All of Me by Tiffany Patterson

Chapter 15

Lena

“I cannot believe you booked us separate rooms,” I said while I rolled my eyes. Gabe and I were in the backseat of the town car he’d arranged to pick us up from the airport in New York.

Gabe made all of the travel arrangements for New York, putting everything under his name and my middle name, Jade, so it would be a little more challenging to track my movements. That was in case anyone was looking … which, honestly, at this point, I didn’t think they were.

Still, I was enjoying the privacy and not having to answer questions from reporters or fear photographers showing up at my hotel. I let Demetria know what hotel I would be staying at and the expected time of my arrival. She would meet us there.

“Are you ready to give me all of you?” Gabe leaned over and whispered in my ear. At the same time, he squeezed my hand.

Slowly, my eyelids fell closed as he made small circles with his finger on the inside of my wrist. He knew my body well enough to get me hot and bothered with only the slightest touch. And we still hadn’t even done the deed yet.

But I had to hold firm to my conviction. I would seduce Gabe so that we could both get the physical release we needed, but I wouldn’t give into him entirely. I couldn’t give him what he wanted.

A relationship with me came with too much drama.

“No,” I said firmly while sitting up straight. I turned to stare out of the darkened window, watching as we passed by skyscraper after skyscraper.

“Do you miss the City?”

I turned to face him. “Not really.” It was an easy answer. I grew up in New York and loved the City for what it was but after years of the go, go, go mentality, it got old.

“I bought a place in LA in my early twenties and lived between LA and NYC for a while. Five years ago, I permanently moved to Los Angeles.”

“You don’t sound too fond of LA,” he said.

“I’m not.” That was the first time I’d said those words out loud. But it was nonetheless true.

“There’s always Texas.”

I widened my eyes and stared at him. By then, however, we pulled into the garage of our hotel to be let in the private entrance.

“Thank you,” I said to the driver as he held the door open.

Gabe took my hand as soon as I stood upright, and we followed the hotel employee who’d come down to meet us.

“Ms. Clarkson, your assistant, Ms. Parks, is already waiting for you in the lobby. Shall I send her up?” the employee asked as he lowered the elevator phone.

I nodded before pushing out a deep breath.

Gabriel tugged on my hand a little.

I glanced up at him, giving him a small smile. “Back to work.”

He lowered his head and planted a kiss directly underneath my earlobe. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled the spot he kissed until it moved down my entire body.

“Ridiculous that you got us separate rooms,” I griped.

That stupid deep, rumbling chuckle of his pushed through his lips.

The elevator stopped, and we both exited behind the employee. Though we had separate suites, we were still on the same floor.

Marble flooring lined the hallways, while beautiful black and white photos of New York’s most famous locations decorated the walls.

“Ms. Clarkson, suite 1845 is where you will be staying,” the employee said before punching in the code for my door. He pushed the door open, and even more marble flooring welcomed us and an expansive walkway that led down into a massive living room space.

“We hope the suite is to your liking,” the employee said.

I glanced around the leather furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the Brooklyn Bridge, and the crystal chandelier overhead.

With a smile, I turned back to Gabriel and the employee. “It’ll do.”

Gabe chuckled.

“It’s great. Thank you.” I turned to Gabe. “You could’ve saved by getting one suite.”

He shrugged. “All you have to do is say those magical words, and we can cancel this room.”

I rolled my eyes and turned to face the open doorway at the same time Demetria appeared.

“Lena,” she said with a smile. “It’s so good to see you.”

I greeted Demetria with a wave.

“In person, that is.” She laughed.

“Demetria, this is Gabriel Townsend,” I introduced, gesturing with my free hand toward Gabe.

Demetria’s eyes widened in appreciation as she looked at Gabe. I had to stifle my laugh. To be fair, that was my reaction when I first laid eyes on him. Though, at the time, I was with my then-fiancé and couldn’t be so obvious about it.

My assistant’s gaze dropped between our bodies, and she zeroed in on our joined hands. He hadn’t released it since we boarded the elevator, and I hadn’t noticed.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Townsend.” She held out her hand for him to shake.

