I put my hands on his chest to try to calm him, “I’ll talk to him, but Jax, you were trying to flaunt us as if we’re this perfect family in front of him. That wasn’t fair to him either.”
“If this relationship is going to go any further, then one day we might be a family and he’s going to have to get used to that!” I just nod my head, not wanting to discuss any possible future together right at this moment.
We arrive at the lobby and only get a few steps in before flashes ricochet off the glass windows from the paparazzi. He grabs my hand, and we hurry to make it to the safety of the car that is waiting for us while they continue to call out our names. We get in, and the driver pulls away and merges into traffic.
“Listen, Jenna, I know I haven’t handled this very well and I’m sorry. I know this has been hard on you.” He pulls me into his side and kisses me on the lips. I’m happy he has apologized and I deepen my kiss to show him my appreciation.
But as soon as we get to the event, Jax disappears with his teammates and starts drinking, leaving me with the other wives and girlfriends who bombard me with questions about Cal. I suddenly feel as if all eyes are upon me, talking about me, watching me. I feel sick to my stomach and try to find refuge with someone I trust, but that someone was Jax and he’s choosing not to spend it with me. I am relieved when the program for the evening begins, hoping it will distract me from my uneasiness. Jax continues to drink and barely eats dinner. By the end of the evening, I have to ask his teammates to help me get him into a taxi due to him being intoxicated. We arrive back to his hotel without any paparazzi around, and manage to make it up to his room.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” he mumbles as I get him into his bed, “I just love you so much.” And with that, he passes out.
I stare at him, deciding that I’m not going to lay into him about this tomorrow, as he deserves the horrible hangover he’s going to have, and the wrath of his head coach when he doesn’t perform as well for tomorrow night’s game.
I kiss him on the forehead, turn off the lights and head home.
27
The news stories of Cal and I continue into the following week. Most of the stories seem fabricated from ‘anonymous’ sources, but one story has an anonymous source quoting my exact words to Cal his first day on my doorstep.
“Seems to me one of your neighbors was listening in, and decided to cash in on the exclusive,” Robert says, as he reads through one of the many magazines he bought with Cal and I on the cover. “I think this one is by far my favorite though. Jenna in a LOVE triangle!” He laughs as he hands me the magazine that has photos of Cal, Jax and myself in a triangle.
“Utterly ridiculous!” I look with disgust at the magazine. I am very disappointed that one of my neighbors would even do that to me, but as Chase warned me, money makes people do things you wouldn’t think they would normally do.
“The good thing is that there aren’t many photos of Avery. Mostly just you.”
“Yes, but they’ve been hounding her school, and the principal and the other parents are getting very angry. They’ve requested a meeting with me on Monday to discuss ‘other options’. I think they’re going to kick her out.” I have been scrambling to find another childcare, but the choices are slim with most places having wait lists.
“Do you think little miss over there is starting to wonder anything?” Robert asks, nodding toward Avery, who is in her room playing. Cal calls her every night before bed to talk to her. The first night was the most awkward with both of them not really knowing what to say to each other, but since she has opened up more to him, their conversations have started to last longer.
“No, not yet. She only asks why everyone is taking our photo. Cal did tell her about tonight so I thought it would be fun to have a watch party.” Cal will be attending the Oscars, and while I have zero desire to see him looking handsome in a tuxedo with other just as good-looking actors and actresses, I thought it would be fun to make it special for Avery to watch.
“And what about Jax? How is he handling all of this?”
“Not that great. The media scrutiny has affected his performance. Since he is not playing as well, he has been benched. They are on a ten-day road trip, so maybe being out of the city and not seeing me will help.”
“Why won’t seeing you help?”
“I think seeing me reminds him of why he’s under scrutiny in the first place.”
Robert just rolls his eyes at me and laughs. “Jenna, if that’s the reason, then that boy needs to go.”
“I thought you liked Jax?” I ask, with a questioning smile.
“Not if he is going to be a big douche bag! Besides, I think I like Cal more.” He smiles with a sly look.
Now it is my turn to roll my eyes at him, “Of course you would! He is famous, after all.”
“I don’t care about the fame. Cal just has to look at you and I can tell he’s pure wickedness. Yum-my!”
I laugh at his craziness and go to the kitchen to start making our snacks for the show. I give Avery a bath and get her in her pajamas so as soon as we see Cal on TV, we can go to bed.
“Avery, come sit with Uncle Robert so we can look at all the pretty dresses on the red carpet,” Robert calls from the living room. Avery runs out there to join him while I grab the snacks. I sit down with them, and pass around the popcorn as we see beautiful actresses and handsome actors walk the red carpet. We talk about which dresses we like best, and wonder why some actresses made some poor wardrobe choices.
“Look, there’s Cal!” Avery yells when the camera pans to him. He looks devastatingly handsome in his tuxedo. And with him is none other than Cora Gregory. She is stunning in an emerald green off the shoulder dress that is molded to every curve of her body. Her dark hair is left down in loose waves and she is wearing gold jewelry. They are the most perfect looking couple in Hollywood. Recalling our conversation in Las Vegas about her only being a friend, I wonder if he was lying to me as they look too beautiful together not to be a couple.
