Chapter 14
HAILEY
With its never-ending traffic, and low-carb, low-everything obsession, Los Angeles could try your patience on the best of days. This wasn’t even a remotely good day. There was some kind of parade in Hollywood, which made the traffic on this side of the city even more nightmarish.
I’d been stuck in it for two hours to get to lunch with a client, only to find out said client ditched me because she didn’t want to brave the traffic. Did I mention I’d chosen a restaurant that only served low-carb meals especially for her?
Despite all that, I happened to be in a good mood, which wasn’t my usual MO. But I found a salad on the menu that didn’t taste half bad, and I had a delicious man who sent me naughty texts.
I’d sent him a picture of my lunch, lamenting the lack of dressing and the missing client.
Reid: I’m having a sandwich. But I’d much rather have you.
Hailey: Oh? Any special requests?
Reid: Naked and on my desk.
Wow. That was extremely specific. As if he’d given it a lot of thought.
Reid: Take some time for yourself :-) You work hard, baby.
And then he went and said sweet things like that. He’d been at it for the past two weeks.
Part of me had been convinced he’d bolt after the whole freak-out debacle.
He wouldn’t be the first. I couldn’t believe how caring he’d been, fussing about me the whole day.
The whole of last week, actually. He’d been so understanding about everything that I didn’t even get to feel too embarrassed about it.
His article came out last week, and since then, I’d been obsessively monitoring any mention of him, reading the comments section of the online version. There was a subtle change in the narrative people were spinning around him. Some were questioning Marion’s claims.
I went back to my salad, taking out my agenda and surveying my schedule for the day, making some notes for the client I was supposed to meet today.
A few minutes later, a familiar name caught my attention.
“We have your table ready, Ms. Carrington.”
I snapped my head up, glancing toward the entrance. Marion Carrington in the flesh. Just my luck.
She had no idea who I was, and I planned to keep it that way. Engaging an opposing party was never a good idea.
I couldn’t look away, though. She wore a long red dress hanging off one shoulder and one of those large-brimmed hats, and she was absolutely breathtaking.
When she took her hat off, her wavy blonde hair bounced around her, as if she knew exactly how much pep to put in her step to get that effect. She probably did.
She was even more beautiful in real life. It was hard to believe this angel-faced woman was such a bitch. I felt a wave of repulsion for everything she’d done: cheating, lying, but mostly, instilling in Reid the idea that his love wasn’t enough, that he wasn’t enough.
She stopped in her tracks in front of me, and for a second I wondered if my animosity had been written all over my face, but then I immediately realized what had caught her attention. The agenda I was holding had the name of my agency embossed on it.
“Are you their client or working there?” she asked without any sort of introduction.
“Hi. Have we met?”
“I asked a question.”
“I don’t make it a habit to answer strangers.”
“So you work there.” She plopped in the chair in front of me, waving the waiter away. “I heard my ex is a client of the agency.”
“We do not discuss our clients with outsiders.”
She smirked, crossing her fingers together over the table. “That’s okay, I don’t have anything to discuss. But if your agency knows what is good for them, they’ll drop him.”
“Now you’ve piqued my interest,” I said mockingly, leaning forward and mimicking her pose. She stared at me, dumbfounded, as if wondering why I wasn’t falling at her feet. “Why is that?”
“Because I’m gonna roast him good. Wouldn’t look good for the agency.”
“We have an excellent track record of helping our clients out of difficult situations. You’re underestimating our abilities. And completely overestimating yours.”
Her eyes flashed. “I read that article in LA Lifestyle. You think that’s going to do anything?”
Yes, I did, but I wasn’t about to share that with her. Several gossip outlets had since picked up the article, quoting parts of it. While he didn’t mention Marion’s name anywhere, the article did serve its purpose. People tend to think that a party admits its guilt when it stays silent.
“You think he’s going to look good after I’m done with him?”
“I think that you’re trying to intimidate me. It’s not working.” I looked her straight in the eyes.
“Well, that’s unfortunate for your agency, isn’t it? I have connections in this town. Connections he doesn’t have despite all his money because he’s never cared about people enough to actually interact with them.”
I wanted to throw in her face that she’d cheated—that she’d betrayed Reid deeply. I wanted to start a full-on fight, but I couldn’t do that. The second I revealed this was personal to me, I was at a disadvantage.
“Maybe he just chooses the people he lets in very carefully,” I bit back, immediately realizing I’d revealed too much.
“So, he’s your client. Then you probably know he has an iceberg instead of a heart. Cares more about those damn hotels than anything.”
“I don’t judge my clients. I just do my job.”
There, that sounded neutral, not like I was personally involved with him.
“Good luck. Being with that man was such a drag.”
“So why were you with him?”
“Hoped I’d convince him to back up an investment round in my upcoming TV show.”
Was she for real? I blinked, trying to keep my composure, when all I wanted was to lean over the table and slap her. I’d read rumors that she was in talks to develop a show similar to America’s Next Top Model, but this was…. She’d just used him? Who did that?
“By the way, if you use any of this against me, I’ll deny it. It will be your word against mine.”
“I know how to do my job.” I smirked. I couldn’t use this, no, but it did give me a better idea of the snake Marion was.
Reid had been too much of a gentleman—he’d skipped over some details.
My heart clenched. What if he still had feelings for her?
This thing between us was new, but I couldn’t bear the thought.
Despite her venom, I couldn’t deny she was absolutely stunning. She was tall and willowy, with skin so flawless, I wasn’t sure she wasn’t airbrushed. Was it her beauty that had blinded Reid?
“If I were you, I’d throw in the towel before this gets too messy.”
“That’s not my modus operandi.”
“Pity.”
“You’re interrupting my lunch, and I don’t really care about the point you’re trying to make. Feel free to remove yourself from my table,” I said dryly. If she stayed here any longer, I would lose my composure completely.
She jerked her head back, then waved at the waiter again, and when he approached, she said, “I’m ready to go to my table now.”
After Marion left, I stewed on her words for a few minutes.
I was pissed off. With her, for being in the class of people I despised most: the kind who didn’t care who they hurt as long as they got what they wanted.
And I was pissed off at myself too, because I was usually at the top of my game even when taken by surprise, but I hadn’t handled this well at all.
I’d revealed too much, been too aggressive.
So much for my plan not to antagonize her.