Well peeps, the next chapter is here. Hope ya like it. And thanks so much for the great reviews, they're inspiring. Read, Enjoy, & Review!
Chapter 11...
"How many bags do you have?" John asked as he and Cory brought in three of her suitcases.
"Just one more," Cory said, dropping the bag she was holding on the floor next to the other two. "I'll be right back."
"She's never been very good at packing light," Jessica said, sitting on John's couch.
"I can see that," John said, plopping down in his favorite chair across from the TV. "Jessie, you know we're gonna kill each other by the end of the day, right?"
"Oh come on, you're giving up before you even try," Jessica said. "Have you two ever actually talked to each other for more than 10 minutes?"
"We don't have time to, somebody always starts a fight," John said.
Jessica laughed, shaking her head, "You know, I'll be honest with you, when I first met Cory, I couldn't stand her."
"When you met her?" John asked, a little confused.
"I didn't know she existed until she was almost 8," Jessica explained. "I was 14. One day my mom came home from work and told me she had a surprise for me. She said I had a little sister and that I was going to meet her soon. The next week, my mom took me to her house."
"And you didn't like her?" John asked.
"God no," Jessica laughed, shaking her head. "It's horrible because she was a sweet kid and she tried so hard but I was kind of a hard ass."
"You? A hard ass?" John smirked.
"Oh shut up," she made a face.
"So if she was a sweet kid, why didn't you like her?" John asked.
"We grew up very differently. I lived in a one bedroom apartment with my mom working three jobs and we have to come to this house that looked like it was bigger than our whole neighborhood. That first day, we had to wait five minutes at the gates while security checked with the main house to make sure we were cleared to come in."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah," Jessica said. "Do you know who Jeanette Spencer is?"
John thought about it for a second before a mental image came to him, "Yeah, she did movies in the 50's and 60's, right?"
Jessica nodded, "And have you ever heard of Cambridge Oil?"
"Yeah, huge company out of Texas," John nodded.
"Jeanette Spencer and Martin Cambridge are Cory's grandparents," Jessica said. "They went through a nasty divorce when Cory's mother, Adelle, was really young and Martin had to cough up half of his money."
"Damn," John winced.
"315 and a half million," Jessica said.
"Damn," John said, amazed.
Jessica nodded, "And he put 15 million in a trust fund for Adelle that she couldn't touch until she turned 21. So, Jeanette did a few more movies until the late sixties and she retired when Adelle was 9 so she could spend as much time with her as possible. She moved back to Detroit and then she met Stephen Caine."
"The Caine Computer Systems guy?" John asked, knowing that this story was soon going to involve even more money.
"At the time it was just Caine Steel," Jessica said. "But yes, that's the guy. They got married and moved to one of the biggest houses in the state. 10 years later they split but it was a peaceful one, they were still friends, and in the settlement she got another 30 million, plus a 3 million dollar trust for Adelle."
"So Cory's mom was worth like 20 million before she was even legal?" John asked.
Jessica nodded.
"She had Cory's sister Regina when she was 20. Then, 2 years later she married Ethan Samms and Cory was born. Ethan was one of the biggest film company owners in the country at the time. He was also 23 years older than her but he was practically a saint. Cory would gut somebody like a fish if she heard them say something bad about him. She had no idea he wasn't really her father until her 7th birthday. His son Ethan Jr. decided to tell her because he thought she was being a brat because she wouldn't let anyone play with one of her presents."
"How'd she take it?" John asked.
"She was pretty upset," Jessica said. "But Ethan made it clear to her that she and Gina were as much his as his two sons. He loved them to death. Obviously I didn't know him as well but he was always great to me. He was great to everyone who was around him and he was never one to lord his money over people. Honestly if he hadn't helped raise Cory, I cant imagine the kind of snobby bitch she would be."
"You saying that's what her mom is?" John laughed.
"Adelle is..interesting," Jessica said. "Anyway, like I said, I met her when she was almost 8. The family lived in New York, they just happened to be in Detroit when our mothers ran into each other. Cory had everything a kid could ever possibly want. She asked for it, she got it, without fail. It bothered me to no end. My mom kept telling me how she was my sister and and we were supposed to be equal but the only nice things I ever had were presents from Cory and Adelle. I tried to look past it but.."
