Chapter Sixteen
Hailey
We returned to the hotel so that I could change out of my bathing suit. I hadn’t thought of bringing a change of clothes because I didn’t think we’d be going out for the evening. The day was starting to get to me. I had already been tired when I’d arrived, and adding sun and champagne to it, I could have fallen asleep immediately.
I left Caleb in the lobby to have another coffee; he never seemed to want to come up to my room. Maybe he assumed I wanted some privacy. It didn’t matter to me either way. I just found it a little odd.
Caleb seemed to want to make the most of my first day there. I could hardly complain, it was why I was there, after all. Tomorrow, I would have a chance to relax and look for an apartment with Matt for my sister. Hopefully Caleb had nothing planned for us, so I would have a chance to collect myself a little bit.
Mandy would be arriving in town on Friday, and I needed to make sure that everything was settled by then. It didn’t leave us with a lot of time, so looking for an apartment had to be a priority. That was why I asked Matt to let Caleb know right away. Hopefully, he didn’t mind that I was taking some time to figure things out on my own.
Mandy was adamant about not staying at the estate. She didn’t even think that I should be staying there. She thought it was weird considering we had just met, but there was no arguing with Caleb about it, and I didn’t want to risk the job. Besides, I could go stay with her anytime I wanted to – it wasn’t like I was a prisoner at the estate.
I was looking forward to having my sister there. At least I would have someone to talk to about all the madness around me. The day had been a full one, and I could just imagine the social media posts at that point. I hadn’t had a chance to check myself, but it would be something to see my picture all over the place.
Hell, that was a good thing, right? More exposure certainly wouldn’t hurt my career. I would have to talk to Jillian about that and see if there was a way that we could use the exposure to my advantage. Maybe I would have a ton of jobs lined up by the time I returned home.
I got into the hotel room and started stripping out of my clothes. I didn’t have time for a shower so I just toweled off as much sand as I could from my body, though it seemed to be just about everywhere. Thankfully, my hair didn’t get wet from the water as I had it up. I slipped into a pretty yellow sundress and stepped into a casual pair of strappy sandals. I let my hair down and brushed it out. Looking in the mirror, I noticed I’d got a little color that day and my skin seemed to glow. Polishing up my makeup, I took another look and felt ready to go.
I wondered how the evening would go and who we would meet. Things had already been a little crazy, and I felt the madness had only just begun. Once people realized that Caleb had a girlfriend, it would be a feeding frenzy. They would be on us all the time to get the latest scope on the relationship. It was certainly news since Caleb hadn’t had a real girlfriend in years.
When I returned to the lobby, I was surprised to find Caleb surrounded by a group of guys. He saw me coming and smiled, waving me over. It was showtime, so I put on my best smile and joined him. He pulled me close to him and smiled down at me.
“This is my girl, Hailey.”
I smiled and said hi to the guys around him; they seemed to know him so I knew they must be buddies from somewhere. I was a little offended by his use of “my girl;” it was the second time he had used it. Was that the same as being someone’s girlfriend? I wasn’t so sure. I had never had any of my previous boyfriends refer to me in that way, so I found it a little odd for Caleb to be doing it. Did he not consider me to be his girlfriend yet?
I tried to shake it off – it was ridiculous for me to even be thinking like that. It was all fake; it didn’t mean anything, so what was I getting worked up for? I would let him play it however he wanted to as long as he got the attention he was looking for.
In the long run, none of it would matter as I would be gone in three months and there would be a breakup story for the papers to print. But by then the majors would be over, and he would be a champion. The sponsors would be happy, and Caleb could go back to…well, being Caleb. I needed to focus on the script and not worry about whether “my girl” meant anything at all.
I smiled and nodded as the guy talked about the majors, and then just like that, Caleb swept me away to the car waiting outside. The next stop was his apartment in the city, where he could change, as well. I was curious about his personal space. He must take the apartment as a means of escaping his parents from time to time.
When we entered his apartment, I could already tell that it was a lot different from his parents’. It was less polished and more modern.
“Make yourself at home, Hailey. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure, take your time.”
I moved around the apartment, taking it all in. He was a minimalist, to be sure; there were no random knickknacks or items there just for show. I walked into a room that could only be his study and found framed pictures on the shelf. I moved to take a closer look and smile. They were of him and his parents, some of him and his father. They looked a lot alike. It was obvious where Caleb got his good looks from.
