After The One (The One Series Duet) (40 page)

January 1
st

7:03pm - Reception

One hundred feet from the back entrance of the reception building

“Pam, are you ready? She said she won’t leave until you talk to her. We need this interview and we also need to get back to the reception if we plan to eat,” Axel explained, a little annoyed that he was paired with the naïve, wide-eyed new producer. “Do we need to wait for Joe or Pepper? They just finished up.”

While Pam paced in front of him, he chewed on his toothpick and stared at her ass. Although he didn’t think she was cut out for the puppet mastery of being a producer, Axel didn’t mind the view.

“No, no. I can handle this.” Pam rolled her shoulders back and cleared her throat before turning to face her producing partner. “Let’s do it.”

As Pam walked over to the edge of the road, Axel waved over the camerawoman and waited for her to catch up. “Sydney, we’re ready.”

“About damn time,” Sydney muttered as she hoisted the large camera onto her shoulder.

“Pam’s the only person she’ll talk to. And if she does well with this, we won’t have to babysit her anymore. Then we can pick up where we left off, sweet cheeks.” Axel slipped his hand over Sydney’s round ass and squeezed.

“That was a one-time thing. Grab my ass again when I don’t have my camera, you’ll lose a limb,” Sydney snapped as they saddled up to Pam. “We’re rolling in five…”

Axel smirked, running his hand over his thick black beard. “Four…three…two…one…”

“Hi Leah,” Pam started in her sweet voice. “What happened back there at the wedding ceremony?”

Leah Trotter delicately brushed invisible debris off of her short, white dress with her manicured hands. Her wavy, light brown hair seemed perfectly styled as it cascaded past her shoulders. Even though the temperature had started to drop, her long, toned legs were bare and ended in an incredibly high pair of heels.

“I was manhandled by that New York Generals running back! That’s what happened!” She looked off into the distance. “Well I guess better him than one of those Neanderthals that the resort calls security. Did you know they banned me from the property? This was not supposed to happen! Does Robert know that they’re treating me like a common criminal?”

“I’m sure he knows about the incident,” Pam offered.

“What?” Leah screeched.

Pam swallowed hard and looked to Axel, who was quiet as he tossed his toothpick.

“He may not know.” Axel scratched his beard. “He’s a busy man.”

“What are you even doing here?” Leah spat, giving Axel a dirty look. “I told you when you hit on me earlier to go to Hell.”

“Well darlin’, if I’m standing here with you, clearly I’m already in Hell.” Axel’s lips turned upward into an easy smile.

“Axel!” Pam chastised, swatting in his direction.

“Screw you,” Leah hissed.

“You wish, little rich girl,” Axel baited, riling her up.

“Get him out of here!” Leah screamed at the top of her lungs. “I don’t want to fucking see him! Get him out of here!”

Lifting his arms up in surrender, Axel started to back away. “Pam, you got this?”

Pam looked like a deer in headlights, but she nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

“I’ll give you five minutes and then I’m coming back.” Axel winked at Leah who rolled her eyes. He turned on his heel and paused beside Sydney. “Please tell me you got that,” he whispered.

“Every last word,” Sydney whispered back. “Nice work.”

“Thank me later with that pretty little mouth of yours.” Axel strolled off toward one of the production trailers before Sydney could respond.

Pam looked over her shoulder. “He’s gone. Let’s talk. What happened?”

Wiping her flustered face, Leah let out a loud, exasperated sigh. “I was invited to the wedding by Robert and he told me that Julian and Zoe were going through a bit of a rough patch and she convinced him to marry her. I thought he was full of shit, but then he said that Julian had his people contact him for my new number. I didn’t believe him at first, but then… I don’t know.” She lifted her shoulders. “It’s possible. I mean, look at me. I’m gorgeous. I’m cultured. I’m intelligent. I’m the type of woman that men like Julian gravitate toward. I even look like his ex.”

Pam nodded, acknowledging both Leah’s beauty and striking resemblance to Lillian.

Leah put her hands on her hips. “Robert led me to believe that Julian was just looking for a way out, any excuse not to get married. And I figured, even if it was bullshit, why not?”

