Page 36 of Head Over Wheels

I shoo her away. “Okay, I’ll call you later. Thanks for checking up on me. Love you.”

“Love you.” She disconnects the call.

I head back into the room, my steps a little lighter. What is it about best friends that always makes everything feel a little better? When I resume my seat at the table, the girls fill me in.

“No sign of Jace yet. We’ve been keeping an eye out for you.”

“Thanks, Lisa.”

“And we told them they could take away your salad even though you haven’t touched it yet. Hope that was okay?” Tara points at the empty space on the table in front of me.

“Yes of course, thanks. I’m just not hungry with everything that’s going on.”

The servers stop at our table again with the main course. It’s a pasta dish, ravioli in a tomato sauce with a lot of cheese. The smell hits my nose and reminds me that I haven’t eaten anything yet today.

“Ella, you need to try this. It’s delicious.” Tara closes her eyes as she savours a bite.

I scoop up a ravioli and pop it into my mouth. “Yum, you’re right. I could use some comfort food about now.”

We eat in silence, and I manage to get a few bites in before my stomach tells me it’s had enough. At least I got something in me to take the edge off. We chat while everyone finishes their plates, and I keep searching the room for Jace. When they take away our lunch plates, the instructors shift spots, and Alex joins us at our table.

“Hey, how’s everyone enjoying their lunch?” His eyes lock onto mine once he notices me. “Ella, I heard about what happened this morning. Are you okay?”

“I’m still shaken up, but I’ll be all right. I’m more worried about Jace right now. Do you know if he’s okay? I haven’t seen him since before lunch.”

“I haven’t seen him, but I heard he was talking to the executives upstairs, trying to get ahead of the news cycle.” He shrugs. “I’m here if you need anything, I feel terrible that you had to deal with all of this.”

“Thankfully, I had Jace, so I didn’t have to do all of it alone.” I rush to placate him. “I’m trying not to let it ruin my whole weekend.”

“It would be totally understandable if it did. The one good thing is now everyone knows who he is and what he was doing so he won’t be able to keep harassing you.”

Before I can reply, everyone’s phones start pinging again. What could possibly be happening this time?

CHAPTER 27

Tara grabs my arm. “Ella, I just got a notification that Jace Altman is doing an Instagram Live. It’s on the private Elevate channel.”

“What? Why would he be doing that?” I hurriedly pick up my phone and swipe it open to Instagram.

Everyone at the table is glued to their phone. I glance over at Alex, and he’s right there with us, waiting to see what Jace is going to say. My attention is drawn back to my screen, and there is Jace. He looks like he’s in a boardroom—there’s a large table in front of him and a wall of windows behind him. The lighting is great, and his hair almost looks like it has a golden glow. How do these celebrities always manage to have great light? I’ll have to ask Jace for all his secrets.

I’m guessing enough people have joined the live because he leans forward, with his hands steepled upon the table and starts to talk.

“Hello, Elevate members, I’m so glad you could join me this afternoon. I’m sorry about the last-minute live video, but there was an incident this morning that I’m sure you’ve all heard about, and I wanted to come on here and let you all know what really happened.

“As you know, Deb and I parted ways a few months ago. We announced it to all of you a while after we broke up to give us some time to grieve the relationship privately, so it may seem like it happened recently, but it’s been a few months. Deb and I have both moved on since then, and we remain good friends.

“Many of you know that we’re at an Elevate Celebration Weekend in Montreal. It’s been so much fun having so many members with us and getting to know everyone better. Over the last few days, I’ve even met someone, and actually, she’s an Elevate member.”

He blushes here, and I take a quick look around to see if anyone is looking at me. Everyone is glued to their phones though, so the coast is clear. I’m slightly terrified that he’s about to out me to all his followers. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but from the tsunami in my gut, I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of attention.

“I’m not going to tell everyone her name, she’ll be the one to decide whether or not she wants to go public.”

Phew, I’m saved.

“However, we have started seeing each other, and I’m really excited to be embarking on a new relationship with such an amazing woman. But all of this isn’t the real reason that I’m here right now talking to you all.”

Tell us! Why are you doing a live, Jace? I’m wringing my hands together under the table. I hope he isn’t telling everyone he got fired for punching someone.

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