*DAMN IT, ALI. ANSWER YOUR PHONE. I NEED TO TALK TO YOU. *
Swiveling side to side in my chair, I debate what to do. I can’t ignore him all day and I know if I don’t acknowledge him, he’ll keep calling and texting. He may think I’m playing games, and that’s anything but what I’m doing. I decide to call and hear him out.
“Ali, I’m glad you called,” he blurts out the minute he answers.
“You should have a chance to say your piece,” I say with little emotion.
“I want you to know she means nothing to me.” Oh, god. I know what’s he’s going to say next.
“It’s good to know that when you sleep with somebody they mean nothing to you,” I spit the words at him. “I’m glad you cleared that up, so we can go our separate ways with a clear conscience.”
“Is that what you think?”
“You just alluded to it Bryce. I’m only repeating it.”
“You think we slept together?”
“Didn’t you?” I hope he can hear the bitterness in my voice.
“It’s not what you think and no, we didn’t. Do you think so little of me to do that?” His tone is stern and I hear the hurt through his anger.
“You two have history and . . .” he cuts me off
“We’re over. We’ve been over. I don’t know how many ways I can tell you this. We didn’t sleep together last night.” He’s frustrated with me and right now, I can’t blame him. “She mentioned you’re the photographer for a story your magazine’s doing on her and charities she supports. You hadn’t said anything and I didn’t want her telling you she saw me and making up something that never happened.”
“Why would she request for me to be her photographer?”
“She knows I’m seeing you. How, I don’t know,”
The only way is if she’s having him followed. Stalker doesn’t even begin to describe her. What’s her game? What does she have planned? Is she having me followed also? That would explain those feelings of being watched.
“I’m worried about you being alone with her when I’m not there. I don’t think she would personally harm you, but she does play head games. I told her again to stay out of my life.”
“How many times will you have to tell her before she gets it? Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.” I haven’t told him I practice martial arts.
“I’m all for taking the high road in certain situations, but she’s become so unpredictable.”
“I’ve mentioned it before, but have you thought about a restraining order? I mean, if you’re worried and think she’s unstable?” I ask.
“It’s not necessary, not right now.” It’s not my place to push this issue, so I don’t.
“I won’t be by myself. She’ll be treated like any other client. Besides, you’re not the only one who can kick ass and take names.” That makes me smile a little, and I hope him as well. I continue, “Thank you for explaining. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”
“When I heard the hurt in your voice . . .” He trails off. “I don’t want to hurt you.” His sincerity comes through loud and clear.
I feel awful for not trusting him. “I know I should have given you the benefit of the doubt, but I didn’t. Be patient with me? I’m trying.”
“I know this is all new to you, and I’m a patient man. Remember, I don’t want her. I want you.” His tone sounds more of a command.
“I will.”
“Thank you for not shutting the door on us,” he says.
I want to feel his mouth on mine, and I close my eyes, willing it to happen. “Bryce . . .” I quietly say his name, not meaning to say it out loud.
“I can’t wait to see you,” he whispers.
His words put my mind at ease. “I can’t wait for that either.” I notice the time. “I need to go. I have work to do.”
“Okay, baby. Call me when you’ve finished.” He sounds anxious. I can tell it’s killing him not being here to manage the situation himself.
I’m smiling like a fool as I hang up. Now that I know the truth, I’m ready for Mara.
She’s rich and crazy. Not a good combo.
#
House after house showcases the lush, manicured ‘not a blade of grass out of place,’ lawns. Tree branches, trimmed to perfection, sway in the light breeze, while the varied picturesque architecture of Pacific Heights makes for a majestic backdrop. Mara’s house is no exception. Too bad her personality can’t be as beautiful.
I ring Mara’s doorbell several times with no response, so I call Jodi. “Hi Jodi. Trina and I’ve been here for fifteen minutes but Ms. Sharp isn’t answering.”
“Oh, you have to go to the door attendant in the lobby. He’ll take you up.”
Now I’m perplexed. “What? Take us up where? Her house doesn’t have a lobby or a door man,”
“Oh, I’m sorry Ali. I thought I sent the new location to Trina. Ms. Sharp’s representative called yesterday with a location change. It’s now at Mr. Steede’s penthouse.”
I take a huge, deep breath trying to keep my feelings in check. I count to ten before speaking. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work and my words seep out through gritted teeth like lava boiling into the sea from a volcano. “I see. Okay. So.” I pause, “that’s where we’ll go.”
“For some reason, it doesn’t seem like this photo shoot is meant to be,” Jodi says in an exasperated voice.