Pam’s eyebrows relocated to the center of her forehead. “What do you mean?”

“Julian embarrassed me. If he knew he was going to pick Zoe, he should’ve just said that.” Leah looked down and for a moment, a flash of vulnerability graced her features and her tone softened. “I really liked him. I liked him a lot. And when I made it to the final two, I really thought he was going to choose me. We have a lot in common. We’ve traveled to the same places. We move in the same circles. We had a spark—there was something between us.”

“Oh…okay.” Pam nodded slowly.

“We did. We had a spark,” Leah argued. She rolled her eyes and let her head drop back. “Yes, I get it. I’ve seen the way he looks at Zoe.” She lifted her head back up and looked at Pam and then Sydney behind the camera. “But there was a time when he looked at me like he liked me. There was a time when he said things that led me to believe he would choose me. And maybe it was a game for him, but I let my guard down and my feelings got involved. And then he embarrassed me. So when Robert told me that I should come to the wedding, I figured, why not? I could come here today and either Julian would leave Zoe for me or I’d finally get him back for hurting me.”

Pam’s hand went to her chest, over her heart. The recent heartbreak she’d experienced made her susceptible to the hurt in Leah’s voice and the pain in her words. Although Leah was snobby, entitled and manipulative, her actions made a little more sense.

“I’m sorry,” Pam murmured sincerely.

“Once I got here, I realized that Julian wasn’t interested in me. I saw the way he looked at her and I knew. He was…” She paused and licking her lips. “He is in love with Zoe. Fine. That’s fine. But why should he get off so easily for hurting and embarrassing me on live television?”

Pam nodded. “An apology would’ve been nice.”

“Exactly! I tried to ask him for an apology at the meet and greet on Friday and he dismissed me. I gave him an opportunity to apologize on Saturday night and he had me kicked out. I just wanted an apology, some sort of acknowledgement that my feelings mattered. So I told Robert and he suggested I do something big. I said, ‘Like interrupt the first dance or the cake cutting?’ and he suggested that I interrupt the ceremony. I thought that was too far. I wanted to ruin their weekend, get in Julian’s head. But interrupting the ceremony? That seemed over the top—especially since Julian clearly planned to marry Zoe. But Robert reminded me of the way Julian kicked me out and embarrassed me in front of the world. He said that he would make sure it came off as a bold, romantic gesture as opposed to psycho. He said he had my back because Julian was the most difficult bachelor to work with and he felt blindsided by him too”

Pam glanced back at Sydney. “So what did Robert say when you talked to him after the ceremony?”

“He wouldn’t see me. He had an assistant tell me that he was busy, but he would call. Security has required me to stay one hundred feet away from Zoe and Julian. The Villas tried to ban me, but I called my father so that’s not happening.” She shook her head and dropped her face into her hands. “It wasn’t supposed to play out like that. I was supposed to feel better. I was supposed to feel vindicated. That was the only reason I came out here. But…I just feel like I’ve been victimized all over again.”

Pam twisted her lips sheepishly. “If it’s any consolation, I understand that mindset.”

“Me too,” Sydney added from behind the lens.

Leah wiped underneath her eyes and then ran her fingers through her hair. “You know how it is when you have feelings for someone and they hurt you on a normal day. How do you think that would play out if you were being watched and recorded? Secluded from everyone you really know and love? What if it happened in front of an audience? That’s the trouble with these things. Everyone thinks they know what they’d do if they were being filmed during some of the most emotionally draining times of their lives. But no one knows until they’re going through it.”

“That’s true. I know I wouldn’t want to be followed with a camera twenty-four hours a day,” Pam agreed.

Leah let out a deep breath. “Well that’s all I wanted to say. I just wanted to explain myself. If they are going to make me look like I’m some lunatic, at least they should get the story straight.”

Pam nodded.

Leah started to turn to head to the black town car that waited for her down the short path to the main road. Looking over her shoulder, she gave a small smile. “This show calls me crazy, but never mentions that they drove me there.”

Without another word, Leah’s heels clicked down the well-lit path. Pam and Sydney silently watched as she disappeared into the car and then drove off.

