CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
All it takes is all you got.
Jack sat in a conference room at the hotel in New Jersey with his agent and attorney, as well as a private investigator. They were waiting for the team attorney and the head of public relations to show up because, apparently, the team finally had some answers about the woman who’d started this, and they were going to put a plan in place to stop it once and for all.
The time for patience had passed, and the only response available was swift, decisive action. And he was more than ready to put it in place.
There wasn’t much of a window left to correct this with Ana, and after speaking with a very hung-over Ronnie earlier, he knew it was shrinking by the moment.
And the group before him better make sure he had enough time on the clock to make the play that would ensure Ana forgave him or he was going to get rid of all of them.
He’d been too laid back, and now realized what a mistake it had been. He should’ve gone after the woman who’d made the initial allegations, and set the precedent that he wasn’t to be messed with.
The nice guy—wait for the truth to be revealed approach had bombed and he was never going to go down that road again. Now the truth was going to be shouted from the damn rooftops, and he was going to be the one doing it. And his team better be ready to pursue every legal opportunity with anyone who got in his way, or he was finding a new one.
The conference door opened, and in walked the woman who was in charge of public relations, as well as Brad, the attorney for the team. Standing, he crossed his arms over his chest. “The bullshit stops here. We have the information, and my team is going to outline how we’re going to handle this. It’s been open season on me for the last couple of weeks, and I’m shutting it down now.” He looked at each person in the room and gave them a look he gave the men he faced every Sunday. “This has cost me the trust of the woman who I’m going to marry, and the story being told from now on will be mine. I made a mistake by not addressing this when it first started, and that will be my last one.
“The next time someone wants to tell a story about me, they better be ready to pay, because I’ll go after anyone who gets in my way. We’re suing both of these women, and I’m sparing no expense. I’m making a new story, and if someone wants to take a shot, then they better be ready to have it returned ten-fold.” He sat and leaned forward on the table and met everyone’s eyes again and hoped they understood; he was treating this the same way he faced any opponent. Head-on.
Pulling out his phone, he picked his favorite picture of him and Anna and held it up. “What would you do if someone looked at you like that? Let me answer that: you would do anything.” He leaned back and crossed his arms. “I’m ready to hear the plan that you all have put together, and it better be a good one. I pay a couple of you a lot of money, and now is the time to show me why that’s a good idea.”
He tipped back in his chair and nodded because he was more than ready to listen to the strategy that the team had put in place. He intended that by the time he touched down in Miami on Monday morning, everything would be cleaned up.
There was a hell of a challenge in front of him, and the first step was about to be taken.
***
Ana sat by the pool under the big umbrella with Ella and Ronnie and enjoyed the fabulous brunch that Gerald had prepared. “I’m going to go home later this afternoon and resume my life. Trevor checked my house, and there’s no one hanging around, and he’ll be here at three to pick me up and take me to Jack’s house to collect my stuff.”
Ronnie slid her sunglasses off her face and smiled. “Are you sure you don’t want to hide out for a bit longer? It might be a good idea to make sure no one is following you.”
“I’m ready to face whatever this is and move past it. I’m not letting Jack’s stupid life derail all the hard work that I’ve put into my career. I need to get my head together, so I can show up on Monday and prove to the director that I’m worth the risk.”
Ella looked at her phone and frowned. “I don’t know why Clark is texting me. We’re no longer together, and he seems to be ignoring that fact.”
“What’s he texting you about?” Ronnie asked.
“I guess Jack’s been in a big pow-wow all morning and is planning something for Monday. Apparently, it’s going to put a stop to all of these women coming after him.”
Ana flipped her hand dismissively. “He took his clothes off when there was a camera in the room and had wild monkey sex with a woman. What can he say about that?” Shaking her head, she let out a big sigh. “I never should’ve dated a football player.”
Ronnie patted her hand. “I agree with you, but dating Jack Ellis was probably a good idea. It’s too bad that you can’t separate the man from his career.”
“That’s the whole point. Blake acted like he wanted to pursue a relationship and then disappeared for six months. And I couldn’t even get mad, because he’s a SEAL and his job is to go out and save the world. Then Jack wants to date, and his fame attracts women who want to publicize the relationship. Men are their career, and I’m never going to dismiss it again.”
Ella refilled their glasses and gave a steady look to both of them. “I believe those were my exact words the first time we met these ding-dongs. Women like us do not mix with men like them, and a good outcome was never going to be possible.”
“I hate that you were right all along,” Ana replied as she leaned back and let the sun hit her face. “I would’ve much preferred if you were wrong about all of this.”
“Me too,” Ella replied.
Ana sipped her drink and knew she was going to get through it.
No matter what it took.
Her heart was heavy, and she regularly had to remind herself to breathe, but it wasn’t always going to be this way.
It was temporary and nothing more than a physical reaction to all of the emotions running through her body. People survived broken hearts all the time and whatever pain she was experiencing wasn’t fatal.
Glancing down at her caftan, she realized Birdie had been right all along about the value of having the outside appear together, no matter what was happening on the inside. She’d called it emotional armor, and she knew it was going to be vital in surviving the reality of her everyday life for the next couple of months.
Her phone buzzed, and she looked down, almost dropping her drink when she saw Jack’s face come up on caller ID. Why would he be calling her after she clearly told him not to?
How dare he ignore her wishes?
Turning it off, she flipped it over so she wouldn’t have to see his smile. She hated his stupid, handsome face and didn’t need to see it and be reminded of what a fool she’d been. She closed her eyes and fought back the tears as she tried to take deep breaths.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
The sound of her heart splitting further apart filled her ears as she fought against the emotions swirling around in her brain. “Breathe,” she mumbled as each of her best friends took a hand and squeezed. “This too shall pass.”
“It sure as hell will,” Ella said quietly. “No matter what we have to do.”
Nodding, she opened her eyes and firmed her resolve that Jack Ellis wasn’t going to break any part of her. No way, no how.