Page 66 of Terms + Conditions
While it may not be exactly the response I wanted, it’s a start.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
NOW
“OKAY, I’M JUST GOING to ask,” Elijah says, both hands lifting his coffee cup to his lips. “What’s the story with you and Lola?”
When I woke up this morning, I had left Elizabeth in bed to try and get a quick run in before the chaos of packing to leave erupted. As I pulled a sweater over my head, I met her hooded gaze from under the covers. A lazy, sleepy smile graced her lips in the morning light, and a wave of emotion flooded through me. The same one I felt years ago, watching her sing along to her favorite Christmas song as she decorated for her favorite holiday. Then, the overwhelming dread of returning to a life without her hit me. Being away from her. Our actions last night made the pit in my stomach even deeper, like a black fucking hole ready to swallow me whole.I deserve what I want, she said. But I still had no idea what it all meant and what would happen when we went back home. Was it even possible to go back to normal? What was normal? I don’t think either of us truly knew. Her voice broke through the million questions swimming around my brain. “You alright, baby?”
“Oh, y-yeah. Still just a little tired, I guess,” I lied.
“You can always come back to bed.”
I shook my head and mustered up a smile, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
As I walked out of the bedroom, the house was quiet until I reached the kitchen. Lola sat at the island trying to get some work done, but Elijah and Jeremy were too busy discussing the latest fantasy football picks to notice. She looked like she was about to murder both of them and her annoyance only grew when she saw me. Without a second thought, I invited the guys to breakfast down at Teddy’s, and Lola’s blue eyes lit up. I shot her a wink as I followed them out of the kitchen and she waved over her cup of coffee, returning to her work without a second glance.
“I should’ve seen this coming,” Jeremy chuckles, digging his fork through the leftover potatoes on his plate.
“We don’t mean to pry,” I say.
Elijah doesn’t waste time adding, “But can you blame us?”
Jeremy sighs. “No, I guess not. Honestly, I thought Elizabeth and Selena would’ve just told you.”
IknewElizabeth knew more than she let on.
Jeremy chews on the thought for a moment. I can only imagine the thoughts running through his mind, but I can’t imagine it’s easy to relive it either. “Did either of you know Jenna?”
“Was she at New Year’s at your house last year?”
“Unfortunately. Tall, skinny thing, with short blond hair.”
“So, everyone there,” I joke.
Jeremy laughs, nodding. “Nothing that would make her stand out in a crowd, so you probably saw her and didn’t even notice.” Slowly, his smile begins to fall, and he sips his water. “Jenna was…obsessed. That’s the only word I can use to describe it. She met Lola on a set where she was an extra before Lo decided to take a break, and because Lo was nice to her—”
“She took it a little too far.”
Jeremy nods. “Even though she took a step back from producing and show running, Lola was still involved with some projects on the creative front. She needed help, needed someone who could handle the mundane things while she took care of the big stuff…Enter Jenna.”
Jenna had sold herself well enough in the interview that Lola hired her almost immediately, but from the beginning, Jeremy was skeptical. She almost seemed too perfect. And he wasn’t the only one. Lola’s best friend, Stephanie, voiced her concern after meeting Jenna for the first time. But Lola brushed them off. Jenna was nice and had been able to help Lola get back on track, so maybe she had gotten a little attached. Lola didn’t mind having someone else to talk to.
Slowly, Jeremy noticed Lola growing more and more distant. First, Lola became emotionally distant—fewer hugs, kisses, and physical closeness overall. Then they stopped talking as much, even though they lived in the same house. Jeremy tried to put more effort into fixing the distance that had grown between them, but she didn’t put in the same effort. All of her effort and attention was being put into work. And the more time she spent at work, the more time she spent with Jenna. Lola and Jeremy had multiple fights over the four months that Jenna had been working for her, but the final one happened two days before Lola’s birthday in mid-January. Lola packed a bag and left without any indication as to where she was going or whether she was coming back home. A week later, he and his daughter came home and found Lola packing more of her things in the house. Gabby tried to ask questions, but Jeremy put a stop to it. He didn’t want Gabby to to worry about what was going on between him and Lola. When the time was right, he’d explain it to her…
A month later, Jeremy found out Lola had fired Jenna that same day. She decided to leave Hollywood for good and Jenna’sservices were no longer required. She could handle the rest of her business on her own.
“How did you find out?” Elijah asks, interrupting Jeremy’s story.
Jeremy scoffs, shaking his head. “I found the letter from Lola in Jenna’s apartment.”
Elijah and I share a confused glance before I ask what we’re both thinking. “Why were you in Jenna’s apartment?”
“I hired an investigator to look into Jenna,” Jeremy says, taking the final sip of his coffee. “I wasthatboyfriend.” He traces the rim of his now-empty coffee mug, his gaze narrowing in on the table. “And I thought maybe if I went there, I’d find something that could lead me to Lo. I got way more than I bargained for.”
What does that mean?
“I got inside and there was this room…” He bites down on his bottom lip. “The walls were covered,covered,in photos of Lola. Press events Premieres. Pap photos. Airport photos. Selfies. Social media posts. Any photo ever taken hung on those walls. There was one that stuck out to me, it was a picture she had taken on our first date, except I was no longer in the photo. Jenna had cut me out of the photo, out of every photo. I found the cutouts on her desk with big red Xs through my face.”
