Dancing in the Gray (19 page)

Trey was going to play this cool. He
stood up behind his desk and shoved his hands in his pockets to
hide the fists that he was making just by this asshole being in his
presence. “Mr. Storm, I didn’t think I had a meeting scheduled with
you today. This is Paul Kingston.” Trey motioned to Paul who stood
up and extended his hand out. The asshole just looked at Paul then
sat down in the chair next to him. “What can I help you
with?”

“Well, there’s nothing that I need your
help with. I’m just here to let you know how all this is about to
go down.”

“How
what
is going to go down?” Trey sat
back in his chair ready to listen to the bullshit.

“This thing you have with Elise.” Rixby
leaned back in his chair and crossed his feet up on Trey’s desk.
Trey had the exact same pair of Bruno Magli boots this douchebag
was making a point with by slamming them up on his desk. Those
boots were going into the trash as soon as he got home.

“I’m sorry. What about Elise?” Trey
felt his face getting warm.

“This is how this whole situation is
going to play out. You will leave Elise alone, and you will end
whatever it is that you have with her.”

“And, why would I do that?” Trey
actually laughed. Who the hell did this asshole think he
was?

“Because if you don’t break it off with
her, I will go to the media about our relationship.” The bastard
was trying to blackmail Trey.

“What makes you think I would care if
the media knew that?”

“Well, you may not care, but she will.”
The douchebag was right, and his smirk just pissed Trey off even
more.

“Why would Elise care if the media
found out about a relationship she had in college?” He tried to
play it off, but he couldn’t believe this asshole would threaten to
purposely hurt Elise in the media if Trey didn’t leave her
alone.

“Look, Watts, I know my
Elise. She would hate to have that light shined on her, especially
since I was married at the time.” Trey nearly climbed over the desk
when he said
my Elise
.

“So, that would only make you out to
look like the unfaithful philander that you are. That’s how your
relationship with Elise ended, right? You promised forever then
broke her heart by throwing yourself on some other girl right in
front of her. Real classy. You couldn’t just end it with your wife,
so you cheated, and then you couldn’t just end it with Elise, you
had to hurt her. And you wonder why after all your attempts to
contact her she hasn’t reached out to you.” Trey loved the look on
his face. Rixby obviously thought that he was going to come in here
and tell Trey something he didn’t know.

“Wow, already pussy whipped. She’s
great in the sack, isn’t she?” Trey tried to remain calm. “See, the
chemistry between us, I think that’s what I miss the most. The fact
that every second we were together, all we wanted to do was tear
each other’s clothes off and crawl inside one another. It was
fucking wild. Elise remembers that – make no mistake. And I may
have fucked up by letting her go, but I won’t make the mistake of
not trying everything in my power to get her back.”

Trey stood up causing Paul to stand up,
“Mr. Storm, this is how the rest of this conversation is going to
play out.” Trey leaned over and swatted the assholes boots off his
desk. “You’re going to get your ass up and walk right the fuck out
of that door,” Trey pointed in that direction, “or, I’ll kick your
ass all the way out of this building. And, if you dare go to the
media or even try to contact her again, there is nothing on this
earth that will stop me from finding you and ripping your throat
out.” Trey stood tall and straightened his tie. “If you cause her
any more pain, your ass is mine – make no mistake.”

Trey hit the buzzer on his phone while
staring down the pompous asshole. “Maggie, make sure security sees
Mr. Storm out the building. Let me know if there are any
problems.”

Rixby snorted a laugh out, “It’s on!
May the best man win, Watts.”

Trey met his laugh with his own billion
dollar smile, “You’re not a real man! Now get the fuck out of my
office.”

~

Trey sat back down at his desk and
finally looked over at Paul. “Well, that went well.”

“Trey, do you think he’s serious about
going to the media with the information about their
relationship?”

“The only things I care about are the
ramifications to Elise - from her feelings, to her business and
reputation. I don’t care about any impact this could have on me.”
He wanted to make that clear to Paul.

“Do you want to bring Elise in so we
can talk PR and clean up if he does go to the media? I will get my
firm on it.”

Trey ran his hand through his hair.
“This was the exact thing that she was worried about when she got
into a relationship with me. She worried that the information about
her and this asshole would surface and hurt me. Who knew the
asshole himself would be the one threatening the leak.” Trey
slammed his hands down on his desk. He regretted not taking a swing
at the punk when he had the chance.

Chapter 16

Elise and Jeremy were exiting their car
and stepped onto the red carpet of the Women in Fashion awards
banquet. The banquet honored women in the fashion world for their
dedication and impact to the industry. Elise was one of this year’s
award recipients. She was the winner of the Trailblazer award for
women whose contribution revolutionized the industry. She was the
only honoree from the cosmetic industry standing next to fashion
designers, photographers, actresses, models, and journalists. It
was a huge honor for Elise since members of the fashion world voted
on the different finalists. She was receiving recognition for her
hard work from some of the most influential customers she
had.

The awards banquet not only included
the who’s who of the fashion industry but also included members of
the entertainment and music industry, professional athletes,
political figures, socialites, etc. It was one of the top New York
awards banquets and anyone who was anyone was there. The press
turned out in droves to snap pictures and get sound bites for their
respective television shows, radio stations, magazines, or
newspapers. It could be very intimidating for someone to be thrown
into that atmosphere, but not for Elise. She was poised and
prepared.