“Same. You can call me Gabe.” He released my hand to shake hers before taking a step back. He placed his hand at the small of my back, and I could tell by her raised brows that Demetria didn’t miss that move either.

“I need to go check out my room and then meet Eli and his team.”

I nodded, though my heart tugged, knowing that we had to separate for the next few hours. Gabe had his work to do, which also included a photo shoot. His shoot was for a well-known underwear company and would occur in the same hotel we were staying in.

He planted a kiss on my lips, and I let out a short moan before catching myself.

“Nice meeting you, Demetria. Take care of her today,” he said before looking back at me over his shoulder.

I was sure what he’d said was meant to be lighthearted, but there was a darkness in his voice that promised a negative outcome if something happened to me. When he made the travel arrangements, he asked if Rayven would meet me to do security while I was in the City.

I told him that Rayven had left New York and was off to God only knew where, and there wasn’t a real need for her to be with me on this trip. He’d frowned deeply and started to hire a private security firm he worked with or bring one of the employees from LS Investigations.

The two hours I spent telling him that all that wasn’t necessary were grueling. It took a miracle for him to back down on the security issue, but eventually, he did.

“Oh my goodness,” Demetria mouthed when the hotel employee shut the door behind Gabe’s exit.

I laughed and pulled her in for a hug. “How are you?”

“Oh no.” She wagged her finger. “Don’t you dare try to skate past that. Who is that?” Her eyes were wide.

“Gabriel.”

She gave me that bitch please look.

“We’re not going there,” I said. “I need to change so that we can get to this shoot on time.”

Demetria made a disgruntled moan but then helped bring my suitcase that’d been brought upstairs into my bedroom.

I showered and changed into a basic pair of jeans and a T-shirt since I would have to change and get my makeup done photo shoot anyway. DeLuxe Cosmetics had a car waiting once we got down to the private entrance. Within thirty minutes of arriving at the hotel, I was on my way back out.

“Don’t be mad when I say this.”

“That sentence never ends with any good news.” I turned to Demetria in the back of the car and stared.

She pinched her lips. “Maybe I should wait until we get there.”

“Maybe you should finish what you started to say now,” I suggested.

“Your parents found out about the photo shoot and will be there today,” she rushed out so fast it took me longer than it should have to process her words.

“What do you mean they found out?” I asked once I got my thoughts together. “How?”

She let out a sigh. “I might’ve let it slip.”

I slumped my shoulders and peered across the backseat at her. “How? You never speak with my parents.”

“It was a complete accident,” she defended. “Your father called out of the blue, asking about next month’s payment, and that was when I mentioned that you’d be back in the City.”

Sighing, I turned forward again. I ran my fingers over my hair, smoothing out the bun I wore it in.

“It’s fine,” I mumbled. “At least it’s not Nate.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

The remainder of the thirty-five minute ride was mainly silent.

Lo and behold, my parents were already there once we arrived at the location of the photoshoot.

“It’s about time you showed up,” my mother said before even saying hello. She pulled me into a quick hug. “Your father told everyone you were going to be a no show,” she told me as we entered the large room where the photographer had set up for the shoot.

On one end of the room sat the white backdrop and all of the cameras and lights, while at the far end of the room was a huge table complete with a variety of foods, including meats, cheeses, fresh fruit, chips, water, and sodas. It was a typical New York loft but probably triple the average size of someone’s home.

Assistants to the photographer, along with personnel from the makeup company, buzzed all around the room.

Someone pulled me by the arm and led me to a chair for the makeup artist to begin beating my face.

“Don’t you think that shade makes her too dark?” My mother frowned as she stood over the makeup artist.

I smiled at the woman doing my makeup.

“Ma, she knows what she’s doing. This concealer and foundation are formulated for darker skin tones, remember?” A fact which made me happy to sign on as one of the celeb models for the brand.

“Could you grab me a bottle of water?” I asked my mother. “I’m a little parched.”

She scrunched her face up and sucked her teeth. “That’s Demetria’s job. What else is she here for?” she yelled across the room, “Demetria, my daughter’s thirsty. Bring her some water. And not that faucet water they put in a bottle and try to sell as spring water,” she said as she walked in Demetria’s direction.

