Spurned but not broken

chapter 11

Amelie emerged from the bathroom in her hotel suite, a large bath towel wrapped around her as she gently towel dried her hair whilst walking across the room to her luggage. She pulled out a set of lounge wear, setting them on the bed as she finished drying herself off, pulled on her comfortable outfit and, with a deep sigh, let herself fall back and sprawl out across the large king-size bed, closing her eyes and smiling to herself in content.

No sooner had she allowed her tensed muscles to relax, a noted side effect of being back in this city after so many years away, than the door to her room had sprung open and Summer had emerged, her face beaming with excitement whilst holding two take-away cups which Amelie desperately wished held some form of caffeine.

Summer handed over one of the cups, sat on a seat across from Amelie and pulled out her laptop, as well as a pad of paper and a pen after sitting her own cup down.

"So, X group entertainment reached out. They were concerned that we hadn't met with their transport detail at the airport. Don't worry, I told them we would arrive at the scheduled meeting on time.£ Amelie took a sip of her drink and nodded to her friend to continue.

"The meeting is set for 10am tomorrow morning. They wish to go over some of the finer details of the contract and discuss scheduling."

Amelie looked thoughtful for a moment. "Have they mentioned anything about the condition to the contract?"

Summer shook her head, "nothing yet, but I'm sure they'll want to address it in person tomorrow."

A small smile crossed Amelie's lips, "I'm sure they will... but they will learn it is non-negotiable."

"I kind of feel sorry for whoever has got to try and deal with you tomorrow." Summer sat giggling at the thought of some lost-looking stiff in a suit trying to negate her friend and boss' terms whilst he slowly starts turning red from frustration.

"Okay, back to business", Summer cleared her throat, attempting to get back into her professional mindset.

"So, the meeting is at 10, seeing as I'm not sure how long it's going to take, I've pushed back the meeting with your editor to 5pm and booked a private table at Piers. Yes, before you ask, I have personally messaged him and informed him you will be there. He knows not to let your information slip. Your editor also asked to arrange a meeting with X group as she wants to make sure your work is being represented to the standard it should be. You have a virtual meeting with Jack at 8, and then you need to make calls to printing, editorial and visuals for final confirmation before the next release date."

Amelie nodded appreciatively at her best friend. She was definitely the best assistant she could have asked for.

"Now that that's out of the way", Summers' smile widened, "It's time to see what the room service at this fancy hotel is like!" As she got up and jumped onto the bed with Amelie, grabbing the room service menu off the nightstand and scanning her eyes across the multiple options.

30minutes after leaving his family gathering, Jaxon arrived back at the building to his office. Walking across the reception area to the waiting elevator. Catching the lustful eyes of all the women that happened to be in the area at the time. Johnathon waiting with a coffee at hand.

"What happened?"

Johnathons gaze shifted as they entered the elevator, waiting for the doors to close and block off their conversation from curious eyes.

"Well..." he handed over a tablet to Jaxon, an article page already loaded on the screen.

"What the hell is this?" Jaxons voice rose slightly, annoyance clear in his tone. Staring back at the article, a picture he didn't know existed staring back at him. One from that night. His back, face turned slightly, just enough to show it was him, arm wrapped around the waist of a woman, as they were about to enter his waiting car.

"Popped up about an hour ago, already making the rounds. Legal is on it, and PR are just waiting on your word."

Brows furrowed together, still staring at the small screen in his hand. "Destroy them."

Johnathon nodded, pulled out his phone and sent off a quick message. In about an hour's time, Jaxon knew he'd heard word that the company that had released that tabloid article about him would be no more. Entering his office, he sank into his large, cushioned, black leather office chair and powered up his computer. He didn't need this right now, didn't need his image questioned, not the night before he would be officially signing a potentially huge contract project. Although he didn't regret that night, he was never one to like his private life to be on display, and he definitely didn't want the woman that so often occupied his thoughts to see such a thing.

Jaxon let out a deep breath as he loaded up files on his computer and got to work, he had too many other things to deal with and he wanted to be as prepared as possible for his meeting the following morning.

Unknown to him, however, back in Amelie's hotel room, Summer happened to be flicking through local news articles and gossip pages, and just so happened to stumble across a certain tabloid piece, her eyes widening as a gasp left her lips. Amelie, brow quirked at her friend's sudden reaction, a slice of pizza between her lips, TV control in hand, as she'd been searching for something to watch so she could relax, couldn't help but lean over to try and see what had caused Summers' surprise.

Seeing the article, Amelie couldn't help but scrunch her eyebrows in confusion. Why had this cause Summers' reaction? Her eyes drifting down the page until they landed on the photo. She couldn't help but stare at it. Why did it look so familiar? Concentrating for a few seconds, a flash of realization hit her, that outfit, those eyes, it was that night. Her and her mystery man.

Well, not so much a mystery anymore, all she had to do was read who the article was about. But as she tried to scroll the page, it wouldn't move. Confused and slightly frustrated, she refreshed the article, thinking that the Wi-Fi in the hotel had glitched, but to her surprise, the entire website had been blocked.