“I want to schedule a walk through this Friday so we can get a punch list started.” With that, Lillian stood and gave all of us a curt nod before walking out, leaving me and my team feeling quite heavy with the burden of a two-week deadline. The project was nearing completion, but it was always the little things - those easily overlooked finishing touches that sometimes took the longest to wrap up.
I dismissed my team, giving each of them a list of to-do’s and dove into my duties with as much fervor as I could muster. Before I realized, it was half past noon. My stomach grumbled loudly, alerting me to take a break. I checked my phone and noticed that Damien had left another voicemail, but I just couldn’t bring myself to listen to it. To hear his voice would be too painful and would only weaken my resolve to keep my distance.
I decided instead to do as Emily suggested and give Madame Yelena a call. After all, she had been right about me and Damien sharing a past life. Hopefully should could advise me on what my course of action should be now. I definitely didn’t want to live the empty, meaningless life she predicted would happen if I ignored this calling, and I did try to fulfill my soul’s quest of reuniting with its mate. What was I to do now that fate had yet again driven a wedge between us? If this was Satvi and Namesh’s destiny - to never be with one another - then that would ultimately be our destiny too, would it not? Perhaps Ava’s pregnancy was the Universe reminding us that these two souls, our souls, would forever be kept apart.
Madame Yelena answered on the first ring, as usual. “Hello Madelyn! I have been so anxious to hear of your new discoveries. Tell me, did you and Mr. Pierce finally meet?”
“Hi Madame Yelena. Yes, we did meet in person. Actually, we spent an entire weekend together and it was magical, but I was wondering if I could talk to you about a new obstacle in our path.”
“Why of course, dear. Tell me what’s happened,” Yelena prompted.
“Well you see, everything I have ever wished to feel for a man, I felt when I was with Damien this past weekend, and I am pretty sure he felt the same for me. It was truly like we were designed for one another. But, on the day I was due to come back home, his ex-girlfriend showed up and announced that she is pregnant with his child. Now I don’t know what to do. I desperately want to be with him, but he will soon have the responsibility of caring for this woman and their child. I feel like maybe our souls’ fate is to have obstacles keeping us apart…” I said, trying to hold back tears.
“Oh, foolish girl!” Madame Yelena exclaimed. Her harsh words made me stiffen, and they hung in the air for an uncomfortably long time before she continued, “Madelyn, you cannot give up. I do sense a strange energy surrounding this situation… you may recall I felt there was an energy present in Damien’s life that was full of malintent,” Yelena reminded me.
“Yes, I remember. What do you think I should do?”
“Well, I think you should not be so quick to abandon Damien and the love you have for each other just yet. This is your life’s calling. Your soul and Damien Pierce’s soul are bound, and you simply cannot ignore that.
“I also can’t ignore the fact that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant,” I stated matter-of-factly.
“Don’t be stubborn,” she said sternly. I noticed her voice becoming more persistent, more persuasive... It was so full of command, I couldn’t ignore it. “You must talk to Damien and you must work this out. Fulfilling your destiny is your duty.”
“Thank you for your advice, Madame Yelena,” I responded apologetically. “I will certainly heed your warnings and try not to let Damien slip away so easily.” Madame Yelena had been right about so much that I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t appreciative of her insight and advice on everything that had transpired thus far. I guess I owed it to her to follow through. If it wasn’t for her persistent urging, I would never have contacted or met with Damien in the first place.
“Good girl. Make sure you let me know when you get this all sorted out.”
“I will. Thank you, Madame Yelena. I will speak to you soon.” With that, I hung up and began to replay everything that happened with Damien once more in my mind. I know Yelena was probably right about not giving up so easily, but I still wasn’t sure how this love triangle would work out in my favor. I needed to mull it over before contacting him. Maybe I would just wait until after the MacMahon project was finished - hopefully that will give me some time to gain a new perspective.
