Behind Closed Doors (28 page)

“How many leaks have their been?” an older gentleman asked.

“The story on 
The Paps
 website and a cover story in 
That Girl
 magazine. Both released at three this morning.”

The next hour passed by and I had what I can only describe as an out of body experience. Everyone had gone into damage control. Tossing comments over the table about how to word the press release, who would issue the public apologies, who would address the media… Jayce and I were the only two people that didn’t utter a single word in those sixty minutes from hell. And he still hadn’t looked in my direction.

As if out of nowhere, a document appeared before me. It was a copy of the press release. It specified that I did not receive preferential treatment in exchange for sex. It also mentioned that Jayce and I didn’t know each other prior to the show and that the Miami rendezvous was a one-off.

“But that’s not true,” I said, looking around the table. I didn’t want to lie about the affair. For all I knew, there could be more photos out there.

“Just sign the paperwork, Kyla.” The man sitting to my left handed me his pen.

I looked down at the paperwork and then to Jayce, but he remained despondent.

“This isn’t a hearing, sweetheart. You didn’t swear on the bible. I thought you were a lawyer, now isn’t the time to get a conscience.” Maria spoke harshly.

I picked up the pen and signed the papers, albeit begrudgingly.

“Why did these photos only come out now?” I asked, sliding the papers toward the head of the table. “I mean those photos were taken weeks ago, why did they only surface now?”

A lady from the network looked at me, her expression indifferent. “It’s the week of the finale. The pictures are worth more money now and will have a bigger impact in the media.”

I nodded, although I didn’t truly understand the logic.

“This wont be easy for you, Kyla. The press are going to be after you, hounding you, trying to break you down,” the same woman spoke. She seemed the most genuine of the brutes that surrounded the table. “But the important thing to remember is that you are not to speak to anyone about this, not the media, not your friends, not your fellow contestants, not even your parents.”

“Okay,” I said meeting her eyes.

“This is serious, Kyla,” Maria butt in. “You cannot discuss the details outside of this room. There will be consequences, do you under-”

“She gets it!” Jayce yelled from the other side of the table. I had never heard him raise his voice in such a way. He was angry. No, he was beyond angry. I could tell by the way his jaw stiffened and his eyes became dark and hooded.

“Let’s just finish this shit up already,” he added impatiently.

“Jayce, Samantha should think about releasing a statement. Preferably indicating you are still happily married.”

Jayce snorted.

“That wont be possible,” a man sitting to Jayce’s right intervened. I assumed he was Jayce’s publicist.

“Why not?” Maria demanded.

“Because we’re getting divorced.” Jayce bit out.

The table fell silent and all eyes turned to Jayce.

Predictably, it was Maria who dared speak again. “Because of the affair?” she asked, as if it were her right to know.

“No, we had the discussion last night, before these photos were released.” Jayce said in a deadpan tone.

He had actually gone through with it. He had asked Samantha for a divorce.
 My mind flashed back to the early hours of the morning when I declined his call. Was he calling to tell me he had actually gone through with it? I now regretted ignoring his call and more importantly, sending the text to end it all.

“So, you didn’t tell her about the affair with Kyla?”

Jayce shrugged and for the first time all morning, his eyes met mine. They were sad and regretful and for a second I thought I saw tears in them. He blinked and then turned his face away.

“We’ll talk separately,” Maria directed toward Jayce. She was like a dog with a bone.

“Kyla, we will also offer you counseling to ensure you have not been physically or mentally scarred by these events.”

“That wont be necessary,” I responded. I didn’t need therapy and I hated how I was being treated like a victim. I was a consenting adult and Jayce shouldn’t have to shoulder the blame.

“We will be speaking to Marc and Yuri about this next, Kyla. They are going to know the bare minimum and will be told under no circumstances they can speak to the media about this.”

I nodded, already dreading seeing both Marc and Yuri later in the day.