"But all the privilege got to you?"
Jessica nodded, "Until Ethan got sick. They found out he had prostate cancer. By the time the doctors caught it, it was too late. The whole family was devastated but it hit Cory the worst because she was the closest to him. Mom and I flew out to New York and when I went in Cory's room she just fell apart. She couldn't stop crying and I didn't know what to do. So I just hugged her. A few hours later we were at the hospital and Ethan passed away. The next few days, I was the only person Cory would talk to. After that, we just had a different relationship. When she started to recover from losing Ethan, I made a real effort to get to know her and I realized we were a lot alike. Granted I didn't get to meet with my own private decorator to redo my bedroom once a year but it didn't matter to me anymore. She's great. She's funny, she's caring, she doesn't walk around telling people she's worth like 25 million."
"What?" John stared.
Jessica smirked at John's surprised expression, "When Ethan died, he was worth 109 million. Half went to Adelle and the other half was split up between his kids. All four got a little over 13 and a half million. That combined with trust funds from her grandparents and some sound investments, she's worth about 25 now."
"And she still works?" John laughed. He just realized, his calling her Princess had taken on a whole new meaning.
"She barely touches that money," Jessica said. "Once when she was 18, she said she was gonna give it all away to charity. Adelle went nuts."
"So now she just doesn't use it?" John stared.
"She gives some to charity, she pays her rent, and has the occasional marathon shopping session," Jessica said. "But aside from that, no, she really doesn't use it. That's yet another thing that bothers Adelle."
"Her mom sounds fun," John laughed.
"When Cory turned 14, she moved in with her grandmother because she couldn't stand living with Adelle. She always had a new husband and she was always preaching to Cory about how she should act and what she should and shouldn't like," Jessica explained. "Cory was girly and all but she'd grown up watching sports with Ethan. She started watching wrestling with me when she was like 12. She wasn't the little debutante Adelle wanted. When I started getting into the business when I was 17, Adelle tried to make sure Cory wouldn't be around me so I wouldn't negatively influence her. I had to sneak around to see my own sister."
"She was that bad?"
Jessica nodded, "It was easier when Cory lived with Jeanette. Cory was happy, I got to see her, and Jeanette..Jeanette loves everyone and she'll always tell you that the only way to live is to follow your heart. Cory graduated high school early when she was 16 and had a choice between studying abroad for a year and starting wrestling training. She wanted to do both but she knew her mother wouldn't allow it. So Jeanette tricked Adelle into thinking Cory was doing a full year overseas studying when she really only did a semester and then came back and started wrestling school."
"Her grandmother sounds cool."
"She is," Jessica said. "God, you should have seen Adelle when Cory told her she wanted to be a wrestler. It was not a pretty scene. Cory was so young and decided that wrestling was what she wanted to do with her life. The only time Adelle ever broke a sweat in her life was to give birth so she didn't really get it."
"So, has her mom ever had a job?" John asked.
"She worked for her father once and for her stepfather another time," Jessica said. "Then she didn't work for years. She married a few more millionaires and got a few huge divorce settlements. Finally, about 3 years ago she opened a talent agency, models, actors, singers, you name it. If there's one thing Adelle knows how to do it's criticize people. She's got a lot of talent though. It's actually doing quite well."
"What's doing quite well?"
John looked up to see Cory come in with a gym bag over her shoulder.
"Nothing," Jessica shook her head.
"Sorry it took me so long," Cory said. "My mother called freaking out about something."
"Something?" John asked.
"I try not to listen to her," Cory shrugged. "It keeps my stress level down. So, what'd I miss?"
John shook his head, "Not too much."
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Viveca walked out the back door of the building and spotted Jeff leaning against his car. He waved when he saw her and she waved back, wondering why she'd called him. Just before her signing, she called and accepted he and Matt's offer to hang out with them in Cameron. He offered to pick her up and she accepted that as well.
"Where'd the limo go?" she looked around the parking lot. "My bags were in the trunk."
"The driver had an emergency," Jeff explained, opening the car door for her. "Your stuff is in the trunk."
"He just left?" she asked, irritated. She got into the car, placing her purse on the floor.
"His son was sick, so I told him to go," Jeff said before he closed the door.
"Oh," she relaxed a little. Jeff got into the car and started it, looking over at her, "So, how was it?"