CHAPTER 29
DAMIEN
I had tried calling and texting Madelyn several times in the past 48 hours and she still wasn’t answering. After spending an hour lifting weights with Bentley, I thought it would be best to get out of the house and run some errands - get my mind off of things. It had worked temporarily, but then Ava called to say she wanted to see me and talk about how we were going to handle the press once news got out that she was pregnant. That instantly soured my mood and I found myself heading back home, seeking refuge in the only place that reminded me of Madelyn. I yearned for her like I had never yearned for anyone in my life and every time I spoke with Ava, I wished it were Madelyn that was carrying my child. It amazed me how much I wanted a life with her after only being together for a few short days. I was pulling my white Land Rover into the driveway when I noticed a black Aston Martin Vantage pulling in behind me. Damn. I completely forgot Nick was going to meet me today and I still hadn’t gotten around to signing those papers. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about them since he mentioned them last. I got out of the SUV and gave him a quick wave.
“Hey, Nick. What’s up?”
“Not much. Just wanted to swing by to check up on you and grab those documents we talked about.”
“Right, I’ll head in and grab those for you. Just give me a minute.”
“No problem, I’ll go inside with you. We should probably talk about Ava’s pregnancy and how to handle the news once it hits the press anyhow.”
“Yeah, she’s actually on her way here now. I think she wants to let everyone know, but I think it’s best if we hold off for a bit, just until we can wrap our heads around the situation first.” Or until I can figure out what in the world I was going to do now that Ava was pregnant and I was in love with someone else, I thought to myself.
“What is there to wrap your head around, Damien? You are going to be a father and Ava is going to be a mother. Hollywood’s favorite couple is going to start a family. It seems pretty straightforward to me,” he said sharply, as we entered the house and made our way into the living room.
“It’s not that simple. Ava and I aren’t even together anymore. You expect me to just spend the rest of my life with someone I don’t love? Hell, I can barely tolerate her anymore. And then there’s Madelyn…” I trailed off. I hadn’t wanted to mention her because I wasn’t sure how much to say about her to Nick.
“The fangirl from Miami? Is that what this is about? Listen, Damien, I don’t expect you to spend the rest of your life with Ava, but I sure as hell expect you to do your job and play out this part in your life until the time comes when the both of you can part ways amicably and to the benefit of your career. And as far as your fangirl goes, you can have your fun with her as long as the press doesn’t catch wind. We don’t want your small town, good guy reputation to be tarnished by some whackjob with a crush.”
I felt the heat rising in my body as anger flooded all of my senses. How dare he say that my life was a part to be played, as if I was a marionette and he a puppet master? What the hell had gotten into him? And to call Madelyn a whackjob? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to compose myself, and that’s when I realized I had never told Nick Madelyn’s name before right now and I certainly never mentioned that she was from Miami.
“How did you…?”
“Hi guys!” Ava interrupted before I had a chance to question Nick about Madelyn and berate him for his radical ideas of the way my life should be lead.
“Don’t you knock?” I replied gruffly. I wasn’t going to talk about Madelyn in fron
t of Ava and I didn’t want this conversation to include her. It was bad enough already.
Ava’s eyes shifted from me to Nick and back to me before she plastered a smile on her face and replied, “Sweetie, don’t be silly. There are no secrets between us. Not anymore. We’re going to be a family now. And speaking of family, I was hoping we could call your parents and let them know. Your mother is just going to be tickled pink at the thought of a grandchild.” Ava was back to her perky self, completely ignoring the fact that I wanted as little to do with her as possible.
“Ugh, I can’t do this right now, Ava. We are not calling my parents and we cannot tell the media about this either.” I looked at Nick so he would understand that I was talking to him as well. “Why can’t either of you understand that this is difficult for me? That although I’ll do whatever I need to for the sake of this baby, I don’t want to pretend to be a happy couple!”
“Why can’t you just give this a chance? Is this about that bitch that was here the other day?” Ava shouted. My head snapped up at hearing Madelyn being called a bitch.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Nick interjected, as he walked over and placed his hand on Ava’s shoulder. “Damien, why don’t you grab those papers for me and then the three of us can sit and calmly discuss what our next step should be.” Ava straightened her shoulders in acknowledgment of Nick’s interference and fixed a blank stare in my direction.
