by Maya Hughes
“Yes, she has and she will. She’s fine with all of it. You just show up, take a couple of pictures, have the auction and it will all be over. The headlines about Jess won’t run and there will be nothing to worry about.”
“What headlines about Jess?”
“I’ll send you a screenshot. One sec. These are what Kate’s team are trying to get published.”
Aedan got the message and pulled up the picture that included about ten headlines. Each one of them completely eviscerated Jess. They brought up her weight, called her a gold-digger, and all sorts of other horrible things.
“James, they can’t publish these. What the hell is wrong with Kate and her people?” Aedan growled.
“I know. We wouldn’t want to send Jess back to America in tears.”
“I don’t need your fucking snark, James. You can find another job if you’re not going to fix the things I need you to fix.”
“I’m sorry, it was my poor attempt at a joke,” James groused on the other end of the phone. “Do this event and I’ll make sure these disappear.”
“I really do despise this woman.”
“I know you do. Just this one more night and it’s all settled.”
“OK, if that’s it, I can handle sitting next to her for one night. I can’t wait for it to all be over.”
“I’ll send over the details about the event and let you know which suit to wear.”
“Fine. Speak to you tomorrow,” Aedan ended the call before James could respond, as Jess walked into the bedroom.
“So, what’s the news?” she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.
“I have to do a charity event tomorrow with Kate.” Jess’s eyes perked up at that and stared into his.
“Why?” she asked cautiously.
“It will be our final appearance together as friends and we will be photographed together and James will release a statement that we broke up before I went to the US and that Kate and I are friends. That the tabloids got it all wrong. No hard feelings and everything is fine.” Aedan said. He left out the information James gave him about the headlines bashing Jess. She didn’t need that right now and didn’t need to know, especially if they were never going to see the light of day.
“You think that will work?” She asked skeptically.
“At this point, it’s the best plan I have.”
“What a mess,” Jess said as she leaned back on the bed.
“Tell me about it,” Aedan said as he slid onto the bed next to her. “Do you want to come to the charity event tomorrow?” he asked as he propped his head up on his arm.
“No, thank you.” Jess sputtered. “This circus is already big enough without throwing me into the mix. Plus, I don’t have anything to wear. I’m perfectly happy hanging at home and doing some reading.”
Aedan’s heart skilled a beat as he heard Jess refer to his place as home. It appears he had finally started to win her over. Maybe he could persuade her to stay.
31
The charity dinner was no different than hundreds of others he’d done, but this time Aedan wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. The fact that Kate tried to turn their former relationship around on him and use it to her advantage by destroying something he was building with Jess really pissed him off. He went along with James’s recommendation about just going there and doing this to get Kate off his back and wrap things up nicely. He knew that the announcement for whatever TV show she wanted to be on would come out tomorrow morning.
James had reassured him that there wouldn’t be any press attending the event other than the official photographers, and the pictures released would all be subject to approval. The charity obviously didn’t want to send out anything untoward or piss off anyone donating to the event. Aedan trusted they would keep to that promise.
The plan was simple. Aedan and Kate would be photographed at the event, explain that they were attending as friends and there were no hard feelings at all about their completely amicable breakup. Feeling like a complete moron for even going anywhere near her in the first place, Aedan was more than happy to never see her after this again.
Tomorrow would be a clean slate for Aedan and Jess, without any of the baggage of Kate and the tabloids. James showed him a draft of the story that was meant to run and it painted everyone in the best light possible—even Kate—and Aedan hoped it would get the press to back off the blood in the water they seemed to smell lately. Aedan wanted to make sure that all loose ends were tied up so he wouldn’t have to worry about those headlines coming out about Jess. She was still so skittish and apprehensive that Aedan didn’t want it to ruin things.
Jess was leaving in less than a week. Their time together had already been tainted by so much crap, stress, and unwanted attention that he needed these last few days to go smoothly, so that maybe he could convince her to continue what they had when she returned to the States. Maybe she would even think about moving to the UK.
He knew her company had an office in London. He’d even checked their website to see if they took on similar projects to what Jess was working on, and they did. He was getting ahead of himself, but that was what he wanted, what he needed, when it came to Jess. No one made him laugh like she did, or appreciate just how bad someone could be at cooking like she did. Aedan needed her in his life and he hoped she felt the same way.
Aedan stood by his designated table exchanging handshakes with several of the other attendees. He posed for pictures with many of them, smiling, shaking hands—all the standard shots. As the announcement was made that the event was about to officially start, Aedan looked toward the entrance, Kate was supposed to be here by now.
With minutes to spare, Kate came breezing into the room. Anyone else would look at her and see an impeccable beauty with the perfectly crafted exterior. Her flowing blue gown would have most men on their knees crawling over to her, but to Aedan she had lost her allure. With her practiced poses, she always ready for a camera to take her picture even when there wasn’t one there. The fact that he’d once found himself so attracted to her made his stomach knot with embarrassment. After the MC took the stage, she finally felt so inclined to come over the table, as she realized that the focus would no longer be on her.
