Chapter Twenty Nine
Ella whined as she woke up on Monday morning. Why did the weekend have to end? Couldn't it just last forever? She loved her job but spending time with Nate was just so exciting for her. She'd never been with anyone who was so willing to understand her. It was getting to the point where she never wanted to leave him which meant she was in trouble if she didn't sort through her Paparazzi and press issues. She rolled onto her side and smiled softly as she watched Nate sleep. He was worth it, though. She was certain of that. She quietly slipped out from underneath the arm he had slung across her waist and padded her way into his bathroom.
She smiled at her reflection and, for the first time, saw how happy she was. She glowed. Her cheeks were a very healthy shade of pink and as she looked down at the low neck of her gown she noticed she was covered in maroon colored marks. She blushed and felt her cheeks heat up. At least she could easily cover them up underneath clothes. Not that she didn't thoroughly enjoy looking at them but her clients might not feel the same.
She gently ran a hand over a few of them and sighed contentedly. The longer she knew Nate the more she could see this being her life. She'd never been the type to imagine herself years down the road. Her mother's short, though valuable, life had taught her that planning your future didn't always work out. Since her mother's death she'd avoided really making plans and tried to just enjoy the present, but Nate…
Nate made her want to make plans.
A pair of arms suddenly slipped around her from behind and she smiled brightly as her eyes connected with Nate's in the mirror. He cleared his throat and blushed as he noticed what she was looking at. "Sorry about that. I think I may have gotten a bit carried away."
Ella laughed and leaned her head back against his shoulder. "I don't mind. I actually really like them. It's proof that I have an effect on someone. It makes me feel…wanted."
Nate chuckled and kissed her temple slowly. "If I wanted you anymore I think I'd go crazy, Ells."
She gulped and shivered at the feeling of his breath on her neck and the sound of the words he spoke. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I should start getting ready for work before we end up back in that bed."
Nate chuckled again and squeezed her lightly. "Probably a good idea. I'm this close to dragging you back there."
She turned in his arms and ran her hands through his unkempt curls slowly. "I was thinking about taking a shower."
"Yeah?" Nate asked with a grin.
She nodded and smirked at him. "You could join me if you want."
His eyebrows flew upward and he smiled. "Oh, I want. Believe me I want."
Ella giggled and stepped out of his arms to pull back his shower curtain and start the water. When the temperature was just right she pulled the handle to switch from the faucet to the shower head. She then turned to face Nate and grinned at him as she slipped first one arm and then the other out of the straps of her short negligee. She let it go and it dropped to the tile floor. Nate gulped and stared at her for a long moment before she smirked and stepped into the shower. She peeked out of the curtain as she closed it and winked at him.
"You comin', Nathaniel? I'm waiting."
"I'm coming," Nate said hurriedly as he frantically threw off his shirt and reached for the elastic waist of his pajama pants. "Don't you dare start without me."
Ella laughed loudly from behind the closed shower curtain and Nate sighed happily as the sound met his ears. He sincerely hoped he would be this happy for the rest of his life. He was sure nothing could thrill him the way the sound of Ella's laugh did.
Caitlyn kissed Jason's jaw softly as he slowly woke up. His eyes opened and he yawned before wrapping an arm around Caitlyn's shoulders and pulling her closer.
"Good morning, Caity," Jason said before he yawned again.
"Good morning, Jason," Caitlyn said with a chuckle. "I have to go."
"What? Why?" Jason asked in a sleepy pout.
"Because it's a Monday and I have no clean work clothes to wear," Caitlyn said as she smiled softly at his still groggy expression.
"Kay," Jason said in a sleepy tone as he rubbed one of his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Let me get up and I'll take you."
"Jase, You don't have to do that. I called a cab to get me here and I can call one to get me hom—"
"Caitlyn, I'm taking you. It's not a problem," Jason said as he rubbed her shoulder and pulled her to a sitting position with him. "I just need to put on some sweats and then I can take you. I don't have to be in the studio till eleven. I'm in no hurry."
Caitlyn bit her bottom lip before she kissed him slowly and smiled brightly at him. "Thank you. Just for that I'll make you an omelet."
