An inpatient waitress tried for the second time to give them a menu. Hailey waved her away. “We’re just having the appetizers, thank you.”
The waitress walked away, mumbling something about tight ass rich people. Hailey wished both of those things were true. Maybe she’d start doing squats. She liked another picture for Jasper of one of his starlet friends in the gym.
“Why do you keep looking at your phone?” Kaira asked.
“I run people’s accounts, Kaira, I was just checking them.”
“Why don’t you run mine?” she asked while taking a picture of her appetizer and posting it to Instagram.
“Because you do enough of a good job with it.” Hailey scrolled over and checked her message box. It was empty.
“That’s not why you’re checking your texts though.” Kaira winked at her and popped a pita square in her mouth, which she had dipped it in the smallest amount of hummus. Kaira wasn’t tiny like Autumn, but she was fit. Her tall frame had the right amount of weight on it making Hailey jealous of how flawless she was.
“How many squats do you do?” She tried to get her mind somewhere else.
“Ew, none.” Kaira said. “Don’t change the subject.”
“Fine, Jasper has a gig, and I’m just worried since I’m not there to witness it something will go wrong. You happy?” Hailey answered getting a lot of hummus on her pita square and taking a large bite.
“Yes, because it means I’m your favorite client.” Kaira beamed and patted Hailey’s arm before going back to her phone.
The rep finally showed up after another ten minutes and by this time Hailey was a nervous wreck. She shouldn’t have double booked, but she wouldn’t have dreamed the rep would be so late. Now she hoped Jasper made it to sound check and everything was going smooth. He, of course, didn’t answer his phone.
Kaira left the meeting still unsure of whether she wanted to do the candy ads. She thought it was strange their charity was weight loss camps for children.
“You don’t give candy to kids trying to lose weight,” she said thoughtfully still staring at her phone. She’d pulled up old ads from Guru Sugar with celebrities and was scanning through them so Hailey could see.
Hailey thought that was an excellent point. The celebrities were all holding lollipops or playing in a chocolate fountain. At the bottom, it said we care about obesity. It sent the wrong kind of message for sure.
“Shouldn’t it be we care about ending obesity?” Hailey asked.
“Exactly! I’ll give you a ride to the event because my driver can get you out at the front. You can Uber home,” Kaira said, and she moved back to texting.
“Okay, thanks,” Hailey was happy to accept the offer because even as Jasper Daily’s PR agent that wasn’t good enough to get to park up front. Since she was already late, she didn’t want to waste time walking.
In the back of Kaira’s limo, Hailey changed into a green dress with gold accents at the breast and on the straps and a pair of heels. The neckline was lower than Hailey liked, but it fit her well. The heels were gold and strappy to match the cute little clasps on her dress. It felt wrong, like she wasn’t herself. Choosing something a little revealing and fitted was a bold choice. The only saving grace was the little flair at the hip that made her feel like she wasn’t exposed.
She wanted to cover her body up and fought the urge to do so with her hands, but Kaira approved.
“You look hot, girl, you’ll steal that rock star right away from that reality freak.”
“Whoa, not what I’m trying to do,” Hailey said, putting her hands up. She was fighting a smile at the thought of what Kaira said. When she had been shopping for her dress, she had definitely been trying to impress. In the back of her mind, she didn’t think she wanted to steal Jasper from anyone but she wanted to make sure she caught his eye.
Kaira looked up from her phone, then right back down. “Yeah, whatever you say.”
The limo pulled up to the front of the event center’s door. All the paparazzi flashed their cameras, waiting to get an embarrassing picture of everyone attending. As soon as the limo stopped, everyone had turned their cameras toward Hailey and were trying to take pictures through the car window.
“Over here.”
“Look this way” they all started yelling over one another before Hailey even thought of getting out.
She took a deep breath, knowing the minute she went through the door, they were all going to lose interest; she was no one special.