Shit. You can say that again. Mara is becoming a festering thorn in my side – no, make that my heart. We’re late, so I’m driving like a mad woman, with Trina holding on to the grab bar and the dash. I’m lucky to get a parking spot directly across the street. I tell Trina I need to make a quick call, so she waits outside the car.
“Bryce Steede.”
“Don’t you have my number programmed into your phone so you know it’s me?”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t expecting your call so soon. Have you finished already?”
“Nope. We went to her house but she wasn’t there.”
“Did she cancel?”
“Not exactly. She changed the location of the shoot.”
“Are you on your way there?”
“We’re here now, waiting outside. The new location is your penthouse. I wanted to call you before I go up.”
There’s dead silence on the other end.
“Don’t go up there. Wait where you are. I’ll call you back.” He hangs up without another word.
Trina opens the car door. “We need to wait here for a few minutes, why don’t you get in.” I tell her, not taking my eyes off the front of the building.
A few minutes pass, then Charles’s SUV screeches around the corner, disappearing into the garage. Time is moving like molasses. My brain is working overtime, and the suspense is killing me.
“Wait here,” I say to Trina.
If Jodi taught me anything, it’s to stay professional at all times, even when you want to scream and rip your hair out. This is my job and I wouldn’t know how to explain to Trina or Jodi why I left. I know I should stay far away from Mara. She’s cornered the market on ‘crazy.’ I’m beginning to wonder if being with Bryce is worth dealing with all this drama Mara brings.
I walk purposefully to the door attendant and announce myself. “I’m Alixandra Quinn, photographer with The Bridge. I have an appointment in the penthouse.” Not missing a beat, I show him my credentials.
He reaches toward the phone at the exact moment the elevator pings. Out comes Mara, followed by Charles. Her eyes burn into mine with pure hate, like she’s trying to crush my existence. As she begins to walk past me, she raises her hand toward my face. I react like lightning, moving away from her assault. She cries out as I grab her arm and twist it behind her back.
“Get your hands off of me. I’ll sue you for everything you own,” she yells, and I release my grip.
“Sue me? I was defending myself from your assault. I don’t know what your problem is, but if you ever a
pproach me again like that, it won’t be your arm that’ll be hurt. Do I make myself clear?” I’m using forceful words to try to take control of the situation.
Her arm comes at me again, this time with a knotted fist. She’s underestimated me, which is her first mistake. I move out of her line of fire, blocking her second attempt to make contact. She loses her balance and falls to the floor. Charles helps her up, pulling her toward the door. She glares at me over her shoulder as she stumbles after him. Charles looked shocked that I deflected her attempt to hit me. The attendant is still standing there, phone in hand, mouth open.
“I won’t need to go to the penthouse today after all,” I tell him. “Thank you.” I take deep breaths to calm myself as I leave.
As I lower myself into my car, I tell Trina the shoot has been put off indefinitely. She looks at me with questioning eyes, but I pretend not to notice. Bryce calls, but I don’t want to talk to him in front of Trina, so I let it go to voice mail.
Jodi comes storming into my office, slamming the door behind her. “What in the hell happened out there? I just got off the phone with Ms. Sharp’s attorney and they are talking about suing you and us. They claim you hit her?”
“What?” I screech. “That’s not what happened at all. There are witnesses to what really happened.”
“Why would she say you hit her? Why wasn’t Trina with you?” Did she not hear what I said?
“I didn’t hit her. Jodi, I can’t get into this now.”
“The hell you can’t. When an attorney calls and threatens a lawsuit, you better get into it.” She’s livid.
Now I have to confess what I’ve wanted to keep private. “It’s a mess. What’s going on is a big, huge mess,” I say as I rub my temples.
“I don’t think ‘mess’ is the word I would use to describe this situation,” she snaps at me.
I let out a heavy sigh. Here goes nothing. “Bryce and I are seeing each other.”
Her mouth drops to the floor as she falls backward into the chair opposite me. “What? When? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s only been a few weeks, and I wanted to keep it to myself until I knew if it was going somewhere.”
“Where does Mara fit into all of this?”
“As you know, she’s one of the many girls he’s dated over the past year or two. According to him, she’s bat-shit crazy and won’t leave him alone. After what happened, I have to agree with him.”
“Stalker,” she interjects.
“Exactly. He’s told her repeatedly he doesn’t want to be with her. She keeps showing up to events he’s attending. She even showed up to his function last night in L.A.”
“So that’s why she cancelled yesterday.”
“Apparently so. When you told me the location was changed to Bryce’s penthouse, I called him and he told me not to go over, but I was already there. Anyway, Mara was being escorted out of the building when she walked over and tried to hit me. I defended myself. That’s all that happened.”
