Chapter 13
Megan and Stella walked into the penthouse without saying a word. They both knew Jensen was furious at them for the scene that played out with Kristina. They sat on the couch with their heads down as he paced back and forth in front of them.
“What the hell were you thinking? What would even… possess you to start something with that woman knowing full well what she is capable of? Knowing full well how hard I have worked to keep her out of my life?”
“I didn’t ask her to be there. Why was she there? One fashion show out of how many and she sits right across from us?” asked Megan.
“She is a model!” he boomed. “Fashion shows are part of her career!” He walked away from them and shook his head. When he turned back around Megan looked into his eyes.
“Please don’t be angry with me. I didn’t want to….”
“To what? You didn’t want to let her laugh at you with her friends around? You didn’t want her to tease you? Because I’m pretty sure that was exactly what she did before you decided to pounce on her.”
“I didn’t….”
“As far as I can remember, there is no law against teasing someone. But there is for assault. You will be damned lucky if she doesn’t press charges against you, especially because it happened in front of the fucking paparazzi!”
“But, I didn’t….”
“If this hits… I’m sorry. When this hits the papers, it could ruin her career. If you think Kristina was a bitch before, you wait until she comes after us with this one. I don’t have the energy to battle a law suit against her.”
“Jensen,” Stella interrupted.
“What?” he spat.
“In Megan’s defense, she didn’t have any intentions on touching Kristina.”
“Then what the hell happened? Why did she?”
“Megan confronted her to tell her to leave you alone and she went off on Megan, not the other way around. She was poking Megan and prodding her in the shoulder.”
“And that gives her the invitation to thump her to the ground and beat her up like a bully? I don’t buy it.”
“I’m not a vindictive person,” Megan said. “You should know that. She’s the bully.”
“Not in front of the press she isn’t.”
Stella leaned over and pulled the straps of Megan’s dress off her shoulder. There were visible blood marks where Kristina’s fingernail pierced Megan’s skin just below her shoulder and collar bone and blue spots where she was beginning to bruise. They both looked at him for a verdict and watched as his face relaxed a bit.
“Kristina started pushing first,” Stella concluded.
“Okay,” he nodded. “Okay. We can work with this. If a law suit does surface over this, we have some pull. I can get a call into my lawyers and get them working on it so if Kristina does press charges, we have a case already built. Maybe she’ll back off.”
“I Have to go,” Stella stood up and hugged Megan. “You okay?”
“Of course.”
She looked at Jensen, taking his hands. “You know Megan isn’t capable of starting something like this, don’t you? Her heart is too big and her demeanor is much too sweet.”
“I know. But what I saw when I got there, it looked as though Megan got the best of her.”
“Let’s just say she had some good back up.” Stella looked at Megan and smiled.
“You?” Jensen’s eyes narrowed.
She looked at her hand and nodded. “I might have broken her nose with that first punch.”
“You might want to get that looked at.”
“Don’t worry about me, big brother. Just take care of her.” She hugged him. “I will talk to you soon. Thank Black for me for bringing my car back.”
“I will. Drive safe.” He waited until Stella was gone before moving from where he stood. When he heard the door close he walked to the couch and sat next to Megan. “Are you sure you are okay?”
“Yes.” She lowered her gaze to her hands in her lap. “I’m… sorry, Jensen. I didn’t want anything like that to happen. She was just so….”
He leaned in and kissed her, but she quickly pulled back, touching her lips. When he leaned her head back, he saw a small cut on her lower lip that puffed out.
“You aren’t okay.”
“Jensen, it’s just a small cut.” She stood up and looked down at the dress she still had on, the dark red stain on the delicate material, the smell of wine still wafting up from the fabric. “I am going to take a shower.” She didn’t look at him again, just walked away and disappeared into the bathroom.
She came back out about twenty minutes later in a pair of spandex shorts and one of his clean dress shirts, her hair still wrapped in a towel. She met Jensen at the table, his first aid kit opened in front of him. He picked up some salve and lightly ran his finger over the gooey substance. He lifted her chin to get a better look at her lip and lightly touched it with his fingertip, spreading the salve along her lip. His eyes watched hers as he repeated the motion over and over again. Megan’s breath caught as she felt his hands cupping her face and his fingers stroking her cheek. She pulled away from him, trying to keep her composure.
