by Lacey Legend
The Jenna he’d met as his cleaner seemed to be disappearing in front of his eyes. It was as though all the qualities he’d found so attractive in her were waning. Rather than enjoying the romance and history of Portland, she spent a good part of the weekend planning the following weekend in New York. She was selecting the most exclusive clubs, best restaurants and was debating on what sized suitcase she should bring to Spencer’s flat for the weekend.
When she wasn’t raving about the two of them partying hard in New York, she relentlessly checked in on her cell phone and appeared to be reading constant texts, rather than interacting directly with Spencer. Spencer knew for a fact that Zada was being taken care of, Liana was staying with friends, and her mother was delighting in having a weekend free of incessant girl trouble. Although he’d advised her to keep her phone on lest her family need to get in touch, he hadn’t expected her to be attached to the device all weekend.
The first night together was close to perfect, but by Saturday morning, it was like an alien had taken over Jenna’s body. Nervous and twitchy, her hand was glued to her phone. She began pestering Spencer as to whether they would be leaving the Sunday night or the Monday morning.
Almost every restaurant he escorted her to she refused to eat or chose nothing more than a starter. Listless, she had no desire to explore the city. When he tried broaching the subject as to her extreme change in mood and behavior, she nearly snapped his head off, assuring him nothing was wrong and she was having a perfectly wonderful time.
At least one of us is, thought Spencer.
The lovemaking ceased after the first night. He noticed Jenna chose to wear pajamas in bed and turned her back to him. His attempt to wrap a comforting arm round her waist resulted in it being flung off and a huge divide forming between the two bodies. Her unwillingness to budge an inch and meet him halfway to discuss the personality transplant was greeted with aggression and denial.
He’d spent so much time guessing what might be bothering her, that she ended up accusing him of behaving like a bored, interfering old house wife. Spencer was at a loss as to what could be the cause. Last week in Paris, he’d treated Jenna to a new wardrobe and the best tourist attractions Paris had to offer. This weekend he’d opted for something comfortable and casual, so instead of feeling the need to impress each other, they would feel able to be themselves without pretentions. It was turning out to be a very revealing weekend.
Jenna had been warm and open and blunt in her views and opinions. He’d loved her independence and focus. Staring at her in the car driving them home from the airport, she sat with her hands folded across her chest and her head bowed low to prevent her making eye contact with him. Reluctantly Spencer acknowledged he’d made the right decision by cutting the weekend short. She was impossible.
They exchanged no words on the drive from the airport to Jenna’s home. Flummoxed, Spencer still remembered his manners and thanked Jenna for spending the weekend with him. That she made no mention of meeting up and causing chaos in New York the following week, as she’d boasted when drunk, was a huge relief to the billionaire.
The driver, Graham, assisted Jenna with her luggage and saw her to her door.
“Get me home please, Graham,” moaned Spencer. “I’ve just experienced the most disappointing dirty weekend of my life. The only thing to get dirty was my shoes when I walked along a muddy path on a garden.”
The sound of the chauffeur snorting loudly, cheered Graham up.
“I swear I’ve been conned, because the girl I took away for the weekend was not the same one that went to Paris with me.”
“An evil twin perhaps,” suggested Graham boldly.
“It’s a possibility. I don’t think I’m going to risk it a third time to find out for certain. Is it any wonder my motto is ’one night for fun, anymore then show them the door’. There were parts of the weekend that were truly excruciating. At one restaurant, I ordered a three-course meal and she chose a side salad as a main. You can imagine how scintillating the conversation was that night.”
“Sir, are you vocalizing your thoughts aloud or sharing your weekend woes with me?”
“Graham, I’ve no intention of boring you to tears but I do need to vent. See me as a rambling mad man or a disgruntled employer – though not with your services. Perhaps I’m nothing more than a moaning rich boy. You aren’t obliged to listen or offer advice, but feel free to speak your mind. I’d love your insight.”
“Does she have an eating disorder?” inquired Graham.
“No. There were no rushed visits to the toilet throughout the meal.”
“Mentally disturbed?”
“I didn’t see any medications in her purse.”
“Perhaps she forgot to pack them and that accounts for the unusual behavior.”
“She wasn’t crazy or having psychotic episodes. She completely retreated into herself. It shocked me. When we first met, I liked her openness and uninhibitedness when discussing an array of topics. This time she was sullen, withdrawn and did nothing but nod and agree with everything I said. It was like taking a walking doll on vacation. Her eyes glazed over. She seemed bored with me.”
“Best dump her then, Mr. Lawson.”
“Graham!”
“Wrong kind of advice, sir?”
“No, just unexpected.”
They carried on driving in silence.
“But what if the real Jenna is lying dormant in there? Perhaps someone’s repressing the girl I fell for and that’s why she’s been AWOL this weekend.”
“Sounds a bit like something out of a science fiction novel, sir.”
“It does and that makes me the hero, thus I can’t dump just yet - as you so crudely put it.”
“Sorry, sir,” apologized Graham.
“But I am going to have to find whether the old Jenna is actually contactable or if she’s disappeared for good and where and why she’s gone.”