She turned to slip out of bed but Jason wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close again. He placed a hand on either side of her face and kissed her. Caitlyn moaned and felt all of her limbs go slack as his tongue forced her lips apart and the kiss deepened. He pushed her back on the bed and slipped one hand back into her hair and played with the strands he found there. His other hand slowly crept down the side of Caitlyn's face and her neck before he stopped on her upper arm and slowly caressed her skin with his thumb. Caitlyn whimpered and slipped her hands underneath the bottom hem of his shirt and explored the feel of his muscles. Jason's kisses slowed down and he reluctantly pulled his lips off of hers to breathe. Caitlyn took a gasping breath and laughed merrily.
"That was quite a wonderful start to my morning, Jason. I can honestly say I was not expecting that," Caitlyn said as he rested his head in the crook of her neck.
He chuckled and placed a few soft kisses on her neck before he nuzzled her neck and pulled away to look at her. He grinned at her before he spoke. "I finally woke up enough to register that you were trying to get out of bed. I couldn't let you do that without a good morning kiss."
"That was not a good morning kiss, Jase," Caitlyn said with a gulp. "That was a grand slam kiss. There's a difference."
Jason smirked and rolled out of bed. He quickly slipped on sweat pants and a sweater before he grabbed his keys off of the nightstand and reached out a hand for her. "Come on, let's get you home. We'll pick up breakfast from Connie's."
Caitlyn took his hand and let him pull her out of the bed. She let go of his hand briefly to grab the sweatshirt she'd borrowed from him and the skirt she'd worn when she'd initially come over. She slipped them both on as they headed out the bedroom door. She slipped on her shoes and grabbed her purse off the coat rack by the door before they headed toward Jason's garage to load into his car and leave.
Caitlyn glanced back at his house one last time before smiling secretly at Jason. She hoped he knew that she planned to be over here a lot more often. The weekend was over but it felt like her life was just beginning.
Mitchie stared at the sheet music in her hand. They'd finished the song in record time. She'd never written anything that quickly before and she loved the finished product. It was beautiful and described exactly where she was with Shane at that moment. After they'd gone out for dinner they'd come back, finished the song, and just as things were about to get…intimate. He'd gotten a call from his mother asking if he could come over and help her get something about of the attic. Apparently she couldn't get a hold of Jason or Nate. She had an interview with Good Housekeeping in the morning and wanted to have some of their baby pictures to show the interviewer. Shane had asked Mitchie if it was okay before he'd accepted. He'd left with a promise to call her later and an apology that he had to leave so abruptly.
He'd called her as he'd gotten home that night and asked to take her out to dinner the next night. She'd immediately accepted. He'd also e-mailed Devonne that night. Before Mitchie had felt guilty for lying to him but the e-mail he'd sent had come off as a little flirtatious and now she felt insecure about everything. She still trusted him but she was beginning to wonder if using Devonne to talk to Shane had been a good idea at all. Did she want to know how loyal Shane was? And if she did was this the way to test that? Should she even test it at all? This couldn't be ethical.
What if he proved the current faith she had in him wrong? It would hurt just as much so why did it matter now?
She hadn't e-mailed him back yet. She was still contemplating what to do. The e-mail weighed heavily on her mind and it was hard to not think about it. Guilt and insecurities weighed her down more and more every hour. She had no idea what the right thing to do would be in this situation and she had no one to help her decide. If she told anyone they would dislike her as much as she disliked herself.
Mitchie ran a hand over the sheet music and smiled warmly at the mixture of her handwriting and Shane's. What was she going to do about him? How did she really feel? And how could she keep from screwing it all up?
Ella finally finished getting ready and headed toward the door. She stopped Nate from following her down to her car.
"I don't want you walking through that garage alone," Nate told her.
She smiled softly at him and patted his cheek gently. "Nate, if I go down there with you then there's a chance people or the press will see us. I want to work on this with you and I want to be able to deal with all the exposure you get but let's start small, okay? I don't want to start with me leaving your apartment. That would be a bit of a shock to your fans, don't you think?"
He sighed and nodded reluctantly. "You're right. As much as I hate it, you're right."
