by T. N. King
She sent the text then turned her phone upside down. She kept her eyes on Megan’s, glancing at Kristina to be sure she didn’t see them. When she got a reply, she read it.
On my way.
“Megan,” Stella whispered.
“I’m fine.” She cleared her throat and forced her attention back to the show, trying to enjoy it as best as she could. Lorena gasped and took dozens of pictures of the models and the pieces they wore as Megan kept glancing out toward Kristina. She watched her lean into her friends and laugh. She sneered as Kristina tossed her long blond locks over her shoulder and reapply her bubblegum lip gloss.
The first half of the show wound down and a short break gave everyone the chance to fill up their champagne and stretch before the rest of the show commenced.
“I can’t take this,” Megan mumbled standing up.
“What are you doing?” Stella sprang up onto her feet.
“I am going to get some drinks for us. Anyone want anything else?”
“No, I’m good. Want me to come along?” Stella was hoping for a yes.
“That’s okay. I will only be a minute. Stay here and keep Lorena grounded. I do believe she might just float away.”
Stella looked at Lorena and then back toward Megan, but she was already gone. She seriously thought about going after her, but sat back down instead. She tried to locate Kristina, but she was missing too. “We have trouble.” Lorena looked at Stella.
“Hello, Kristina.” Megan’s voice was sharp and cold. Kristina turned around at the sound of her name. Her eyes glistened and her skin glowed. Megan was intimidated at first but quickly turned her intimidation into anger.
“Can I help you?” She put her hand up, supporting her elbow with her other arm and spreading her long pink fingernails out in front of her.
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
Kristina squinted her eyes, sizing her up then making a face. “You look a little familiar.” She turned away from her, taking a glass of wine from a passing waiter apparently not interested in who Megan was or what she had to say.
“I’m Jensen’s girlfriend.”
Kristina stopped and turned back around. A smile spread slowly on her face as she cocked her head. “Really.” She looked her up and down again, sipping her wine as she walked closer. “You’re the little tramp that holds his attention this week, huh?”
“No. I am his one and only girlfriend and I came over here to tell you that you had better back off.”
“Or… what?” Kristina got in her face, towering over her, her eyes boring down on her. “I suggest that you turn around and walk away before I dig my fingernails into that pretty little face of yours.”
“Hey guys!” Stella interrupted abruptly.
“Stella! Oh my God!” Kristina backed away from Megan and hugged her. Megan’s mouth dropped open. “What have you been doing? We have got to get together soon.”
“Stop it, Kristina.”
“What? What did I do?”
“Come on, Megan.” Stella extended her hand toward her. “Let’s get out of here before you….”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Megan crossed her arms and glared at Kristina. “I have something to say and I’m not going anywhere until she understands every word.”
Stella linked her arm in Megan’s and tried to coax her away but nothing she did or said worked.
“Don’t worry about her,” said Kristina linking her arm into Stella’s other arm. “Let’s get out of here. You want to come sit with us?”
Stella pushed Kristina away from her and narrowed her eyes. “Knock off the charade, Kristina.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You are as fake as they come. We stopped being friends a long time ago.”
Kristina laughed. “Oh, you. Always the jokester.” She glanced at her friends behind her. “Well, if you can’t pull away right now, come find me after the show,” she said as she started to walk away. She turned her head just in time to run into Lorena. “Watch where you are going,” she snapped.
“What’s going on here?” Lorena looked at Kristina then at Megan. “Megan? Why are you so angry?”
“This is Kristina,” said Stella, pointing in her direction. Lorena gasped and covered her mouth.
“You are Kristina?”
“I’m warning you,” said Megan, pushing Lorena out of the way. “Stay out of Jensen’s life and leave us alone. He obviously doesn’t want anything to do with you, so stop kidding yourself. Why don’t you make everyone’s life a whole lot better and move on?”
“Listen to me you little whore.” Kristina walked up to Megan and repeatedly poked her finger into her shoulder. “I know a lot of people both good and bad, and I have a lot of power to make them do things for me at my request.”
“Is that a threat?” Megan held her head high and tried to stand her ground.
“If you know what is good for you, you will pack up your little duffle bag and crawl back under the cardboard box you came from. My fiancée, Jensen and I don’t need something like you fucking things up for us.”
Megan’s opened her mouth in disgust at what Kristina had the nerve to say. Without thinking twice, she reached up and slapped Kristina’s face.
Kristina gasped and covered her face, stepping back and throwing her entire glass of wine at Megan, soaking her face and staining her dress.
“No!” Lorena ran to Megan and tried to wipe it off before it soaked in but it was too late. “My dress! What the hell is wrong with you? I spent hours on this dress!”
“To be honest, it looks better now.” Kristina laughed and thrust her hip out.
“What is wrong with you?” Lorena squealed. “Why do you have to be so vicious?”
“Sometimes you have to take what you want in this world, and I plan on taking back what I had, no matter what,” she spat, staring at Megan.