She looked stunning in her
custom-designed pale pink Giorgio Armani Privé evening gown. The
dress featured an asymmetrical Swarovski adorned strap that is
woven through a fitted bustier, layered with silk and Swarovski
crystals. The dramatic silhouette was enhanced with a high front
slit, open cutout back, and cascading chiffon train. She felt
beautiful and confident as she and Jeremy were guided down the red
carpet.

Jeremy looked dapper in his navy blue
tailored Gucci suit which was styled with a crisp white dress shirt
and midnight blue tie. He was one of the best dressed men on the
red carpet, and he knew it.

She and Jeremy had been scheduled to
attend the event together long before Elise’s trip to Paris. She
would have loved for Trey to accompany the two of them but
unfortunately he had another event scheduled for the evening.
Jeremy was going to be on the red carpet with her tonight, even if
she had to drag him along. He deserved to be there and was the
co-honoree in her eyes, and she planned to make that clear when she
went up to receive her award.

She was prepared to handle the press
regarding her relationship with Trey. They were all over the social
media sites since the picture of them at the concert surfaced on
Twitter, and they had been linked together in a few headlines and
magazine covers in the short time that she had been back from
Paris. She knew tonight would be the opportunity that the press had
to corner her in a public venue to get the answers they had been
looking for, and there wasn’t much she could do about
it.

She called Trey earlier and asked him
if there was anything that he was worried about or if he had any
issues with the questions that may surface. He assured her that he
was confident that she would be able to handle herself and answer
the questions however she saw fit. If she wanted to avoid them,
then she should. If she wanted to be honest and divulge, then she
should. He wasn’t going to control what she said or wanted to say.
She appreciated that he trusted her, and she promised that she
wouldn’t do anything to harm that trust.

She was slightly nervous as she
approached the area where the press was interviewing the attendees
of the event. As she took a deep breath she started to hear her
name being called by the group of reporters that were behind the
gates separating them from the red carpet.

“Elise, who are you
wearing?”

Phew! An easy one to start off
with…

“Armani Privé.”

“You look beautiful, Elise! Our fans
want to know what your plans are after the dotted line is signed on
your huge deal?”

She had no clue. She really didn’t want
to think about it right now.

“Oh, wow! Who knows? The sky’s the
limit!”

“Was the choice for Jeremy to stay on
as the Executive Vice President of Product Development your idea or
theirs?”

“They were smart enough to keep him on
board. They knew the gem that they were getting and made the very
wise decision to offer him the role.”

Jeremy hugged her tighter around the
waist. It was all true. They would have been stupid to let him
go.

“Elise, will you share some information
about the recent photos linking you to Trey Watts?”

“I was waiting for it!” Elise joked
with the crowd of reporters who all laughed at her comment. “In all
seriousness, Trey is a great person.”

“Are you two serious?”

“We have spent some time together that
I have really enjoyed.”

“What are your thoughts about him
running for Congress?”

“I’m voting for him.”

Elise smiled hoping Trey would like
that answer.

“Some people say he is using you as a
puppet to get his name out there to a segment of the voter
population that you appeal to. What are your thoughts on
that?”

Elise hadn’t heard that one, but if
they wanted to go there, so would she. They were about to get a big
dose of Go Fuck Yourself Elise.

“Me, a puppet? Jeremy, could you think
of a hotter guy to have his hand up your back?”

Elise turned her head towards him as he
answered.

“No, I can’t.”

“Me, either.”

That got a few laughs out of the crowd
as well as a few pens moving on paper. Elise smiled sarcastically
at the reporter. She then decided to actually answer the
question.

“First of all, I don’t know what type
of voter would identify with me or that I would appeal to, but if
you’re talking about the fashion world, obviously you don’t know
who his mother is. She is probably the most influential fashion
icon today, so no need for me when you have THE Rebecca Watts
sharing your DNA. Secondly, he has a very successful finance
career, so I doubt that segment of the population would be impress
with my success in business when he has so much of his
own.”

Suddenly she heard a voice from the
back of the pack of reporters shout out, “What about the rumors
linking you to Rixby Storm? Are they true?”

Elise froze.

~

Trey and Paul were huddled around the
flat screen watching the live telecast of the red carpet for the
Women in Fashion Awards that Elise was attending. She had arrived
and some of the telecasters were commenting on the way she looked
and the designers she was wearing. They were waiting for her to
make her way through the wave of photographers snapping pictures of
her and Jeremy.

Trey thought she looked spectacular.
Her dark hair was pulled to the side and she had a beautiful dress
on that hugged all of her curves. Her eyes stood out with her dark
smoky makeup that lined them and you were immediately drawn to her
full glossy lips. He wished it was him with his arm around her on
the red carpet instead of Jeremy. He was one lucky
bastard.

She was so sweet when she called him
earlier asking his advice about what she should say if she was
asked about him. Trey didn’t have any advice other than for her to
say whatever she wanted. He wasn’t going to force her to say
something she didn’t want to or force her to hide something. He
heard the relief in her voice after that conversation, and he was
happy to provide that comfort to her.

She was slowly approaching the
reporters, and Trey was on the edge of his seat just as much as the
viewers from home. He saw her take a deep breath as soon as the
reporters started calling her name. They started off with typical
questions about the designer who made her dress which she was very
comfortable answering. Then they moved onto questions about her
business and the free time she would have. She was honest when she
said she didn’t know yet. He could see a small amount of sadness
when she answered. She wasn’t ready to let her business go yet, and
he could empathize with her. She said some very kind words about
Jeremy staying on in an executive role, and he noticed Jeremy’s
face light up when Elise spoke about him.