“Thank you everyone,” Maria said, straightening the papers in front of her. “The finale show will go on as planned. Kyla, you can leave now,” she said and nodded toward the door. “Everyone else, please stay behind.”

I wanted to speak with Jayce and find out if he was okay, but he had to stay in the room. Plus, he was still ignoring me, which made me feel even worse about the situation. I was sure he was regretting every moment we spent together, especially the trip to Miami.

“Miss Quinn?” the same receptionist questioned, as I walked in the direction of the elevators.

“Yes?”

“There is a car waiting downstairs for you. It’ll take you back to the house.” She smiled at me warmly and her tone was nicer than I would have expected.

“Thank you,” I said, forcing a smile.

True to the receptionist’s word, the same black Audi was waiting to take me back to the house. I took refuge in the back of the car and the driver acknowledged me briefly before driving off.

It was close to midday, almost three hours since Maria had collected me from the house. I dug around in my purse and pulled out my cell. Twenty-one missed calls and five text messages. I briefly scanned the texts, three from Emily one from Yuri and Rebecca each. None from Jayce. I skimmed over the texts, but didn’t reply to any. Quite simply, I didn’t know what to say.

EMILY: 
Hello? Why aren’t you answering?

EMILY: 
Call me back.

EMILY: P
lease.

YURI: 
Is everything okay?

REBECCA: 
WTF! You have some explaining to do, girl. Call me.

I checked my voicemail, which was full of voice messages from magazines, newspapers and blogs, asking for my comments regarding 
“the affair”
. I deleted one after the other, angrily pressing at the buttons on my phone, trying to rid myself of this unwanted attention. I had no idea how they’d gotten my number and knew that it was time to change my digits. Again.

I thought briefly about the phone calls I needed to make when I got back to the house. I would call my parents first and the thought made me physically ill. My mother’s worst dreams come true. I’d made a fool of myself in front of the nation, which reflected badly on her and my father.

How could I have been so horribly stupid? I had fallen for Jayce and believed that he really liked me, perhaps loved me, but now it had well and truly blown up in my face. Jayce couldn’t even stand to look at me, probably regretting every moment we’d ever spent together. Tears welled in my eyes as I threw my cell back into my purse. In a matter of twelve hours, my whole world had fallen apart and this time it hurt more than finding Brody cheating on me. This time I felt like I had lost so much more.

Chapter 27

As we rounded the corner and sped toward the front gates of the mansion, paparazzi swarmed the car. They were taking pictures through the heavily tinted windows, trying their hardest to get 
that
 one shot. They were like vultures swooping in on the car. I put my head in my hands, trying to shield myself from the chaos outside.

The gate opened and the car made it’s way down the perfectly manicured driveway.  I looked through the back window and was relieved that no photographers had dared to venture through the gate.

I made my way inside the house and bolted the door behind me. I heard the sound of dishes clanking in the sink, so I headed for the kitchen, nervous as to what kind of reception I would receive.

“Hey,” Yuri said as soon as he saw me in the doorway. He hugged me warmly and I relished the feeling of his arms around me.

He ran his hand up and down my back as he held me.

“Sit down. I’ll make you a coffee.”

I sat at the table and Yuri brought me a freshly brewed cup of coffee, placing it in front of me, before giving me a tight smile.

“Some public relations chick called us,” he started and I nodded. I couldn’t stop the look of shame from surfacing on my face. Yuri noticed and tried his best to comfort me. “It’s okay, Kyla. I don’t think any less of you.”

I glanced up at the exact moment Marc entered the room. He looked at me and I could see the hurt in his eyes. Whatever he’d imagined would happen between us was now nothing but a fabrication of his own imagination.

“I’m gonna have a shower,” Yuri said, conveniently leaving Marc and I alone. I suddenly wished that Emily would come bounding into the room, even if she was going to hound me with questions.

Marc poured himself a coffee and sat down across from me at the table.

