Page 34 of Undefeated Love
Alex’s next call was to Top Cooper. “Can you and Gina meet all the Ladies and their significant others at Katlin’s Dupont Circle condo tonight for supper? I’ve got something I want to show all of you. Hopefully, you’ll realize that this whole JJ shit was a publicity stunt. And afterwards you’ll help me figure out a way to get Katlin back.”
“We can be there but I’m not guaranteeing anything other than that. You’d better order something good for supper and alcohol needs to be included.” Katlin’s surrogate father was one of his best hopes to get her back.
“I can guarantee both.”
Alex debated inviting her uncles. In the end, he decided not to. He’d wait and see how things went with her friends first.
* * *
That evening, Alex paced the large condominium. His plan was to show them exactly what happened on the red carpet from several different views. He’d also gotten footage of when her purse opened the first time right after she’d gotten out of the limousine. He’d practiced slowing down the footage so everyone could see clearly.
They all arrived en masse. Since the Ladies all used to live there, they made themselves right at home, pouring drinks for their significant others as well as themselves, using the bathrooms attached to their bedrooms to freshen up since they came straight from work, and finally settled on the huge U-shaped couch and ottoman as big as a bed.
Alex stood in front of the men and women who had fought beside him in combat. He’d considered them his best friends…who now wrongly despised him.
“Thank you for coming. I wanted to get this part out of the way before the caterers arrive. You wanted to see proof that I never asked JJ to marry me. I have that. But before I play the videos, I have to tell you, I’m most sorry that after everything we’ve been through together, dodging bullets in the sandbox, playing at the lake house, that not a one of you called me and asked me ‘what the fuck.’”
Several people shifted on the chairs and couch.
Alex swallowed, trying to wet his dry throat. “But I understand. You saw and heard soundbites. I’m going to show you the whole truth. Then I’m going to ask you to help me get back the love of my life, Katlin.”
He hit the play button. “This is the clip that has played over and over again on television.” Everyone was silent for the thirty seconds it took to show the overplayed soundbite.
“Now, I want you to watch the whole thing.” Alex clicked the button, and the video started several seconds before the previous short video. He stopped it where JJ’s purse opened. “As you can see here, all the shit from her purse dropped out.” Alex pointed to several pieces including the ring box as they flew through the air.
He hit play. “You can see me kneeling down and picking up her lipstick and other makeup shit and handing it to her as she stuffs it back into the tiny purse. Take note of this. I am picking up the box from the floor along with the last three items. Watch me as I scanned the floor for anything else.”
On the video, JJ took the other items from his left hand and stuffed them into her purse leaving him holding nothing but the box. “Watch this next part carefully. As I hand her the box, it pops open. The woman interviewer behind her screams. JJ looks over her shoulder at the show host then looks back at me. She pastes on a smile and runs with it…me crouching,noton one knee.
“Of course I’ll marry you, Alex.”
On those words, Alex stopped the video. “I want you all to take a good look at my face. That’s shock. And maybe a little confusion. Not love. And as yet, I haven’t said a fucking word.”
“But you played along with it,” Nita accused.
Alex hit the play button. “This is where she asked me not to embarrass her. Once we were inside the theater, she confessed to me that she’d bought herself the ring.” He debated with himself for only a moment before he continued, “JJ and I grew up literally dirt poor in a neighborhood not that far from here. The only grass in that vicinity was the kind people smoked and sold on every corner.” He gave them the general address. Several people hissed in a breath.
“It was bad when we lived there. I’ll admit, it’s gotten worse but not by much. She’d always promised herself that if she ever made it big, she’d buy herself a huge flashy diamond ring and wear it everywhere. That movie was the turning point in her career and the premiere that we were attending that night was her justification that she’d made it.”
He took a long pull on his beer. “JJ and I have been friends since we were children. Good friends.” He looked down at his feet before he admitted, “And at one point, while I was single, we were more than friends. We were lovers for a very short time after I purchased the L.A. office.” He quickly added, “Since Katlin came back into my life two years ago, I haven’t even thought about another woman. She’s it for me. I love her to the bottom of my soul. I think I’ve loved her since I met her in high school. Nobody is quite like Kat.”
After a brief pause, Griffin asked, “Is it our turn to talk?”
Alex chuckled. “I’ve dominated the first ten minutes. That’s all I have to show you. Yes. Please. Talk to me.”
“Alex, we’ve been friends a long time. Working with you to hunt down Jack showed me what I already knew deep down. You love Katlin, the same way I love Grace.” He looked down at his fiancée who was cuddled into his side, Griffin’s arm around her shoulders. He kissed her temple. “Which reminds me, you’re still going to be the best man at our wedding, right?”
“Which is only three weeks away,” Grace reminded everyone.
Alex smiled. “Yes. I’ll be your best man, if you’ll have me. Even if you’re on the fence about the JJ fake engagement, I’ll be honored to stand beside you as you marry Grace.”
Griffin shook his head side to side. “I’m not on the fence about this shit anymore. But I’ll repeat the same thing I told you the first time I saw you after all this bullshit went down. You’re fucked.”
The men in the room nodded their heads in agreement.
“That’s why I need your help.” Alex scanned the room. “What am I going to do to get her back?”
“We’d like to have her back, too.” Tori got up and poured herself another glass of wine. “I love working with Team Two, but our team feels incomplete without Katlin.”
