Chapter Eleven
Caleb
I could not keep my eyes off Hailey the whole time we were interviewing her; she was gorgeous. When she made jokes, there was a glimmer in her eyes that was intoxicating. It just made me want to know more about her.
The picture they had given me did her no justice. Sure, I thought she was pretty, but meeting her in person put her on a whole new level. She was incredible; she was beautiful, intelligent, and joked around like one of the guys. She had no problem telling it like it was, which was refreshing to see from a girl.
I found myself becoming protective of her when Matthew would joke around with her. She obviously wasn’t my real girlfriend and never would be, but I didn’t even want to consider the possibility that Matthew was interested in her.
I needed to chill the hell out. That was the main thing, to chill right out because I was getting out of control. I had no reason to be over the moon with Hailey. She was just like every other girl that I hooked up with. I wasn’t about to let myself lose my cool over any girl. It was very unlike me to stare at a woman for so long, but she was quite captivating – how could I not stare at her? Even Matthew seemed to be taken with her.
I needed to calm down and just let things play out the way they were meant to. It was only for three months, but I was grateful that she was going to be the one by my side because I least I wouldn’t be bored, or worse, smothered. She would make the next few months fun, and I was actually looking forward to moving towards the majors with a classy girl by my side.
We all got up from the table. “Okay, Hailey, Matthew is going to take you to the hotel, you can get yourself settled and then get ready for your first gig as my girlfriend.”
“Sounds like a plan. I can’t wait. I think it’s all very exciting.”
“Good,” I said with a smile.
I watched as Matthew escorted her out and felt a pang of regret that I hadn’t decided to handle her arrangements on my own. Originally, I didn’t want to be bothered, but that was before I had met Hailey. Now, I wished that I was the one that was taking her to the hotel.
There was a moment of jealousy where I wondered what the two of them would talk about. Matthew was getting a little more time with my new girl than I was, and I didn’t know why that made me feel weird. Chill out, man, I told myself. Try to be professional about the situation. This is a job, an arrangement for three months, and that’s it. The only reason that she was here was because she wanted a job; she was getting paid to be here, so I didn’t need to get all ga-ga over her. When the two had left, I returned to my study to make a phone call.
I moved around my desk and took a seat in front of my laptop. I looked up the number that I needed for Aria from Under Armour.
She answered on the second ring, “Caleb, hello, it’s great to hear from you. How have you been keeping? I have to say I am glad to see you out of the media.”
I cringed. It irritated me that she kept bringing up the video. “Yes, well, I’m working on that image you were talking about.”
“Really? And, how is that?”
“I have a girl in the works who has been hired to work as my girlfriend until the tour is over. I am working hard to pull myself together and put my partying days behind me. I just wanted to let you know that I’m serious about the tour and your sponsorship.”
I could feel her smiling from the other side of the phone. “That’s is marvelous news, Caleb! I can’t believe you really got yourself a girlfriend.”
“Well, I wanted you to know that I’m serious about things.”
“That is just wonderful. I can’t wait to see how your life will change. Where did you find the girl? Can she be trusted?”
“We discovered her all the way in Georgia; she’s been working there as a waitress and budding actress. She’s perfect because she’s still unknown at this point. I feel strongly that she is someone that I can trust, and I think she will take the job seriously.”
“Good, it’s all very good. I will pass on that information and we can move forward to how we are going to use the sponsorship in the best way possible.”
“Great, that’s what I am looking for. I have to run, Aria; I will be meeting my future girlfriend tonight at the club. So, I need to start preparing for that.”
She laughed, “Great. Let’s set up for a meeting for next week to touch base.”
“Okay, just call the office, and they will set something up. Thank you.”
I got off the phone and settled into the office chair. I really needed this whole thing to work – it was important for my reputation, as well as my future. As much as I loved partying, it was becoming destructive to my goals right now. I had no intention of overhauling my life permanently, but for the tour, it just made sense. After that, I would re-evaluate what I wanted from life, in respect to my career as well as my lifestyle.
Spending the rest of the afternoon by the pool was incredibly therapeutic. I wanted to be very relaxed for the evening and having a couple of beers with Matthew and swimming was exactly what I needed.
Matthew had returned to the house after dropping off Hailey and gave me an update that she was settled. He talked my ear off about her and told me that I was a lucky man about a hundred times, which didn’t make me feel any less weird about the whole situation. He seemed to be just as smitten with her as I was.
I was not going to let it get to me, however, because nothing about the situation was real. Hailey was just there to help me out for the next few months, and it was nothing more. Thinking that it was would only get me back into the kind of trouble that I had been in before.
“So, am I accompanying you tonight to the club?”
“Yeah, of course. I can’t be seen walking in there alone. It has to appear as if we are two buddies out for drinks. We are none-the-wiser that a pretty girl is showing up.”