“So, I guess I know why you weren’t interested in me…” was the first thing he said.

He didn’t say it in a way to make me feel bad, but as if he was confirming his thoughts aloud.

“Are you okay?” he asked, with genuine concern in his eyes.

I nodded and then contradicted myself. “No,” I stated simply.

“It’s bad now, but it will die down. No one will care about it in a month or two.”

I knew he was right, but it was hard to see past the here and now, especially when the finale show was being filmed the following day.

“I saw the pictures,” Marc said, looking into his coffee cup. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out.

“You look really happy together,” he smiled, a solemn smile. “Do you love him?”

I was taken aback.  I didn’t expect that question to come from Marc of all people. I hadn’t even discussed the ‘L’ word with Jayce, although I was sure that I loved him.

“I don’t know, Marc.”

“It’s okay, that’s none of my business. I just hope he treats you well.”

My thoughts went back to the earlier meeting, when Jayce wouldn’t even look at me and my heart suddenly felt heavy. I grabbed Marc’s hand in mine and ran my fingers along his palm.

“Thank you for not hating me,” I said in a shaky voice.

“I could never hate you, Kyla.” He brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it gently.

“I better go make some phone calls,” I said as I stood from the table. “I need to bite the bullet and call my parents.”

Marc smirked knowingly. “Scared?”

“Scared doesn’t even come close. I’m terrified and I’m pretty sure my mother will disown me.”

I smiled at Marc as I exited the room and headed for the security of my bedroom. I was surprised when the room was empty with no Emily in sight. I pressed my ear to the bathroom door and heard the shower running. I was thankful for a few quiet moments before the interrogation would begin. I sat on the bed and pulled my cell phone out. There were another ten missed calls, but still nothing from Jayce.

I dialed my parents’ home number, but there was no answer. Next, I tried my mothers cell phone, which went straight to voicemail. I left a message asking her to call me urgently.

Then, I called Rebecca. She answered with a muffled, “hello.”

“Hey Bec,” I said, trying to sound upbeat.

“I just have to go in another room,” she whispered.

She was at work, I could tell. She worked in an open plan office and couldn’t speak as freely as she usually would. I heard a door close and then I braced myself for the onslaught.

“What the fuck, Kyla!” she drilled loudly into the phone. “How could you not tell me this?”

I exhaled noisily. “I’m sorry, it was just never the right time.”

“Your apology is not accepted,” she said in an overly dramatic tone. “Tell me, when you came to Seattle and got mysteriously sick and couldn’t spend time with me… he was there with you, wasn’t he?”

“Yes,” I answered hesitantly.

“You fucking bitch!” she squealed. “You could have at least introduced me!”

The reaction was typical of Bec and I was glad that she had the same warped humor.

“I can’t believe I had to find out about this on some gossip website, while I was eating my breakfast, I might add. I almost choked on my cornflakes.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is he at least a good fuck?” she digressed.

“Bec!”

“Well is he?”

“He is an amazing person,” I began and then remembered our earlier encounter, “but it’s over. We’re done.”

“Why?” she whined into the phone. “I read that Sam has filed for divorce?”

Samantha filed for divorce?
 I thought it was the other way around.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Bec. He’s not speaking to me.”

She gasped into the phone.

“I know. I feel like his dirty little secret.”

“Well, maybe he’s just having a hard time of it. Have you tried calling him?”

“No.”

“Why do you never initiating contact with guys? You’ve slept with him, you are allowed to call him.” She knew me too well. 

“I’ll try calling him later.” I agreed.

I spoke to Rebecca for another ten minutes before she had to get back to work. I asked her not to talk about the Jayce thing with anyone. She agreed on the proviso that I would provide much juicier details the next time we spoke. Unlike some, she was excited by the news and made me feel a little better about my situation. I was glad she was flying down for the finale show. I needed her support.

I held my cell in front of me, ready to call Jayce when Emily exited the bathroom.