by Cat Mann
****
Our ride to the show in the limo was filled with a bitter silence.
A valet opened the car. The outside space we stepped into was too loud and too bright and hummed with too much excitement. We were ushered straight to a path sectioned off on both sides by thick velvet rope. Photojournalists pushed against the barriers and their flashes went off like strobe lights. The effects were dizzying. People called Ava's name, screamed her name, begged her name. Everyone wanted Ava. Her fingers trembled and her gaze jumped from one side of the path to the other, assessing the tumult.
“Look at me,” I said, grabbing her hand and forcing her to ignore the noise and look up to me while I talked. “They want photos of us together on the carpet and then some of you by yourself. I’ll be standing to the side so just please, don’t forget to smile. TIE has been granted an exclusive interview with you, but the interviewer has a strictly limited number of questions she's allowed to ask. I’ve previewed them. You'll be fine. At the close of the show, after we have walked out with Max and Margaux, Olivia Chavez will meet you by the curtain and escort you to the greenroom lounge, where we stay until midnight.”
“I'm not giving any interviews.”
“Yes, you are. TIE is paying top dollar for it, Ava. Now, remember to speak at appropriate times and smile as often as necessary. Our seats are at the front of the runway and there will be cameras on you pretty much the entire evening, so do not forget about them. They’ll be focusing on your reactions, so stay positive.”
She batted her lashes and dramatically rolled her eyes at me like a snotty teenager, letting me know that she considered my instructions patronizing. She doesn't get that I am under immense pressure at baio. Her eye rolls annoy the hell out of me.
“I don't ever want to see you do that again. Understand?” I said through tightly gritted teeth.
She rolled them again and my grip on her hand tightened. “You're acting like a spoiled brat,” I said as softly to her as I could muster.
“Well, you make me so mad sometimes that I just want to scream in your face,” she responded. Our noses were a mere inch apart.
“Scream then, Ava. Just get it over with and scream.” I stared coolly back into her eyes, daring her to make a scene. The moment was saved by a reprieve of sorts as our arrival was announced and we approached the arbor that marked the beginning of the red carpet. Crowds pressed toward us, camera shutters fluttered and reporters conducted interviews with celebrities, models and designers. People cheered for Ava and she gave me one last death stare before she wiped the look away and replaced it with a full, bright, convincing smile.
We were directed down the designated carpeted area to a backdrop covered with baio’s logo. Here the serious press members were standing, ready for us to walk their gauntlet.
With my arm wrapped securely around her waist, I pressed our warm bodies close together and we produced the smiles we knew they expected. When the time came for me to step out of the photo area, I stood and watched as she stood perfectly still, her face unwavering, her back stiff and rigid.
“This way.” One of the show’s coordinators waved her towards the door. I followed behind her and we were herded like cattle, sent into the theater and directed to our seats along the side of the main runway. People were watching her as we walked in and took our seats. I took my place beside her and propped my arm over the backrest of her chair. Her body and legs were crossed away from me.
I felt Ava release a breath of tension and I looked up in the direction of the door to see August, with Collin at his side, heading towards us.
“Look at you!” He cheered and kissed Ava’s cheek. “You’re stunning! Apparently, yellow is the color of the show! Why didn’t you tell me? I would have worn something different. Did you see the pictures? You’re everywhere, Ava! If people didn’t know who you were before, they sure as hell know you now…”
She rolled her eyes.
“Stop doing that,” I warned under my breath. She blatantly ignored me. August took his seat on the other side of Ava and I lost her to him. An usher sat Rory and Julia on the other side of Collin and, soon after, the theater dimmed.
We watched the show in silence.
We walked the stage with Max and Margaux when the show was over, the four of us waving in silence.
We formally announced Ava’s pregnancy and we formally announced the launch of the new store, baio babe, under a shroud of a bitter, ever growing, angry silence.
Interview time came and Ava was swooped away from me to a semi-private corridor backstage.
I could not hear her but I watched Ava as she listened intently to her questions and answered with her winning smile. Despite her anger with me, she exhibited a remarkably careful poise and elegance.
“You're a lucky man.”
Looking briefly over my shoulder, I found myself staring into the face of the man who seemed to make the tabloid headlines as often as Ava and I did. A Forbes billionaire, recently separated from his wife, Dove, due to his infidelity, and currently embarking on one of the most expensive divorces in United States history, along with a bitter custody battle over their little girl.
“Yes, I know. I am very lucky, indeed.” My stare went back to Ava.
“She’s beautiful.” He kept his eyes on Ava, too. Straight on Ava. “I’m Cameron.”
“Ari.”
“Oh, I know who you are, Adonis.” My penetrating gaze flashed away from her and went right to him.
Cameron Gallo spoke with the sort of southern accent that would make some women swoon. It was an almost fake, good ‘ol boy drawl with just enough twang to prove authenticity.
“We should talk. I think you may be interested in who I am,” he said, moving closer to me.
“I’m not interested in anything about you. Who I am is inconsequential and none of your business.”
“You’re right, it doesn't matter to me who you are. It’s Ava I have my eye on.”
I felt a curtain of disassociation closing in around me. I grabbed his arm and said, “You know, you need to step back and stay the fuck away from Ava. Whoever or whatever the hell you are, I'm warning you and I'm not going to warn you a second time.”
“You’re going to change your mind you know, Ari. And when you do, you’ll come looking for me. Just ask your friend, Julia. She knows how to find me.”
“Julia? You and Julia?”
He smirked and I felt the rush of blood draining from my heart and pooling in my throbbing throat. I hated this guy.
“You still don’t know anything, do you?”
“What do you mean? What do you want?”
“This isn’t about me. I’ve already lost everything I ever wanted. It’s about her. Them. You’ll see. Xo, Ari. Until next time.” Somewhere inside me something turned to ice.
He left and when my gaze returned to Ava's backstage interview site, she was gone. Olivia Chavez talked solo at her camera and wrapped up her special on the baio show.