Fabricating Jada

  Their voices carried, yelling back and forth as I reached the bottom of the stairs and sprinted through the shop.

  If I'd been paying attention, I would have noticed DeAnna standing in the hallway before I plowed into her.

  "Whoa, where's the fire?" DeAnna asked as she steadied me.

  I glanced back over my shoulder toward the shop. "Sorry, Dee. I wasn't paying attention."

  She squinted at me. As if she was trying to figure something out. "Come to my office, we have a few things to discuss."

  I felt like a kid heading to the principal's office. There was no way she could know about what just happened already, could she? Maybe my face was a neon sign that screamed hoochie. So I followed her with my head down, praying we didn't pass anyone else.

  Once safely in her office, I plopped down in the chair I always sat in, laid my head back with my eyes closed, and sighed.

  "Well, if I was plastered all over the internet, I guess I'd feel the same way," she said.

  I whipped my head up. "What did you just say?"

  She shot me a tight-lipped smile. "Have you not been online today?"

  Quickly, I shook my head. "No. Why would I? What happened?"

  DeAnna turned her laptop around to face me, and it felt as if she'd just slapped me. All the air was purged from my lungs as I stared at the screen with the headline that read:

  Who is Jesse Valentine's mystery girl?

  The color drained from my face as my eyes darted from the screen to DeAnna and back again. I skimmed the article, picking up only a few sentences since my brain was spinning faster than I could comprehend.

  "Had a very public fight in the middle of an Auto Depot in Long Beach."

  "Lovers’ quarrel. Jesse punched a man who looked in the direction of his new love interest, Jane."

  "Witnesses say he told her manager she quit and threw her over his shoulder as he carried her outside."

  "That so did not happen!" I yelled and pointed to the screen. "They're making it out to be a bigger deal than it was!"

  DeAnna pushed the lid closed, even though I wasn't finished. "There's also been about thirty videos uploaded to every social media platform of the two of you arguing and yelling at someone else in the store."

  I dropped my head into my hands, unable to look at her disappointed face. "I'm so sorry, DeAnna. I didn't want any of this to happen. I thought it would be best if I just left."

  Her voice was softer than I expected. "Oh, come on, Jada, did you really not think he'd come after you?"

  I lifted my head to see if she was serious. "No! Why would he?"

  She chuckled and shook her head at me. "Oh, honey—you're so clueless."

  I tossed my hands in the air. It seemed like that's all I did lately. "Obviously, I'm missing something."

  Dropping her chin, DeAnna shot me a pointed look. "My bone-headed brother doesn't want to lose you. He sees your talent and knows you'd be an asset here. Besides, it's obvious to everyone but you that he has a thing for you."

  I shook my head in denial. "No, he doesn't. I'm not the kind of girl that he'd go for. He's confused or something. That's the only reason he kissed me." I clapped my hands over my mouth, wide-eyed.

  Her eyes were as wide as mine. "You kissed? When?" she shrieked.

  Closing my eyes, I shook my head again. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  "Jada!"

  "What?" I snapped, my voice on the edge of hysteria.

  She leaned forward in her chair. "Are you talking about at the party? Or did something else happen?"

  "I'm not saying anything."

  "It's too late for that! Either you tell me or I'm going to storm into his office and demand to hear it from him."

  I put my hands out to stop her. "No! Don't do that. He was going at it with Miguel when I ran out."

  Her ruby red mouth fell open. "Why is he fighting with Miguel?"

  "I don't know." I shrugged, even though I had a good idea what had soured Jesse's mood so fast.

  "Jada!"

  "Okay! Gosh!" I blew out a breath.

  DeAnna tapped her French manicure on her desk, impatiently waiting for me to continue.

  "Can you stop doing that? It's making me nervous."

  "Fine. But you need to spill. Now! I can't protect you guys if you keep things from me." She crossed her arms in a huff.

  That was what made me spill everything. When I finished I dropped my head in shame.