She stood behind her chair waiting for one of the waiters to pull it out for her. The waiter didn’t disappoint, but she let out a huff that Aedan hadn’t rushed to do it himself. He turned slightly toward her, “Kate.”
“Aedan. So, glad you could come this evening."
“It’s for a great charity and you didn’t exactly give me much of a choice with all the denials you and your people have been trying to push in the papers,” Aedan said his fists clenching and unclenching.
“Let’s not talk business yet.”
A photographer stopped by their table and had them pose for a few shots together. Aedan made sure to keep his hands firmly in front of himself when taking pictures with Kate. He did however put his arm around her for a group photo with the other attendees at their table. Kate made sure to get extra close for that one. After the photographer left, Aedan turned to Kate.
“Now we need to talk Kate; that’s why we are here, right?” Aedan worked to keep his voice down and not draw attention to them. The round table had six other people seated with them, but Aedan managed to keep his voice to a whisper.
“Aedan, we’re here because you decided that you were going to break up with me and hook up with some American while you were away. I told you that I needed to get this WaGs gig to raise my profile.”
“Kate, you told me that after I already broke up with you.” A round of applause broke out amongst the crowd and Aedan began clapping. As it died down, he went back to his conversation with Kate. “You had no issue with the break up when I sent you the text. You didn’t even seem to care at all. Why the hell are you dragging this out now?” Kate actually had the decency to blush a little at the barb.
“You never cared about me Kate, so tell me why?”
Sh
e let out another huff. “They only want me if I’m Aedan O’Connell’s girlfriend.” At that admission, Aedan snapped up straight.
“But you’re not.”
“They don’t have to know that. We can just carry on as we have been and you can have your little American on the side. Just show up on camera a few times this season; that will actually help build the drama.” Aedan stared at her, completely flabbergasted. At a loss for words, it took him a few moments to actually form sentences.
After another round of applause, a second speaker came up to the microphone and started the auction portion of the event. Aedan was auctioning off a two versus two with him and Deano and the lucky winner. He kept his ears out for the call for him to step up onto the stage.
“Have you lost your mind?” he snapped.
“What? It will be fine. She’s going back to America anyway soon, right?” Kate said taking a sip of her wine.
“How the hell do you know that?” Aedan whisper-shouted. Kate clammed up at that question, picking up her glass and taking a sip from it.
“All I’m saying is that this can work out for the benefit of both of us.” Kate put her hand under the table and began rubbing Aedan’s thigh leaning into him, pressing her breasts against his shoulder. He jumped at her touch and carefully grabbed her hand and firmly placed it on the table.
“And our next item up for bid is a truly extraordinary item. A two versus two match and lunch with Aedan O’Connell and Dean Stevenson. The lucky winner will get to play with the two of them for one hour before enjoying a delicious lunch in a club box and watch an upcoming match. Aedan, why don’t you come up here to help inspire some bidding.” The announcer was holding up the gavel and already encouraging bids from the event attendees.
Aedan put on a tight smile, and stood up, dropping his napkin on the seat. He glared at Kate before he made his way up to the stage. The crowd clapped as Aedan weaved in and out of the tables up to the front of the room. The bidding for the silent auction began at £1,000. Paddles were quickly raised as the attendees vied for the chance for the prize Aedan was offering.
He tried his best to keep his face pleasant and not shoot daggers at Kate from across the room. Finally, the bidding tapered off between two sets of older ladies. It was up to £20,000 now. £25,000, did we have £25,000 and yes, the final bid of the gavel fell and Aedan knew that even though this evening was turning into a disaster, at least he’d helped raise £25,000 for childhood cancer research.
The winners, two lovely older ladies, rushed up on the stage and caught him between them in what was a decidedly uncomfortable hug. And he swore both of them copped a feel. He took a couple of pictures and assured them that the organizers would contact them with information about the dates for the match. After he finally extricated himself from the clutches of two unbelievably strong septuagenarians, Aedan made his way to the steps of the stage down to the tables.
Exiting the stage, Aedan saw Kate get up from the table to head to the doors of the ballroom. Aedan picked up his pace as he rushed to follow her. He wasn’t going to let her get out of there before he settled things. Pushing through the doors she exited, Aedan saw a falling flash of blue in front of his eyes and before he could react he grabbed for it. As he caught her, she threw her arms around his shoulders and brought her lips to his.
Aedan swore he heard a shutter sound and promptly let Kate go, let her hit her ass on the floor and looked around the ballroom lobby. There was no one else there but the two of them.
“What the hell was that?” Picking herself up off the ground, Kate brushed off her bum and glared at him.
“What the hell were you doing? Kate, I didn’t come here to play games. You will fix what you have done. You will come clean and you will ensure that none of this ugliness falls into my lap again. You have twenty-four hours or I will spill everything, including text messages, to the tabloids. Do you understand?"
With the ultimatum given, Aedan left a fuming Kate standing in the lobby area of the event. He pulled out his phone and called Steven to let him know he was leaving now and to bring the car around. He hoped he’d done the right thing with the ultimatum and that it didn’t blow up in his face.
