Betrayed by Love (17 page)

“I’m sick and tired of this phone,” Jackie said, the following day, as she sat on Eva’s couch.

“You and me both,”
Eva added.

“Why don’t you let me call the phone company and get the number disconnected?” Jackie asked.

“Not an option. I’ve had my number changed numerous times and I refuse to do so again.”

“You can be so stubborn,” Jackie commented.

Eva held up her hand. “I think someone is crossing the line.”

Jackie retreated. She knew how far to go with
Eva. “I’ll just keep telling everyone who calls—no comment.”

“Thank you dear. Oh can you call
Garth and ask him to bring me my favorite dish from Silvia’s?” Eva asked, but was really making a demand.

“He said, he’ll be here soon,” Jackie responded, a few minutes later.

Eva let Jackie handle her phone calls. She spent the evening lounging with Garth. She did her best to ignore the gossip blogs and entertainment news on television but it was to no avail. She was the talk of the town.

“Look at it like this, every body is talking about
Eva,” Garth said, trying to cheer her up.

“But not the way I want them to. Especially now that they know
Trevor is the man in question.”

“It was bound to get out,”
Garth said.

“I’m surprised you haven’t heard from him,”
Eva commented.

“He’s been screening his calls from what Caroline tells me,”
Garth said.

“Enough talk about Tre. I’m just glad to have you here with me,”
Eva assured him.

Garth
’s arm got tighter around her. “There’s no other place I want to be.”

Eva
gave Jackie the remainder of the week off. She allowed all of her house phone calls to go to voice mail and Jackie would check them remotely; calling Eva on her cell phone; only if it was an emergency.

***

The following Monday, Eva practically got mobbed as she tried to make her way inside the studio.  “When do these people ever sleep?” she asked, as Garth tried to block her from the media as much as he could as they sped into the studio doors.

“I’m so glad I’m not a celebrity,”
Garth commented.

They ran into John in the hallway. “The phone lines have been jammed,” John said.

Jackie added, “I’ve been offered thousands if I give them the inside scoop.”

Eva
looked at her. “I hope you told them what they could do with their money.”

John said, “The way you talk to her sometimes, I wouldn’t be surprised if she did leak some stuff.”

Jackie cleared her throat. “Excuse me, but I’m standing right here.”

Eva
stood with her arms crossed. “Well. I’m waiting on your answer.”

“No okay.” Jackie looked
Eva directly in the face.

John addressed
Garth. “You have to ignore them. They have this love hate relationship going on.”

“I got to experience it last week,”
Garth said, as he watched their exchange.

Everyone followed
Eva into her office. Eva went into survival mode. “Okay, here’s the plan. Garth work with Bach to make sure no press gets access into the studio audience.”

“Yes ma’am,”
Garth responded.

She turned and looked at Jackie. “Call a press conference for five o’clock today. Tell them I’ll make a statement then and not before.”

Eva looked at John. “John, doggone it. I don’t have anything for you to do.”

They all chuckled. “I’ll get our PR person on writing your press release.”

“Send them to my office. I already know what I want to say, so I just need them to make sure I word it correctly.”

The rest of the morning went by quickly as everyone went about their tasks. The studio audience cheered for
Eva as she came out on stage. Eva normally went over her questions before going out on stage with her guests but with everything going on, she didn’t have time.  John had to remind Eva in her earpiece several times when to ask questions. This was not one of her best shows but no one had noticed but her and John it seemed. Fortunately, the topic of the day kept the guests talking, thus making Eva’s job easier.

John said in the earpiece, “Wrap it up.”

Eva ended the show with her normal monologue. Instead of mingling with the studio audience and signing autographs like she normally did, she sped from the stage and headed to her office with Jackie fast on her heels.

Jackie said, “I’ve made sure all the key folks have been notified. It should be a packed house outside at five.”

“Thanks for setting that up. When things calm down around here, expect a week vacation to Hawaii on me,” Eva said, as she thumbed through her text messages on her iPhone.

“Wow.
Eva. I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you would suffice,”
Eva said, without looking up.

