Jill Brady runs her own organic juice line. It’s been seen in the hands of countless of A-listers and even held top sponsorship at the Academy Awards one year. She’s in her early forties but looks about my age. It’s rare she’s ever in makeup, even for the show, and she attributes her flawless skin on the fact that she uses nothing on it but plain soap and organic herbs she mixes for herself. She’s still about a hundred pounds, but I know its all muscle, I saw her complete a Tough Mudder run a few months back in record time.
As she pulls her hand away from mine, she runs a hand through her short brown hair, a bob now, and she smiles.
“We were so happy that you decided to do this,” Brooke tells me as she points to a chair across the table. “Sit down, sit down.”
“Yes, it will be nice to have all the girls back together again,” Jill adds as she sits back down in her seat. I take my place across from them, setting my phone near my empty coffee mug.
I notice Jill’s plate is empty but she has a tall glass of some kind of green smoothie next to it that’s half consumed. Brooke’s plate has pancakes, bagels and scrambled eggs. A dollop of whipped cream over the pancakes.
“It will be nice, yeah,” I agree as I take my eyes off Brooke’s plate and reach for a basket of croissants near me. I put one on my plate, under Jill’s watchful eye, and then reach for a few strips of bacon on the meat platter. I toss them on my plate. My phone begins to vibrate, and I can see that it’s Fin, but I can’t really pick up now.
“So, Julie, what’s new with you? How have things been?” Brooke leans forward, her big eyes landing on me heavily. “I haven’t seen much of you anywhere.”
“Oscar tells us you’re in a very good place,” Jill says with a small smile. “He says you are living the life, and are focusing on your own happiness, your own…” Jill’s eyes flick to the bacon on my plate, “...health too.”
Whoops. I forgot about the new me.
“Yes it’s true, I’ve been concentrating on myself lately.” I go with it, as I grab a stick of bacon and bite into it. “Just really figuring out what it is I want, you know.” As I chew the bacon, Jill makes a face and I quickly swallow. “This is my cheat meal. I’m a very good eater now a days.”
“I imagine you are,” Brooke smiles kindly as she reaches for her coffee. “You do marathons, Declan told us. That’s fantastic.”
I bite into the bacon again, reaching for my phone as it vibrates again with a call from Fin. “It’s all part of my ‘Take Care of Yourself’ attitude. I have to take care of myself, before I can uh, take care of anyone else...”
Where am I coming up with this stuff?
Jill nods seriously at me as she picks up her green smoothie. “Absolutely, it’s exactly what everyone should do. Take care of yourself first and foremost. How can you make other people happy if you aren’t happy yourself?” She takes a long drink of the smoothie and points a finger to me. “Just to let you know, Julie, since we never spoke after you left…I think what Diana and Adam did to you, was just revolting.”
The intensity of her dark eyes makes me wiggle under them.
Why does she always have to look so bloody intense?
I swallow the bacon. “Er, thanks.”
“Horrible,” Brooke agrees. After a breath she gives me one of her loud mouth smiles, “but let them have each other, they deserve to be together.”
Jill snorts into her smoothie. “If they even last…”
Brooke elbows her stiffly and Jill chokes on her smoothie.
“It’s alright,” I tell them as Brooke gives Jill a stern glance. “I heard the rumors too.”
Brooke seems relieved, as she lets out a long breath. “Oh, well good then. You must be a little bit relieved to hear the news.”
Damn right.
But I can’t admit that. I mean, everyone here thinks I’ve moved on and let go.
I muster my best “Above It All” approach as I set my hands down on the table. “You know? I’m over it. Maybe last year or the year before that, I would have been all about the Karma but I’ve risen above it all. I’ve let it go. Moved on.”
Jill gives me a bright smile and pats my hand with hers, “Good for you. That is exceptionally healthy; you are a beacon to shafted woman everywhere.”
Suddenly Brooke gasps and slams both hands down on the table. Jill jumps as Brooke calls out, “Reagan!”