32
It was almost midnight when Aedan came back from his charity dinner looking the picture of deliciousness. Jess had seen him before he left, but the slightly mussed version of the debonair look he had going on was even more enticing. His hair was tousled and he’d undone his bow tie, which hung around his neck.
Jess was curled up on the couch reading over some work emails. She knew she shouldn’t, but was feeling a lot better knowing that things weren’t burning down without her there. A little unsettlingly, things seemed to be humming along and her boss responded with a prompt ‘stop reading your emails’ when she sent a comment back on a report that had been sent to her. Reading up on some news and chatting with Sam and Meg had taken up the rest of her time until Aedan returned. When he walked in, she closed the laptop and scooted over on the couch to give Aedan some space.
He plopped down next to Jess and gave her a side hug. Jess spied a lipstick mark on his white collar and her heart dropped. Not wanting to jump to conclusions she mustered up the courage to ask about it, “Anything interesting happen at the event tonight?” she said taking a deep breath and holding it while she waited for his response.
Aedan looked over at her, “I was accosted by about two old ladies who were vying for a charity football match for me and their grandkids.”
“Really?” Jess squeaked out.
“They won the two spots for me to play a two versus two with me and Deano and their grandkids. I thought they were going to tackle me onto the stage when they finally got the winning bids. Those ladies should consider playing rugby. My face looked like some sort of impressionist artwork when they were done with me.” Jess huffed out a laugh, feeling slightly better.
“And with Kate?” Aedan stiffened a bit at that question, got up from the couch and walked over to the bar.
“Kate is a different story. She’s apparently under contract as my girlfriend specifically.”
“What?” Jess gasped, “What do you mean?”
“I mean, she’s signed the contract as a WaG, so if she’s not a wife or a girlfriend, then she’s not on the show and even worse, she’s signed it specifically as my girlfriend.”
“But she’s not.”
“I know that, you know that, even she knows that, but it’s not in her best interest to make that known. I told her that this was it, that she wasn’t going to be able to do this to me or to us, but she was determined that she will make things difficult if I take this away from her.”
“You’re not taking anything from her. How can she do this?”
“That’s the business. I’m still trying to sort this out.”
“So, she just told you that and that was it? Why were you back so late?”
“I had to stay for the auction and photos. Photos with Kate.”
“With Kate? Why would you take pictures with Kate?”
“I’m trying to make it seem as though things are still amicable with her.”
“Aedan, why would you do that? People are going to think you’re still together. Just tell everyone the truth. Just tell them about us and how she’s trying to blackmail you. Why won’t you do that?”
“Jess it’s not that simple. People can get hurt. There are some other things you don’t know about.”
“Things that I don’t know about? So, tell me.” Jess pleaded. Explain it to me; just tell me what is going on.”
“I can’t, Jess,” Aedan warned. I can’t right now.”
“Aedan, tell me what is going on!”
“Jess, you just have to trust me on this and I’ll explain it all later,” he pleaded.
“I think that’s the problem, I don’t trust you.” Saddened by the turn the night had taken, she could feel tears prickling her eyes. “I can’t trust you if you won’t talk to me.”
&nbs
p; Jess stood, expecting Aedan would tell her what was going on. Instead, he stood there staring at her, imploring her to trust him. But she couldn’t. He was hiding things from her and if she was flying blind, she would rather be doing it on her own terms. After a few seconds of the stalemate, Jess left the living room and went into the bedroom. He followed her and sat watching her as she worked quickly. She grabbed her suitcase from the closet and started packing.
“Jess, what are you doing? Where are you going?”
Jess made sure she had everything she needed before zipping it closed.
“I’m going to a hotel Aedan. I’m not going to play games with you. You don’t want to tell me what’s going on, that’s fine. I don’t want to be here then. I’m going to a hotel. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Jess wheeled the bag out into the living room and spotted her purse and phone on the table. She grabbed the phone and threw it into her bag. Hefting it onto her shoulder, she turned to him.
“I need you to understand why I need one hundred percent honesty from you Aedan. I can deal with all of the attention and tabloids and craziness if I know where we stand and that we are a team. I might not like it, it might make me sad, but I can deal if I know we’re doing this together.”
“We are,” Aedan interrupted.
“We’re not. If you’re not telling me things, then we’re not,” Jess lamented.
“Jess, there are some things that I just can’t explain right now. I—,”
“Then we’re not a team right now, I’ll talk to you later Aedan.” Jess said as she walked to the elevator door.
“Which hotel are you going to?”
“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out. I’ll talk to you later.” Jess pushed the elevator button and the doors opened.
“Jess,” Aedan called after her as she stepped into the elevator.
“Aedan, I need some time away from you right now. And I think you need some time away from me to think about what you want us to be.” The doors closed slowly as Jess refused to look at his dejected face. Jess knew that if Aedan continued to keep things from her that they would never work. Jess steeled herself and tried to figure out the best place for her to stay tonight.