“Thank you. Hawaii, here I come,” Jackie sang, as she left
Eva’s office.

Eva
smiled. It brought her joy to make other people happy. Her life was in turmoil but it didn’t mean everybody else’s needed to be.

“Knock Knock,”
Garth said, from the entrance of the door.

Eva
looked up. “Come in. Thought you had abandoned me,” she said, as she rose out of her chair.

Garth
walked towards her. They met half way in the room. He swept Eva up in his arms as their lips connected. For the time they kissed, Eva forgot about all of her problems. Nothing or no one else in the world mattered. This new feeling was foreign to her, but she loved it. She loved Garth.

“I’ve missed you,”
Garth said, after releasing her.

“I can tell,”
Eva teased, as her hand grazed the front of his pants.

Garth
adjusted his pants to hide his excitement. Jackie walked in the room. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but here’s your lunch.”

She handed
Eva two bags. “Well, looks like y’all were busy, so I’ll check in with you later.” Jackie retreated out of the room and closed the door behind her.

“That’s never happened to me before. Normally, I’m more in control,”

Garth admitted.

“Jackie didn’t notice anything,”
Eva said, as she removed the sandwiches and pasta salad out of the bags.

“Oh she noticed. Did you see that huge grin on her face.”

“Garth, you’re just paranoid. Here, eat up,” Eva said, as she handed him a tuna sandwich.

“Five o’clock is getting here quick,”
Eva commented, as she and Garth sat at the table in her office eating tuna sandwiches.

Garth
took his napkin and wiped around the corners of her mouth. “You missed a spot.”

Eva
couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks for being here for me.”

“I’ll always have your back.”

After eating, Garth made phone calls while Eva rehearsed her speech. Jackie pranced in talking on her cell phone. “The crowd is forming outside already,” Jackie said.

“Tell Bach, I’ll be out at exactly five o’clock. Inform the masses.”

Mo stepped into her office. “I just came by to see if you needed a retouch of your make-up or hair.” He took his hand and slid it down her hair to make sure not a strand was out of place. “Perfect. I’ll be watching from in here.”

“I just need a few minutes alone and then I’ll be out.”

Everyone left except for Garth. He said, “Does that include me?”

“Yes dear. I just need a little me time.”

Garth looked a little disappointed, but Eva needed to go over her speech one last time by herself. After everyone had cleared out of her office, she shut the door. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She said a silent prayer before going over her speech one last time. Her iPhone’s alarm went off. She had just enough time to walk down the corridor to the waiting media. She wasn’t surprised to see Garth waiting for her outside her office door.

“Can you be with me out there? Just in case I need someone to lean on,”
Eva said, as they walked down the hallway.

“Like I said earlier. I got your back.”

Eva put on her dark shades and opened the door. Lights were flashing as soon as the door opened. The noise level increased as soon as they recognized it was her. Garth spoke out first. “Please hold it down. Ms. Ward is ready to speak now. Once she does, she may open it up for question and answering.”

Eva
placed the pre-prepared speech on top of the podium and scanned the audience. It was quiet as she stepped up to the microphone to speak. She said, “I know a lot of people have been speculating on what’s been going on with the threatening fan mail. I want to set a few things straight.”

She looked from one reporter and camera to the next before continuing to speak. “I was advised not to talk in details about this ongoing investigation. I would like to thank GT Securities and the police department for working together and identifying the person who has taken it upon herself to harass me.  Although I was not scared of their threats, I am relieved to know the culprit has been identified.”

Eva spent five more minutes talking to the audience before wrapping it up. She said, “Now I’ll answer two or three questions.”
She pointed at the young female reporter dressed in her favorite color—red. “Did you ever suspect Cheryl Johnson before her arrest?”

“No. I was surprised,”
Eva answered quickly. She pointed at a tall reporter she recognized from the evening news.

He said, “Is their any truth to Ms. Johnson’s reports that you were messing with her fiancé?”

“Chase. That’s your name correct?”

“Yes.”

“Chase, Ms. Johnson has it twisted. Her fiancé and I used to be an item, but that ship passed a long time ago.”