Pam’s black shoe toed the ground in front of her. She heard Sydney packing up her camera but still didn’t look away from the spot where the black town car was parked.

“They’re not going to air this footage, are they?”

Sydney waited until Pam turned to look at her with her big doe eyes before she answered, “No.”

*****

January 1
st

9:37pm - Reception

West Wing of Reception Venue

“What you did back there doesn’t change anything. You’re still an asshole,” Koko pointed out as she walked out onto the large veranda on the west wing of the building.

Tate was leaning over the railing with a tumbler of amber liquid in his hand as he gazed over the elaborately manicured grounds. He looked over his shoulder at the striking beauty who managed to pull off blue hair. Lifting his glass in salutation, he turned his entire body around to face her.

“I guess I deserve that,” he agreed with a nod.

Koko crossed her arms over her chest as she gave her best friend’s ex-boyfriend a once over. “What are you doing here?”

“I was invited.”

“Not by the bride or the groom. So again, I ask: what are you doing here?” Koko took another step forward.

Tate raised his glass to his lips and threw it back quickly, emptying the contents into his mouth. The liquor burned going down as he loudly exhaled after the large shot.

After placing the empty glass on the ledge, Tate stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants. “I came to see if Zoe was happy.”

Koko pursed her lips as her stare became lethal. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “Yes. I’m very serious.”

“You didn’t give a flying fuck if she was happy when you proposed to her without a ring, telling her that the ring would come at graduation and then breaking up with her in front of everyone after hooking up with some groupies. You basically said ‘fuck her happiness’ when you got selected in the NFL draft and you completely blew her off.” Putting her hands on her hips, she took another step forward. “So why now?”

“I love her,” Tate answered simply. He shrugged. “I love Zoe.”

“Well, you had her and you thought you could trade up with groupies.” Koko let out a scoffing laugh, tilting her head to the side. “That’s the thing that guys like you don’t understand. You had a woman who supported you and loved you for exactly who you were and you let her go for some ass. Now look at you.”

“It wasn’t that cut and dry,” Tate argued.

Lifting one of her hands as she shook her head, Koko silenced him. “You don’t get to say that, Tate. You didn’t see the damage that you did. You didn’t see the trust issues that you caused. You didn’t see the wall she put up so no one would get close. You didn’t see any of it because you were off fucking anyone who would give you attention for being a football player. But I was there. And as much as I hated you for hurting her, you and I both know you did her a favor.”

Tate rolled his shoulders back and licked his lips. “I deserve that.”

“No, you deserve worse than that. And not even for what you did, but for how you did it. You didn’t want to be with her, fine.” Koko shrugged. “But you didn’t have to cheat on her. You didn’t have to embarrass her at a party you invited her to. You invited her to a party where you were fucking other women and when she arrived at the party that you invited her to, you broke up with her in front of everyone.”

Tate shook his head, casting a glance up into the sky. “I was young and dumb. I’d just gotten signed and I let—”

“You let your dick make your decisions for you,” she interjected, finishing his sentence. “You hurt her because you’re weak. But know this: she didn’t shed one tear for you. Your foolishness made her stronger and kept her single longer so she could end up with the man she’s supposed to be with.”

He lifted his hands in surrender, visibly irritated. “I get it.”

“No, I don’t think you do. Showing up here was not cool, dude. Not at all. You—”

“I said I get it,” Tate snapped in frustration. “She’s happy. She’s with him. She chose him. I fucked up. I messed up a good thing. I won’t find another Zoe Jordan and it’s my fault!” Tate’s deep voice rose with each sentence, echoing out into the night. “Is that what you want? Is that what you want to hear?”

His chest rose and fell angrily as he came to terms with the facts he’d just yelled out loud.

Silence stretched between them as they eyed each other with the same mutual frustration due to their love of Zoe.

With a slow nod, she was finally able to let go of her anger toward him. “Yes, it is.”

Tate scrubbed his face with his hands. “How long have you been waiting to say that?”

Koko moved toward him. “Maybe five seconds after you broke up with her at that party. I pulled up as she was leaving. The only reason I didn’t go in there to kick your ass was because she told me not to.” She poked him in his chest. “You avoided a beat down.”