Squeezing my eyes tightly, I clenched my fists before relaxing. “Sorry about that,” I told the makeup artist.

She winked at me and continued applying my makeup.

“Thanks,” I told Demetria when she handed me a bottle of sparkling water. Even with my eyes closed as the artist applied my eyeshadow, my parents’ presence felt overwhelming. I could hear them bickering across the room.

“Can you tell them to keep it down?” I whispered to Demetria. “Remind them this is a professional shoot.”

She tensed but nodded and headed over in the direction of my parents.

Once the makeup was complete, one of the stylists handed me a beautiful teal dress to wear. The photographer introduced himself, and minutes later, I was in front of the camera.

I felt so stiff and out of my element. After months of being out of the spotlight, accompanied by a social media scandal of sorts, I couldn’t help but look at everyone in the room and wonder if they were replaying that video in their heads. Were they laughing behind my back?

“Stand up straight, girl,” my father suddenly yelled from across the room. “Shoulders back. Standing like that makes your stomach stick out. No man wants a woman with a gut,” he said, thoroughly embarrassing me.

“You would know what a man wants, wouldn’t you?” my mother tacked on. “All the hoes you run through.”

“Don’t touch your forehead,” the photographer ordered when I started to run my hand across it.

“Shit. Sorry.” I darted my gaze toward Demetria.

She held out her hands as if she didn’t know what to do.

I gestured toward the door, silently begging her to escort my parents out. That almost started World War III with them demanding that they deserved to stay because their little girl was the star of the photoshoot.

“I’m sorry. Give me one minute,” I said to the photographer, who was quickly running out of patience.

I stormed over to my parents and pulled them aside by their arms.

“You two are interrupting this shoot,” I whisper-yelled. “Can you please tone it down?” I shot both of them daggers with my eyes.

“We’re trying to help you, Lena,” my mother said. “Lord knows that assistant of yours ain’t no damn good.”

My mother had a particular dislike for Demetria. Why I could never figure out. They’d never had an altercation that I knew of.

“How do you know that girl ain’t the one that put that video of you online?” my mother whispered while glaring at Demetria across the room.

“Ma, she wasn’t even there that night.” Demetria was in New York while I was in LA when that video occurred and knew nothing about it until the rest of the world found out.

“I need you two to settle down, okay?” I pushed out a frustrated breath. “Or maybe, we can catch up another time? How about we go out to dinner later on?”

“Only if I can make the reservation. You know I have a very discerning palette. I just can’t eat anywhere,” my father said.

“That’s fine.” I started to head off. “Call me with the details.”

“I hope you didn’t change your number again,” my mother commented condescendingly.

“It’s still the same. For now,” I mumbled the final part. “Hey,” I grabbed Demetria by the arm, “call a car for them. Tell it to take them anywhere they want to go. Just as long as it’s not here.”

Grinning, she nodded.

I rushed back to the photographer. “Could we play a little music?”

He sighed but asked, “Anything in particular?”

“How about ‘Broken Kisses’? Does anyone have it on their playlist?”

Almost everyone’s hand went up.

I laughed and danced as I posed while the photographer took the shots he needed. I sang along to the songs, giving everyone a small concert for free.

At the end of the shoot, all of the assistants and the photographer applauded. Though I hadn’t been thrilled about the idea of coming to New York and jumping back into work again, I felt lighter after the shoot. Aside from the early interruptions of my parents, once they were gone, everything ran smoothly.

Over time, I stopped wondering if everyone in the room was thinking about that video or wondering if I would have a meltdown or something. It felt good getting my makeup done up by someone else and listening to my music while I performed for the camera.

The one person I wanted to see after it all was back at our hotel. Though we weren’t sharing a room, I was determined to end that separation. I felt too good and too turned on to go another night of only imagining Gabe in between my thighs. I needed the real thing.

“Are there any stops you wanted to make before we head back to the hotel?” Demetria asked as we packed up to leave the shoot.

I thought for a beat, making sure I didn’t need to make a run anywhere. “No, I want to get back to the hotel because Gabe’s there.” I paused to check the time on my phone. “He should be finishing up his photoshoot soon himself.”

