Anything But Mine (9 page)

CHAPTER TEN

W
hen the chorus of Jay-
Z’s
“Empire State of Mind” began to play from his cell phone, Drew didn’t have to look at the display to know who was calling. “How’s my best friend,” he answered.

“Good, thanks,” Jen replied. “How are you?”

“Good. Just working on a new post for my Bay Area sports blog. I want to get it up before the radio show I’m doing tonight.”

“I’m looking forward to reading it,” she said. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m flying out to San Francisco tomorrow for a photo shoot, and I’ll be in town for a couple of days this week. Do you think you’ll have some time to get together?”

“You’re flying here tomorrow?”

“Yes. I get in around noon your time.”

Jen held her breath while she waited for Drew’s response. “I miss you, and I’d love to see you, Jen,” he said. “How about dinner tomorrow night?”

Jen exhaled, relieved that he agreed to see her.
Things have been so awkward between us since the last time I was there,
she thought. “Great! See you then,” she replied.

After ending the phone call, Jen sat cross-
legged
on her living room sofa, staring out the window at the Manhattan skyline, thinking back to the last time she was with Drew, in her hotel room in San Francisco.
We’re past that, I think. Now we’re back to the way we were before, and we’re just friends. But I’d give anything to be more than friends again,
she thought.

Sighing, she opened her laptop and typed Drew’s name into a search engine, locating some clips of his television appearances.
He’s so handsome, so smart, and so well-
spoken
. He’s going to make it big as a sports announcer or anchor one day,
she thought, as she watched the video clips over and over.
Oh Drew,
she said to herself,
I’m trying to move on and forget about you, but I can’t.

After ending the conversation with Jennifer, Drew stared at the computer monitor at his desk.
I’ve tried to forget about you, but I can’t. Everything about you is seared in my memory,
he thought. Since he last saw Jen two months earlier, he had purposely avoided searching online for new photos or stories about her, but knowing he was going to see her the next day, his curiosity got the better of him, and he allowed himself to type her name into a search engine.

When the search results popped up on his screen, Drew was surprised they revealed multiple gossip sites and photos of Jen.
What the hell
, he thought.
She hates being in the press. Why are there so many stories about her?

He clicked on the first link, which led to a popular gossip site, and found a story with a grainy photo of Jen with Vince Moscolo at a restaurant.
She finally went out with him,
he thought, and made a mental note to ask her about her “date night” with Vince. He moved on to the next link, and found a short blurb and another photo of Jen holding hands with Vince as they left The River Café. As he scrolled down to the next link, it led to an article about a charity event, and a photo of Jen and Vince with their arms around each other.

Drew felt his mouth go dry and his chest constrict as he read the articles.
She’s gone out with him a lot
, he thought.
What the hell?
He went back to the beginning of the search results, and took a hard look at the photos and articles, noting the dates and the different outfits and hairstyles on Jen, and it became clear that she and Vince had become a steady item.
I never asked her if she was dating anyone, because I didn’t want to know,
he thought.
And I guess she didn’t tell me because she didn’t want me to know.

Vince stayed over at Jen’s apartment the night before she was scheduled to fly to San Francisco, and she was woken up just after dawn by Vince’s hands exploring her naked body beneath the sheets. He gently nibbled at her back, and when she stirred, he whispered, “Good morning, beautiful.”

She stretched her legs, but didn’t answer, and Vince pulled her back against his crotch, rubbing himself against her backside until he became hard. “How about a little morning workout?”

Barely awake, Jen only managed to utter “Ummmmhh,” and rolled over onto her stomach. “Vince, no, please let me get another hour of sleep,” Jen said, as she buried herself under the sheets.

“Jennifer, you’re leaving me for four days. I can’t imagine functioning for that long without you. If I didn’t have meetings planned here in New York, I’d go with you. I need you,” Vince replied, as he curled up behind her, reaching around her waist and down deep into her most private parts to caress her, in an attempt to get her into an amorous mood. “Please don’t deny me, Jennifer. You know how much I need you,” he begged.

“Oooh, that does feel good, Vince,” Jennifer said. Turning her head towards him, she looked into his eyes, intensely dark with passion, and said, softly, “You know I won’t deny you.”

Vince kept massaging her until he felt her juices begin to flow and, knowing she was physically ready for him, he pulled her up onto her knees, grasped his erection and plunged it into her from behind.

Jen was surprised by his suddenly entering her, and cried out in shock. She tried to change positions, but Vince continued to pump himself into her, harder and harder, while holding her body firmly in place by grasping her around the waist with his hands, until his body shuddered and he came inside her. Out of breath, he slipped out of her and collapsed onto the bed.

