Chapter Eighteen

Jordan

I stopped and got myself a cup of coffee at my usual spot. It was just a little hole in the wall and not one of the fancy-schmancy places where you could get your half-caf, soy, mocha-whip, gold-encrusted lattes or whatever the hell some people ordered these days.

My usual coffee house was a place where you could get some coffee and a pastry. Nothing fancy and nothing special. Though, I had to admit that I’d been appalled when they finally caved in and bought a latte machine. I figured it was the first step to them becoming another one of those fancy ass coffee chains.

But, at least for now, they served my coffee just like I liked it – hot, black, full of flavor, and made with beans that hadn’t been roasted to death.

“What are you smirking at?” I asked the girl behind the counter.

Jenny was always there and was usually the one who served me. I could tell though, by the way she looked at me, the way she batted her eyes, and giggled a little too long and loud at times, that she was into me. But, she couldn’t have been more than twenty or twenty-one. A very cute girl and one I’d considered banging before. Plenty of times. There had even been a few times I’d almost given into that temptation. But, it was damn hard to find a place that served good coffee and I knew if I fucked her, things would get awkward. As tempting as she was, I’d had to pass.

Jenny was a nice girl though. She did her job well, and knew what I wanted. In fact, she usually had it ready when I walked through the door. I appreciated that sort of attentiveness about her. In all the time I’d been coming into the place, she and I had developed a good relationship, often joking and bantering with one another. Which, if you patronize any place long enough, I figured that was how things went.

“I never knew you moved in such lofty circles, Jordan,” she said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

“What are you talking about?”

She reached under the counter and pulled out one of the tabloid rags that for whatever reason, she seemed to enjoy reading. The rag had been opened to a section in the middle, and there in living color, was a picture of Chastity and I from the gala. We were arm in arm, walking up the red carpet. The small, but darkly bolded headline asked, “Who Is the Mystery Man in Chastity Childes’ Life?”

I looked at the photo a moment longer, rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Why do you read this kind of shit, Jenny?” I asked. “A smart girl like you should be reading something that won’t rot your brain out.”

She shrugged and grinned at me. “I like to keep up with what’s going on in the city.”

“Yeah, because this is what’s important,” I said, returning her grin. “Isn’t there an election or some social cause happening that you can read about?”

“Not at the moment,” she said. “Besides, this is more entertaining.”

The longer that picture stared me in the face, the more uncomfortable I got. I wasn’t a man who enjoyed public attention. And I sure as hell didn’t invite people to invade my life and scrutinize every little thing about it. I preferred to keep myself and my world private.

I dropped a few dollars onto the counter, trying to signal that I wanted my coffee and to be done with the conversation, but Jenny just looked at me and smiled, not handing over my morning fix. Clearly, she was going to hold my coffee and pastry hostage until she was satisfied that she’d grilled me enough.

“Chastity Childes, huh?” Jenny asked and I couldn’t help but hear the note of disappointment in her voice. “Big time designer. Her stock is going way up in the fashion world.”

I cocked my head and looked at her. Granted, I never saw her outside of work, but the only things I ever saw Jenny wearing were jeans and black t-shirts. I somehow imagined that was all she owned.

“You know something about the fashion world?” I asked.

She arched an eyebrow at me. “I’m not just a pretty face, you know,” she said. “I have dreams and aspirations. I don’t plan on slinging coffee for the rest of my life.”

“Intriguing,” I said. “And what is your plan?”

“Something involving fashion,” she said quietly, quickly averting her eyes. “I – I always dreamed of being a designer. I’m taking classes right now, actually.”

“I didn’t know that.”

She shrugged. “It’s not like I broadcast it to the world,” she said. “But, I don’t know that it’s ever going to happen. It’s not like I come from a family with money or connections.”

She looked down at the picture again and I could see her eyes focused on Chastity’s dress. I could see the wheels turning in her mind, probably looking at ways she’d design it differently or whatever fashion designers did. The look on her face was wistful though. A little sad and longing. It was like she was looking at a dream that she was chasing but knew she’d never catch.

