by Brenna Ash
Sunny waved her hand in front of her. “Nope. It won't be. Not for me anyway.”
Marlene huffed. “Okay, you. We need to get you into bed. I'll stay here with you while you sleep all this off.”
“I don't want to go to sleep.”
“Doesn't matter. You're going to pass out soon enough anyway. Let's at least get you into bed before that happens.”
“I don't want to go to bed. It smells like Hayden.”
“Then you should like it.”
She bounced her head up and down. “I'll probably never wash my sheets again, but right now I don't want to sleep with his scent.”
She started to sob uncontrollably and plopped down on the couch. “I'm so stupid.”
Marlene unfolded the blanket from the back of the sofa and covered Sunny. “You're not. You were hurt. It's understandable. We just need to figure out how to fix it. And we will. After you've slept.”
Chapter 15
Hayden woke with a crink in his neck that he feared would take days to work itself out. He groaned. His head felt like it was being hit repeatedly with a sledgehammer and then drilled with an ice pick. He glanced around his empty dining room. He had no memory of falling asleep in here. Hayden thought back to earlier. Actually, he had more likely just passed out.
He stood up and his back screamed as he stretched. In the kitchen, Anna met him with a glass of water and two aspirin. “It won't take care of it all, but it'll help with some of it.” She smiled. “I'm sure you're hurting this morning.”
He squinted at her. “And why does that seem to make you happy?”
“You were an asshole last night. I'm glad you have a hangover this morning as payback.” She glanced at her phone before turning her attention to him. “Remember anything from last night?”
He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Not really. Anything I should?”
She shrugged. “Let's just say you really need to stay away from alcohol in the future, okay?”
He raised his glass in her direction. “Agreed. I'm going to hit the shower and then we can talk about what needs to be done.”
The water was gurgling in his stomach. If he kept it down he'd be amazed. He brushed out the taste of beer in his mouth as he let the water heat up in the shower. This was a not so pleasant reminder of why he'd given up booze years ago. Waking up every day with a queasy stomach and banging headache was not his idea of a good time, nor did the good time make up for it.
Last night, was a bust. It diluted some memories of Sunny, but not enough. He'd have to drink a hell of a lot more than what he did to escape those memories.
He was pissed at himself. Sunny betrayed him, in the worst way, and he should hate her. Want to take her down, give her a taste of her own medicine and the only thing he could think about was sinking himself into her warm folds again. Kissing her perfect mouth. Running his hands through her long locks. He was such a fool. A fool for still wanting her, and a fool for ever thinking she wanted him back.
He recalled the time he'd first bumped into her when he'd gone home. She didn't want anything to do with him then. She ran away in the opposite direction. He should've taken that as a sign to run, too. He was an idiot.
Hayden turned off the water and stepped out into the cool air of the bathroom, wrapping a towel from the warming rack around his hips. With his arm, he wiped the fog from the mirror. He was in need of a shave, but had no interest in the activity. He leaned on the sink, studying the image staring back at him. He knew the face, but didn't know the man anymore.
In the bedroom, he dropped to the floor and pounded out some push-ups, ignoring the resistance from his back and neck and his reeling stomach. After fifty, he rolled onto his back and did the same number of sit-ups. Finally, he grasped the pull-up bar he'd had installed in his room and finished with as many as he could do. He didn't count them out. Just kept using his body weight against him until his shoulders burned and his arms refused to lift him anymore.
If he'd been smart, he would've done that shit before his shower. He threw on his swimsuit and padded out to the balcony and down the step that led to the pool. He dove in, the coolness a shock after his workout and the heat of the shower. It felt good though. The dip in temperature working into his muscles and cooling them and him off. He swam the length of the pool a few times before flipping onto his back and floating along the surface, listening to the sounds around his house. Mostly just the chitter of the various birds. He was too far out to hear much traffic. The occasional echo of a car horn off in the far distance invaded the serenity. He could spend whole afternoons doing this if he could. But knew it wasn't an option.
Knowing he couldn't put Anna off any longer, Hayden emerged from the pool and headed toward his bedroom to get changed.
When he entered his office in faded jeans and a t-shirt, not only was Anna there, but Ellen had joined her. He smiled at them both, trying to lighten up the tension that hung thick in the room. He sat at his desk and waited expectantly for one of them to speak up. As he figured, Anna spoke first.
“We found out some interesting information overnight.”
“Yeah, does it have to do with me being innocent?”
“We already know you didn't do it, Hayden,” Ellen piped in, sitting with her legs properly crossed in one of the black leather chairs. Her green business suit was pressed to perfection, her salt and pepper hair straight as a pin.
“You do. I do. The general public? Not so much, and since I'm under fucking investigation, I'd say the cops don't know either.”
“We need to go meet with them later today.”
“Can't they just come here? It'd make it a lot easier.”
Anna clucked her tongue. “I'll try and see what I can do. Your lawyer will be here soon. She should have more of an idea on how to handle all the legal stuff than I would, obviously. She'll want to talk to you about everything before she even lets you talk to the cops, so you'll have to do that.”
