Stupid, beautiful, wonderful, magical lips. When will we meet again?
I must be ill.
Feeling my head for a fever and confirming the lack thereof, I started getting ready for work. Keri was already gone, so I knew I’d be dealing with a barrage of questions from her later. The thought made me laugh out loud.
Once I’d dressed in faded blue jeans with a sand-colored sweater and matching ankle platform boots, I pulled my hair back into a messy bun. Gold clutch in hand, I headed out of my building, completely oblivious to my surroundings as I walked absentmindedly toward my designated parking space. The sound of clicking and questions being shouted at me almost made me drop my purse as my eyes shot up and looked straight into multiple camera lenses.
I was not prepared to be met with the paparazzi. Walker had sent me a text that the parking lot was clear when he left last night, but they must have come back early this morning. So I was caught off guard as men carrying cameras closed in all around me, shouting questions.
“Madison, are you dating Walker?”
“Did he spend the night?”
“Is he still in there?”
“Are you pregnant?”
What? I stopped walking and turned to the gaggle of sleazy men. “Are you kidding? Jesus. I’m not pregnant and I need to get to work. Please move so I don’t run you over.”
Hopping into my car, I put it in reverse and backed out slowly, the cameras pressing against my car windows, the sound of clicks
echoing all around me before they pulled back and disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.
Glancing into my rearview mirror, I noticed the line of cars that followed me. They already knew where I worked, and it wasn’t like they could get into the building. Why they continued to follow me, I had no idea.
Maybe they think I’m going to see Walker?
I weaved carefully through traffic, my motions deliberate and slow, hoping the paps would catch on that I was actually headed to work and leave me alone. It wasn’t until I made the last left turn onto Wilshire Boulevard and clicked on my turn signal that they sped off, obviously content knowing my destination.
The elevator mirror revealed the stress from the morning’s activities as I noticed pieces of my updo falling all around my face. Instead of fixing it, I decided to leave it alone, my hair the least of my worries. I passed Jayson’s office on the way to my desk, the familiar red light flashing at me mercilessly. The sight now brought an awkward smile to my face.
“Madison, come in here, please.” Jayson’s voice pleasantly boomed from behind his office wall. At least he sounded happy.
Holding my breath, I walked into his brightly lit office.
“Come sit. Here.” He pushed an unopened bottle of water my way as I warily sat down. “So, how was your date with Walker? Did you two have a nice time?”
Jayson was suddenly attentive, his tone agreeable and overly sweet, which caused my stomach to churn at its fakeness. I almost asked him to stop, the disgust roaring through me too much to take this early in the morning. Plus, he was trying to ruin my magical evening, cheapening it, and I hated the very idea.
“Is he going to sign with us?” Jayson beamed at me, a smarmy smile transforming his aged and sun-beaten face.
Uncertain how to break the news to him that Walker wouldn’t be signing with him, I decided to cut to the chase and just spit it out. It would inevitably have to come out anyway, and it would be in my best interest to leave out the part where I spilled the beans to Walker about the real reason I agreed to go out with him. There was no need to get into any more trouble over this, which I was certain I would be. Getting into trouble, that is.
“He’s not signing with us, Jayson. I’m really sorry.”
But I wasn’t.
His face immediately turned an unnatural shade of crimson as his hands balled into fists on top of his desk. He looked like a child who had just lost his favorite toy. “And why the hell not? You obviously fucked this up for us, Madison.”
“Me?” I coughed out, my voice a mixture of disbelief and irritation. “I only went out with him because you threatened my job! I tried to talk to him about signing here, but he doesn’t want an agent right now.” I lied through gritted teeth and prayed he wouldn’t see through my bullshit.
“Oh! Well, that’s a different story altogether now, isn’t it?” His face started to return to its normal coloring. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”
“Sorry.” I wasn’t certain which parts I was apologizing for, or why I apologized at all, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. What was it about bosses and their ability to manipulate you into thinking they owned you? Why did we tend to let them get away with things we’d never let normal people in our lives get away with?
“So, you’ll be seeing him again then, I assume? Make sure you give me all the details so I can set up the paps.”
The room spun around me as my vision blurred. “You called them?” The realization of how all the paparazzi knew my name and where I worked slammed into my consciousness like a freight train.