“Well, I can tell you that Chastity works hard at it,” I said. “Very hard. She wasn’t handed anything –”

“Yeah, well, coming from the family she did helped,” she said with a brittle tone in her voice. “They had connections.”

Jenny looked up at me, as if realizing she’d just snapped at me. Immediately, an expression of regret crossed her features.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to –”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, giving her a reassuring smile. “Believe me, I understand. No need to apologize, Jenny. What I will say though, is that you don’t strike me as somebody who sits around feeling sorry for herself. Self-pity doesn’t suit you. You’ve always struck me as somebody who takes the initiative and goes after what she wants.”

She looked at me with grateful eyes and a small, rueful smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah, sorry,” she said. “I’m just having a moment. I talked to one of my professors yesterday and I’m starting to feel like I’m banging my head against a door that’s never going to open for me. I’m frustrated. That’s all.”

I gave her a gentle smile, hoping that through my eyes, I was conveying that it was a gesture of friendship and nothing more.

“I might be able to help,” I said.

“How so?”

“Well, maybe I can talk to Chastity,” I said. “Maybe you can do an internship or something with her. That might help you get your foot in the door.”

Her eyes widened. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course I would,” I said. “I know what it’s like to have dreams and be frustrated when they seem so far out of reach.”

“Oh, my God,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Jordan, that would be amazing. I can’t thank you enough.”

“I can’t promise anything, but –”

“I know,” she said. “I just – that you’d talk to your girlfriend for me –”

“Whoa, slow down there,” I said. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

When Jenny looked at me, I saw a small spark of hope in her eyes and knew I needed to squash it before it got out of control.

“I’m not sure what we are,” I said. “But, of course I’ll talk to her for you.”

The hope in her eyes wavered, but didn’t completely go out. But then, I wasn’t sure it ever would. At least, not until she found somebody of her own.

“Thank you, Jordan,” she said. “If there’s anything I can do to repay you, just let me know?”

“It’s no trouble at all,” I said.

She looked at me for a long moment before giving me a flirtatious little smile and sliding my coffee and pastry over the counter to me. I threw a couple more bucks down for a tip and picked up my things. I was glad though, to see that the look of near despair that had been on her face was gone. It had been replaced by a light of excitement in her eyes.

“See you tomorrow,” I said.

“Count on it.”

I walked out of the coffee house and headed down the street, feeling pretty good about myself. I’d done my good deed for the day. Now, the trick was going to be convincing Chastity to give her an internship or whatever it was they did. I hoped she’d be able to come through. Jenny was a good kid and deserved a break.

“Jordan,” a voice from behind me called. “Hey, Jordan.”

I turned and was greeted by a man shoving a camera in my face. A moment later, there was a flash bright enough that it took me a moment to get my vision back. When my eyes cleared, he was still standing there, getting ready to take another shot. Reaching out, I pushed the lens of his camera down, a rush of anger surging through me.

“What the fuck, man?” I snapped.

“Rumor has it you’re about to propose to Chastity Childes,” he said. “Care to comment for the record?”

I was taken aback by his words. Propose? To Chastity? Where in the hell did that come from?

“Dude, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said. “Now, you get out of my face or I’m going to kick your ass. You got me?”

“So, is that a no?” he pressed.

“It’s a get the fuck away from me.”

I turned and walked down the street, but the man followed me, shouting inane questions that I refused to answer. I jumped into my car and the man stood on the passenger side, snapping pictures. I started the car and roared out of my spot, leaving him in a cloud of dust.

The drive to Chastity’s condo only took about fifteen minutes. I found a spot and parked, still trying to shake the encounter with the photographer. Trying to calm down and let my anger go. It wasn’t easy. The guy had really pissed me off.

As I walked up the street though, the same asshole was already standing there about a hundred yards up, blocking the sidewalk, his camera pressed to his face. I stopped where I was, my anger surging once again. How in the fuck did he get there before me? How did he even know where I was going?

“Your pops is gonna be pissed,” Kyle said as he fell in beside me. “When he finds out you’re banging the client? Oh, I wouldn’t want to be there.”

“Shut the fuck up, Kyle,” I snapped. “I’m not in the mood for this shit.”