I look towards the door and see her, standing in the doorway alone. When her eyes land on me, she gives me a once over slowly. She looks just as she did when I saw her last. A head full of long straight, black hair, slender black glasses over her almond shaped eyes and a natural bronzed complexion. She looks effortlessly calm, in a pair of jean overalls and back t-shirt.
“Hi,” I give her a small smile, my feet tapping silently underneath the table.
Finally, she throws me a tight mouth grin. “Hey.”
“Come sit!” Brooke exclaims as she gestures at the table. “Hurry! Before they all cram in here and throw us a list of instructions.” She laughs loudly and turns back to her breakfast plate.
Reagan walks to their side of the table, and takes the seat next to Jill. “How is everyone?” She doesn’t look at any of us as she reaches for the fruit platter across from her plate.
“Just great,” Brooke quips. Her large smile appears, and she seems to be the only one missing the awkwardness in the room. Jill however, has made it her point to gaze from Reagan to me more than twice.
Brooke goes on, “I’ve been really busy with the new fall line. Can you believe it? We just launched the spring line, and hammered down the final details with the summer line. Now we have to wrap up the fall line and it’s not even April!”
“That’s the fashion world for you,” Reagan gives her a small smile as she packs her plate full of fruit. “You have to stay ahead of the game.”
“I imagine it’s the same for the world of interior design,” Brooke says.
“I’ve just been researching some new recipes for an organic line of juices for pregnant women,” Jill declares, both hands around her smoothie. “You wouldn’t imagine how difficult it is to find things that are safe for consumption for a pregnant woman. It’s not as simple as you would think. You have to make sure to avoid certain foods. Raw eggs are a no-no but are an excellent source of vitamin A, B and potassium compared to when they are cooked.”
“You put raw eggs in your organic line of juices?” I ask, my face twists a bit as I imagine the taste, and Brooke smirks.
Jill shakes her head at me. “Not in the whole line. Just in two flavors. Plus I have the upcoming launch of our organic skincare line in the fall. It’s just been go go go.”
“And you?” Reagan’s question is directed at me, but her tone suggests she isn’t very interested. She isn’t even looking at me, she’s slicing into a large piece of watermelon with her fork.
“Um, I’m just focusing on me, and doing a few small events. Nothing special.”
“Don’t’ be modest, Jules,” Brooke smirks at me, she then leans over so she can see Reagan. “She’s been running marathons, and triathlons, hobnobbing with some pretty big and important people, doing big boutique openings and charity work. Oscar told me yesterday.”
Jesus, do people have nothing better to do than gossip?
I watch Reagan slowly look up at me, her eyebrows raised. “Really? Marathons?”
She doesn’t believe me.
“Just the one, this year,” I reply casually as I take my lying eyes off her.
“Which one?” she asks.
Damn it. What’s a marathon? God! Why didn’t I research this yesterday!
Oh right, because I had no idea Oscar would be such a blabbermouth!
“Um, just a small one,” I answer, avoiding Reagan’s prying eyes. “You probably haven’t heard of it. For a charity.”
“I might have,” Reagan tells me. Her tone forces me to look at her. “My boyfrie
nd Charlie has a few clients that run them for publicity. Especially the charity ones.”
Jill and Brooke look over at me.
Damn it.
I can feel my face reddening, as I try to come up with a name that is convincing enough.
“I’m sure Jill would know too,” Reagan adds giving Jill a smile. “You run marathons all the time too.” Jill doesn’t reply, but her eyes stay on me as she waits for me to answer.
Why, why did I have to say marathons?!
“We are just about ready to start!” Oscar storms into the room with his signature bright smile.
I stuff the rest of my bacon into my mouth and chew, my legs bouncing under the table.
Declan Gentry staggers in behind Oscar, in jeans and a black t-shirt, unshaven as yesterday and hair barely brushed. I try to ignore the fleeting irritation that shimmers upon his presence and grab another bacon strip, biting into it fast as Oscar stands at the head of the table. “Now, I know there have been many last minute changes,” he doesn’t hide his glance towards me very well, “but I know we'll all roll with the punches, yes?”