“Wait,” Kaira said, stopping Hailey from opening the door. “Rule number one. A lady never opens her own door.”
The driver finally made his way all the way around the front of the car and pulled her door open. Hailey was not used to getting to an event after people have arrived, and she certainly wasn’t used to this much attention.
Hailey stepped out of the limo looking down at the ground to make sure she didn’t trip over the curb. She flipped her hair back as she looked up and started walking toward the entrance. The entire crowd was gawking at her and she tried not to meet the eyes of any of the people crowded around the outside. Along with the paparazzi, fan boys and girls were hanging outside of the venue hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous. The flash bulbs were not only blinding but distracting as they clicked off. A loud, constant sound like an annoying bug buzzing in her ear, only a lot louder and accompanied with shouting. The beginnings of a headache started beneath her temples.
“What’s your name?” someone from the back of the crowd yelled as everyone lifted their cameras and the flashing started up again.
Horrified she might fall, Hailey moved slowly and didn’t stop to answer any of their questions. She was finally able to take a deep breath when she made it through the giant glass doors of the event center.
“Oh my God, Hailey.”
A loud squeal caused her to jump. Autumn called from nearly the complete opposite side of the venue. She started running toward Hailey and it surprised her. She wasn’t stumbling in her heels either, and she wore an incredibly short gold dress, cut right below the cup of her ass. Autumn had a great body and loved to show it off, but for this type of event, the outfit was inappropriate.
“You look so great! Oh my God, where did you get that dress and don’t get me started on those shoes.” Autumn took one last step closer to Hailey and lost her balance. She smelled like vanilla and vodka. The scent of each was almost overpowering. She stumbled right into her and put an arm around her waist.
“Hahaha. You look really pretty. I’m glad you decided to wear something new.” Autumn slid her hand up and down the curve of Hailey’s hips. “I always told Jasper that I thought you had a nice curvy body, but you could never tell because of the frumpy clothes you’re always wearing.”
Hailey didn’t know if that was a compliment and decided not to respond. The fact that she said always told Jasper as if they’d been together forever, irked Hailey. She couldn’t help but wonder how many drinks Autumn had already. This was not the event for her to be trying to prove that she was a bad girl. Autumn had never been this nice or dare she say flirty with her. It was a strange feeling.
Jasper came out of nowhere and grabbed Autumn by her waist. He was able to hold Autumn up without bringing more attention to the situation. It was effortless to him. “Come on, the event is about to start in a little bit let’s make our way to our seats.”
Hailey could tell he really did care about her. She swallowed a small pang of jealousy that tightened her throat and ignored it. Jasper was her job; that was it.
They made their way to their assigned seats. “How many drinks has she had?” Hailey leaned in trying to whisper as much as she could.
“I have no clue I’ve been in the back this whole time. I think she might be acting out a little bit.” Jasper was being a lot nicer.
She wondered what had changed from earlier, and she saw it. A flask poked out of his pocket just slightly. So he had to be drunk to be nice to her. Ignoring it was the be
st thing for her to do.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well you remember the other night when we thought someone broke into my room and it was just her?”
“Yeah. She was drunk then too. She really can’t handle her liquor can she?” Hailey was not much of a drinker herself and had nothing against anyone that liked to drink. But there was nothing more annoying than a female that couldn’t handle her alcohol. She tried but failed to keep herself from glancing at the flask.
“Well when I got her to sit down I told her she doesn’t need to act out, and she is much better than she gives herself credit for. I told her she was a good girl.”
“Well, she doesn’t listen very well,” Hailey said under her breath.
Jasper shot her a look telling her to be nice. “Where have you been I thought you were going to be here for sound check?”
“I had a meeting that ran really late. I’m sorry I should’ve let you know. But I figured since no one called me screaming and your social media wasn’t blowing up, everything was ok.” Hailey wanted to yell at him, like you even care. It didn’t seem like it would make a difference.
