Chapter 5 Ashton
I looked at my watch one final time. I was giving her little ass another five minutes, and I was out. I had called and texted her with no response, and I was unsure if she stood me up or not.
Then again, it might have all been a setup.
Yeah, I had troubles in my marriage, and my wife and I were on the brink of divorce, but it seemed like matters had only gotten worse since Chanel entered the picture.
I was unable to protect Muffin, trusted no one, and now trouble with a capital T seemed to follow me everywhere.
I pulled my drink to my lips and downed it before setting it down hard on top of the napkin. Five minutes had passed when I scooted my chair out and stood just as she came running around the corner.
“I’m here, I’m here. I’m so sorry that I was late.
This isn’t like me,” she stated in a rush of words as she set her purse down on the table and took a seat.
Her almond-shaped, upturned, nut brown eyes pleaded with me to stay.
As bothered as I was by her being almost half an hour late, I couldn’t turn her away.
She looked harried, tired, and her luscious, plump, oval-shaped lips had a sheen of sweat above them. “You good? You need to try it some other time?” I asked.
She shook her head, grabbed the glass of water that had been requested for her, and took a long gulp. “I’m sorry. I just had a minor fender bender on the way over. The other driver and I exchanged information, nothing serious, and I was on my way.”
“You could’ve called or texted me that. I called you a few times with no answer.”
“Yeah, my phone died, and my charger stopped working on me, believe it or not.” I didn’t even think she realized that she did it sometimes, but everything about her persona was flirty. She lifted one of her arched eyebrows at me and batted those long, curly eyelashes.
I eyed her casually, not sure if she was running a line on me or not. Reporters often complained we had an air of entitlement, but the reverse was actually true. They behaved like we owed them access to our private lives.
Chanel usually wore her pearl platinum blonde hair in a pixie cut with a curly top and tapered on the sides, and sometimes she wore the top straight.
But today, she wore a wig the same color as her hair.
Only the wig was longer, cut into a bob that hung to her shoulder on the left side and curved under her chin on the right.
She tucked the longer side behind her ear as she smiled at me.
The cut of the wig brought attention to the sharp angular bone structure of her jaw and the rounded apples of her high cheekbones.
Chanel was a beautiful woman with regal, ethnic features.
Her amber skin tone glowed in the restaurant’s dim lighting with a light sheen of sweat but highlighted how flawless her skin was.
She removed her coat, and my jaw clenched as I realized something that I hadn’t realized before. Chanel was not only a beautiful and intelligent woman; she was sexy as hell. She wore a long-sleeved black bodysuit that accentuated her slim curves.
Every time I saw her, she was always dressed feminine, but professional, and paired every outfit with heels. Today was the first time I saw her in casual attire, and it looked good as hell on her. I wasn’t sure which I preferred most, her professional attire or this.
The bodysuit had a deep V-cut in the front exposing her cleavage and the curve of her full, round breasts. The opening stopped just above her navel, and I had the thought that her skin looked like a river of smooth chocolate being poured into a bowl.
I licked my lips at the thought of licking her and the sheen of sweat that also glistened between her breasts. I wondered why she was so hot when it was a cool day outside. That could have been because of her coat, the car accident, and her race to meet me here before I left.
I would be lying if I said I hadn’t been attracted to other women.
Zoe and I started dating when we were sixteen and married when we were twenty-three.
Of course, I had been attracted to other women, fucked around in my teens, and I even struggled to resist temptation through the years, but I never failed my wife.
The last four and a half years, Muffin had put me to the test and put some things on my mind, but even through our darkest storms, I remained loyal.
But since we were going through a divorce, temptation was always waiting around the corner.
It didn’t matter, though; I would remain loyal to her until the decree was issued.
“Well, you’re here now, so let’s not waste any more of my time. What’s your game plan, beautiful?”
She seemed to blush underneath my compliment, but she quickly gathered her composure and launched into her spiel.