“You’ll get some good ratings, that's for sure,” Jill sighs leaning back into her chair. Her eyes land on me and her expression turns slightly sympathetic.
Next to her Brooke gives me a soft smile, “You’ll do great, just don’t let her get to you.”
I frown.
“No, we certainly won’t allow that,” Oscar gives me a smile as he nods. “We will remain as civil as needed, off camera. On camera, anything goes with her!”
I swallow the bacon down quickly, bits of it scratch my throat and I cough a bit as I set the other half of the piece down on the plate. Behind Oscar, Declan gives me a closed mouth, awkward smile before looking back at Oscar.
Who in the hell is her?
I gasp.
No.
“I’m so sorry I’m late! My damn alarm didn’t go off!”
I cringe, and feel my jaw lock as my eyes clamp shut.
I don’t friggin’ believe this!
As I open my eyes, she’s already there, standing tall behind Jill and Brooke.
I don’t know what stuns me most, that she’s giving me a big perfect, pearly white tooth smile or that she isn’t twenty pounds heavier like Fin had said. In fact, she looks skinnier than she did when we first started the show. Her long golden hair is gone though, she’s sporting a sharp shoulder length cut, full of layers that brush against her shoulders and cheeks gracefully. She’s in a gorgeous off the shoulder baby blue blouse and a tight mini skirt, showing off her toned legs.
Dynamite Diana Harris.
“Hi, Julie,” she beams at me.
I realize I have two choices here. I can throw the bowl of whipped cream in the face of the woman who stole my husband, or I can remain civil and adult.
“Hello,” I manage the words easier than I thought but something forces me to raise from my chair. I take my phone from the table and the last two pieces of bacon on my place. “Excuse me.”
“Julie,” Brooke protests. “Julie, wait—”
I make my way around the table and Oscar stumbles in my way, panicked and sweaty. “Julie, I know this is, is surprising.”
“Hmmm no, surprising would be his arrival,” I lay the sarcasm on thick as I point to Declan. “Breach of contract is what her arrival is!”
Oscar puts an arm around my shoulder and ushers me towards the doorway. He pulls me in closer and looks over his shoulder before whispering at me.
“Because at the time of our meeting, Diana wasn’t scheduled to appear, your demand of not working with or near her was never put into the contract.”
I pull away from him, “Wait, what?”
He winces a bit before answering me. “Yes. The contract you signed.” He then pulls away from me, as if I may hit him, and bunches his face up.
“Oh my God,” I inhale dramatically, “you duped me! Again!”
Of course.
Of course they did!
Oscar straightens up and looks at me seriously. “I did not dupe you. We, including Finley, didn’t see the point in putting that demand into your contract since at the time Diana had told us she was not interested. Nobody thought she would change her mind.”
“Nobody thought she would change her mind?” My sarcasm sharp. “She lives for the exposure! She probably had this all planned!”
“Um, I did not,” Diana declares offended as she looks at me. “I had a commitment that fell through and reached out to Oscar to see if they were still interested. And they were, naturally.” She flips her hair over her shoulder and puts a hand on her hip. “Anyone would, I was a hit back in the day. I was the reason the ratings were so high, everyone knows that.”
Argh, I should have gone with the whipped cream bowl.
Oscar throws his arm over my shoulders again and steers me around, to face the room. “Let’s just all have a nice breakfast together, discuss the schedule, maybe talk—”
I push his arms off me. “I’m full. Send the schedule up to my room.”
I turn on my heel and rush from the room before anybody else can stop me.
I don’t hear what Diana exclaims to everyone but I hear her shrill, giggle at my exit.
“She looks nothing like Fin said. She looks as perfect as always, maybe even more perfect. And she’s happy! She looks super happy!”
“Jules, you cannot possibly conclude by seeing the woman for a minute that she is indeed happy. People put on shows all the time,” Angie says.
I kick the side of my bed. “Nobody does that!”