She kissed him soundly and mussed the curls he'd just finished grooming before pulling herself away and winking at him. "I like your curls better when they're imperfect and kind of wild."
He chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."
Ella took a deep breath and gave him a thoughtful glance before she spoke again. "Nate?"
"Yes?" Nate asked curiously. She looked very serious and hesitant. She must have something important to say.
"I want you to know that I want this to work out more than anything else in the world," Ella said honestly. "I—I don't plan my future much—it's never seemed to work out before—but I've already started to think about it with you. You make me picture my life years from now—I never do that—and I want to have you in that future. I need you to know that I plan to fight for this, even if that means I'm fighting myself."
Nate blinked at her for a moment before he smiled brightly and then grabbed her suddenly. He pulled her to him and immediately captured her lips with his. One of his hands cupped her cheek while the other found the hair that was resting on her shoulder and tangled his fingers into it. He deepened the kiss and moved the hand that was in her hair to wrap around her waist and pull her even closer to him. He backed her up against his closed door and kissed her harder. He finally pulled away and smiled proudly at Ella's pink and swollen lips and the stunned expression on her face.
"Wh-what was that for?" Ella asked with her eyes still closed.
"That was for saying exactly what I needed to hear from you," Nate said with a contended sigh as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I needed to know that you want this to work out as much I do and now I know. Thank you for telling me."
"You're welcome," Ella said breathlessly with flushed cheeks. "If I knew it would get that kind of reaction I'd have told you much sooner."
He chuckled and kissed her quickly one final time. "You should go. You're going to be late for your first appointment."
"My first appointment is Dana," Ella told him. "She'll understand."
Nate laughed softly and caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles. "Ella, go. I'll see you tonight."
"You will?" Ella asked as she finally opened her eyes to look at him.
"After what you just said? Of course I will," Nate said with an affectionate smile. "Call me on your lunch break and we'll sort out the details, okay?"
She nodded as he reluctantly pulled her away from the door and held it open for her. "Will do."
"Have a good day, Ells," Nate said as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I'll be thinking about you. Trust me."
Ella smiled flirtatiously and bit her bottom lip. She'd figured out that seeing her bite her bottom lip drove Nate crazy and she fully planned to take advantage of that. His eyes drifted to her lips and he swallowed thickly. "And I'll be thinking about you. I hope everything in the studio goes well for you guys today. Have fun."
"You too," Nate said as he finally took a deep breath and pulled away.
She winked at him. "See you later, Nathaniel."
She turned and sauntered down the hallway and it took all of Nate's self control not to run after her and kiss her senseless again. She had more power over him than he initial realized. It scared him and excited him all at once.
What the hell was happening to him? He knew he liked her, he knew he was falling in love with her, but was it possible that he was already there? Did this weekend push him over the edge from falling in love to in love? His chest ached as he watched the elevator doors close on Ella's smiling face and he knew. He just knew.
He was officially in love with Ella Pador and he could only pray that she was in love with him too.
Brown stared down at the piles of tabloid rags that had been stacked on his desk and sighed. What had happened now? If it was that girl that pitted Tess against Shane again he would have to get Caitlyn to plot revenge. He paused and then slumped his shoulders. Provided she hadn't abandoned him for Axel after learning that he and Jason had kept the man's employment offer from reaching her. He rubbed his neck and rolled his shoulders. He would think about that later.
Apparently the marketing and public relations teams thought they had a crisis on their hands. He reached for the issue on top of the pile and then froze.
For once, it wasn't Shane's face on the cover.
It was Nate's.
And the backside of someone he could only assume was this Ella he'd heard so much about.
The headline declared "Nate Gray's Mystery Girl!" in bold obnoxious type and promised to deliver insider info on who the new woman in Nate's life really was. Brown groaned and scanned over the other issues on his desk. They were basically all the same. Some crafty paparazzi had gotten a few money shots of Nate and Ella, but, by the grace of God, none of them caught her face. She was either turned the wrong way, had her back to the camera, or wearing large dark lensed retro sunglasses.
He'd picked a bad day to fire Caitlyn's temporary replacement.
