CHAPTER EIGHT: Chad

Zoe Maxwell.

Zoe fucking Maxwell.

A part of me still couldn’t believe it. I was halfway through the lobby, phone in my hand dialing Martin, when I stopped and turned to look at the large TV that was hanging on the wall. Zoe looked incredible in that pencil skirt she was wearing, the blouse that clutched her breasts, those sapphire eyes. She was smiling at the camera, and I could have sworn I was looking at the girl I had once know so many years ago. It’s like she hadn’t aged at all.

“You rock star, you!” Martin cheered when he finally picked up.

I kept my eyes on the screen, unable to pull away from those eyes that gazed right into the camera. She was nervous, it was clear as hell. Like a deer in the headlights. I would have felt sorry for her if I wasn’t still getting over the shock of running into her.

Of all places.

“Did you know that Zoe Maxwell was going to be on the segment?”

“Thank you, Martin. You’re a genius, Martin. I would be nothing without you, Martin. Those are the words I expect to hear come out of your mouth first.”

“Sure, you’re a God among men,” I replied, for some reason frustrated with the back and forth. “Zoe Maxwell. Did you know she would be here?”

“Zoe who?”

“The writer.”

There was a pause, and I turned to the girl at the desk and signaled her to turn up the volume. Dan was asking Zoe something, and I could see how Zoe tried her best to maintain eye contact. Like she had been trained or something. She looked so awkward, it was ridiculous.

“Wow, she’s a babe,” Martin’s voice broke through my daze. “What about her?”

“That’s my ex-girlfriend,” I replied. “The one I told you about years ago.”

On the screen, Zoe was smiling. It was fake, like it had been plastered on her face before the show along with the make-up.

“Where do you come up with the ideas for your books?” the blonde was asking her. “I find them simply… delicious! Don’t you audience?”

“Well, um, thanks,” Zoe was saying. “I guess I draw from personal experience, and – ”

“Personal experience?” Dan asked, winking at the audience. “Do tell us more.”

The audience laughed, and so did Zoe, although it looked a lot more like uncomfortable laughter than anything else. I remembered reading one of her books, or at least trying to. Who was I kidding? I had skipped most of the regular bullshit and concentrated on the sex scenes. I remembered thinking how kinky the writer was, but that was before I had any idea that Zoe Maxwell was my Zoe.

“No, nothing that personal,” Zoe said. “It’s still fiction.”

“Yeah, right,” I said.

“What’s the problem?” Martin asked in my ear.

I forgot he was still online. “You could have told me she’d be here. I felt like a fool running into her like that.”

“Sorry, but it’s kinda hard to keep track of who you’re dating, who you’re fucking, and who gave you a hand job while you showed them how to do their Pilates properly,” Martin replied. “I don’t keep tabs on your girls.”

No, you don’t. But I should have. I stepped closer to the TV, taking in the whole of her, my eyes running over every inch of her body. I noticed that she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. I should have tried calling her last night again.

“Are you still there?” Martin asked.

“Yeah,” I replied, “I’ll call you later.”

I hung up before he could say anything else and pocketed my phone. I stared at the TV screen, watching as Zoe’s head turned from Erin to Dan and back again. They were boxing her in, trying to get something juicy out of her. I looked at the girl behind the desk who was also staring at the TV. She had a wide smile on her face, and in front of her were a stack of books that had a shirtless dude on the cover.

“Are those her books?” I asked.

The girl looked at me and her smile widened. “Yeah, she’s an incredible writer. This book is sooo hot... I just read the first few chapters and I’m already in love with it.”

“You have to be careful, Dan,” the blonde was saying on the screen. “Zoe might just use you as a character in her next book.”

The audience laughed again, and Zoe shifted on the couch uncomfortably, then crossed her legs. Those long, beautiful legs. Legs that I remembered wrapping around my waist when I was making her scream.

“I’d make a dashing protagonist, I hope,” Dan said.

“I’m sure you would,” Zoe said, playing along, winking at him.

The audience laughed again, and I couldn’t hold back my smile. Dan fidgeted, Erin clapped her hands together, and the audience began to clap as if they were watching a magic show. It was magical… The way Zoe was winning them over, and looking sexy as hell while doing it.

I grabbed one of the books off the desk. Pleasing Him. I turned the book over and stared at the sapphire eyes of her picture on the back. She was so successful; the book didn’t even need a fucking blurb. The picture alone sold it.

“She’s doing a signing afterwards,” the girl at the desk said.

The audience had begun a long applause over the music going into the break. Zoe was shaking hands with both Erin and Dan. The camera panned to show an audience on its feet, every member holding a copy of her book in their hands.

I shouldn’t have let her dump me so easily.