“Sure. No problem,” I said through gritted teeth. I was seething, but nothing good was going to come of me responding to Ava at this point. I made a beeline towards my office where I could escape the madness and regain composure.
***
The minute Damien was out of earshot, Ava shot Nick a horrified look. “You haven’t even gotten the amended contract from him!”
“Shut up, Ava. He’s clearly been distracted and hasn’t bothered signing them yet. That’s why I was coming here. I didn’t expect to find you here today playing the role of a desperate housewife. I thought we discussed you staying out of his hair until I had the contract in hand.”
“I know, but I thought if I could get him to agree to release a statement then it would make everything easier.”
“That’s the problem, Ava - you thinking doesn’t exactly help the situation. I told you to leave everything to me. All you have to do is smile at the cameras and convince everyone that you are pregnant for the time being.”
“You’re the one that was supposed to get those papers days ago. I was just trying to help.”
“Don’t. I said I would take care of it and I will.”
***
I shuffled through the papers on my desk searching for the envelope with the documents Nick had given me. I would sign them and then tell the two of them to leave before they could even bring up Ava’s pregnancy again. I needed a few days to consider how I was going to make this situation with her work. I could visit my parents to gain some clarity, but mom would see right through me and I couldn’t lie to her. Telling her about the baby wasn’t an option at this point. That was not going to be an easy conversation.
I sighed in frustration as I rummaged through the clutter on my desk. I finally spotted the envelope and quickly pulled out the paperwork. It appeared to be a contract, but Nick and I hadn’t discussed any changes to our agreement. Looks like this wasn’t going to be as cut and dry as I had hoped. I grabbed a pen and headed towards the door, papers in hand, and almost plowed right into Bentley.
“What’s up, man? I thought you were out running errands,” Bentley asked.
“I was. Ava called and said she was coming over to discuss the announcement of her pregnancy, so I had to come back home to try and convince her that the timing wasn’t right. I completely forgot Nick was coming over to pick up these documents and now I have to face both of them at once.”
“Or you could have just ignored them. It’s what I would have done,” he said dismissively.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have that luxury. Who knows what would happen to my life if I let Nick and Ava have their way. I would be walking the red carpet with Ava dragging me along on a leash. It sucks that I have to deal with the two of them at the same time. They are both delusional, you know,” I said, shaking my head as I looked at Bentley to see if he’d even cracked a smile. Instead, he remained serious, his eyebrows furrowed as if deep in thought.
“Has Ava given you the results of her pregnancy test yet?” Bentley asked.
“Not yet. She said she forgot to get a copy from her doctor, so I’m still waiting. Why? What’s going on?”
“Damien, I don’t want to start problems, but I also don’t want you to get pulled into anything under false pretenses.” Bentley paused, considering something, “I didn’t think about this before, but now it makes total sense… she’s certainly capable of being underhanded like that… ”
“Dude, you’re mumbling. What’s up? What aren’t you telling me?” I had never seen Bentley so at war with his thoughts before. Whatever it was, it was weighing on him.
“Okay, I overheard Ava the other day talking to someone on the phone. Remember, the day she told you she was pregnant and you took off?” He paused, looking at me for confirmation.
“Yeah, I remember. So?” I asked, eager to hear more.
“Well, she was talking to someone. It was as if they were hatching a plan to make sure you would stay with her. I didn’t know who she was talking to, but when you just mentioned Nick was here with her, everything started to make sense. What if Nick and Ava are in this together? What if this is some insane plot to get you to stay with her; to force you into the image they’ve been wanting you to have anyway?” he asked, making it sound more like a statement than a question.
“You seriously think Ava would get pregnant on purpose to make sure we keep up our image?”
“No. I don’t. But I do think she would pretend to be pregnant in order for the two of you stay together… for the moment, anyway.” Bentley’s expression never wavered. I realized then just how serious he was about his speculations.