As if on cue, his lawyer entered the office and with a curt nod to Anna and Ellen, stated she needed to talk to Hayden. Alone. The two women scrambled out of their seats and headed toward the door. His lawyer was intimidating. At nearly six-feet tall, Jacklyn Martin demanded respect with a glance of her steel-gray gaze. Even though they knew she was on their side, she still made them want to run away from her.
Jacklyn placed her briefcase on the coffee table in front of the sofa she occupied. “We need to get this under control as soon as possible. Before I come with a plan to counter-attack, I want to hear the story from you. And don't leave a thing out. I want it all. Every detail, no matter how minute you think it may be or how personal. If you don't tell me everything then I can't represent you to the best of my ability.”
Hayden nodded, showing his understanding, and went on to tell her everything that had transpired in the past month. There was no need to recount what had happened before Hayden had left for Pebble Harbor. Jacklyn was well aware of the life he led. She'd drawn up the non-disclosure agreement he and Anna had everyone sign.
She remained silent while he talked, and when he finished, she regarded him intently, then scribbled something in her legal pad before settling her gaze back on him.
“So, what do you think? Can you help me?”
Jacklyn tented her fingers as she glanced at him. “I can. Your PA mentioned earlier that some new evidence has come to light overnight. I'd like to bring her in so we can talk to her.”
Hayden nodded, reached for his phone and typed in a quick text to Anna asking her to join them. Ellen too.
Within seconds, a soft knock sounded on the door and Anna poked her head in. “All good?”
“Come in and take a seat,” his lawyer commanded. He was pretty sure she'd spent some time in the military. She was exact and to the point in a I'm not going to take any bullshit way. She waited until they were seated before continuing. “You said you have received more information that could shed light on this situatio
n?”
Anna blanched, refusing to meet Hayden's eye, and nodded.
The lawyer gave her a curt nod. “Go ahead, whenever you're ready.”
“I received a call from Hayden's friend, Drake.” Hayden swung his eyes in his PA's direction. This was the first time he'd heard that. He didn't even know Drake knew how to reach her.
“Go on.”
“He stated that they'd had someone working on where the post and picture had originated from, and from where it was uploaded.” She darted a quick glance to Hayden. He watched her intently. Muscles tensed. Not saying a word. “The post came from a California IP address. West Hollywood to be exact. There was no way Sunny could have posted the story.”
Hayden sat forward in his chair. “What do you mean?”
Anna blew out a breath. “She didn't do it, Hayden. It wasn't her. It was a woman named...hold on...” She whipped out her phone, punched in the code and brought up her email. “Charyn Bliss.”
Hayden's breath caught in his throat. He'd heard that name before. He tried to remember where. His heart sank when he remembered. “Sunny mentioned that name to me before, um, before our fight or whatever you want to call it. She asked me if I knew who she was.”
“Do you?” It was the lawyer asking.
He put his hands up in defense. “No, I'd never heard of the name before Sunny had asked.”
“Drake emailed me the details. He was able to get her address, phone number and email, along with her name of course. It's up to us to get the rest of the information on her. I'm working on workplace info and a picture now.”
“Has this information been turned over to the authorities?”
“Not yet. I was just getting ready to tell Hayden the update when you got here.”
Jacklyn nodded. “Forward me all the information you have. I'll take it from here.” She stood, placing her pen and pad in her briefcase before piercing Hayden with a steely gaze. “You stay put. No partying. No clubbing. You keep your ass in this house and don't make any waves with anybody.” When he didn't say anything, she asked, “You got it?”
He dipped his head in agreement.
“I'll speak to the detectives and we'll go talk to Ms. Bliss together. We should have this all cleared up shortly.”
“Thank you,” Hayden said sincerely, running his hands through his still-damp hair. Anna saw the lawyer out.
“You okay?” It was the first time Ellen had spoken since entering the room earlier.
He sighed, resignation overcoming him. “Not in the least.” He stood and paced the length of his office a few times, stopping in front of the windows. One full wall was covered with them. They overlooked the flower garden. It was one of the things that drew him to this house. He loved being in the city but not feeling like you were in it. He had plenty of land and could pretty much do what he wanted with it, but appreciated that it already had an existing garden. He'd practically bought it on the spot.
Anna had said that Sunny didn't put up the post of him and the underage girl. That relieved him, but it didn't get her off the hook completely. She was still the reason why he'd gone back home in the first place. The reason for those totally bullshit articles. He still couldn't swallow the betrayal he felt. She knew him. Really knew him. Hayden had no idea how the hell she could think he was all of those things she'd written. He'd burned her in the past, but people broke up all the time. And it wasn't like he saw it as a permanent separation. Granted, he probably should have told her that before he left, but if she'd read his damn emails, she would've understood.
Back together. He had to laugh at that one. They weren't together. She was using him. For what? Only Sunny could answer that. Financial gain? Revenge? He didn't think she was that petty, but obviously he didn't know her as well as he'd once thought. He was an idiot for falling into her trap in the first place.