“That picture was taken last year at the tournament. He’s always there at the majors to see if I win.”
Startled, I turned around. Caleb stood there in the doorway, fresh in jeans and a t-shirt looking as handsome as ever. “He’s a handsome man, just like you.”
He smiled. “Thanks. He’s a hardass, though. He definitely has his opinions on how I should be living my life.”
I smiled. “I think all parents are like that.”
“My father won every Masters he was involved with. He was a force that couldn’t be stopped. People were probably relieved when he finally retired so that he could give someone else a chance to win.”
I laughed, “He sounds like quite a guy.”
“Yeah, he’s a legend,” he agreed softly.
“Those have to be some pretty big shoes to fill,” I said looking up at him. The weight of him wanting to be like his dad was literally pushing down on his shoulders. He was trying to stand tall amongst it all, but it was clearly weighing heavily on him.
“You have no idea.” He said it with a laugh, trying to joke around about it. I didn’t want to push him too much. If he wanted to talk about things, he would. I didn’t want to pry into anything that was none of my business. We didn’t know each other that well, and there may be a better opportunity later to talk about things when I was around for a little longer.
He sighed and changed the subject. “Well, shall we go?”
“Of course.”
We headed out of the apartment, and Caleb drove us to a popular restaurant in the downtown district. I was excited to see what the nightlife was like, even if we were just going for dessert. I still had a solid buzz on from the day, so I didn’t want to do any more drinking. It would be embarrassing if I was tipsy in front of cameras – that was the last thing Caleb needed.
He was all smiles as we walked into the restaurant, introducing me to people as we went along. The hostess brought us to a table, and I could tell by the number of people inside that it was a very popular place. We sat down, and the waitress brought us a dessert menu.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked.
“Yes, I will take a coffee; cream and sugar,” I said and then looked to Caleb.
“I will take a coffee, as well, but put Bailey’s in mine.”
The waitress nodded and left us alone. I glanced at the menu, noticing that there were so many delicious desserts to order.
“What do you say we order a couple of them and share?” Caleb asked.
“Sure, that sounds great.”
We decided on a caramel cheesecake and something that was called a chocolate explosion cake. Both sounded divine, and I couldn’t wait to dig into them.
“So, are you happy to be back?”
I smiled. “Yes, I am. I’m exhausted, though; it’s been quite a day.”
He chuckled ruefully. “Maybe I should have let you rest before throwing you to the wolves. I’m sorry, I got overeager.”
“It’s okay; it’s not the end of the world. I’ll have time to relax tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I promise to let you have some time off tomorrow.”
Our coffees arrived, and I took a sip of the hot liquid. It was the best coffee I had ever tasted. Did the rich have the best of everything? I had to wonder if it was true. I noticed Caleb was glancing around the room to see who was watching us. He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it. The act caught me off guard. I didn’t expect it, and it felt a little weird.
I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn’t real. Caleb just wanted someone to play the part with. Which was fine with me. That was truly the only reason that I was there. I wanted nothing more from the situation than a job, and I knew that he felt the same way. He just wanted to get people’s attention – and it was certainly working.
Just as I was taking another sip of my coffee, a few people that knew Caleb came to the table. I was introduced one after the other, and he always used “my girl” to introduce me. I tried not to roll my eyes. It was a job, after, all and it was only for three months. Then I would cease to be “his girl.”
Then the next thing I knew, there was a cameraman at the table taking pictures. Caleb asked him politely to only take a few as we were trying to enjoy the time together, but he was smiling the whole time, so I knew his irritation was only an act. When the cameraman left, Caleb moved his chair closer to me and leaned over for a kiss.
He placed his lips softly against mine and held it for a beat before he pulled away. It was the first time that he had kissed me and it was definitely not a terrible kiss. It was more uncomfortable knowing that it wasn’t real and that there was probably a room full of people watching us, I just needed to get through the rest of the night and I would be able to go back to the hotel to sleep. That was all I wanted to do at that point because I was exhausted.
I sipped my coffee and looked across the table at Caleb as he smiled back at me. I had my hands full already, and it was only day one. How on earth was I going to get through the next ninety days?