Star Struck (7 page)

“I got my fair share,” Brenda said, rubbing her tummy in a circular motion.

“I need to tell John something and then I’ll be ready to get out of here.”

“John’s gone for today. Said something about his little boy got sick or something.”

“I better call and see what’s going on.” Hailey called John and was relieved to find out that, according to the doctor, his son was suffering from a sinus infection and with proper medication, would be fine.

Hailey sat in the passenger seat and let Brenda drive. She had a lot on her mind so she took the time to think about things. Career wise, she was well on her way to being at the number two spot. Life was good in that aspect. Her love life was in turmoil. When she least expected, she would hear Garrett’s voice saying she deserved better. Maybe he was right, but what if he was wrong? What if Trevon was as good as it got.

She needed to talk to her mother but it would have to wait. Brenda knew far more about her than she wanted anyone to know. Brenda didn’t need to know that she, of all people, couldn’t hold on to one man—a man that happened to be one of her bosses. A few tears ran down her cheeks and she gently wiped them away; hoping Brenda didn’t notice the tears.

***

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Garrett said, as he paced the floor; waiting for Hailey to answer the door. He knew she was ready because she buzzed him into the premises.

“Sorry, but I couldn’t find my clutch,” Hailey said, as she opened the door. They both looked at each other and stared.

Garrett was mesmerized by the woman that stood in front of him. With her hair pulled back in a bun and a few tresses falling into her face, her eyes sparkled just as bright as the long diamond earrings dangling from her ears.

Someone cleared their throat. He looked behind Hailey and noticed Brenda standing there for the first time.

“Looks like you got this all under control Boss man, so I’m going to head out,” Brenda said, breaking the trance.

“Thanks for helping me get ready,” Hailey said.

“Thank you for this dress,” Brenda returned.

“You look nice,” Garrett said.

Brenda and Hailey said, “Thank you” in unison.

They all chuckled.

“I’ll see you two at the party. I need to go pick up my date.”

“And who might that be?” Garrett asked.

“You’ll see.”

Hailey looped her arm through Garrett’s. “Come on in. Would you like a drink before we go?”

Garrett didn’t trust his emotions right now. Her perfume reached out to tease his senses. The cream colored dress was too long to be a mini, but short enough to accent her long legs. The five inch heels was enough to drive the average man over the edge. He had to get out of there soon. “Don’t you think we should get going? We don’t want to be late,” he responded.

Hailey seemed to purr. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you didn’t want to be alone with me.”

“What would give you that idea?” he stuttered.

She giggled. “Oh nothing.” She picked up her clutch. “Come on. We have a party to go to.”

Garrett couldn’t hide his smile. The night with Hailey would be far from boring.

***

Hailey pretended to be enchanted by the music, but instead she was trying to get a grip on the feelings that came from nowhere. She asked herself. When did she start finding Garrett attractive? Grant it, he was a good looking man; but he was always Garrett, her buddy, her pal. The player. Trevon’s best friend. Tonight when she opened the door, she saw more than just a pal. She saw a man who for an instant made her forget the whole purpose of going to the party in the first place. She found herself attracted to him. She shrugged it off. It must have been the glass of champagne she drank before he came. Yes. That was it. Alcohol was the excuse.

Instead of thinking about Garrett and admiring how sexy he looked in his brown Sean Jean pinstriped suit, she needed to figure out what she would say when she finally saw Trevon’s fiancé for the first time.

“How does she look?” she blurted.

Garrett must didn’t hear her, because he didn’t respond. She reached and turned down the radio. “Didn’t anyone teach you any manners? Never, ever, mess with a man’s radio.”

“If you didn’t have it so loud, I wouldn’t have had to,” she responded. His attitude reminded her of why she had never looked past them being buddies.

“What’s on your mind?”

“All I wanted to know was how does she look?”

“I’m surprised it took you this long to ask me.”

He turned his system completely off. “She’s pretty.”

Hailey grunted. “You would say that.”

“Well you asked,” he teased.

Hailey rolled her eyes and turned to look out the window. It seemed no matter what time of day or night, traffic in
Los Angeles seemed to be at a gridlock.

“She’s pretty, but doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

Hailey looked at him. His eyes were on the road and the cars ahead. He took the next exit but was caught by the light. “Now you’re trying to pump up my ego.”

He looked at her. With the light beaming enough in the light, she could see his eyes. “There are millions of men who could do that. I’m telling you what I think. Although you try to hide it, you’re not just beautiful on the outside, there’s a beauty within you that few women can compete with.”

The sound of a horn blowing broke the trance. He drove on. They remained silent until they reached their destination.

They pulled up in front of the Renaissance Hotel.  A valet took Garrett’s keys. She waited for him to open her door. She took his hand and exited the car. He looped his arm around her as they walked inside the hotel. The elevator door opened to take them to the ball room. He leaned down and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her; instead he whispered in her ear, “Show time.”

~ 12 ~

Garrett couldn’t resist teasing Hailey. Whether she wanted to admit it, he could tell she was attracted to him too. Although they both were threading on dangerous grounds because of their affiliation with Trevon, he decided the day Trevon showed how insensitive he was to Hailey’s feelings, that he would let things play out. He hoped Hailey realized Trevon wasn’t the man she thought he was. Garrett also hoped that she would look past his past and see that he was more than what she thought he was.

He felt like a million bucks walking in with Hailey. He could see why Trevon got caught up. He knew he was the envy of all of the men; whether they were married or not. Hailey was oblivious to the attention and clung to his arm as they made their way to the ballroom.