“So she’s delusional. That would explain her actions,” he added.

“I’m sure she will get the help that she needs.”

“When did you start feeling like the letters were a threat?” one reporter asked.

“My team recognized the letters first and alerted me to the situation,” Eva responded.

The same reporter asked, “Will you be releasing any of the letters to the public?”

“No. There’s no need to.”

Sandy Blair blurted out, “
Cheryl Johnson said you attacked her at her home. Is that true?”

“Sandy, I suggest you get your facts straight before asking questions. Next question please.”

Eva pointed at a female reporter to the right of Sandy.

She asked, “Are you and
Trevor still seeing each other?”

“You and Sandy must be friends,”
Eva said.

The crowd laughed.
Eva went on to say, “Trevor and I have not been an item since we were in college.

Eva
could tell the questions would get out of hand so she said, “Ladies and gentleman that will be all the questions for today. God speed.”

The reporters were disappointed and started shouting out questions.
Garth placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked back into the studio. She turned to look at the audience one last time. That would be the shot seen across the newswire that night.

Eva
said, “You would think with the state of the economy folks would be more concerned about it than what’s going on in my personal life.”

Garth
agreed. “I was never one to get caught up in the Hollywood gossip.”

“This is ridiculous. Listen to this,”
Eva said, as she turned up the volume on one of the entertainment reports.

“Baby you’re a star. I don’t understand the hype, but some folks want to know everything about their favorite celebrity.”

Garth massaged her feet as they switched from channel to channel later that night from the comfort of her bed. “I can go to sleep just like this,” Eva said, enjoying the feel of his hands.

She moaned with he took each one of her toes in his mouth.

Two hours later, they both were knocked out from an intense session of love making.

Garth enjoyed spending time with Eva. Life for them was as normal as could be with her being a celebrity. The media calls had died down a little but he and her staff were still filtering some calls. He was engrossed in reading a report when Trevor walked in his office.

“You’ve been scarce these last few days,”
Garth said.

“Soul searching. My personal life is in shambles and its about to get worse because reporters are camped outside.”

“That’s the price you pay for being the man in the middle,” Garth joked.

“Man, I don’t find it funny. Besides it’s not a good look for GT Securities.”

“I’ll have Caroline take care of the reporters, so don’t sweat it.”

Trevor
said, “You’re awfully calm about all of this.”

“Life is too short to let stuff like this wreck your nerves.”

“You’re not the one in the limelight.”

“I might as well be.
Eva. You. Can’t help but be in it.”

Caroline popped her head in the door. “Should I tell them you’ll be out to speak with them
Trevor?”

“Yes, he’ll be there,”
Garth answered for him.

“Man, I’m not going out there.”

“Get yourself together. You took speech in college, so you’ll do fine.”

For the second time in less than a week,
Garth found himself outside in front of the media. He stood next to Trevor as he answered a few questions from reporters.

“
Trevor, did you know Cheryl had a history of stalking people?” one reporter asked.

Trevor
answered, “I was not aware of Cheryl’s mental history prior to us getting together.”

Sandy Blair asked, “Did you cheat on
Cheryl with Eva Ward?”

“
Eva and I have been friends since college. Cheryl was an insecure woman who made our relationship out to be more than what it was.”

Garth
was impressed with how Trevor handled the reporters. “See that wasn’t too bad,” Garth said, as they sat in Trevor’s office as Caroline brought them something to drink.

Caroline said, “I’m glad to see you two worked out your differences. For a moment I was worried about the two of you.”

Garth swore he saw Caroline wink at Trevor. He was tired so his eyes must have been playing tricks on him. “Caroline make sure we’re not disturbed unless its Eva calling.”

“So what did you tell your family about
Cheryl?” Garth asked, as soon as Caroline was out of hearing distance.

“I got folks from everywhere sending me emails, messages on Facebook and Twitter…all trying to find out details. They don’t care about me. They just trying to be nosy. I haven’t been returning any of their messages. I’m just tired man. Tired.”

Garth took a drink from his soda. “At least you found out about Cheryl before the wedding. Just think of the hassle if you found out about all of this after you were married.”