"Not too bad," she shrugged. "There were some really cute kids."
"Always good," Jeff pulled out of the parking lot.
"So, exactly how long is this drive?" she asked.
"About an hour and a half," Jeff said.
"You mean I have to ride with you for an hour and a half?" she smirked. Surprisingly enough, the idea of it wasn't as off-putting as she used to think.
"Yes ma'am," he smiled.
Viveca put her seat belt on and looked out the window as they rode in comfortable silence. Then, she heard the opening bars of The Eagles 'Life In The Fast lane'.
"I love this song," she said, putting a hand over her mouth in embarrassment when her voice squeaked.
Jeff laughed, turning the volume up, "So do I."
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John locked the door after Jessica left. He looked over to the couch where Cory was sitting with her legs folded under her, her blue eyes focused on the TV. She was wearing a Ninja Turtles t-shirt and a short denim skirt, her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail and her sunglasses resting atop her head. He had to admit, she looked..cute. Very cute.
I hope she cant read minds
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Cory looked up at John and caught him staring at her. At least it seemed like he was staring at her. Maybe he was looking at something behind her. That was probably it. It made more sense. She looked at the time on the cable box underneath the TV and saw that they only had a few hours to work on this whole 'getting to know each other' thing before they had to go to James' house for dinner. If they were going to get this done, they needed to get started. She stood up, "So..where's the bedroom?"
He looked confused, as if he wasn't sure how to take the question.
She rolled her eyes, "I want to get my bags out of the middle of the living room."
"Wait..so now I have to give up my bedroom?" he asked.
"I'm sure as hell not sleeping on the couch," Cory said. "That thing looks older than I am."
"I will have you know that this is the most comfortable couch in the world," John said, plopping down on the slightly worn brown couch. "Besides, I don't have time to shop."
Cory looked around the sparsely decorated apartment, "Obviously.
It was actually a nice place, aside from the lack of decor, but she wasn't about to tell him that.
"The bedroom's down that hall Princess," John pointed, putting his feet up on the coffee table and changing the TV channel.
"Aren't you gonna help me?" she asked.
"Help you what?" he smirked.
"With the bags," she pointed.
"I helped you get 'em upstairs didn't I?"
"Yes you did, now will you help me get them into the bedroom?" she asked, trying her best to keep from starting an argument.
"Anything you say dear," he sighed, getting up and picking up most of the bags. She picked up the two he couldn't get and led the way down the hall toward his room. She opened the door, surprised at what she saw.
"My God, your room is actually clean," she smirked, putting her suitcases down beside the bed.
"Yeah well, women don't like men with sloppy bedrooms," John shrugged.
She looked over her shoulder at him, "I had no idea blowup dolls were so picky."
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Taylor looked around the studio apartment. It was so small she felt like she was living in a closet and so far, nothing worked. She was just going to have to live with it since she'd given the landlord the last of her money. She filled out an application at the restaurant down the street and the manager hired her right away. She was supposed to start in two days. She hated waiting tables but she was good at it and beggars couldn't really be choosers. She dropped her bag on the floor and sat beside it, wondering how she was going to do this. She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes. She thought about Chris and the look on his face when she left. She'd never had that hard of a time leaving someone before and she barely knew the guy. What was wrong with her?
"So many ways to answer that question," she laughed, shaking her head. Once she started working and got a little money under her belt she was going to have to find a way to get it to Chris to thank him. But that would have to wait. Right now she had an 'apartment' with nothing in it.
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"You probably shouldn't be allowed to sing in public," Viveca laughed after she and Jeff finished butchering Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'.
"You loved it," he accused.
"Of course," she laughed. "I'll be first in line to buy your debut album."
"If you're nice, I'll even sign it for you," he offered.
"Ooh, talented and generous," she smirked. "No wonder you have so many fans."
"My singing wasn't that bad," Jeff insisted.
"Sure it wasn't," she giggled. She looked at the clock on the dashboard, shocked to see that they'd already been on the road for an hour. It hadn't felt anywhere near that long. She and Jeff had been singing along with the radio and joking around the whole time. "Is your brother as bad as you?"
"Much worse," Jeff laughed. "Looks like it didn't take as long as I thought."
Viveca looked up and saw that they were pulling into the drive of a very nice house.