“He seems to really like you,” Demetria continued once we got in the car.

“I like him, too.” I cleared my throat. “As a friend.” I hoped that statement didn’t sound as much like a lie to Demetria that it sounded to me. My throat almost clogged before I could fully get it out.

“A friend with benefits?”

I turned sharply to her with wide eyes.

She threw her hands up and laughed. “I’m saying, Lena. He’s cute, and the way he refused to let go of your hand while he was in your room.” She made a funny noise at the back of her throat, her eyes gleaming. “Does this mean you’re over Nate? I’ve never seen you with anyone else, even when you two would break up before.”

I snorted and rolled my eyes. I was long over Nate. The thought of him repulsed me. Instead of an answer, I turned away from Demetria and stared out the window. Gabe wasn’t cute, as she’d put it. The man was fine as all hell.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped,” Demetria said after about ten minutes of riding in silence.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Nothing is going on between Gabe and me. We’re sleeping in separate rooms. Anyway, that’s all the business stuff for today, right? What time is the commercial shoot on Saturday morning?”

“You have to be there by seven.”

I groaned, hating the early morning call time. But the next day was Friday, so at least I had a free day aside from attending the exhibition fight with Gabe. Eli Gatlin was fighting that night.

“Will you need me for anything tomorrow?” Demetria asked once we pulled up to the hotel.

“No, I don’t think so. Thanks for your help today,” I told her. “I’m going to, uh, head up to my room,” I lied.

“Do you need any help tonight?”

I shook my head. “No, trust me, you did enough by helping me wrangle my parents earlier.” I gave her a warm smile and squeezed her elbow. “I’ll see you bright and early on Saturday.”

She nodded and remained in the car. It’d take her back to her apartment while I headed inside through the private entrance.

The truth was, I wanted to get inside quickly to see Gabe. While my phone had been on silent, he’d sent me a few texts asking how my shoot was going and when I would be back.

As I passed through the lobby, I headed toward the hallway that led to the room where his photoshoot was. I’d gotten done earlier than expected, and his had run over. I didn’t think it would hurt to pop in and see him in front of the camera.

I heard voices and the sound of rock music coming from one of the opened double doors of the large ballroom, where the shoot was. A few people came in and out.

One of them was Eli Gatlin. He held a phone to his ear with a concentrated look on his face. Gabe had told me Eli wasn’t a part of the shoot, which was why I was surprised to see him there.

“Hey, Eli.” I waved.

He paused and peered at me with a wrinkle in his brow. “Hey,” he said as he hurried past. “Is she okay?” I thought I heard him say as he continued down the hall.

I looked back, wondering what that was all about, but started for the ballroom again.

When I stepped inside, people were scurrying about, music playing, and cameras and lights all set up. It was very similar to the shoot I’d left not too long ago, except there was double the amount of people at this shoot.

I looked toward the back of the room where the backdrop and photographer set up. In the midst of it all, stood Gabriel, shirtless in a pair of briefs. I could tell that he’d been slathered in oil to make his sun-kissed muscles pop even more. His body was a work of art.

The photographer moved, and I could see his face from where I stood. A grin spread over his face, causing my heart to flutter in my chest. Right then, a brunette woman blocked my line of sight as she moved in close to Gabe. She wore a pair of blue jean cutoffs and a tank top.

I watched as she lifted on her tiptoes and whispered something in Gabe’s ear, and then laughed. The move looked intimate, and my heart lurched in my chest.

I froze, and something fiery moved through me.

“Son of a bitch,” I murmured. In a flash, the memories of all the texts and phone calls I used to get from various women claiming to have slept with my ex came flooding back. The whispers I would hear when we would go out or the giggles from others about what Nate was doing and with whom.

I closed my eyes tightly, and when I opened them the woman was still there. Still standing too close to him. Maybe Gabe had booked our separate rooms for a reason. He’d said he wanted all of me, and I wasn’t willing to give all of myself to him, so maybe he moved on to someone who was.

Turning on my heels, I got the hell out of there before I did something stupid to embarrass myself.