“Who’s that with Cal, Mommy?”
“That’s an actress named Cora.” I keep my answer vague, not wanting to influence my daughter with my opinions on her.
“Avery, I think you need to ask Cal if she’s his girlfriend the next time you see him.” I give Robert a shocked look, not believing he’s asking a four-year-old to find out the gossip.
“What?” he shrugs, “it would be an innocent question coming from her.”
“That is true,” I agree, and hate to admit that I am equally as curious.
We’re slow to get up in the morning, tired from staying up late as Avery wanted to watch more of the show. Fortunately, I don’t have any meetings scheduled until the afternoon, so we take our time eating breakfast and getting ready for school. I open the door for us to leave and am startled by the sight of Cal.
“Ah! You scared me!” I place my hand over my heart, which is beating at a rapid pace.
“Cal!” Avery jumps into his arms to give him a hug. This is the first time she has shown Cal any affection, and I’m completely transfixed by the sight of them together.
“Sorry! You opened the door before I could knock.”
I shake my head from looking at them and try to focus. “Wait, how are you even here? We just saw you on TV last night in Los Angeles.”
“I took the red-eye back. It’s time to start getting settled here.” He looks at Avery and then back at me. “Where are you ladies going?”
“I am taking Avery to school and then working out.”
“Can I go to school with you?” Cal asks as he tickles her stomach. She giggles and tries to swat his hand away.
“Sure, you can come. It probably would be good for you to see where she goes. Oh, and the principal wants to talk with me today about the paparazzi. She and the rest of the parents aren’t happy.”
He draws his eyebrows in concern and nods his head. “Yes, let’s meet with her so we can discuss some solutions.”
We tak
e the elevator down to the garage and get into my car. “Nice ride,” Cal says, admiring my Land Rover. I strap Avery into her car seat and get into the driver’s seat.
“Thanks. It was the only thing my ex-husband gave me that I decided to keep.” The car was one of his sorry-I-am-not-paying-attention-to-you-gifts when we were married.
At first, I was hesitant to keep it since I live in the city and don’t necessarily need a car, but it has been very convenient to have and I’m glad I decided to keep it. “How was last night?” I ask, wanting to change the subject. I pull out of the garage, and see one paparazzi car waiting to follow.
“It was good. Tiring, but good. Nice to see some people I haven’t seen in a while ,and a lot of great movies won.”
“Cal, was that girl in the green dress your girlfriend?” Avery asks, and I am so proud of my girl for remembering to do so. Not that I should care since I have Jax.
“That is my friend Cora and no, she is not my girlfriend.” I keep my eyes on the road, but feel his gaze on me for a reaction. “You’ll get to meet her and my friend, Sean, very soon.”
“Yeah! I love meeting new people!” Avery says and we laugh at how cute she sounds.
“Wow, we’re here already?” Cal asks, as we pull into the parking lot, paparazzi waiting for us by the entrance. They quickly got used to our morning schedule of waiting for us at school to get a photo.
“Yes, normally we walk to school, but they’ve been making it difficult to do so.” I nod my head toward the paparazzi. “Avery, put your sunglasses on. You can say hi to these men if you want too, but let’s keep the sunglasses on, okay?” She puts on her sunglasses and is ready to go.
As soon as we get out of the car, they start taking pictures and calling our names. We walk to the front entrance and go inside. Avery takes Cal’s hand to show him where her room is and introduces him to her teachers.
“Will you be picking me up too, Cal?” Avery looks at him with hope in her eyes.
“Absolutely, sweetheart.” He kisses her on the check, and we leave her room to go have our meeting with the principal.
“Mr. Harrington, what a nice surprise to see you today. Thanks for coming as well. As I was saying to Ms. Pruitt, the photographers have been very disruptive to our environment, and myself and a lot of other parents are very concerned about this for our safety. If this doesn’t stop soon, we’re going to need Avery to find another school.”
“I completely understand, Principal Hayes, and am very sorry for the disruption. I will provide a full-time officer at the door until things calm down, as well as make a sizable donation to the school. We’re appreciative of all the hard work you and your staff do for our children. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience of everything and hope this solution will work for you?”
I expect for her to tell him that won’t be enough, but instead she smiles and offers him her card. “That sounds wonderful, Mr. Harrington. Please take my card and call me when the officer is secured, and I will give you our routing number to make that generous donation.” She shakes our hands and escorts us to the front entrance.
“Does money always get you out of trouble?” I jokingly ask, as we get in the car and try to avoid looking at the paparazzi. Thank goodness for tinted windows!
“Not with everyone,” he gives me a pointed look, and I can’t help but laugh at him. You should not be sitting in a car alone with him, laughing! Think of Jax! I stop laughing and start the car, but realize I have no idea where we are going.
“Um, where am I going?”
“I thought we were going to work out?”
I look at his clothes that consist of a t-shirt and jeans. “How are you going to work out in that?”
He looks down at himself and shrugs, “I can manage to do weights. Where’s your gym?”
“I was going to work out in my building’s gym.” The idea of him in that small work out room with me is not a good one. Not wanting to sit here in the school’s parking lot with all the paparazzi, I decide to start the car and will drive around until he tells me where to go.