“I think I will be fine. Thank you.”
“Your cheek is bruising.” He tried to pull her back to him but she moved away.
“It’s okay.”
“Megan. Let me take care of you.” She heard the pleading in his voice but she couldn’t bring herself to let him fuss over her.
“It doesn’t hurt much.” She smiled, glancing at him. She saw the hurt in his eyes. “I think I caught her elbow when I pummeled her to the floor.”
“She didn’t catch your elbow. I saw that right hook you threw. I have to say, not too shabby for a girl,” he teased.
“Thanks.”
“Where did you learn to throw a punch like that?”
“I took a self-defense class when I left my adopted family.”
“Impressive.” He pulled her back toward him. “I am proud of you for defending yourself.”
“Even when you didn’t think I was the one doing the defending?”
“I don’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all. Physically or legally. I don’t trust her.”
“Well, that makes two of us.” She slid her arms around him and melted into him. “Thank you for stepping in when you did.” She leaned back and looked at him. “How did you know enough to step in anyway?”
“I got a text from the same person who threw that first punch in your honour.”
“Stella. I should have known.”
“She cares about you.”
“She is amazing.”
Megan looked over at the dress she left on the floor by the bathroom. “I have to call Lorena.”
“Is everything okay?”
“She was really upset when Kristina ruined her dress.”
Jensen got up and left Megan alone to make her phone call. When Megan tried to call, it went to Lorena’s voice mail. “Hey. I just wanted to check in on you. I know things didn’t go very well for you tonight. I wanted to say I’m truly sorry. Call me.”
Just after she hung up, her phone rang right back.
“Lorena, hey. I want to apologize….”
“Don’t be! Oh my God, Megan I just got the best news!”
“You did? What about?”
“I kind of wanted to tell you in person.”
“Oh,” she looked back at Jensen. “I planned on staying….”
“They loved my dresses!” she squealed.
“What? But how?”
“I took a portfolio of my stuff and got to meet some of the designers. When I showed them my work, they loved me!”
“Lorena, that’s great!”
“They want me to talk to them about signing up for an internship with their company.”
“Wow, I am so happy for you.”
“Well, I haven’t accepted yet.”
“Why? What are you waiting for?”
“It’s… in Paris.”
“Paris? For how long?”
“I don’t know the details yet. I have to go see them tomorrow.”
“Well, you know you have to do this.”
“But what about you? You’ll have to live by yourself for the time that I am gone.”
“I’ll figure something out. I always do.”
“Let’s meet for lunch tomorrow. I’ll know everything then.”
“You got it.” Megan lost her smile when she hung up her phone and set it on the coffee table. She was happy for Lorena, but she felt like her own life was falling apart. When Megan joined Jensen in the kitchen, he knew right away something was bothering her.
“Is she pretty upset?”
Megan shook her head. “No, she is actually very happy.”
“What happened?”
“They noticed her work and they want her to work in Paris with them.”
“So why the worry?”
“Just some things I have to work out in my head.”
“Maybe I can help.”
“It’s nothing I can’t figure out.”
“Megan. Talk to me.” He was so persistent when he wanted something.
“Lorena will be working on this internship in Paris for an extended period of time, which leaves me without a roommate.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I don’t know how I am going to make rent alone.”
“It’s a difficult task.”
“Plus I don’t have a job.”
“I see your dilemma,” he said, smiling.
“You do?”
“I do.”
“So, then… why are you grinning from ear to ear?”
“I have your solution.” He slowly walked up to her and took her hands, kissing her fingertips. “You see; it is a very simple solution that will make everyone happy.”
Megan swallowed then held her breath.
“Stay with me. Not because I hired you to, or because you need a place to stay.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. “Stay with me because you want to. Stay with me because you love me. Be my lover, my girlfriend.”
Megan looked up at him with wide eyes. She knew it was time but she could barely get the words out. “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes.”
He let out a big breath. “Oh, good. I can fire Black now, save some money on my payroll.”
“What? No! What? Don’t fire Black because of me.” She backed away from him and looked at him with wide eyes. “Why would you fire him?”
“Because with you and that mean right hook you have going; I won’t need him anymore.”
She smacked his arm and smirked when she realized how gullible she sounded.