Megan doubled up her fists and felt her balled up anger build quickly. She pulled her fist back and just before she thrust it forward, Kristina fell backwards and landed on the carpet. Megan looked over as Stella was shaking her hand back and forth.
“My nose! I think you broke my nose!” Megan gasped at the sight of precious Kristina on the floor with her hand over her face, blood trickling down her mouth. “You bitch!”
Flashes went off all around them as paparazzi closed in at the action. Stella was smiling ear to ear, still shaking her hand.
“God, that felt good.”
“What the hell is going on?” They all spun around at the deep voice behind them and saw Jensen standing there with his arms crossed. Black stood to the side of him with no facial expression whatsoever. He looks at Megan’s stained dress, Kristina’s swollen nose as she got up from the floor and tried to put the scene together. He grabbed Megan’s arm then Stella’s arm and escorted them away from the scene. “If you want a way home, I suggest you follow,” he said to Lorena.
Kristina glanced at the paparazzi and straightened her dress out. “Thank you, Jensen,” she called out. “Take her out of here. I will see you at home, lover!” She smirked as the cameras continued to flash around her.
Just as she turned away, Megan screamed, getting loose from Jensen’s grip and running back toward Kristina. She jumped on her back, tripping her to the floor and grabbing her hair. “He’s not yours, bitch!” she screamed, pulling her head back by her hair. “Leave him alone you psycho!”
Kristina grabbed Megan’s arm, sinking her fake nails into her skin. Megan yelled and let her go. She was able to get turned around just in time for Megan to strike her face with her fist. Kristina squealed and grabbed Megan’s hair, pulling her to the floor on top of her. Jensen and Black rushed over and each of them grabbed a girl and pulled them apart.
They both squirmed and kicked, trying to get away to continue the fight but Jensen and Black held them back until they stopped struggling. Megan was seething with so much hate for Kristina that she had to turn away from her. She buried her face into Je
nsen’s chest as he started to walk her out.
“Oh.” He stopped and turned back around. “Kristina, I was going to wait and deliver these properly, but I suppose now is as good a time as any.” She smiled and smirked at Megan, straightening out her dress and smoothing her messed up hair. He reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. After he handed it to her, he didn’t wait for her to read it. He turned away from her and with Megan in his arms, they walked toward the front doors where Lorena and Stella were waiting.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kristina screamed from a distance. “You son-of-a-bitch! What the hell is this going to do? You can’t stay away from me Jensen! I will not back off! I will take you and your little whore down! Do you hear me?”
“What did you give her?” asked Megan.
“Her restraining order.” He kept walking, Kristina’s words fading away into the distance.
Chapter 13
Megan and Stella walked into the penthouse without saying a word. They both knew Jensen was furious at them for the scene that played out with Kristina. They sat on the couch with their heads down as he paced back and forth in front of them.
“What the hell were you thinking? What would even… possess you to start something with that woman knowing full well what she is capable of? Knowing full well how hard I have worked to keep her out of my life?”
“I didn’t ask her to be there. Why was she there? One fashion show out of how many and she sits right across from us?” asked Megan.
“She is a model!” he boomed. “Fashion shows are part of her career!” He walked away from them and shook his head. When he turned back around Megan looked into his eyes.
“Please don’t be angry with me. I didn’t want to….”
“To what? You didn’t want to let her laugh at you with her friends around? You didn’t want her to tease you? Because I’m pretty sure that was exactly what she did before you decided to pounce on her.”
“I didn’t….”
“As far as I can remember, there is no law against teasing someone. But there is for assault. You will be damned lucky if she doesn’t press charges against you, especially because it happened in front of the fucking paparazzi!”
“But, I didn’t….”
“If this hits… I’m sorry. When this hits the papers, it could ruin her career. If you think Kristina was a bitch before, you wait until she comes after us with this one. I don’t have the energy to battle a law suit against her.”
“Jensen,” Stella interrupted.
“What?” he spat.
“In Megan’s defense, she didn’t have any intentions on touching Kristina.”
“Then what the hell happened? Why did she?”
“Megan confronted her to tell her to leave you alone and she went off on Megan, not the other way around. She was poking Megan and prodding her in the shoulder.”
“And that gives her the invitation to thump her to the ground and beat her up like a bully? I don’t buy it.”
“I’m not a vindictive person,” Megan said. “You should know that. She’s the bully.”
“Not in front of the press she isn’t.”
Stella leaned over and pulled the straps of Megan’s dress off her shoulder. There were visible blood marks where Kristina’s fingernail pierced Megan’s skin just below her shoulder and collar bone and blue spots where she was beginning to bruise. They both looked at him for a verdict and watched as his face relaxed a bit.
“Kristina started pushing first,” Stella concluded.
“Okay,” he nodded. “Okay. We can work with this. If a law suit does surface over this, we have some pull. I can get a call into my lawyers and get them working on it so if Kristina does press charges, we have a case already built. Maybe she’ll back off.”
“I Have to go,” Stella stood up and hugged Megan. “You okay?”
“Of course.”