I should have put up a fight.

I should have fought for her.

It occurred to me then, stronger than ever, and even though she had always been in the back of my head, actually seeing her made something in my mind snap, like a switch being thrown.

All of a sudden, I felt like there could be a lot more to this than just a chance encounter and the dilemma of whether to call her again or not.

I’m gonna get more than a book signed…

I made my way back to the studio.

***

I waited for her behind the curtains, watching as she signed one book after the other, posed for pictures, and shook hands. It was clear she was feeling uncomfortable again, because she kept looking at her watch and calling the segment producer with the tight ass over.

When it was finally done, I stepped out from behind the curtain and made my way to the table where she’d been signing books. She was getting her stuff together and shaking hands with Dan and Erin again when I caught her eye and saw her freeze.

“Chad?” she blinked at me under a frown. “What are you still doing here?”

“My book,” I said, smiling at her, holding up the book and shaking it. “Got time to sign one more?”

She hesitated for a second, then a nervous smile itched at the corner of her luscious lips.

“You two know each other?” Erin asked with a suspicious smile, as if she had just uncovered the biggest story of her life.

“We go way back,” I said as I watched Zoe fumble with her pen. Her hand was shaking. “Isn’t that right, Zoe?”

“Huh?” Zoe glanced up with a deer in headlights look, then muttered, “Uh, yes, long time, old friends.”

To help cover her nerves in front of Erin, I laughed and said, “She doesn’t like to talk about me. I’m the one who got away.”

Erin wanted to hear more, but the segment producer came by to pull her away. “Well, I’ll leave the two of you alone to catch up,” she said. “It was a pleasure meeting you both.” She gave me the eye. “And Chad, be sure to give me the address to your New York studio once it’s up and running.”

She placed a hand on my arm and squeezed. I would have replied to that, maybe even offered a private session under the guise of a marketing strategy. But I didn’t. All I could think about was Zoe. I looked at her for a brief second, then shook Erin’s hand again and smiled.

“I’ll have my manager let you know,” I said formally, without a hint of flirtation. “And thanks again.”

I could see the look of disappointment on Erin’s face, but I didn’t care. Right now, I just wanted her to get the hell away so I could be alone with Zoe. I watched her leave just as the segment producer gave Zoe a quick hug.

“Thank you, Sara,” Zoe said. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You were great,” Sara said to her, then nodded at me. “It was nice meeting you, Chad. You should read that book. I was just telling Zoe that the male protagonist seemed a lot like you.”

“Is that so?” I asked, looking at Zoe as she turned to look away.

“Yeah,” Sara replied. “Read the book in one sitting. Kept me up all night.”

“I’ll be sure to give it a read,” I said. “Besides, it is Zoe Maxwell, after all.”

Sara left, and I felt the book being lifted from my hands. Zoe sat down and quickly started scribbling her name on the front page.

“You did really well,” I said, bending down a bit to try and meet her eye.

She smiled, but kept her eyes fixated on the page. “Thanks,” she said. “Your segment was really great, too. I didn’t know you had become this successful.”

“I guess we’re both full of surprises,” I said as she handed me the book.

Her eyes finally looked up at mine, and I found myself in that same messed up place I had always been whenever she looked at me. For a second I was thrown back to when we were in college, a rush of emotions bursting through me, a shitload of stuff that I had forgotten and was suddenly making me very uneasy.

I tried my best to keep my cool. “So how have you been?” I asked.

“Good,” she said, attempting another smile that didn’t work. She was obviously nervous. “Busy.”

“I can see that,” I said, holding the book up again. “Pleasing Him. Interesting title.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah,” I echoed. There was a sudden awkward silence as we both just looked at each other. “So, I tried calling you last night, didn’t know if you were still in town.”

“Oh, right, sorry about that,” Zoe replied, beginning to gather her things again. She stood up and slung her purse over her shoulder. “I must have missed it.”

“Well, I’m in town for a few days,” I said. “Setting up for the new studio. I could really do with the company of a familiar face. I don’t know anyone in town, not anymore.”

Zoe smiled, a genuine smile this time. “I’m glad you thought of me.”

If only you had any idea.

“So how about dinner?” I asked. “If you’re free tonight, I’d love to catch up.”

She fidgeted, her eyes squinting at me for a second, before she finally said, “Sure. I have a few errands to run. Later tonight?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She nodded, then struck out her hand. “Tonight it is.”

I stepped past her hand and gave her a tight hug, feeling her breasts push up against my chest. “I’ll call you,” I whispered, then stepped back.

She stood in frozen shock for a few seconds while I turned and walked away. I raised the book above my head and shook it. “I’ll have to read this before we meet.”

Yeah. Like I was going to waste my time doing that.