Graham kept his eyes steady on the road. Part of him was amused by Spencer’s boyish enthusiasm to solve the dilemma of Jenna’s split personality, but another part of him wondered if Spencer was taking it a little too seriously. Spencer had a lot of connections and discovering someone’s background was not difficult for him.
Having worked for Spencer for seven years, he had a degree of paternal affection for his employer. He wondered if Spencer would consider a warning to steer clear of activities that were a little excessive and underhanded if he genuinely wanted this relationship to work.
“If I may say, sir.”
“I told you to speak freely, Graham.”
“Rather than embroil yourself in a world of spies and intrigue, perhaps it may be best to discuss this face-to-face with your lady friend.”
“Graham, the most we talked over the weekend was when we were in the restaurants and giving our orders to the waitresses. I’m not sure the direct, normal approach is viable.”
“All the same, sir. Give it a degree of consideration before planning your strategy to solve the mystery of the two-faced woman.”
*
Liana and Hannah were able to extract about as much information from Jenna upon her early arrival home, as Spencer had been over the weekend. Giving each woman a kiss, Jenna murmured “good night” and removed herself to the bedroom she shared with her mother.
Her head was pounding. The headache was excruciating and no amount of aspirins would ease the pain. A cool breeze ran through the room and Jenna felt able to relax. Jenna badly wanted the vibration in her pocket to be a communication from Spencer. Habitually, she reached for the cell phone in her jeans. Not that she deserved it after her behavior that weekend, but because she wanted to hear from him, wanted the opportunity to explain.
“Nice 2 c ur home alone. Keep it that way.”
She scrolled through the thread on her phone of texts from Leon. Jenna had refused to engage in communication with him and thus not responded to his many messages, but that hadn’t stopped him bombarding her all weekend.
The first text arrived within minutes of her climbing in the Hummer with Spencer on Friday afternoon outside the NYU campus.
“If u go with him ull be sorry. Ur ruining things 4 us when we r meant 2 b.”
She’d turned her phone off to cut Leon’s method of communications with her. Unfortunately, her mother and sister were keen to get in touch and having contacted Spencer, he advised her to keep her phone on for the entire weekend, given the close-knit family may need to stay in regular contact.
Spencer initially thought the texts were sweet. What he didn’t know was that the texts weren’t from her mother or sister. They were all from Leon. The regularity and continuity of them eventually appeared to annoy Spencer.
“I was ur 1st and Ill be ur last. If he touches u again im going 2 have 2 make sure something happens so he wont ever want to touch u again.”
That Leon had eyes on her in Portland to report to him if she’d slept with Spencer had Jenna paranoid and anxious. Concerned for Spencer’s well-being, Jenna felt the only way to keep him safe was to shut down and not interact with him. She was sullen, disinterested, refused to participate in anything he suggested and answered all questions in monosyllabic remarks. She was relieved to find it was Monday tomorrow. Leon was due to start his new job. Surely, all the silliness would cease when he was actively occupying his time. Her fingers itched to dial Spencer and apologize for her appalling behavior. She’d been the guest from hell. She wouldn’t even blame him if he never saw her again, that is, if he never spoke to her again. Jenna was starting to realize she’d spent all her time being critical of Spencer’s abundance of wealth and shallow lifestyle choices, that she hadn’t stop to consider her own decisions in life and the impact they had on her nearest and dearest.
Since when did it become acceptable to apply her unaccredited social work skills to an ex-boyfriend? It wasn’t only unprofessional on her part, but if Leon hadn’t meant anything to her or if she knew she hadn’t been doing anything wrong, Spencer would’ve been the first person she’d have told about Leon’s insistence in reentering her life.
The fact that she refused to confide in Spencer suggested there was a degree of loyalty to Leon that Jenna knew was not warranted and therefore, she’d be unable to defend her feelings toward Leon if pushed on the matter.
Her best friend Kelly had warned her that no man in the early stages of dating would be thrilled to know their new partner had an ongoing relationship of sorts with an ex-partner, husband, or wife. Jenna didn’t need to be told this. It was why she’d deliberately avoided discussing the situation with anyone. For the most part, Jenna considered herself to be a decent person, but regarding her actions of late, she was beginning to question it.
With no desire to enjoy the company of her mother and sister, let alone discuss her private life for some guidance, Jenna remained hiding in her bedroom. Given how spectacularly badly the weekend had gone, Jenna wasn’t sure whether the kindest thing she could do was to call Spencer with an excuse of being ill and not feeling herself or deliver the news straight that she wasn’t right for Spencer as she didn’t match her ideals or share her vision.
Walking down the apartment block to the grassy playground, she sat on a worn swing. As she pushed the swing higher, she started to feel her head clear. When she’d discovered the photos of Spencer in a magazine, rather than rant and rave at him, she’d approached him as calmly as possible for an explanation.
She’d set precedence in their relationship by behaving like an adult over a prickly topic. There was no doubt in her mind that she owed Spencer an apology and an explanation, but that didn’t necessarily mean things had to degenerate into a hateful argument.
It was early, but having been his cleaner for some time, Jenna knew Spencer’s schedule.
Grimacing, she dialed his cell phone.