“Okay, I’ll just work out with you.” I stare at him and it sounds innocent, but with this man, nothing is ever innocent.
“Why do you want to work out with me?” I ask, suspiciously.
“Because for one thing, I need to get a work out in, and the second thing is that I think it is important that you and I spend time together as well so we get to know each other better. I think that’ll help my progress with Avery if I know and understand her mother better.” I think about his logic and while it makes sense, warning bells are going off in my head.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Cal. People will talk and the next thing we know, there will be a story out saying you are living with me. Even though we know the truth, that isn’t fair to Jax.”
“While I disagree with you, I’m in no mood to argue. Why don’t you and I discuss this over dinner?”
“We can’t have dinner out together!” I say with exasperation that he would even suggest this.
“Why not? People need to eat,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Because it will be labeled as a date by the paparazzi and I can’t have that.”
“Robert told me there’s a restaurant at the top of your building. We can go there and the paparazzi will never know.”
“Of course, Robert would tell you that,” I say, making a mental note to have a little chit chat with dear ol’ meddling Robert.
“I’ve been talking quite a bit to Robert now that I have his number as well.”
“I bet you do,” I say sarcastically, not enjoying this new relationship between the two.
Cal just laughs and I realize I’m still driving around in circles.
“You still haven’t told me what hotel to drop you off at.”
“Yes, I know. I’ve been enjoying our car ride together.” He looks over at me and I see that flirtatious glimmer, the one that used to put my stomach into somersaults. The one that still does.
“I have work to do today, so please, what hotel are you staying at?” I say firmly, not wanting to give him any inkling of the effect he still has on me. I need to keep my guard up with him.
“I am staying at the Ritz-Carlton.”
I nod my head and take the car in that direction, needing some distance from him.
“I want to have dinner with you, so we can talk about my schedule. Filming doesn’t start for another two weeks, so I would like to spend as much time with Avery as possible. I want to take her to school, pick her up, go sight-seeing with her, eat meals with her…everything that normal families do with each other. I need you to be there with us for the time being so she gets comfortable with me, and then eventually start doing things with just her and I. I also would like for you to go house hunting with me so you can feel comfortable in the home I pick out for her.” I should be happy to hear all of this from him, but instead my feelings turn sad at the thought of her and I not being together all the time anymore.
“Once filming begins, my schedule is going to be limited for the next three months. I’m going to try to work with the director to see if we can shoot more night scenes, but I don’t know if he’ll agree to that. This is another reason why I’ll need your help.” Basically, he’s asking me to be accessible so that when he’s free, Avery can be free. The bitter part of me wants to throw it in his face how he hasn’t been accessible to us for four years, but I know that would be wrong. I’m still not quite over the fact that this has all been a misunderstanding.
I pull up to the Ritz-Carlton, and watch the circus of the paparazzi jump out of their cars, waiting to get their photo of us. “I’ll work on trying to be accessible for you.” I swallow my lump of bitterness and decide to say no more.
“Thank you, Jenna. You truly don’t know what this means to me. I’ll see you later for school pick up.” He nods at me, exits the car and shuts the door. I don’t bother to watch if he makes it into the hotel or not as I speed away, needin
g to get home to work out my frustrations.
28
I’ve become very good at trying to juggle all the balls in my basket of life over the next month, but as with real juggling, balls will start to drop. Before the start of filming for Cal’s movie, he did spend almost every waking hour that he could with us. The routine became normal as he comes for breakfast, goes to school with us, then he works out or makes business calls. After, he meets me at Avery’s school to come back home with us, where we eat dinner, play games and read bedtime stories together. I’ve gotten so used to having him around that I have found myself stocking my refrigerator with his favorite beer and snacks. Now that filming has begun, he still manages to make it to drop her off at school, but sometimes we don’t see him until bedtime. One night, he even fell asleep with Avery and I didn’t have the heart to wake him and kick him out. She needs to start getting used to sleepovers with him anyway, I kept telling myself as I tossed and turned that night, not knowing why I was expecting to see him in my doorway.
While the stories in the magazines have seem to simmer down, the paparazzi have stuck around, still hounding me any chance they get. Chase always keeps his distance, but his warning of Danny Salari came back to mind when he called me a bitch for not smiling for them. Since then, I still won’t say anything to them, but I have started to smile more and sometimes wave, hoping that will start to appease them enough to leave us alone.
Tonight is the last game of the season for Jax and I am letting Cal watch Avery by himself while I go. Robert will start off the night babysitting since Cal will still be working, but as soon as Cal arrives, Robert will leave. I’ve been going to every single one of Jax’s home games, trying to be the supportive girlfriend, but with him not being a regular in the lineup, his mood swings are more frequent and he’s less fun to be around.
Four hours later, not only was Jax not in the lineup, but the team lost their last game. Missing the playoffs by two points, the players were devastated. I drove Jax to his favorite restaurant, but he barely ate and conversation was at minimal. We get back into the car and head back to his hotel. Maybe a night full of sex will cheer him up.
Heartbreak Warfare Page 22