She looked at Jensen, taking his hands. “You know Megan isn’t capable of starting something like this, don’t you? Her heart is too big and her demeanor is much too sweet.”
“I know. But what I saw when I got there, it looked as though Megan got the best of her.”
“Let’s just say she had some good back up.” Stella looked at Megan and smiled.
“You?” Jensen’s eyes narrowed.
She looked at her hand and nodded. “I might have broken her nose with that first punch.”
“You might want to get that looked at.”
“Don’t worry about me, big brother. Just take care of her.” She hugged him. “I will talk to you soon. Thank Black for me for bringing my car back.”
“I will. Drive safe.” He waited until Stella was gone before moving from where he stood. When he heard the door close he walked to the couch and sat next to Megan. “Are you sure you are okay?”
“Yes.” She lowered her gaze to her hands in her lap. “I’m… sorry, Jensen. I didn’t want anything like that to happen. She was just so….”
He leaned in and kissed her, but she quickly pulled back, touching her lips. When he leaned her head back, he saw a small cut on her lower lip that puffed out.
“You aren’t okay.”
“Jensen, it’s just a small cut.” She stood up and looked down at the dress she still had on, the dark red stain on the delicate material, the smell of wine still wafting up from the fabric. “I am going to take a shower.” She didn’t look at him again, just walked away and disappeared into the bathroom.
She came back out about twenty minutes later in a pair of spandex shorts and one of his clean dress shirts, her hair still wrapped in a towel. She met Jensen at the table, his first aid kit opened in front of him. He picked up some salve and lightly ran his finger over the gooey substance. He lifted her chin to get a better look at her lip and lightly touched it with his fingertip, spreading the salve along her lip. His eyes watched hers as he repeated the motion over and over again. Megan’s breath caught as she felt his hands cupping her face and his fingers stroking her cheek. She pulled away from him, trying to keep her composure.
“I think I will be fine. Thank you.”
“Your cheek is bruising.” He tried to pull her back to him but she moved away.
“It’s okay.”
“Megan. Let me take care of you.” She heard the pleading in his voice but she couldn’t bring herself to let him fuss over her.
“It doesn’t hurt much.” She smiled, glancing at him. She saw the hurt in his eyes. “I think I caught her elbow when I pummeled her to the floor.”
“She didn’t catch your elbow. I saw that right hook you threw. I have to say, not too shabby for a girl,” he teased.
“Thanks.”
“Where did you learn to throw a punch like that?”
“I took a self-defense class when I left my adopted family.”
“Impressive.” He pulled her back toward him. “I am proud of you for defending yourself.”
“Even when you didn’t think I was the one doing the defending?”
“I don’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all. Physically or legally. I don’t trust her.”
“Well, that makes two of us.” She slid her arms around him and melted into him. “Thank you for stepping in when you did.” She leaned back and looked at him. “How did you know enough to step in anyway?”
“I got a text from the same person who threw that first punch in your honour.”
“Stella. I should have known.”
“She cares about you.”
“She is amazing.”
Megan looked over at the dress she left on the floor by the bathroom. “I have to call Lorena.”
“Is everything okay?”
“She was really upset when Kristina ruined her dress.”
Jensen got up and left Megan alone to make her phone call. When Megan tried to call, it went to Lorena’s voice mail. “Hey. I just wanted to check in on you. I know things didn’t go very well for you tonight. I wanted to say I’m truly sorry. Call me
.”
Just after she hung up, her phone rang right back.
“Lorena, hey. I want to apologize….”
“Don’t be! Oh my God, Megan I just got the best news!”
“You did? What about?”
“I kind of wanted to tell you in person.”
“Oh,” she looked back at Jensen. “I planned on staying….”
“They loved my dresses!” she squealed.
“What? But how?”
“I took a portfolio of my stuff and got to meet some of the designers. When I showed them my work, they loved me!”
“Lorena, that’s great!”
“They want me to talk to them about signing up for an internship with their company.”
“Wow, I am so happy for you.”
“Well, I haven’t accepted yet.”
“Why? What are you waiting for?”
“It’s… in Paris.”
“Paris? For how long?”
“I don’t know the details yet. I have to go see them tomorrow.”
“Well, you know you have to do this.”
“But what about you? You’ll have to live by yourself for the time that I am gone.”
“I’ll figure something out. I always do.”
“Let’s meet for lunch tomorrow. I’ll know everything then.”
“You got it.” Megan lost her smile when she hung up her phone and set it on the coffee table. She was happy for Lorena, but she felt like her own life was falling apart. When Megan joined Jensen in the kitchen, he knew right away something was bothering her.
“Is she pretty upset?”
Megan shook her head. “No, she is actually very happy.”
“What happened?”
“They noticed her work and they want her to work in Paris with them.”
“So why the worry?”
“Just some things I have to work out in my head.”
“Maybe I can help.”
“It’s nothing I can’t figure out.”
“Megan. Talk to me.” He was so persistent when he wanted something.
“Lorena will be working on this internship in Paris for an extended period of time, which leaves me without a roommate.”