"This is your house?" she asked.
He smiled at her surprised expression, "Yup. Not the farmhouse you were expecting, huh?"
She opened her door, getting out of the car, "Not quite."
Jeff turned off the car and got out, popping the trunk. Viveca started to pick up a bag but he stopped her, "I got it, you go ahead. "Matt's inside so the door should be open."
She smiled, enjoying the chivalry, she hated carrying her own bags.
She walked up the paved walkway and pushed open the door.
"Matt?" she called, looking around the house. The outside didn't exactly look like Jeff but the inside certainly did. The house was filled with interesting sculptures, paintings, and other odds and ends. It was definitely weird but not in a bad way.
She kept walking through the dining room, living room, and kitchen. In the kitchen there were large patio doors that led into the backyard where she could see a large pool. She frowned when she saw smoke blowing through the air. Concerned, she rushed out onto the deck.
"Hey V."
Just to her right she spotted a huge barbecue grill. Matt, clad in swimming trunks, was dropping meat onto the grill.
"Hope you brought a bikini and an appetite," Matt smiled. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Jeff walk outside, looking confused.
"What's this?" Jeff asked.
"Some of the family is coming by," Matt explained.
"When was that decided?" Jeff asked.
"While you were gone," Matt shrugged. "I picked up a bunch of food. Norah's coming by to help cook."
Jeff looked over at Viveca, "Well, you in the mood for a family party?"
She shrugged, "Do I really have a choice?"
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"You're not big on being on time are you?" John asked, standing outside of his closed bedroom door.
"Relax, if Jessica said we have to be there at 7 it really means we have to be there between 7:30 and 8:00," Cory said through the door.
"What?"
"She usually lies by at least a half hour for things like this," Jessica said. "I have a tendency to be a bit late if it's not work related."
"Obviously," he laughed. He decided not to rush her any further. They had managed to get along pretty well for a few hours while they tried to learn things about each other. They mostly just talked about past relationships to get a feel for how they should act with each other to make it convincing.
After another minute she finally came out of the bedroom.
"I had to pick the right dress," she said. "How'd I do?"
As far as John was concerned, she'd made the perfect decision. She was wearing a short, very dark blue silk dress with sleeves that went a little past her elbows and very high heels. Her long hair was full of curls and she wore smoky makeup around her eyes. She looked good. Damn good.
"Not too bad I guess," he shrugged, looking away before he started to stare.
She walked past him into the living room and picked up her purse, pulling out a tube of clear lip gloss, "So, before we go, I need to let you in on something."
"And what is that?"
"Part of why we're going to this thing is that Hunter and I need to check out this Jake guy."
"James," John corrected.
"Whatever," she finished applying her lip gloss. "Anyway, Hunter finally admitted that he wants Jessica."
"He did?" John asked, surprised. "We've been friends for years and he wouldn't tell me that and he told you after knowing you for like 3 days?"
"Apparently I'm more persuasive than you," Cory shrugged. "Anyway, we have to get James out of the way to make room for Hunter. "
"Do we have a plan?" John asked.
"Not yet," she said. "This is more of a fact-finding mission."
"Well, I'm in," John shrugged.
"Good," she smiled.
"Ready to go?" he asked, offering his arm.
She gave him a look.
"I'm trying, okay?" he laughed.
She looped her arm through his as they walked toward the door. He picked up his keys and put them in his pocket as they walked out.
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Hunter rang the doorbell and waited, hoping he had the right place. Jessica had given him directions to the townhouse but she didn't seem terribly sure about them. After a few seconds the door opened and Jessica smiled at him, "Hey, you made it."
"Yeah, you didn't get me lost," he smirked as she hugged him. She took his hand, leading him inside and he took the opportunity to stare at her. She was wearing a tight black knee length dress with thin straps and strappy black heels. Her black and red hair was curled loosely and then pulled into a low ponytail. He wasn't exactly sure why Jessica wanted everyone to dress nicely for a dinner at James's house but he was certainly enjoying her wardrobe choice.
"James will be here soon," she explained as they made it to the living room. "He got caught up at work but he promised he wont be too late."
"And John and Cory?"
"I told Cory 7:00," Jessica said. She looked down at her thin silver watch, "And it's 7:30 now. They should be here any minute."