“How does she know about you two? It’s not like there’s been anything in the news. I would have known myself if there had been.”
“I think she’s having him followed, but I’m not sure. It’s the only logical explanation.” For once in her life, Jodi’s speechless. “So, you see,” I continue, “it's a mess.”
“I would say so. Ali, she’s rich. Extremely rich, and she’s going to use her Daddy’s money to drag us through the court system. We don’t have the influence or the funds to prevent it or to fight back.”
“I’m sorry, Jodi. I didn’t know getting involved with Bryce was going to cause all this trouble.”
“What are you apologizing for? It’s not your fault he has a crazy stalker who won’t leave him alone.” She smiles at me, “I’m sorry your first relationship in forever is a mess.” If only she knew.
“I’ll speak to Bryce. Maybe he can talk her out of suing us.” The thought of that talk leaves a bad taste in my mouth. She may back down, but at what cost to him?
“Thanks. Be warned: people like her don’t go away. You need to watch your back.”
Today’s events brought past emotions to surface. It’s been years since I’ve had to worry about a threat. “I will. I’ve got my back covered, but right now I’m more worried about the magazine.”
“Let’s wait until you talk to Bryce before we worry too much. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off.”
Instead of going home, I grab my camera, deciding to walk around downtown to clear my head before I call Bryce. I love wondering around the city, getting lost in a sea of people, not worrying about crazy stalkers or doctors or nightmares. It’s clear and warm, a perfect day for ice cream. I select my favorite, find a bench, get lost in thought and watch the world go by.
My phone vibrates a text from Bryce. Make that five texts, eight missed calls and three voice mails, all from him. Shit. Ready or not, it’s time to talk to him about today’s events.
“Ali, are you okay? I’ve been trying to reach you. Where have you been? Charles confirmed Mara was at my penthouse and you were there in the lobby. I told him I didn’t want to hear about it until I talked with you first.”
“Yes, I’m okay. When I got back to the office, I had a shit storm to deal with.”
“Shit storm?” he chuckles.
“Yes, and the shit storm thunderhead is a big turd named Mara,” I say with no emotion, but he finds it humorous.
“I’m sorry you’re caught up in this,” he says in a serious tone.
“Have you heard from her?” I want to know.
“She’s called several times, but I haven’t taken her calls. What happened?”
“Jodi heard from her. Well, not her, but from her attorney. Mara’s threatening to sue the magazine. And me.”
He’s shocked. “Sue the magazine? Sue you? For what?”
“Assault.”
“What do you mean, assault?” He’s astounded.
“I saw Charles drive into the garage, and after a while, there wasn’t any activity, so I went into the lobby. While I was talking to the door attendant, Mara came out of the elevator escorted by Charles. She walked up and tried to slap me.”
“Did she hit you?” He sounds mortified.
“No, I moved out of the way.”
“Okay, so where is the assault charge coming from?”
“When she came at me, I grabbed her arm and twisted it up behind her back, but I let go when she screamed. She tried again with her fist. When I dodged her swing, she fell to the ground.”
I don’t hear anything. Is he mad? Then I hear laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“It sounds like kung fu fighting. I would love to have seen that.”
I deflect by saying, “Charles looked shocked.” Bryce laughs again. “I’m glad I can still entertain you,” I say, thinking of the magazine incident before the flight from New York.
“That you do. I like when you make me laugh. I’m glad you’re not hurt. I’d never forgive myself if you were. Don’t worry about the lawsuit. I’ll take care of Mara.” Abruptly, he adds, “I have to go. There’s an important meeting I’ll miss if I don’t leave now.”
“Okay. Call me later?”
“You can count on it.”
After we hang up, I think about my reaction to Mara. That was the first time I’ve ever had to use any of my skills on a person I wasn’t training with. It’s nice to know I didn’t falter in a time of crisis. I’ve been sitting here, lost in thought, while the Earth’s been spinning me out of the sun’s warm light and into the shade of the surrounding buildings. Looking at my phone, I see I’ve been here an hour and a half.
Today’s events continue to roil around in my mind, distracting me. I couldn’t even say how I got home until I notice I’m in my driveway.
I freeze mid-step, my mouth falls open and I let out a moan. There before me, a Greek God stands in my yard, hands in the pockets of h
is navy blue pants, a bright white dress shirt, his head slightly tilted, looking directly at me. My heart leaps into my throat and some force sweeps over me. I drop my bag and run to him top speed. He catches me as I jump into his arms, almost knocking us both to the ground. He holds me firm against his chest, my legs wrap tight around his waist.
“Bryce,” I squeal like a teenager. “But how? When we last spoke, you had an important meeting.”
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