  "I guarantee he's pissed because Miguel interrupted you … not because he's mad at himself for kissing you. Again."

  "It shouldn't have happened." No matter how hard I tried to dismiss it, deep down I knew we had undeniable chemistry. But being involved with someone like him was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. I'd be crushed when he got bored, and then any chance I had at being a part of his company would be destroyed. It wasn't worth the risk.

  "Well, whatever you decide to do … we need to get out in front of this media shitstorm. And you should expect for the guys in class to treat you worse than they were before."

  I groaned. "That's why I never wanted any of this to happen. This is just another reason I can't move in with him."

  DeAnna's eyes bugged out of her head. "Say what?"

  Dropping my head to my chest, I snorted. I'd left that part out of the story I'd just told her. I peeked one eye up at her. "He told me to move in with him to solve my transportation problem."

  "Jesse asked you to move in?" She repeated it as if she didn't believe me.

  I shrugged. "Well, more like he informed me I was moving in."

  She smirked. "That sounds more like him. What did you say?"

  "You mean after I picked my mouth up off the floor? I told him no."

  "You told him no." She stated it more than she asked and arched a perfectly manicured brow.

  I glared at her like she was crazy. "Yes. What else would I say?"

  "That you'd move in with us. Because, I hate to admit it … but he's right. It would fix everything. And I could spin this into PR heaven."

  Us? My face fell as I registered everything else she said. "Spin what?"

  Her smile grew wide, but she didn't answer me.

  "DeAnna!" I shrieked.

  She held her hands up, palms out. "Hear me out before you lose your mind."

  "I don't like the sound of this." My stomach fluttered with nerves as my leg bounced uncontrollably.

  "It won't be as bad as it sounds. But, because the media is already going crazy and there are memes of the two of you … I think it would be beneficial to us all if you played the role of his girlfriend and move in until this all dies down."

  "No! No way. It's not happening. You're crazy!"

  "Jada, listen—"

  I cut her off. "No, you listen. That's crazy and not beneficial to me at all! I don't want my personal life plastered all over the internet. I didn't sign up for that. All I wanted to do was learn to build crap!"

  DeAnna shot me a forced smile. "I hate to break it to you, girl … but your life is already plastered everywhere … The second Jesse walked into your store, it was done."

  "I'm going to kill him."

  She tapped on the screen of her phone and then handed it to me. "Well, in this picture it looks like you want to kiss him."

  It was a meme of the both of us in the middle of Auto Depot when he'd pulled me against his chest. Our eyes were locked in a heated gaze and it said:

  "When Jesse Valentine tells you to run away with him. You run!"

  I groaned and shoved her phone back at her. "This can't be happening."

  Shrugging, DeAnna lifted both brows. "It would be better for you if you accepted it rather than denied it. The more you deny it, the worse it will be."

  I needed to talk to Carter. I didn't even know where my phone was. I dug through my backpack until I found it and let out a small cry when I saw I had thirty-two missed calls and one hundred and eight missed texts. Most of them looked like they were from Carter. The last one made me afrai
d to call her back.

  Carter: HOOKER! YOU BETTER FUCKING CALL ME BACK!

  Carter: I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAD TO FIND OUT LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD. YOU'RE DEAD TO ME IF YOU DON'T ANSWER THIS PHONE!!

  Carter: JADA MICHELE CARMEN!

  Crap. Crap, crap, crap! I groaned, hit call back, and brought the phone to my ear.

  When the yelling finally stopped, I passed my phone to DeAnna's awaiting hand. The smile Dee wore when she hung up made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and goose bumps pepper my arms. Carter was on her way. That was the scariest combination of women I could imagine.

  Carter and DeAnna, together.

  It was my worst nightmare, and it was happening.

  I knew what was going to happen before Carter ever rang the buzzer at the gate.

  They were going to team up against me. I could tell. It was written all over Dee's face.

  Voices echoed down the hall as the footsteps got closer. Miguel stepped in first, with Carter in tow. "Hey, Dee—" his eyes shot to mine. "You're still here?"