“Ashton, you’ve always been portrayed as a faithful and loving husband, a team player who boosts team morale, a devoted son and brother, and a dedicated pillar of the community.
The story that I want to write will make that my primary focus, helping people remember who you are and why you’re seen as that person. ”
The waiter arrived and took our orders before we returned our attention to the conversation at hand.
“That’s not enough. People already know these things about me. When something new and juicy they’ve never heard of before pops up, they’re going to follow that trail.”
“Or we could create something like a red herring for the people.”
“What’s that?”
“A topic introduced to divert attention from the real issue at hand. If you become involved in a new volunteer opportunity that benefits the public, that would divert people’s attention.”
“Only for a little while. When the truth comes out, they’ll forget all about the good I’m doing because people would rather focus on scandal than goodwill.”
“It’s Christmas time, and people love a feel-good story at this time of the year.”
“But the story’s not coming out right now.”
“It’s not, but we can start promoting it now.
Build up anticipation so that when something does come out, they’ll be looking to hear your side of the story because you’re at the forefront of their minds.
They’ve been seeing you around the community doing excellent things for years, so they’re not going to want to side with the woman who did their golden boy wrong, no matter how she spins things.
They never saw her in the community or at charity events.
They only saw her on social media flaunting her beauty and spending your money. ”
“I don’t know,” I replied, feeling flustered. She was right about Muffin’s behaviors, but I didn’t want to focus on that.
“I’m thinking that if we can come up with something big and revolutionary, you could be the hero in people’s eyes, even when the truth about your marriage comes out. I know that it will work,” she declared excitedly as her eyes grew wide.
“What kind of ideas do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking about a neighborhood tool library and a community managed tech center in impoverished areas. Do you know how beneficial that can be for some of our lower income areas? And it doesn’t have to just be here in Cherokee Springs.
You can do it somewhere else, although doing it at home would be expected. ”
“I can get behind an idea like that and pour money into it. It aligns with the work we’re doing on our sports management company for athletes.
My whole goal is to make sure that people get the best shot to focus on their dreams and build networks and opportunities for advancement.
I can get with a few people, my family, and my best friend, Paxton. ”
My excitement was growing, and it had nothing to do with saving face or managing my brand image in the face of my divorce.
“The celebrity sports attorney?”
“Yeah. I think all of them will see the benefit in it too. But I definitely want to run this by my agent and get her feedback on it.”
“I would expect you to. But no matter what happens, people will side with you anyway, because she cheated on you and not the other way around.”
I knew that it was almost becoming impossible to keep this shit under wraps with Muffin. Now that she was comfortable being out in public with Alex, it was only a matter of time before everyone learned the truth.
Muffin wasn’t the only factor I had to worry about; the woman Alex was with when I went to his house was a concern too.
I had no idea if she was going to tell anyone or not.
Coach claimed she signed an NDA before becoming involved with Alex.
But I didn’t trust anyone that wasn’t in my inner circle, and now some of them were questionable.
“I know you’re trying to help me protect my brand image, but hear me when I say I don’t want anyone to know about the cheating, if possible. I mean that shit, and I’m not gonna say it again.”
“I have no plans on putting that out there, Ashton. You can trust my word. I respect you more than that.”
“Cool.”
“I just don’t know how long you can protect this with your wife behaving the way she is.”
“I’ll deal with Muffin. Just keep this shit between us.”
“I promise, Ashton. Your secret is safe with me.”
We finished talking about the tool library and tech center over dinner before I asked, “Do you want to order dessert?”
“That depends. Is it on me?” she asked with a teasing twinkle in her eyes.
“I should make you pay for the entire meal, since you wasted a brother’s time. Li’l late ass. But I won’t.”
“In that case, yes, I would love to order dessert.” She cheesed at me with her hands pressed together. She was so damn cute.
I waved the waiter over, and we placed our orders.
“Now tell me about you.”
“What is it that you want to know about me and why?”