“If you ever hear me talk about marrying someone else, shoot me and put me out of my misery,”
Trevor said, as he leaned back in his chair.

They both laughed. One of the few laughs they shared amongst each other since all the drama between them. Caroline came back into
Trevor’s office. “Cheryl is here to see you Trevor. She said its’ urgent.”

Garth
stood up to leave. “Don’t. Send her in,” he told Caroline. “I need you here to witness this,” he told Garth.

Garth
sat back down. Cheryl walked in looking like a million bucks.  Her hair looked freshly done and she was wearing what appeared to be a red designer pants suit. A far cry from the last time he saw her after the ruffle with Eva. “Good, both of you are here,” she said.

She plopped down in the chair next to
Garth. “Don’t worry. I won’t be long.”

Trevor
said, “Cheryl, there’s really nothing we have to talk about.”

Cheryl
handed him an envelope. Trevor asked, “What’s this?”

“Bills from the wedding expenses.”
Cheryl leaned back with a smug look on her face.

“I don’t need this.”
Trevor threw it back at her. The paper hit the floor. Garth reached down and picked it up and placed it in Cheryl’s lap.

Cheryl
looked at Garth. “Tell your girlfriend that I will be suing her for deformation of character.”

Garth
responded, “It’s defamation and if I were you, I don’t think you want to go there. You’re still not totally out of the clear.”

“I didn’t do anything but call her what she is and that’s a man stealing whore. Now if they want to put me in jail for that—than so be it, but I tell you I am not the one who has been harassing
Eva. I have better things to do with my time.”

“Well evidence shows otherwise,”
Trevor said.

Cheryl
scooted to the edge of her seat. “I don’t care what your so called evidence says. I’m a grown woman and I don’t have time to play those type of games.”

“Obviously, you do, or else you wouldn’t be in this situation,”
Garth stated.

“Look, this conversation is between me and
Trevor. So I suggest you stay out of it.”

It took all of
Garth’s willpower to remain calm. He knew Cheryl was only trying to push his button so she could cry foul to her attorney and the authorities. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.

Trevor
said, “I don’t think there’s much more for us to talk about. I don’t need your apology so unless you’re admitting to harassing Eva, I suggest you leave my office.”

Cheryl
responded, “I’ve said all I have to say on the subject. Any other questions should be filtered through my attorney.” She stood up.

Trevor
said, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Cheryl
looked confused. Trevor looked down at her hands and said, “I want my ring back.”

Cheryl
took her hand and looked at the two carat ring on her finger in various directions. “The rule is if the man breaks off the engagement, the woman gets to keep the ring, so sorryyyy.”

Trevor
seemed to restrain himself. Garth saw him clinch his fists. “You cheated on me and you think I’m going to let you keep the ring.”

“I’ve checked with my attorney so we can take this to court but Tre baby, you would lose.”
Cheryl eyed her ring and flashed a huge smile.

Garth
felt bad for Trevor, but knew there was truth in Cheryl’s statement. He said, “Man, I’m afraid she’s right.”

“Keep the ring and the expenses, because I’m not paying for a doggone thing,”
Trevor said.
Cheryl stood with one hand on her hip and used the other hand to make a motion. “Don’t make me sue you.”

Trevor
stood up behind his desk and looked at Cheryl directly in her eyes. “I don’t think there’s a court under the sun that will award you anything for sleeping with your fiance’s best friend.”

Ouch
. Garth thought to himself. He wanted to slip out of the room before the scene got any uglier.

Cheryl
’s neck and hand seemed to be in unison as both body parts moved from side to side. “Oh I know you didn’t. You’ve been messing around with Eva since the beginning of our relationship.”

“Our relationship is a thing of the past. Move on. I know I have.”

Cheryl turned around. “It’s not over. You’re going to help pay these expenses or else.”

Trevor
shifted behind his desk. Garth used his hand to signal him to remain where he stood. “Your idle threats don’t mean a thing to me.”

“You’ll be singing a different tune soon enough. Good day,”
Cheryl said, as she turned around and twisted out of the room.