  I nodded as he sucked in a breath and directed his attention back to DeAnna. "There's a Carter Lawrence here to see you." I expected him to crack a joke about Carter. Or me. Or anything, but he didn't.

  Carter fanned herself from behind him and mouthed, "OhmiGod he's smoking hot."

  I rolled my eyes and chanced a glance back at Miguel. His usual charismatic smile was replaced with a frown. It didn't suit him at all. It didn't showcase the playful personality he had.

  "Can I speak to you for a minute?" he asked me and jerked his chin toward the hall.

  I dipped my chin in a nod as unease settled in the pit of my stomach. "Sure."

  As I passed Carter, she pinched my butt. "Ow!" I cried out.

  "That's for not calling me," she said and pointed her finger in my face.

  I rubbed the site of her attack and followed Miguel into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind me. If I knew Carter, she'd have her ear pressed up against it anyway. He stalked down the hall and then turned to face me. His expression was hard. It made me wary.

  "You okay?" I asked.

  He ignored me and launched into a speech. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you and Jess, but I'm telling you to walk away. The last thing I want to see is you getting hurt, Jada."

  I didn't know whether to be happy he was looking out for me or annoyed he was jumping to conclusions. "Nothing is going on with us."

  Searching my face for the truth, he sighed. "Well, that's not the way he made it seem earlier."

  My forehead creased with worry. "What do you mean, that's not how he made it seem? What did he say?"

  He shook his head. "It's not what he said as much as what he didn't. I know he stormed out this morning because you weren't here. I also know he went to find you, as does the rest of the world. The fight we just had solidifies something is going on with him."

  My face fell. I wasn't prepared for the world to be involved in my love life, or lack thereof. However, I was even more unprepared for the disappointment staring back at me. I reached out and touched his arm. "I had no idea he'd show up. I thought I was making the right decision by staying away because all we do is fight and I didn't think it was fair to anyone to have to put up with that all day. I promise you it's not what it seems."

  I didn't know why I felt the need to defend myself when I hadn't done anything wrong. If I wanted to date Jesse, which quite honestly scared the hell out of me, it wouldn't have been any of his business, but Miguel was my friend, and I knew he was coming from a well-meaning place.

  Miguel gave a quick shake to his head. "I know what you're capable of and your potential is untapped. Friday, after you stormed out … He told me he wanted to hire you and I was beside myself. I think we all figured you'd turn up today, and when you didn't I have to admit, I was disappointed. I think you have a real future here, Valley, but I hate to see it thwarted because Jesse can't keep it in his pants."

  I crossed my arms over my chest in a huff, annoyed by his assumption. "I can assure you he hasn't gotten into my pants."

  We may have kissed. Twice, but that was beside the point. He and the rest of the world were making it out to be more than it was.

  "I didn't need to know that."

  "Well, you make it seem like I'm some biker bunny who's here for the wrong reasons."

  He rubbed the back of his neck before stretching it from side to side. "I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I like you, Valley. You're a good girl. Jesse has been my best friend since junior high and I hate to see you get sucked into his vortex. You're nothing like the bunnies who try to stake their claim around here."

  "So what do you think I should do?"

  He shrugged. "I don't know. Only you know how you really feel. But I think whatever is brewing between you two should stay separate from this place. I want you to apprentice under me, I think it would be good for you and benefit the shop."

  My mouth fell open a bit. Sure, Jesse had said I could apprentice under Miguel and that he wanted me to, but I didn't actually believe it. "You want me to work with you?"

  Miguel shot me an are you stupid? kind of look. "Of course I do. We work well together and you smell better than anyone else here." His mouth drew up in the corners. A hint of his usual smile was present.

  I rolled my eyes dramatically, even though I was happy to see his flirty behavior had reemerged.

  "I'd like that. But there's still an issue with me working here."

  The hint of his smile fell away. "What's the problem?"