“I want to know whatever there is to know, and because you’ve been digging all through my laundry.
My life wasn’t completely an open book, but not only did you open it, you pored through every word, questioned the validity of some scenes, and exchanged words and descriptions for ones from your own thesaurus.
I don’t know if I’m even reading the same book anymore. ”
She laughed and shook her head. “Quit that. I did not.”
“Maybe you did and maybe you didn’t. All I’m saying is that it doesn’t feel good to have your life placed underneath a microscope and scrutinized.”
She toyed with her napkin before she looked up at me with a soft, unguarded expression in her eyes. “No, it doesn’t,” she replied in a voice so quiet that I had to strain to hear her over the din of the restaurant.
“So you seem to know a lot about divorce. How about we start there? Or is it too soon?”
She sighed and sat up in her chair. She wore a forced smile, and her arms were crossed over her chest. “I could say that it is, but then again, will there ever be an appropriate time to rip off the bandage?”
“How long?”
“Two years. Sometimes it still feels like it was yesterday.”
“Did you file, or did he?”
“He filed.” Interesting. It made me wonder if we as men were giving up on our happily ever after and our “till death do we part” too soon.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. So am I. I mean, we had our share of problems, but they were manageable, you know? There was no infidelity, lying, or physical or mental abuse. In the end, we just couldn’t align what we wanted and accept the sacrifices that needed to be made to make us whole.”
Her voice wobbled just a little bit, and she reached for her glass of coconut water and sipped it. Clearing her throat, she smiled at me.
“How long had you two been together?”
“We had been together for seven years and married for six. I don’t regret the time that we had together. I just wished that we could have worked through the differences. You know?”
“Yeah. I understand that. Do you still love him?”
“No. That is an absolute.” She laughed as she shook her head, and her eyes met mine. “What about you? Did you do everything that you could to resolve the issues between you and Muffin?”
“I thought that I did. Short of giving up my career and staying home watching her twenty-four seven, I don’t know what else I could have done.”
“I read that you two had been together since high school.”
“We were.”
“Did she not realize what a commitment to a professional ball player would require?”
“We talked about it. She and my parents talked about it, especially her and my mother. My parents and her mother sat her down and talked about it in-depth. She was game.”
“Could it have been that she was more interested in the money and the fame of it all in the beginning and didn’t really understand the sacrifice?”
“Nah, Muffin used to be a good girl. She wasn’t all about material things.
She became about that long after I started spoiling her with shit.
I first noticed the change when she started appearing on Balla Wives.
But I don’t regret spoiling her, because I felt like she was worth it.
She stood by my side in the beginning because she loved me. ”
“And at what point did she stop . . . loving you, I mean?”
I stared deeply into Chanel’s eyes and pressed my lips together. “This conversation right now, is this for your article?”
She frowned, and then her eyes widened in understanding. “No. None of what we have discussed tonight is for the article.”
“Then why all the questions, li’l mama?”
She sighed. “Honestly?”
“Ain’t that what you’ve been asking of me?”
“Yeah. I could say that part of it is due to my inquisitive nature as a reporter, but that’s not it. I’m genuinely interested in you. As a person and as a man.”
I dropped my gaze as something warm spread through my chest, and a tightening occurred in my groin area.
After several seconds, Chanel reached across the table and touched my hand.
“Hey, I know that you’re still married, and I’m not trying to flirt with you or use my femininity to get more information out of you to use for later.
You asked for honesty, and I’m just being fully transparent. ”
I thought about what Amélie had stated about her using her feminine wiles. “You do realize that people accuse you of doing just what you said you’re not doing, don’t you?”
“I do. Which is why I wanted to reassure you that it isn’t happening.
I’ve got a bad rep. Partially earned, but not all of it.
I let people believe what they want to believe because I know what I have and have not said and done.
I know what’s in my heart and what’s genuine. My interest in you is genuine, Ashton.”
“Well, I’m honored, but . . . again, I’m still married.”