“But why?” I was finding it hard to believe that Nick and Ava would go to this much trouble just to get me to play along with their deranged plan.
“Well, you haven’t exactly seen the plus sign, have you, bud?” Realization finally struck me. Could Ava be this selfish?
“What role would Nick have in this?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Damien, but I sure as hell would want to find out. Wouldn’t you?”
I didn’t even respond as I stalked toward the living room, the idea of Nick and Ava conspiring together running through my brain like poison. They looked the picture of innocence when I walked in on them: Nick, the professional, and Ava, the glowing girlfriend.
“Nick, tell me why I have a contract in my hands?” I didn’t fully understand the connection, but it was the first thing that came out of my mouth.
“I made a few changes, moved some things around, that’s all,” he casually replied.
“What did you change that was so important you had to draft a new contract?” I was beginning to lose my patience and I hadn’t even begun to question Ava.
“There’s been a couple of updates to the standard entertainment contract. It’s all right there in section one.” Nick was starting to look a bit frayed at the edges, which was not a good look on him, and I realized I must be getting close to the truth.
I skimmed through the documents until I got to the part that detailed my presence in the media. It read:
The Manager agrees to render such advice, guidance, counsel, direction, and other services as the Artist may reasonably require to further the Artist's career as a performing artist, and to develop new and different areas within which the Artist's artistic talents can be developed and exploited, including but not limited to the following services:
I kept reading...
d) to exploit and make decisions regarding the Artist's personality in all media, and in connection therewith, to approve and perm
it for the purpose of trade, advertising, and publicity, the use, dissemination, reproduction, or publication of the Artist's name, photographic likeness, facsimile signature, voice and artistic and musical materials; as well as his personal endeavors to the general public.
“What the hell does all this mean?” I demanded.
“Nothing, it’s standard contract mumbo jumbo, Damien. It’s nothing that should concern you. That’s what you have me for, remember?”
“‘My personal endeavors?’ How does that concern you? Does it have anything to do with Ava possibly being pregnant and you wanting me to carry on this charade?” I knew I had hit the mark the minute I said it. The color drained from Ava’s face and she nervously looked at Nick, but he remained calm and collected.
“It’s just a way to make sure we continue down the path to success.” Nick continued, “The one we’ve been so careful about creating for the both of us. I have your best interests at heart.” Again, he was wearing the mask of professionalism, a dutiful manager seeking opportunities for his client while lining his pockets with cash and clout.
“My best interests, huh? Controlling my every move, making sure I made all of the choices you saw fit not just in my professional life, but in my personal life as well? And what exactly is your role, Ava?” I diverted my attention to the partner in this deceit. “You hoped bringing a baby into this world would convince me to stay with you? You thought getting pregnant would just fix everything?” I knew the answer, but I needed to hear her say it.
“I… I don’t know! It was Nick’s idea! He told me he heard a woman’s voice when he called you the other day and that I needed to protect what was mine or risk losing you and the publicity that came along with our relationship. He said that it would work out best for all of us if I just told you I was pregnant so we could be together again and back in the public eye!” She blurted out the truth then covered her mouth immediately.
“Told me you were pregnant? What the hell, Ava! Did you honestly think I was stupid enough not to realize when you didn’t get any bigger or when there wasn’t a baby nine months from now! You must think I’m a fool,” I said, throwing the papers in their surprised faces. I could no longer contain my anger. I had spent the last few days in agony over losing Madelyn, and stressed over the fact that my life was being turned completely upside down and for no reason! It was all a lie; a plan hatched by two unscrupulous individuals to make me an instrument in their Hollywood love story. Ava and my relationship had started out innocent enough, but I felt it the moment we became a product fed by Nick’s insistence. We rode the wave of our onscreen chemistry until it crashed and crested, but every time I began to drift away, Nick always found a way of convincing me that we were a great couple and that Ava was perfect for me. What I realized too late was that he meant she was perfect for my career and by extension his advancement in an already crowded industry. I looked at Nick as if seeing him for the first time, seeing him for the person he truly was.
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