Chapter 23
Hayden
“There’s only one thing worse than being talked about, and that’s not being talked about.”
~ Nora O’Sullivan
“We’re about twenty minutes out,” a guy with an earpiece told me as he leaned into the room.
I nodded and he left as I put my earbuds back in and made myself comfortable on the sofa.
The past few days had been a whirlwind. The morning after the grand opening of Hero Rescue, Camilla called and said she wanted to be a donor in Hero Rescue. She also wanted to continue Corey’s legacy by sponsoring dogs in his name. She was currently traveling and doing press for the new season of Center Stage and she wanted me to join her to talk about Hero Rescue. So, here I was. In Chicago. In a green room at a morning talk show.
We’d been to San Francisco, Nashville, Miami, and after this we were going to New York.
Camilla was still in hair and makeup, so I decided this would be a good time to catchup on Jade’s latest podcast. After things had gotten hot and heavy at the warehouse, we’d gone back to my place. My plan was to make love to her all night. But once we got there and I took Ranger out, I came back in to find her snuggled up in my bed, sound asleep. I couldn’t bring myself to wake her. The next morning, at the crack of dawn, I woke up to the phone call from Camilla. It had been a marathon ever since.
Jade and I had talked a few times since I left, but I wished I was in town to cement what had happened between us. I wasn’t so naïve as to think that everything was okay between us. There were still a lot of things that needed to be said. A lot of hurts that needed to be healed.
But now I had hope that it would happen.
I skipped ahead to the thirty-minute mark, which was about where Jade’s segments usually started.
“Okay, so Jade is back in the studio this week and I believe this week was the matchmaker setup. So Jade, I heard that you had a little surprise on this date?”
“Yes.” Jade chuckled. “I did have a surprise, my date was someone that I knew. Well, I didn’t know him but I had met him before. Or not really met, but we’d had a brief exchange.”
“Let me break it down in case the listeners are confused. I have some inside knowledge because of who Jade’s date turned out to be. Jade had a meet-cute with someone who…we’ll just say works in this building…”
“I call him Hot Tie-Guy,” Jade supplied.
“Hot Tie-Guy.” The host chuckled. “I love it. And you met Hot Tie-Guy in this building, correct?”
“Yes. I took the elevator with him.”
“And it must’ve been some ride up because unbeknownst to any of us, Hot Tie-Guy went to the matchmaker we were using for Jade and put himself in the running.”
“I had no idea. I didn’t even know his name.”
“So, set the scene. This elevator ride obviously made an impression on him, what is your memory of it?”
I shifted on the couch and when I couldn’t get comfortable I sat straight up. I was literally on the edge of my seat.
“I was in a rush and an arm appeared just as the doors were closing. I was irritated because I wasn’t in a great mood and the last thing I wanted to do was make small talk. Then in comes Hot Tie-Guy. He was so hot. He looks like a young Tom Hardy. It was terrible timing, too, because I looked like a hot mess. I was running late so I looked like I just jumped out of bed and came here. Still, in the moment I forgot about that and tried to think of anything I could say to him to get him talking. But I clammed up. I couldn’t think of anything to say, which in case you haven’t figured out by now, is not normally a problem for me. But I was real-deal-Holyfield nervous.”
I didn’t like where this was going.
“You? Nervous?!”
“I know, right? But in my defense, he is ridiculously hot. And once I noticed his forearm tattoos, I had to check to see if I was drooling.”
Yeah, but did he have a Celtic cross with your name in it? I thought to myself.
“So nothing happened? You didn’t exchange numbers or names or Instagram accounts or anything?”
“No. Nothing. He said he liked my shirt but that was it.”
I’d listened to all four of her other podcasts and she’d never sounded like this. She liked Hot Tie-Guy. I did not.
She took a deep breath. “Cut to a couple weeks later and I’m meeting my blind date at The Glass Orchid.”
“Oh, wow. The Glass Orchid. I haven’t been but I’ve heard it’s incredible.”
“It is. It’s amazing. I highly recommend it. Not sponsored.”
They both chuckled.
“Anyway, the hostess shows me to a private room that had been reserved just for us and who do I see waiting there for me?”
“Hot Tie-Guy?”
“Yup. The one and only.”
“And were you surprised?”
“Stunned. Silent, in fact. He’d rendered me speechless. Again.”
As I listened to Jade describe their date in excruciating detail, I could tell that she was really into him. It wasn’t for the show. She was genuinely into this guy.
Even I had to admit that he sounded like a decent guy. He’d ordered sparkling apple cider because of her migraines. He had her text him when she got home to make sure she got there safe. And he sent her flowers the next day.
He’d seen something he wanted and he’d gone after it. I couldn’t blame him for that, but I wasn’t about to sit back and make it easy for him. Or any other guy that she might meet.
This week her date was with Coop. And even though their relationship hadn’t always been as platonic as I’d thought, I wasn’t worried that she’d suddenly fall in love with him. I wasn’t so sure about Hot Tie-Guy.
“Okay.” The host paused. “I know this is a little weird since for the first time the guy that you’re talking about knows you’re talking about him and is most likely going to hear this, but do you think there will be a second date?”
“Anything’s possible,” she said coyly.
Anything’s possible?
Did that mean that she was going to be seeing this guy again? Did I have any right to be upset if she did? We still hadn’t talked. I had no idea where we stood or what we were.
I scrolled through my contacts and pressed her name. I wasn’t even sure what I was going to ask when she picked up, I just knew that I had to talk to her.
It went to her voicemail after four rings. I was about to leave a message when I got an update from the guy with the headset.
“We’re ready to walk you to set.”
I disconnected the call and Ranger and I followed behind him. Camilla joined us as we waited behind a tall partition.
“Don’t forget to smile,” Camilla reminded me, showing me her own winning one in the process. “The quiet brooding thing is great but a little bit of that Texas charm would go a long way on TV.”
I didn’t take any offense at her suggestion. I knew that she just wanted what was best for Hero Rescue. Plus, Jade had told me the same thing only with a bit more color.
She’d said, “Stop acting like you have a stick up your butt.”
“You know your face won’t break if you crack a smile.”
“Relax. You look stiffer than a dick with rigor mortis.”
My girl really had a way with words.
“Okay, guys. You’re on.” Headset Guy stepped to the side and the false wall moved.
We walked out and I squinted under the bright lights, but then I remembered what Jade and Camilla had said and I smiled. As we sat and talked with the hosts I tried my best not to brood but to be engaging. Camilla always led the conversation, thankfully.
She would talk about her brother, and how she and I had come into contact. I’d tell a little about my story and about my journey with Ranger. It was becoming somewhat routine at this point, almost scripted.
She talked about her show for most of the interview and then the last minute or two she’d turn the conversation to the rescue. And that’s exactly how this interview went.
“Thank you both for stopping by,” Sheila, one of the hosts, politely dismissed us before leaning toward us. “But first, I can’t let you two go without asking if the rumors are true. Are the two of you a couple?”
I looked at Camilla who was just smiling. I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t answering, so I did. “No. We’re not.”
“Whoa!” Stanley, the other host put his hands up and reared back. “I think he doth protest too much.”
The audience laughed and they went to a commercial break. We stood and walked off the set where we were greeted by handlers who detached our mics. As soon as they were gone, I turned to Camilla. “There are rumors about us?”
“There are always rumors.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t really help to deny them but the good news is, it will most likely get the rescue some attention.”
She didn’t seem bothered by this turn of events at all.
I was. Jade was on a podcast talking about her dates with other guys. I was on a talk show getting asked about my relationship with Camilla. This was all ass backwards and I knew that I needed to set it straight. The sooner the better.