“Yeah, everything was fine.” Jasper turned his attention to Autumn, stopping her from grabbing the glass of wine someone put in front of her.
“You were also a dick to me on the phone,” Hailey let that slip out. She was already over the fact that Autumn was purposely trying to make her job harder than it needed to be. But that didn’t stop the smart-ass remarks that popped in her head.
“I was tired,” Jasper answered a little too quickly.
Autumn let out a loud hiccup laugh.
Maybe she should start drinking, she thought. It might make dealing with everyone easier. Impulsively, she grabbed Jasper’s flask and watched his eyes widen. She put the cool metal to her lips and turned it back. Instantly, she regretted it. The liquor burned the back of her throat and her eyes watered. She fanned her face and coughed handing it back to him.
Autumn squealed with delight. “Drinking buddy!”
“No,” Hailey said when she could talk again. “Was just taking the edge off.” She’d heard that in a movie or television show and thought it sounded appropriate.
Autumn pouted and grabbed for the flask as Jasper took a drink. He had an unreadable expression on his face. Hailey really couldn’t understand what was going on in Autumn’s head. She had everything a girl could ask for. She was gorgeous, had her own money, and got to be around Jasper whenever she wanted. Why she wanted to mess that up baffled her.
The one swig of liquor made her tummy feel warm, and she was certain her cheeks were red.
Out of the corner of Hailey’s eye, she saw someone making their way toward them. It took her a minute to recognize who it was. Tara.
“Speaking of crazy,” Hailey muttered.
The host had started warming up the crowd so she hoped Tara would find her seat. She wore a tightly cinched dress with silver trim and a slit that went all the way up to her perfectly sculpted thigh. Hailey saw why Jasper was so attracted to her. Tara commanded attention with every step she took. Even with the revealing dress, she looked a hundred times classier than Autumn.
Autumn looked at Hailey and shook her head. “Jasper, I need some water I think.”
Jasper flagged down someone and Hailey hoped he wouldn’t see Tara. She knew that was what Autumn was hoping as well.
Hailey’s hopes were dashed when Tara came right over.
“Hello,” Tara said, as she placed her hands on her hips. She smiled at him in an almost predatory way.
Jasper turned white. He seemed almost scared of this tiny lacquered up creature. She’d never seen Jasper behave that way before but she completely understood. What he had been through with Tara had nearly ruined his entire life.
“Wha… Wha… What are you doing here?” He fought for the words to talk to her. He still had a scared look in his eyes.
Hailey watched him stutter and felt awful for him.
“Well you know me.” Tara flipped her hair over her shoulder and then gracefully placed her hand back on her hip. “Anything to help the planet. The organization’s event planner is someone I did a little play with and when he called, I just couldn’t say no.”
“Since when do you care about anything?” Autumn said under her breath as she grabbed Jasper’s hand. Amazing how quickly she sobered up the minute Tara approached them. Autumn rubbed on his arm and leaned against him.
“And you are?” Tara stared down her nose at Autumn who was only a couple inches shorter.
Autumn let out a little chuckle. “I’m his girlfriend.”
“Oh is that right?” Tara looked toward Jasper.
Luckily, Jasper was able to shake out of the spell he was under. He straightened up, cleared his throat, and wrapped his arm around Autumn’s hip, pulling her even closer, “Yes, Tara this is Autumn, my girlfriend.”
“Well then, I guess I should make my way to my seat before the event gets started.” Tara turned on her heels, not allowing anyone the chance to respond. There was something different in her tone, and the way she walked away, she was not happy about Jasper and Autumn.
Tara was not a stupid girl, and Hailey was sure she had seen the many pictures floating around social media of the couple. She was playing dumb to make Autumn uncomfortable. It truly showed how immature and manipulative she could be. Something about hearing Jasper claim Autumn as his really got under Tara’s skin. Hailey had to admit it was getting under hers too. It was going to be a long night.