“Right, that makes sense.”
“We should probably get ready; the night is about to begin.”
I left him by the pool and went upstairs to hit the shower. The whole time that I was washing myself, I thought of how the evening was going to progress. Hailey was to arrive at a time of her own choosing, so I wouldn’t be expecting her. She would have the element of surprise, which would make the whole scene authentic if there were any cameras. If I knew what time she was showing up, I would be likely looking around the room for her.
I left the shower and dried off. I quickly dressed in club attire and gelled my hair. I couldn’t help but be nervous about the evening. I needed it to go well; my career depended on it. When I returned downstairs, Matt was ready, having used the guest quarters.
“Let’s do this, man,” he said as he clapped me on the back.
We were at the same club that we hit the night the video was taken. Not only was it an awesome place, but I wanted to come back with a cleaner reputation so that people would stop talking about me. We got our regular booth and were hit on by girls immediately. It was like the video had increased my appeal with the ladies; not that I needed it. They would come into the booth and ask me about it, joking around.
“Personally, I thought you looked amazing in that video. Under Armour should be hiring you to be an underwear model,” a pretty blonde said.
I laughed, “Right? That’s what I thought. What were they thinking giving a handsome guy like me a hard time?”
The girl laughed. “They are just being bullies. What took you so long to come back to the club? We have all missed you.”
“Well, I needed to lay low for awhile. Make everyone happy.”
She was eating it right up. It wasn’t hard when she was making it so easy. I could have told her just about anything. She wasn’t really interested in me, but my status, my fame. I glanced around the room to see if I could spot Hailey, but it didn’t look like she arrived yet.
A few of my friends came up to the booth. “That was an epic video, Caleb; we’ve been talking about it all week.”
I laughed, “Yeah, well, I’m glad that I could entertain you guys. How are you doing tonight?”
“Great, just blowing off some steam, you know how it is. Are you ready for the majors?”
“As ready as I’m going to be. I’m looking forward to getting into it all; should be awesome.”
“No kidding.”
“Excuse me?”
We both turned around to find Hailey standing there. She was breathtaking in a red, skin-tight dress. Her brown hair was curled, and her eyes just lit up the entire room. She was the most beautiful woman in the place, hands down, and the way she was smiling at me had a hint of sensuality to it. She was ultra-confident and probably could have had any man in the room. I glanced at my friend, and judging by the look on his face, he was sizing her up for himself.
“Yes?” I said before he could.
“I was wondering if you would mind if I joined you. I could use a drink, if you’re pouring them.”
I grinned. “Absolutely, the more, the merrier,” I said, forgetting the fact that I had a girl beside me already. I heard a gasp beside me and glanced at the blonde. “Let’s make room for the lady to sit down, please.” We both shifted down to allow Hailey to sit beside me. The blonde was immediately pissed and got up to leave without another word.
Hailey sat down beside me, and there wasn’t even a look of recognition on her face when she looked back at me.
“I’m Hailey; my friend ditched me for a guy,” she said laughing. “So I need a new friend. Can you help me with that?”
She was being very charming, and I almost wished that it was real. “I think I could.” I glanced at my friend. “I’ll catch you later, man.”
“Sure.” He walked away, looking disappointed.
I turned back to Hailey, and said, “Let me grab you a drink.” I quickly mixed her up a cocktail and handed it to her. She took a few tentative sips, her eyes never leaving mine.
“Thanks. So, do you have a name or should I just call you the Stripteaser?”
I laughed. “No, let’s not do that. I would rather not be remembered by that video. How about you call me Caleb? I’m Caleb Harris.”
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“What do you say we do a little dancing?”
She turned that stunning smile on me. “I would love that.”
We got up and made our way to the dance floor, which was packed with the music pumping away. We started dancing together very closely, our bodies moving well together. She was acting the part of a flirty girl who wanted to take a man home.
I couldn’t help but respond well to her; in fact, she was turning me on in ways that I didn’t expect. She turned around, her bottom against me, and started to dance even closer. She was incredibly sexy, and I could have easily put my hands on her bottom in the same way I had done with a hundred women before her.
I had to snap myself out of the spell, though; I was acting a little too much, getting too close to her. It was easy to get drawn in and lose yourself in this girl. She was incredible and could turn me on as quickly as flipping a switch.
The way she was moving, I couldn’t help but wonder if things would progress past this into the evening. I shook the thoughts off immediately and tried to remember that she was playing a part. She was no more interested in me than she was in anyone else in that room. If she was coming on to me, it was just an act.
But she was a damn good actress. I could tell her that much because I was completely captivated by her. I was being stupid and getting drawn in too much with her. I needed to keep my cool and remember that we were both acting until the majors were over, and then she would return home.
It was no big deal; I could totally handle the situation. But when she turned around and smiled up at me, I wasn’t even sure I believed what I was telling myself.