He spotted Trevon and Shareeka first.  Trevon was dressed in a black suit and Shareeka wore a  short strapless black dress. Her short
Halle Berry hair do complimented her face. “There’s the happy couple,” he whispered.

Hailey responded, “She’s cute, but she’s not all that.”

Garrett laughed. “Women.”

As they got closer, he asked her, “Ready? We can turn around now.”

“Let’s do this.” She squeezed his arm tighter.

Trevon was busy talking to a guest so didn’t see Garrett and Hailey walking towards the receiving line. Garrett could feel the venom beaming from Shareeka’s eyes as she plastered on a fake smile. “Garrett, so glad you could make it. And this is?”

She’s good. Real good.

“Hailey Barnes. You know the talk show host/ex-super model,” Garrett said, adding fuel to the fire.

Trevon turned around just at that moment. If looks could kill, Garrett and Hailey both would be dead.

Hailey reached out her hand and barely touched Shareeka’s hands. “It’s about time I met the woman who captured Trevon’s heart.”

She hugged Trevon and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Congratulations,” she said.

Garrett hugged Shareeka. She whispered, “This was a bad idea.”

He pulled back and then shook Trevon’s hand. Trevon mouthed the words. “We need to talk.”

He shook his head up and down to acknowledge him. He grabbed Hailey’s hand as if they were a real couple and was ushered to a table near the front.

He pulled out the chair for Hailey. “Have you had enough?”

Hailey accepted the drink the waiter was offering and took a sip. “Dear, I’m just getting started. Did you see how that heifer rolled her eyes at me?”

“She doesn’t even know you. You’re just being paranoid,” Garrett lied.

“I’m a woman. Trust me she knows. She knows that Trevon belongs to me.”

Garrett rubbed her back gently. “Calm down. You want Trevon to see what he’s missing right?”

“Yes.”

“Then for tonight. Pretend like we’re more than buddies. Pretend like we’re new lovers.”

“I can act, so that shouldn’t be too hard.”

Garrett placed his other hand over his heart. “Well, I’m offended.”

Hailey laughed. Her laugh was like a drug to him. She responded. “You’re so silly. I actually like seeing this side of you. Show it more often.” She winked.

Trevon was taping him on his shoulder before he could respond. He said, “We’ll be right back. Behave.”

Hailey held up her drink as if doing a toast. “Tre.”

“Hailey,” he responded, before leading Garrett away from the crowded room.

“Man, why did you bring her here?” Trevon blurted out as soon as they were outside in the corridor.

“When I got my invitation to this shindig, it said, it was an invitation for two.”

“Out of all of the women that you know, you couldn’t find someone else to bring with you?”

“Tre. If you’re serious about getting married, you need to get used to seeing Hailey out in social settings. Remember, we are friends. Just because things didn’t work out with you two; doesn’t mean her and I will stop being friends.”

“You two don’t even like each other. You just hung out because of me. So come on. This was her idea wasn’t it?”

“There you are. I was wondering where you two went off too,” Shareeka said, as she reached for Trevon’s hand.

“We were discussing some best man duties,” Trevon lied.

“I’ve left my date long enough, so I’ll leave you two love birds out here to do what you do,” Garrett said, as he excused himself.

***

Hailey signed autographs while waiting on Garrett to return. She noticed Shareeka in the corner and that prompted her to turn up the charm. She flashed her million dollar smile and laughed at some of the not so funny jokes as people kept making a beeline to her table. She felt a slight victory when she watched Shareeka storm off.

She knows and now she knows I know she knows.

“Folks, this will be the last autograph. We’re here to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of my friend and I don’t want to steal the spotlight from the bride to be.”

She heard a few disappointed grunts. Garrett showed back up at the table as she signed the last napkin.

“Can’t leave you anywhere without a crowd forming,” Garrett teased.

“It happens.” Hailey motioned for the waiter to bring her another glass of champagne.

Garrett intervened and took the glass away from Hailey and placed it on the table. “I think you  need to slow down on those.”

“Last time I checked you weren’t my daddy.”

He held up the glass. “Go ahead. Bottoms up.”

Trevon and Shareeka stood in front of the room before Hailey could respond. She ignored the drink and turned her attention on the couple. The band stopped playing music. The band leader handed a microphone to Trevon.  The noise level around them died down.

“I want to thank you all for coming tonight to share with us as we celebrate our upcoming nupitials.”

Hailey wanted to puke as Shareeka smiled and seemed to hold on to Trevon’s arm a little too tight.

Shareeka took the microphone from him. “We know that this last minute engagement party is coming a little late with the wedding not far off, but we just wanted to show our appreciation for you all.”

Cheers were heard around the room. Hailey took the glass that was sitting in front of Garrett and gulped down the contents. She ignored his concerned look.

“The food is ready, so eat up and let’s party,” Trevon said.

“I’m not having buffet style at my party,” Hailey stated as Garrett helped her stand up.

Her head was feeling a little woozy. Maybe she should have listened to Garrett and not drank that last glass. She leaned on the chair for a few seconds to catch her balance.

“Are you okay?” Garrett asked.

“Oh, I’m fine.”

She smiled and spoke to people as they made their way to the buffet line. She did her best to stand up straight and not wobble. Garrett’s hand on her back seemed to hold her up.

Garrett said, “Why don’t you go back to the table and I’ll bring you a plate?”

“I’m better.” Something tugged at her heart when she heard the concern in his voice.