his intentions weren’t pure, but now with this news coming from his agent, I’m doubting everything and wondering if our outings together have been for the photo opportunity.
Cal looks over at me, hurt registering in his eyes. “Do you really think that, Jenna?” he asks incredulously.
I sta
re at him, not wanting to believe it, but also not knowing what to believe. My brain is screaming not to trust him, while my heart is saying that he wouldn’t do that. Last time I followed my heart, it got scarred.
“What does the studio want from me?” I look back at Philip, wanting to get this over with.
“The studio requests that you attend both the Los Angeles and New York premieres of his new movie, walking the red carpet with him and continuing to look like you’re trying to work things out.”
“Why?” I question, not understanding how my presence at the premieres will help.
“The studio thinks that Cal will regain the female fan audience if they see you supporting him and that will increase ticket sales,” Philip says, looking uncomfortable.
I laugh bitterly and stand up. “You guys are unbelievable,” I say in disgust. While most women would be ecstatic to be going to a Hollywood premiere with one of the most eligible bachelors in Hollywood, I consider this request to be one of my worst nightmares. I am being used and all in the name of money and Cal’s reputation.
“Jenna, I don’t want you to even consider this!” Cal demands, “I will be perfectly fine without the studio’s support.”
Heartbreak Warfare (Let Me In Book 1) Page 24
