door?”
“What did you expect would happen? You didn’t show up at your party. They wanted to know why.”
Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose. The man sounded drunk or hung over. “But no one knows where I live, Jackson. You gave them my address. You called the guard to let them in. Why the hell would you do that?”
“I planned the biggest party of the year for you, and you didn’t even attend,” Jackson snarled nastily. “I had to get something out of it.”
“For me?” Charlie snorted. “You didn’t do it for me. I didn’t even know half the people there. You did it for you, and you didn’t once ask me what I wanted. You’ve risen to the top of your company on my back, and you couldn’t even give me one night of peace and quiet? You’re fired, Jackson.”
“What?”
“Fired. And I’ll be sure to let your boss know what kind of stunt you pulled!” He hung up on Jackson’s protests and leaned against the wall. He felt a fist close around his heart, but it had nothing to do with Jackson or the press.
He’d been so quick to judge her, and now he regretted it more than anything else in his life. For some reason, his one night with Gemma meant more to him than anything else.
He had to fix it. And it would take more than just an apology.
* * *
Harkers Recants Story. Says He and Model Gemma Darling Never Had Affair. Gemma nearly dropped the magazine as she read the story. “What?” Photographer Stephan Harkers admits that Gemma Darlings was an unwitting accomplice in scheme to make his wife jealous. “I made a horrible mistake that has ruined the life of a friend. I let my own feelings get in the way of logic, and I never meant to hurt anyone.” Stephan goes on to explain that after finding his own wife having an affair, he set a plot to publicly humiliate her. Only it was America’s Sweetheart Gemma Darlings that suffered the consequences. Darlings could not be reached for comment.
“That explains why my phone was blowing up yesterday,” Gemma said as she dropped the paper down on the counter. “I can’t believe Stephan would admit the truth. After all this time, that’s just so bizarre.”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Every company that fired you is going to look like assholes now. They’ll be beating down your door to have you come back,” Lizzie said as she yawned. “Coffee?”
Gemma shuffled across the tile to make her friend a pot of coffee. “I wouldn’t have even seen this had you not brought it over. Since when do you read these kinds of magazines anyways?”
“Since months went by before I knew that my friend was in trouble,” Lizzie said as she wrinkled her nose. “I get so wrapped up in work that I sometimes forget other things are happening in the real world.”
“I know exactly how you feel.”
“So Charlie Connor called me and told me that there was a problem with his processed payment. Apparently he wanted to tip more for the extra service that was provided,” Lizzie said casually as she watched the coffee. “Exactly what service did you provide for him?”
Gemma’s ears burned with embarrassment. Four days had passed since her night with Charlie. She certainly didn’t want to talk about it now. “He mentioned that the delivery included extra service. Tableside service. Since I’m not sure of your operations, I didn’t want to get you in trouble. So I plated the food, and I cleaned up when we were done.”
“Uh-huh.” Lizzie’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Gemma, that’s not included. All you had to do was drop it and leave. And Mr. Connor was well aware of that.”
Asshole. That was one more thing she would add to his list of sins. “Well, too late now.”
“Right. And when you said that we were done, you meant what exactly?”
Oops. She’d walked right in that one. “He mentioned that it was his
“What did you expect would happen? You didn’t show up at your party. They wanted to know why.”
Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose. The man sounded drunk or hung over. “But no one knows where I live, Jackson. You gave them my address. You called the guard to let them in. Why the hell would you do that?”
“I planned the biggest party of the year for you, and you didn’t even attend,” Jackson snarled nastily. “I had to get something out of it.”
“For me?” Charlie snorted. “You didn’t do it for me. I didn’t even know half the people there. You did it for you, and you didn’t once ask me what I wanted. You’ve risen to the top of your company on my back, and you couldn’t even give me one night of peace and quiet? You’re fired, Jackson.”
“What?”
“Fired. And I’ll be sure to let your boss know what kind of stunt you pulled!” He hung up on Jackson’s protests and leaned against the wall. He felt a fist close around his heart, but it had nothing to do with Jackson or the press.
He’d been so quick to judge her, and now he regretted it more than anything else in his life. For some reason, his one night with Gemma meant more to him than anything else.
He had to fix it. And it would take more than just an apology.
* * *
Harkers Recants Story. Says He and Model Gemma Darling Never Had Affair. Gemma nearly dropped the magazine as she read the story. “What?” Photographer Stephan Harkers admits that Gemma Darlings was an unwitting accomplice in scheme to make his wife jealous. “I made a horrible mistake that has ruined the life of a friend. I let my own feelings get in the way of logic, and I never meant to hurt anyone.” Stephan goes on to explain that after finding his own wife having an affair, he set a plot to publicly humiliate her. Only it was America’s Sweetheart Gemma Darlings that suffered the consequences. Darlings could not be reached for comment.
“That explains why my phone was blowing up yesterday,” Gemma said as she dropped the paper down on the counter. “I can’t believe Stephan would admit the truth. After all this time, that’s just so bizarre.”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Every company that fired you is going to look like assholes now. They’ll be beating down your door to have you come back,” Lizzie said as she yawned. “Coffee?”
Gemma shuffled across the tile to make her friend a pot of coffee. “I wouldn’t have even seen this had you not brought it over. Since when do you read these kinds of magazines anyways?”
“Since months went by before I knew that my friend was in trouble,” Lizzie said as she wrinkled her nose. “I get so wrapped up in work that I sometimes forget other things are happening in the real world.”
“I know exactly how you feel.”
“So Charlie Connor called me and told me that there was a problem with his processed payment. Apparently he wanted to tip more for the extra service that was provided,” Lizzie said casually as she watched the coffee. “Exactly what service did you provide for him?”
Gemma’s ears burned with embarrassment. Four days had passed since her night with Charlie. She certainly didn’t want to talk about it now. “He mentioned that the delivery included extra service. Tableside service. Since I’m not sure of your operations, I didn’t want to get you in trouble. So I plated the food, and I cleaned up when we were done.”
“Uh-huh.” Lizzie’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Gemma, that’s not included. All you had to do was drop it and leave. And Mr. Connor was well aware of that.”
Asshole. That was one more thing she would add to his list of sins. “Well, too late now.”
“Right. And when you said that we were done, you meant what exactly?”
Oops. She’d walked right in that one. “He mentioned that it was his
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