***
“Well, he's got all the information now. Not much else you can do, sweetie.” Marlene gave her a hug. They were sitting on the couch in Sunny's house. She was glad that Hayden had the info on that Charyn chick, but he didn't have everything. He didn't know the whole story and why she'd started the blog in the first place and why she let it metamorphasize into the entity it became.
“I have to explain everything to him.”
“I'm pretty sure he's not going to take your call, Sunny. Drake said he's hurt and pissed. He feels like you've betrayed him.”
Sunny sniffled, wiping at the tears forming in her eyes. “I know that! That's why I need to make him understand.” She searched the living room. “Where's my laptop?”
Marlene eyed her cautiously. “I don't know what you're thinking, but let me try to talk you out of it anyway.”
She rolled her eyes at her friend and threw the blanket off her lap, heading toward the kitchen. The tile of the floor was cool on her bare feet, but she barely registered the change in temperature. She switched on the coffeepot and saw her laptop on the kitchen table. Linc must have left it there when he finished up late last night. She didn't remember him leaving.
By that time, the wine had more than taken over and no coherent thoughts were crossing her mind. But no matter how much she drank she couldn't erase the image of Hayden. She saw him hurting and wanted to fix it so badly. She just didn't know how. What was originally the most innocent of intentions had turned around to bite them both in the ass. And it was all her fault.
Coffee and laptop in hand, Sunny joined Marlene on the couch. She sat cross-legged and smiled grimly at her friend. “The one thing I know that he will see no matter what, or at least his PA will see it and bring it to his attention, is another post.”
“That's the last thing you need to do. Really, Sunny, think about it.”
“I have, and that's why I need to do it. This one will be different. It'll be me coming clean to all my followers. I'll give them my real name. No more hiding. And most importantly, I'll tell the truth about everything.” She opened her laptop and brought up her blog site, and then went into the dashboard and clicking on the 'new post' link.
Marlene watched her cautiously out of the corner of her eye. Sunny ignored her as she typed away. The words came easily. It felt like a burden was being lifted off her with each sentence she added. This would be the longest post she'd ever written for this blog. It would also be her last. She finished it up, proofread it and clicked publish. Then she went into the settings and hid all of the other posts so no one else could read them ever again. Sunny made the post she'd just put up static. Now whenever someone hit her site, they would only see this post and nothing else.
Sunny didn't realize she was crying until a tear hit her hand as she was closing the laptop. She didn't know if it would be enough to make him understand, but maybe he'd be willing to open a dialogue with her. She could hope. If he wouldn't take her calls, this was her only way of reaching him. She prayed it was enough, but didn't know. Wouldn't know unless she heard back from him. He was pissed. She got that. But she hoped that he'd give her the benefit of the doubt and let her explain. Sunny loved him. She had to make him see that.
She knew he loved her too. Neither of them wanted to admit it, but there was no denying it. She had to get that back.
“Are you okay?” Marlene asked with concern.
Sunny bobbed her head. “I will be.” She sniffed, blinking away the tears that refused to stop coming.
***
Hayden sat in his office staring at the ceiling. His phone was still blowing up, but he was ignoring it. If anyone had anything that absolutely needed to get to him, they could go through Anna and she could filter out what was important.
He'd never really noticed the ornate pattern that had been carved into the wood of the ceiling. It was interesting. He wondered why he'd never observed it before. Despite everything, Hayden chuckled. He didn't usually sit around here moping and staring at the damn thing. That would explain it.
A soft tap on the door distracted him from the c
arved artwork. “Yeah?”
“It's me.” Anna.
He sighed. “Come in.”
Anna slipped into the room, she'd traded her heels for comfortable ballet flats. “Are you hungry?”
“Not in the least.”
“Okay, well, I brought you a coffee anyway.”
“Thanks.” He accepted the Starbucks cup from her and sipped carefully. Perfect as always.
She cleared her throat, shifting her weight from foot to foot.
“What's the matter?” His heart sank. What else could go wrong? He'd had just about every possible thing hit him this week. He didn't know what else could go down.
“Nothing really. Um, Sunny put up another post.”
His whole body tightened. “What the hell? She hasn't done enough to me? She's got to kick me while I'm down? Jesus.” He scraped his hands roughly through his hair.
Anna tried to stay calm. “It's not like that, Hayden. She, um...”
“She what?” Anna was clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. He didn't understand why. He'd seen the way she handled the press in the past. She didn't shy away or back down from anything. This was a side to her he'd never seen before.
“She came clean.” He stared at her, waiting for her to continue. “About everything. You. Her. The posts. It's all out there for everyone to see.”
“Great. Just what I need right now. My dirty laundry posted for the masses.”
“No, not like that. Read it and you'll understand what I'm talking about.” She paused, locking eyes with him. “She really loves you, Hayden.”
He snorted. “She has a great way of showing it.”
Anna ignored him and continued on. “And you love her. Deny it all you want, but you and I both know you never stopped loving her. You going back only solidified it.”
He laughed. “And see how stupid that makes me?”