Chapter 8

Hal

Hal brooded as he and Adam made their way out of the building. That interview had not gone at all like he expected. He had been thrown off from the start when it wasn’t Elaine who was interviewing him, and then it seemed like he lost even more control as the interview went on. If there was one thing he relished in his life, it was control, and to know that he had lost it was a blow to his ego more than anything else.

He arrived with Adam in the parking garage in short order. The men exchanged no words as they both got in the car, and Adam pulled out of the garage and into the street. Hal looked out the window, his brows furrowed as his mind played over all that had just happened. At length, he heard Adam chuckle from the driver’s seat.

Ha turned to look over at him scathingly.

“Just what’s so funny?” Hal bit out, his irritation plain to see.

“Oh nothing,” Adam shrugged. “Just think it’s funny for you to get so worked up over some girl, that’s all.”

“I’m not worked up,” Hal spat, crossing his arms.

Adam shrugged.

“Sure, whatever you say,” Adam mused, his eyes steadily on the road in front of him.

Hal grunted. He knew Adam was right. Somehow, Jesse Clarke had managed to get under his skin, and he couldn’t keep from thinking of her. It certainly didn’t help that he found her extremely attractive, and he wondered if that was why she had been able to catch him off guard so easily.

Hal thought on it even as Adam pulled back up to his building. Hal got out of the car without a word to Adam and moved immediately into the doors. He was greeted by the sight of his personal secretary, Liza.

“Good morning,” she greeted him pleasantly. She was older than him, almost into her forties.

“Good morning,” Hal said. “Anything else on my agenda for the day?”

Liza looked down at a clipboard she held in her hand.

“Nope,” she answered easily.

“Perfect,” Hal grumbled.

“Rough interview?” Liza asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You could say that,” Hal answered as he moved down the hallway, removing his tie as he went.

“Well, I hope you feel better,” Liza called over her shoulder, as she, too, went about her business for the day.

Hel felt himself relax more and more as he strode down the hall. No, the interview hadn’t gone quite as he thought it would, but at least it was over. Now, he could move on with the rest of his day and the rest of his life.

Hal could hear Adam walking along beside him as he headed for his room and felt a surge of excitement as he mentally prepared for their workout. As well as being his head of security, Adam was his personal trainer.

Adam had not been very happy with Hal’s treatment of his body during the making of his film. Truth be told, Hal hadn’t been very happy with it, either. But now that it was over, Hal was back on track, eating well and working out to gain back all the muscle that he had lost during the making of the movie.

Hal changed into a T-shirt and a pair of shorts and then headed to his personal gym with Adam. The two started the workout with a fast couple of miles and then went on to work their legs. As they worked out, Hal’s mind cleared, but somehow Jesse Clarke stayed on his mind. It was slightly irritating, but even his irritation was eventually replaced by simple curiosity.

The men finished their workout and parted ways, each of them heading toward their own apartment dwellings within the large residential building. Upon entering his home, Hal headed straight for his bathroom and stripped off his sweat-soaked clothes, then hopped into his shower. He heated the water up to a nearly unbearable level and allowed his body to get used to it, releasing a sigh as he let the water work on his muscles. He washed his hair and his body and then turned the water cold. He ground his teeth as the water cooled off his overheated muscles. Then, he turned off the water and got out of the shower, dripping onto his soft mat.

He picked up a towel from the rack beside the shower and roughly ran it over his hair before wiping off the droplets that had accumulated on his body. Then, he hung the towel back up and moved back into his room.

Hal dressed in a pair of boxer briefs, jeans, and a T-shirt. He strode over to a chair in front of his window and sat down. He picked up his laptop from his desk and set it on his lap, opening it up. Immediately, he ran a search for Jesse Clarke on the website for The Edge. He quickly scanned her bio, taking in the information that he found on her. His eyes lingered on her picture. She smiled broadly, to the point that her eyes crinkled. Her blue-gray eyes seemed to shine with intelligence. Hal smiled slightly at the sight.

After reading her bio, Hal went on to read the work she had done for The Edge. He was disappointed to find that most of her articles were just pop culture garbage, though he had to admit that they were at the very least amusing. Her style was witty and sarcastic. Still, Hal had hoped for more depth from her for some reason.

Hal continued to peruse her page until he found links to some of her other work. Curious, he clicked on them and was much more pleased with what he found there. Just as he had suspected, she was capable of much more depth. She had written articles on real political issues, as well as topics such as climate change and environmental matters. She was highly expressive in her writing, and more than a little bold. She had a very distinct flavor. Hal knew that some people didn’t particularly care for that in a writer, especially for more corporate magazines or manufacturers.

Hal was somewhat relieved that she would be the one writing the article over his movie, and not Elaine. He did appreciate Elaine’s writing, but she had not written herself for years, and even when she wrote, it was in the same annoyingly persistent style in which she spoke. She had an elevated sense of self-importance, and it annoyed Hal to no end.

Jesse, on the other hand, seemed to strike him differently. Much like Elaine, she came off as confident and collected. Unlike, Elaine, though, Hal could see a sense of genuine innocence and curiosity in her eyes. Hal had no way to tell it, but he strongly suspected that Jesse had never really interviewed someone as famous as him before. She had done a good job of covering it up, but the more Hal thought about it, the more he was convinced that this was her first big-time interview.

Hal suddenly realized that this article would probably be very important for her career, and he felt somewhat ashamed of himself for his snarky attitude toward her when she asked questions that hit too close to home for him. In retrospect, he had answered all of her questions in a half-assed manner, and now she had to somehow create a quality article from them.

Without another thought, Hal went back to The Edge’s website. He scrolled through Jesse’s information until he found her number. He picked up his cell phone from his desk and dialed the number, then had only to wait.