  I slid down the wall until I hit the floor. He did the same and watched me with concern etched on his face. "You can tell me anything, Jada. I know I kid around with you a lot, but I'm someone you can trust. I hope you know that."

  And I did. Somewhere deep in my gut I knew Miguel was good people. He had the trust of Jesse, who I assumed didn't give it freely, and DeAnna seemed to trust him, too. I had a feeling he knew more than he was letting on, and holding it all in was going to break me. So I told him. I told him everything. From the party to right before he walked into Jesse's office.

  He dropped his head forward and shook it back and forth. "Well, that explains a lot."

  "It explains what exactly?"

  "The way he's been acting. He must care about you a lot more than he's letting on."

  I stared at him like he was stupid. "He hates me."

  Now it was he who looked at me like I was the dumb one. "Sure, he hates you so much he drove sixty miles to drag you back here." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

  "Dude, he's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I never know if he's going to be a jerk and tear me down, or treat me like a person."

  He rubbed the back of his neck again and sighed. "He's an asshole. I know that. But I don't think he knows how to act around you."

  "Why?"

  "You're beautiful, and smart … you take fabrication as seriously as he does. Think about it. You're any man's dream girl."

  I snorted at the nonsense he'd just spewed. "Oh, now I know you've lost it."

  Miguel stood and helped me to my feet. "Fine, don't believe me."

  "Don't worry, I won't."

  As we walked back to DeAnna's office, the squeals from behind the door stirred something low in my gut and told me things were about to go sideways. What they were up to didn't hit me until I walked in and saw their faces huddled behind the computer screen.

  I was so screwed.

  I couldn't believe what they had done. My jaw hadn't unlocked since they told me.

  "I told you no! How much clearer could I have been?" I shouted.

  Carter reeled back as if I'd just slapped her. She was not used to me being this upset and pointed at DeAnna. "It was her idea."

  "And you went along with it, willingly! How could you do this to me, Carter?" I pointed at DeAnna too. "She doesn't owe me shit! But you? You're supposed to be my best friend. You're supposed to be the one person in this world who has my back! And
what do you do? You help feed me to the Goddamn wolves. Unbelievable."

  "You just cursed. Twice." Carter said with a smirk on her face.

  She wasn't taking any of this seriously. I growled at her. "We're done. I'm so done. With all of this." I grabbed my bag and threw open the door, the force behind the swing making it crash into the wall. I didn't care if it caused a hole or not. They'd just made my entire life implode.

  "Jada. Wait! You can't cut me out of your life!" Carter screamed as she ran behind me.

  I whipped around and jabbed my finger in her chest. "I can and I will. You betrayed my trust, Carter. I don't know that I can forgive you for that."

  Hurt didn't even begin to cover what I felt. I walked away from her and out of sight. I slipped into the locker room, hoping no one would think to look for me there. I needed to clear my head.

  My mind reeled as I tried to figure out how I'd deal with the consequences. I had no concept of time, or how long I'd been sitting on the bench holding my head.

  "I just saw what they did," Jesse said from the doorway. I'd been lost in thought and hadn't heard anyone come in.

  My eyes shot to his. "And I'm sure you're loving every moment of it."

  "Why would I love something that hurts you? Something that you obviously don't want?" His voice was soft and careful. It was the only time he'd ever spoken to me in that tone.

  I searched his face for the truth, and all I saw was sincerity. "It's not true, Jesse."

  He pushed off the door and straddled the bench in front of me. "I know it's not. I didn't have anything to do with it. By the time I saw she'd released an official statement from me saying I was in a committed relationship with you … I knew it was a shitstorm that had just begun. My phone hasn't stopped ringing since."

  I dropped my head into my hands. "I told her no, and part of me knew she'd ignore everything I said, but I never expected my best friend to get in on it and give your sister personal information about me to leak to the media."

  Jesse rested his hand on my back, causing my nerves to come alive. "I'm sorry, Jada. I should tell you I regret showing up today, but that would be a lie."