“Spencer Lawson, how can I help?”
“It’s me – Jenna!”
“Hi Jenna,” his voice was so polite and formal it frightened her.
“I was wondering if we might talk about the weekend.”
“I’m not sure there’s much to discuss, is there? You didn’t appear to want to speak to me all on the weekend.”
“I’m sure that’s how it appeared, but that wasn’t actually the case.”
“And let me guess, you want to spend next weekend with me in New York so we can talk over everything then.”
That hurt. Jenna knew her insecurities that Spencer was hiding her from the New York socialite scene was bugging her, but partying with him in public was not top on the list of her priorities.
“I don’t think this talk should wait to the weekend.”
“Where can I take you then?” Spencer sounded bored. Worse than that, he sounded indifferent. As if she was an obligation he had to tend to.
“I thought maybe I could take you out.”
That made Spencer sit up straighter at his desk. He couldn’t ever recall a woman asking to take him out. “What do you want to take me out for?”
“Because you deserve it for putting up with my outrageous behavior over the weekend. Because I’d like the opportunity to apologize and,” she paused, “there’s a few things happening in my life you may benefit from knowing.”
“I don’t know, Jenna. It’s a well-intentioned proposition and please don’t think I’m not appreciative of it, but you and I seem to be a lot of hard work together. I wonder if maybe we’re trying to force it. I’m not sure a relationship this early on should require this enormous amount of effort.”
The biting reality of his words had Jenna wanting to bawl on the spot.
“Of course. I forget your thirty-two and I’m twenty-one. You told me a while ago you weren’t into girls and preferred women. I haven’t behaved particularly maturely of late. Please accept my apology for the way I acted on the weekend. Portland was wonderful and so are you.”
Spencer wanted to harden his heart. Jenna was only twenty-one. When he was that age, he didn’t get it right every time. The difference was, when Spencer was that age he ran away from his problems. He didn’t bother facing them. He locked himself in his bedroom with his computer and went to work on the many projects that would one day make him a billionaire.
“Jenna. Out of respect for you having the common decency to ring me, I’d be happy to accept your offer to take me out. I believe there are certain things in life that should be done face-to-face and not over the phone.”
“Thank you, Spencer.”
Seeing Spencer’s ability to reassess his initial reaction to her, Jenna was keen to suggest they meet immediately. Fortunately, the filter on her brain prevented her from blurting out the words. If she wanted to demonstrate to Spencer she was mature and could be an adult, then she needed to show him she appreciated his working schedule a social life.
“When would be convenient in your schedule to meet up?”
Spencer could’ve cleared his schedule in a second, but feeling sorry for a young woman and wanting to pursue a relationship with her were two very different things. If he made it too soon he might be giving Jenna false hope. Leaving it a few days should communicate that the meeting was one of common courtesy, not romance.
“How are your classes on Wednesday? I could do lunch or predinner drinks before I go out if that suits.”
Hearing Spencer already had plans for Wednesday night (plans she wasn’t privy to) hurt her. Again, Jenna obsessed as to when the plan was made. Did he arrange them after dropping her off last night or had they been in place for some time? The thought of having drinks with Spencer and then watch him leave to meet up with another woman made Jenna physically ill.
“Wednesday lunch would be fine,” stammered Jenna.
“Where should I meet you?”
“There are some decent eateries near the campus if that’s not too far out of your way. We can walk from there till we find somewhere that tantalizes your taste buds.”
“Are there a lot of salad bars around there?” asked Spencer drily.<
br />
Jenna actually laughed, Spencer could almost hear the golden light that was Jenna.
“I’m sure there are, but I won’t lie. I’m might hungry after the weekend so I’m dying for some real meat. Honestly, I practically cleared the fridge out when I got home on Sunday.”
The easiness of her voice had Spencer on the verge of falling into easy ways and asking her straight out what happened over the weekend that made her incommunicable.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” he said shrewdly.
“So 12 pm on Wednesday?” confirmed Jenna, keen to finish the call on a positive note.
“12 pm on Wednesday. I’ll call you later so you can let me know exactly where we can meet.”
*
Jenna spent the most part of Monday with a spring in her step. The phone conversation with Spencer wasn’t ideal, but it hadn’t been catastrophic, either. The lack of gloom and doom in his voice encouraged Jenna that it wasn’t quite the time to throw in the towel in this relationship.
Jenna was back to babysitting Zada on the weeknights and though she already missed Spencer’s company, both physically or over the phone, it was nice to return to a modicum of routine in her life. What thrilled her most was that there weren’t any contact from Leon whatsoever. Perhaps now he had a job, he’d seen sense.
It wasn’t until Tuesday morning that Jenna’s world would collapse around her. Packing her bag for school, she was on the verge of leaving when Liana called and told her there was a letter addressed to her in the mail. Jenna could see straight away that the envelope was from the NYU admissions department. Confused, she dropped her bag and tore open the letter on the spot. Liana observed her sister closely as she read the letter. It was as if Jenna read through it two or three times before she was finally able to comprehend its contents.
“What’s up?” asked Liana, seeing the color drain from her sister’s face.
Jenna collapsed on the couch. “There’s a problems with my fees.”