Hunter laughed, "So she's always late like you?"
"Pretty much," Jessica laughed. "Must be in the genes."
She sat on the couch and he sat beside her, hoping that Cory and John got there soon. It was increasingly difficult to be alone with Jessica.
"Hunter," she took his hand. "I really wanna thank you for coming to this dinner."
He shrugged, "It's no problem."
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"So since he lost the bet, he had to put on my prom dress," Norah explained. "But we couldn't get it on him."
"It's not my fault I have more hips than you Norah," Jeff laughed.
"We have tons of pictures of us trying to get it on over his head or trying to pull it up over his legs," Norah laughed. "I'll have to show 'em to you sometime."
"I'd love to see them," Viveca smiled, laying on a lounge chair.
"She doesn't need to see those," Jeff said.
"What's the matter Jeff?" Viveca asked. "You gettin' all shy on me?"
"Uncle Ray, how are the steaks coming?" Jeff avoided the question.
"Not bad kid," his uncle called. "There's a few done in that tray over there."
"Finally," Matt stood up.
"Hold on," Ray held up the pitchfork her was using to turn the meat. "Ladies eat first. Norah, you go inside and tell your aunts the food's almost done."
"Okay," Norah got up, walking toward the patio doors.
Viveca looked around at the various members of the Hardy family spread out around the pool area. Most of the people outside were men, except for her and Norah. The entire family was warm and welcoming. They'd all hugged her when they met her and told her it was nice to have her there. Jeff and Matt's 19 year old cousin Norah was by far her favorite person she'd met. Norah was a bubbly blonde college student with one of the thickest accents Viveca had ever heard. They'd bonded quickly. She was also enjoying the volume of embarrassing stories about Matt and Jeff that the family was more than willing to share. It had been a very long time since she was around such a big happy family. For a moment, she thought of her own family.
"You okay?" Jeff asked, gently bumping her shoulder with his own.
She looked up at him, "I'm great, why?"
"You just looked..different for a second," he asked.
She shook her head, deciding not to think about anything even remotely depressing. She was having a great time and she didn't want anything to ruin it.
"I'm good," she insisted. "I'm waiting for your dad to break out some baby pictures."
"Over my dead body," he said, giving a warning look to his father who was sitting in a chair near the grill, talking to his uncle. "You hear that dad?"
His father laughed, waving him off and then going back to his conversation.
"It's getting really hot out here," Viveca fanned herself with her hand. She was clad only in a bikini and a skirt but the summer heat combined with the grill made her feel overdressed.
"You know the best way to cool down?" Jeff smirked, standing up.
She gave him a suspicious look, "What?"
He extended his hand to her and she tentatively took it. Then, before she even knew what was happening, Jeff had her up on his shoulder. She squeaked, laughing and trying to wriggle free.
"Jeffrey Nero Hardy, you put that poor girl down," one of his aunt's demanded as she came outside.
"I'm about to, don't you worry," Jeff laughed as Viveca tried to get out of his grasp. Viveca tried to tell him to put her down but she was laughing so hard she couldn't get the words out. They got to the edge of the pool and she reached down, smacking him hard on the butt.
"Oh now you're definitely going in," he laughed.
Then, he jumped into the pool and Viveca found herself under water. She came up quickly, laughing and pushing her hair out of her face. She was going to have to get Jeff back for that. She looked around for him but he hadn't come up yet. She started to feel a little panicked and looked around.
"Jeff!" she yelled his name, then she screamed when she felt hands on her shoulders. She turned and he was behind her, laughing.
"That was not funny," she playfully slapped his chest.
"I'm sorry, were you worried about me?" he asked, smiling.
She shook her head, giving him an exaggerated glare, "No."
"I got y'all some towels," Norah came up to the edge of the pool.
Jeff helped Viveca out and then got out after her.
"Thanks Norah," Viveca smiled, drying herself off.
"You wanna come help me make the salad?" Norah asked Viveca. "We need to have something at this barbecue that's not gonna make us gain 20 pounds."
"Nonsense," Norah's mother said. "The both of you could use a little more meat on your bones."
Norah laughed, shaking her head, "You coming?"
"I cant cook," Viveca shook her head.
"Anybody can make a salad," Norah insisted.
Viveca shrugged, "If you say so."
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