“Better get used to it,” Kyle said. “You’re fresh meat to these paparazzi scumbags. And with a high profile chick like her? Yeah, they’re gonna be circling you like sharks for a while.”

“Look at you, being’ a celebrity and all that shit,” said Lucas, one of my crew, as he walked up to us. “Got your own paparazzi entourage and shit.”

“Shut the fuck up, Lucas,” I growled. “Get your ass upstairs and get to work.”

His cheeks immediately flared with color as he stood there, staring at me wide-eyed, his mouth agape. Lucas quickly turned and rushed toward the building, disappearing inside, leaving me with Kyle – and the asshole with the camera who was moving toward us.

“I’m surprised,” Kyle said. “I mean, I get it. She’s hot. I’d bang the shit out of her too. But, she’s a clie –”

“I said I’m not in the mood,” I snapped at him. “And I meant it.”

“Calm down,” Kyle tried to mollify me. “I’m just yankin’ your chain. Probably not anywhere near as well as Chastity Childes is yankin’ your chain but still... ”

I tried, but I couldn’t stop the eruption of laughter that escaped me. Kyle knew how to make me laugh, I had to give him that. The laughter died quickly as the flashing of the man’s camera really started to get on my nerves. He kept peppering me with questions and the tension in my shoulders grew by the second.

“Seriously,” Kyle said, a note of caution in his voice, “we should just go inside and get to work. Nothin’ good is gonna happen if we stay out here.”

“Jordan,” the paparazzi called out. “So, if you’re not going to marry Chastity Childes, are you just going to keep fucking her?”

“Shut your fucking mouth,” I growled.

Kyle put his hand on my arm, trying to pull me away. I knew I should have listened to him. Should have gone with him. He was right in saying that nothing good was going to happen out there. But, the little maggot with the camera had already pissed me off already.

“I get it, Jordan,” the guy said. “I mean, why buy the cow when you get the milk for free, am I right? She’s a gorgeous woman, Jordan. Hell, I’d fuck the shit out of her too!”

That did it. I yanked my arm out of Kyle’s grasp and stormed toward the photographer. A dark rage gripped me and in that moment, all I saw was red. I was going to kill the guy. He apparently saw that he’d stepped over a line with me and immediately started to backpedal.

“Jordan,” Kyle called. “Stop, man.”

I reached the man and tore the camera out of his hands. He reached for it, but I planted a hand in his chest and gave him a hard shove. Shorter than me by six inches, but with a very round belly, the man went flying. He landed on his ass with a grunt, his eyes wide. I held his camera up, a cruel smile touching my lips.

“Don’t you fuckin’ dare,” he called.

Turning, I hurled the camera at the concrete building next to me. It hit the stone wall and shattered into a million pieces. The glass and plastic particles raining down on the sidewalk with a melodic tinkle. Kyle had reached me and stood there, looking at the ruin of the man’s rig with eyes that were wider than the photographer’s lens had been.

The man was on his feet again and rushing toward me, undisguised hatred on his face. Turning to face him, I reached back and drove my fist forward every bit as hard as I’d thrown the camera. My fist connected with his nose and I heard something within it snap. It was a sound as satisfying as the sound of the man’s camera exploding. The photographer was driven backward, landing flat on his back. Blood poured from his nose and it looked like I’d knocked out his two front teeth.

I stood over him, my fist still clenched. He looked up at me with a dazed expression on his face, as if he couldn’t comprehend the fact that I’d just knocked him the fuck out. Or maybe, he was just trying to understand the level of pain he was in. I got the impression he wasn’t much for physical activity.

“Jordan,” Kyle’s voice was low but urgent as he grabbed my shoulder. “Come on. We have to go.”

I let Kyle lead me away from him and into the building. On some level, I knew there were going to be consequences in the not too distant future. But, in that moment, I didn’t give a shit.

I wasn’t about to let anybody, let alone this piece of shit paparazzi scumbag, talk to me like that. And I sure as hell wasn’t about to let him talk about Chastity like that.

Whatever consequences came from the episode, so be it. Seeing him lying there on the ground dazed and bleeding made it all worthwhile.