“Really?” Angie’s voice jolts with amusement and sarcasm. “Present company excluded you mean...Look, Jules, did you even read the contract before you signed it?”
“I read a bit of it...but Finley said it was everything we talked about in the meeting so I didn’t think I needed to read it! I didn’t think they would leave out the part where I said I didn’t want to work with Diana, just because they thought she wasn’t interested at the time…Allegedly.”
I drop down on my bed and fall onto my back, looking up at the beige ceiling. My suite is small, but gorgeous. A four post king sized bed, with a large flat screen television set right over the gorgeous dark wood armourer. I have my own private balcony, with an insatiable view of the lower part of the mountain, overlooking Dirhurst village below. A mini bar is stocked with mini bottles of alcohol and overpriced chocolates. There’s a cabinet right above it stocked with an assortment of goodies.
Despite the grandness of it, all I wanted to do is pack up and go home.
“With Diana comes Adam,” I remind Angie dryly. “And that means…”
My throat clams up.
Angie lets out a deep breath, “I know what that means, Jules. And I hate it for you, I really do. So does Fin.”
Nobody really knows what happened during, and after the divorce proceedings, nobody knows about Adam’s phone calls. Nobody but Angie and Fin, and that was only because she stumbled upon my secret one night when I wasn’t home. Then they confronted me, angry and confused. Not that I blamed them.
But what if they hadn’t found out? Would I have chosen differently? Probably. I probably would have met up with Adam at that...No. There’s no use in thinking about it right now.
It just makes my stomach twist, and I have to sit up so I don’t get nausea.
“But you’re over it, remember?” Angie presses. “It’s been three years and it’s not like you would go running back now. It was a different time back then; you were knocked down, betrayed by not just Adam but a friend. You slept all day and stayed up all night watching Friends and Will and Grace reruns. Besides, I very much doubt Adam told Diana anything, because if he did, there wouldn’t have been that tacky, over the top celebrity wedding a month after the divorce was final.”
“That’s true,” I mutter. I’ve leaned over with my elbows on my knees and my forehead in m
y hand. “And if they are having problems then he probably won’t even show up.”
“Exactly,” Angie exclaims. “I don’t think he would embarrass himself by showing up. Everyone there hates him. He was the villain of the show.”
“Not everyone,” I smirk angrily. Declan’s face flashes in my mind and I grimace. “Maybe I can get her fired somehow, Declan too.”
Angie laughs.
“I could poison Oscar non-lethally and frame the two of them.”
My sister laughs again, and a moment later I hear her jewel cleaning machine go off. “Making new brooches?”
“I have a custom order,” she tells me, “for a baby shower.”
There’s a knock on my door and I sit up right. “Someone’s here. I have to go.”
“Okay, just remember. You’re supposed to be different now. You’ve let it go, you are a fabulous, single woman dating a Swedish Olympian or something. You can have the upper hand in this situation.”
“Yeah, right,” I sneer. “Bye, Ange. Thanks for the talk.”
I reach the door to my suite and peer through the peephole, seeing a distorted image of Brooke on the other side. I pry the door open and Brooke gives me a small, sympathetic smile. “Hi, there.”
“Hi.”
“I came up to make sure you’re doing alright,” she says. She snorts and shrugs, “ever the mom, I know.”
“I could be better,” I state bitterly.
“We thought you knew,” Brooke tells me. She comes closer and I move out of her way so she can enter the room. “I mean, when we heard this morning, the first thing I told Oscar was ‘you better run down to Julie’s room and tell her ASAP.’ But did he listen? God no. The man hates confrontation, unless it’s on camera. He’s like, ‘make her manager do it!’”
Brooke stops in the middle of my room, her hands on her curvy hips and nods at its approval. “Nice room, brighter than mine. But smaller…”
Great. Shafted in my contract and my room.
Brooke turns around to face me. “You’re going to be fine, Kiddo. If anyone should be worried it's Diana. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Jill can’t stand her. Apparently Jill suspects she's been the source of some nasty rumors going on about Jill’s company. Have you seen those?”
Reuniting Reality Page 5