Rafe
She was heaven on earth, delicious, warm, curvy, with big boobs and an ass, just the way I like it. We’d tried keeping our affair a secret, but it was damn near impossible, there was just too much publicity surrounding the newest It girl and the CEO of Levast.
“Jenna!” screamed photographers when we stepped out of a restaurant. “Rafe! Picture picture picture!” And we’d stopped to oblige, the bulbs flashing non-stop, blinding in their brightness.
Because our relationship was like a supernova. Against all odds, the curvy model had landed the cover of Sports Illustrated, her golden flesh rippling and luscious in a tiny white bikini, kneeling in the Bahamanian sand. And so a scrum of followers was to be expected, the endless paparazzi, gasps whenever strangers recognized us at a coffee shop or local drugstore.
Jenna acknowledged it, even if she didn’t exactly love it.
“You have to understand, Rafe,” she said quietly. “It’s part of my job. I’m not a traditional model so I have to promote myself. I can’t just wait for bookings to roll in.”
I’d frowned. Of course I understood, but Jenna got more than enough work from my company alone, so it wasn’t entirely necessary to pimp herself out. Still, fame is fleeting these days and you’ve got to make the most of your fifteen minutes.
But I was still waiting for her to reveal her ignominious start in the industry, the nudie pix with her legs spread, nipples bouncing, cunny on show for the world to see.
“Jenna,” I said gently. “I understand that you’re eager to make your mark, but photos never really go away. Is there something you want to tell me?” I’d quizzed.
A flush came over her cheeks, and she turned her face away, that perfect profile balanced and trembling slightly.
“Umm…” she murmured. The blonde was a smart girl, she probably knew what I was getting at already. “Well …”
“You know you can tell me anything,” I said reassuringly, reaching my hand to cover hers. I fully expected to hear her fess up, to hear her tell about her struggles with money, how she took the pictures because she was young and dumb and didn’t know better.
But instead, Jenna detoured.
“Well, you know I used to be engaged … to my sister’s husband,” she flushed darkly.
I did know this, but fine, I could listen.
“Tell me more,” I commanded.
Jenna sighed heavily. “Well, I used to be different than how I am now,” she began slowly. “More … mercenary, I guess,” she said shamefaced, letting her hair cover her cheek.
“What does that mean?” I asked, frowning.
She sighed. “You know, I was young and dumb –“ okay, so this excuse was being used, “and I was really into guys with power. Not that you don’t have power, I mean you do,” she flubbed, “but you know what I mean…” she said helplessly.
“No, I’m not sure that I do,” I ground out. I’ve been surrounded by gold-diggers all my life, and this wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear.
“Well,” she said helplessly, trying to continue. “I met Jake Sterling at a party in San Francisco, you know the CEO of Sterling Pharmaceutical, and I thought we were in love. I swear, I thought he loved me.”
“Did he propose?” I asked flatly.
“Not exactly,” she mumbled. “I went to Harry Winston and bought myself a diamond and pretended that Jake gave it to me. I just wanted to believe it so badly, he was handsome, rich, and I dunno … we seemed perfect together, like the charmed couple you see in movies.”
“You’ve been watching too much Lifetime,” I said sternly. “That shit doesn’t exist in real life.”
“I know,” she said softly. “But I was poor, I was desperate, so I clung to a man who embodied my wildest dreams. We were engaged until my sister got pregnant with his baby, and then boom! Jake was out of the picture.”
“And are they married now?” I asked, my voice dangerous.
“Yes, they have a baby named Janie, she’s beautiful. She was born prematurely and wasn’t well for the first six months of her life. I guess the stress pulled Jake and Tina together, being new parents to a sick child and all.”
Okay, so at least the girl was somewhat honest about her goldigging past. Of course, there were two sides to every story, and that fucking Sterling scumbag impregnating his fiancee’s sister was no walk in the woods, I’m sure. But I still hadn’t heard what I was looking for.
“Is there anything else?” I asked, deceptively casual. This was her time to fess up, to let her deepest, darkest secrets out. Surely she realized that as CEO of Levast, I’d already done a good bit of fact-checking into her past. Surely, Jenna didn’t think she could hide something like nude pix from the CEO of a media conglomerate.
But Jenna shook her head slowly, her long blonde hair swaying gently.
“No Rafe, that’s it,” she said. “I’ve been around some in my twenty-four years, but there’s nothing that crazy. Why, is there something you want to ask?” she said curiously, tipping her chin to look into my eyes, blue eyes clear.
“Nothing,” I said smoothly. “It’s all good, I understand about the broken engagement,” I said in a deep voice. But the truth was that our relationship was essentially done. I’d given her the opportunity to open up, to confess the error of her ways, and she’d pretended like nothing was amiss. How could I trust her anymore?