Hailey made a mental note to keep an eye on Tara and Autumn. Autumn was still young and had a history of acting out when she was drinking. Now, with her feeling threatened by Tara, everything could get a lot worse.
The lights dimmed indicating the event was about to start and a spotlight shone on the stage. There was a beautiful all glass podium and a prominent late night host thanked everyone for coming. He started with some jokes and went into his pitch for the fundraiser. They’d already made a good amount of money for Greening up the Earth, and he was convinced they could make a lot more. The money was going to be used to put back into programs looking into cleaner ways to live and reducing everyone’s carbon footprint. Hailey tried not to let her eyes bug out when he said the minimum donation they’d received was ten thousand dollars.
“Let’s get this party started with the dance troupe from South America and we’ll follow up with Jasper and the Weeds! We have a ton of great performances tonight so sit tight. There’s a dance floor set up behind you and at seven o’clock this area will be transformed with tables for a delectable dinner.”
“Alright I’m going to round up the guys.” Jasper made his way back stage.
“Excuse me I need to freshen up.” Autumn said, as she stood and tested her balance.
“I’ll go with,” Hailey said. She looked around for Tara but didn’t see her. The music for the dance troupe started and Hailey saw brightly colored uniforms moving around the stage. It was beautiful. “Let’s hurry so we don’t miss this.”
There was a long line for the bathroom so Hailey turned around and watched the show. The dancers twirled and moved forming clever patterns with their long sashes and skirts.
She was the sixth one from the back of the line. Tara sauntered up and stood at the back. She froze as Tara’s face went from annoyance to scary joy; she saw Autumn. The starlet moved out of line and inched forward, cutting in front of Hailey and behind Autumn so she stood close enough to breathe on her neck.
“Hey what the hell?” The girl understandably screeched.
“I’m Tara Jackson, deal with it,” Tara snapped at her, and the girl looked shocked.
Autumn whipped around to get in her face. “You mean life-ruiner. Jasper almost lost his career because of you.”
Hailey moved forward hoping she could find some way to resolve the issue before they started to fight.
“I gave him the best time of his life. It’s evident in the pictures an
d the video.”
Hailey stopped short. Did she say video? Autumn had the same reaction. She looked like she’d been slapped in the face. Then she attacked back. Autumn pushed the full force of her tiny body into Tara, and they both went down to the cement. Hailey’s mouth hung open. She couldn’t believe they would risk their dresses. Thankfully, the horde of paparazzi weren’t allowed in, but every girl and guy in line for the bathroom and nearby had their phones out recording the action.
“I’m sending this straight to Jemma,” one girl said.
Great, Hailey thought. Jemma wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to put something this juicy up. She would be on it no matter how friendly she was with Jasper. Hailey made a mental note to call her anyway and try to do damage control.
Autumn was screaming some serious vulgarity when Tara managed to get her into a headlock, propping herself on one leg. She was flashing the world. Autumn punched Tara in the face and stunned her for a minute. She let go and Autumn scrambled to her feet ready for another go.
“Ladies, it’s not a great place to fight,” Hailey said. She actually raised her voice, but neither of them paid her any attention.
They took their tussle further back toward the bathroom. Each one had a large handful of hair and Hailey’s head hurt to watch them. She wished she’d taken another swig of the flask to handle what was happening.
“Jasper and the Weeds!” the host announced the band. They came out onto the stage waving and hyping up the crowd.
Tara gained the upper hand and sat on Autumn’s chest, trying to get her nails to scratch her cheeks. Autumn held both her hands back with fierce determination and neither heard the announcement.
“We’re going to miss Jasper’s set!” Hailey yelled at them not wanting to get in the middle. There were police inside the venue, Hailey knew, but she didn’t see even one nearby.
Autumn screeched as Tara’s nails finally reached her face and drew a thin line of blood.
It was getting violent and Autumn grabbed Tara and flipped her over where she was on top hitting her in the face with her own hands.
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