There was a knock on the door and Brown scrambled to hide the magazines but knew he didn't have enough time. The door swung open and Caitlyn slowly stepped inside. Her brow furrowed and she motioned to her old desk.
"Where's the poor man's me? Shouldn't she be here by now?"
Brown pasted on a smile and chuckled forcefully but didn't answer her as he awkwardly sprawled himself across the front of his desk. He needed to research this situation a bit more before anyone found out.
"What the hell are you doing?" Caitlyn asked with an amused grin. "You're stretched so far across your desk that you're almost laying on top of it." She paused and then quirked a brow at him. "What are you hiding?"
"N-nothing," Brown lied.
"Aside from a job offer from Axel, that is?" Caitlyn asked with a scolding glare. "You owe me a secret Brown. Especially since you refused to let me squash Axel's hopes of stealing me away from you face to face."
That did it. He slumped against his desk and then moved aside for Caitlyn to see. She was right. He did owe her. Besides, she was great at damage control. She may have an idea about how to handle this.
She picked up a magazine and her face paled. "Oh God. Seriously? Ella is going to hate this." Caitlyn flipped hurriedly to the article and eagerly scanned the printed words. She sighed in relief when she was done. "They don't know who she is. Lucky for us they never saw Nate leaving her place or dropping her off. That gives us the advantage and a little extra time to talk to Nate and Ella. Where's your assistant? Shouldn't she be helping you handle this?"
"I fired her," Brown mumbled as he picked up another magazine.
"You what?" Caitlyn asked.
"I fired her," He said in a clearer tone. "Yesterday."
"Wow, you have stellar timing," Caitlyn said in a dry tone with a lopsided smirk.
"Tell me about it," Brown said with a sigh. "I'll call Nate. Do you want to call his girlfriend or should we let him?"
"I'll call her and get a car to go pick her up. The last thing we need right now is Nate getting caught at her shop. We have to make sure that Ella isn't ambushed," Caitlyn said with a sad smile. "This is her worst nightmare, you know."
"Can't say I blame her. All of this gossip can be really rough," Brown said with a nod. "You go. I'll send someone down to the studio to reschedule Lola's recording session—if you don't mind, that is?"
"No, I don't mind. This is urgent. Lola can wait," Caitlyn said seriously as she pulled out her cell phone and called the label's car service. She waved goodbye to Brown and went downstairs to meet the car and go to Ella's. Dana had her fitting with her this morning. Caitlyn knew she wouldn't mind being interrupted.
Nate's cell rang just as he was about to walk out the door. He needed to do a bit of grocery shopping before reporting to the studio at eleven. He answered as soon as he recognized his uncle's number.
"Hey, Uncle Brown, what's up?"
"We've got a bit of a problem," Brown said with a tired sigh.
Nate felt a sudden chill. He didn't like his uncle's tone. "What's wrong?"
"Looks like you've had a camera following you for the last few days, Nate. You're on the cover of every gossip magazine on the stands this morning," Brown said as gently as possible.
"What?" Nate asked frantically. "Shit! What about Ella? Is there anything on Ella?"
"Just that she's your new mystery girl. Somehow, no one could get a clear picture of her face. The two of you are very fortunate," Brown told him. "I've sent Caitlyn to go get her and I need you to meet us in my office. We're going to need a strategy to tackle this."
Nate bit his bottom lip and shook his head before he spoke soflty. "Brown, I don't know if she's ready for this. We only just touched on the topic of going public in a few small ways this past weekend. But this…this is huge. This would mean going completely public."
"It was going to happen sooner or later, Nate. At least they don't have her name. That will give us a head start and a bit more control over what happens next."
"We've got to handle this carefully," Nate said pleadingly. "I don't want to scare her away. I can't lose her over this."
"I'll try my best, mate," Brown said sincerely. "I know you really like this girl."
"I don't just like her, Brown," Nate told him as he hurried toward the elevator and shuffled the phone to his other ear. "I love her."
There was stunned silence on the other end for a long moment before Brown finally spoke again. "Then you'd better be prepared to be her strength, Nate. If she's as camera shy as you and Caitlyn say she is, she's going to need it."