Shaking, Jen pulled away from him and curled up into a ball. When Vince reached out and touched her, she winced and pulled away from him as he ran a hand down her side and stopped to massage her buttocks.

“Is something wrong?” When she nodded her head, Vince asked “What is it? Is it something I did?” When Jen just lay there without responding, he pleaded, “Jennifer, please talk to me.”

Without turning around, Jen said, hoarsely, “That hurt, Vince. You really manhandled me.”

A wave of remorse washed over Vince, and he felt nauseous at the thought of hurting her. “I’m sorry, Jennifer. You know you mean a lot to me, and I hope you know that I never meant to hurt you.” Vince rubbed her back, and felt her tension ease a bit. “I’m so sorry. I thought you enjoyed it, or at least it sounded that way to me.”

Jen stared off into the distance for what seemed like an eternity, before she rolled over onto her back and looked up at him with her deep brown eyes.

Vince smiled at her, and she reluctantly smiled back. Relieved, Vince asked, “Are we okay?” When Jen nodded, he pulled her close and said, “Good. I don’t want anything coming between us. I care about you way too much.”
And you will be mine, because I’m falling in love with you
.

Later that day, when Jen checked into the Ritz-
Carlton
in San Francisco, she found that she had been upgraded from a regular room to a suite. The desk clerk also handed her an envelope, which Jen discovered contained a gift certificate for a hot stone massage, with a note that said “This should help you relax after your flight. Miss you already, Vince.”

As Jen entered her suite, she found a bottle of pinot grigio chilling in an ice bucket, and a dozen of the largest roses she had ever seen arranged in an enormous crystal vase. When she opened the card next to the vase, it simply said, “Love, Vince.”

Jen sat down on one of the plush sofas in the suite’s living room, found her cell phone on the bottom of her tote bag, and called Vince to thank him for the massage, the flowers, the wine, and the upgrade to the suite. “You’re spoiling me,” she said.

“I just want you to be comfortable, and want you to remember me while you are there,” he replied. “What are you doing later? Do you have any plans for this evening?”

“I’m getting together with a friend for dinner,” Jen replied.

“You’re seeing Drew, I gather,” he said, his voice having a discernible edge to it.

“Yes. He’s my only friend who lives in San Francisco” Jen replied.

“I see,” was all Vince said in response.

Perplexed, Jen asked, “How did you remember Drew’s name?”

“You introduced me to him, Jennifer. And you’ve mentioned him before, too. He was your date the night of the charity auction. I certainly would not forget someone who bid $20,000 on a date with you,” Vince sternly responded.
He’s tall, handsome, and your age,
he remembered.
That night you were holding his hand, and he had his arms around you. And I watched you kiss him.

Jen tried to assure Vince that she and Drew were just friends, but Vince remained on edge during the rest of their conversation. “Make sure you call me once you finish dinner and are back in your room, no matter how late it is,” Vince ordered her.

“I promise, I’ll call you when I’m back in my room,” Jen agreed, before hanging up the phone.

After Vince ended his call with Jennifer, he summoned his assistant, Marianne, into his office. “Find me the best private investigator in the city of San Francisco,” he barked. “And do it fast.”

Within the hour, Vince was on the phone with Frank Webb, the president of Bay Investigations. “Get me everything you have on a guy by the name of Drew Crawford,” Vince ordered, giving Frank the little information he had on Drew. “I’ll e-
mail
you a photo of him, and also a photo of my girlfriend, Jennifer LaBella, although I suspect you know who she is.” He paused as Frank confirmed that he was familiar with Jen’s work, and Vince said, “Good. I want her followed, too, over the next few days while she is on the west coast. She’s staying at the Ritz-
Carlton
. They’re having dinner there together tonight.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

T
hat evening, Frank Webb entered the Ritz-
Carlton’
s lobby and found a chair that afforded him a view of both the elevators and the restaurant entrance. Before sitting down, he handed the restaurant’s hostess a crisp one hundred dollar bill, easily coming to an arrangement to be seated at the table adjacent to Jen and Drew, so he could observe them, as well as eavesdrop on their conversation.

He removed his tablet computer from his briefcase, and began to take some notes as he saw a man who matched Drew’s description enter the lobby and stare in the direction of the elevator bank.

A few moments later, when Jen entered the lobby, Frank watched as she smiled at Drew, and as soon as they were close enough, they embraced. He took a short video as Drew kissed the top of Jen’s head before they entered the restaurant.

Once they disappeared inside the restaurant, Frank rose to his feet, and within minutes was seated at the table next to them. He listened to Jen and Drew’s conversation, occasionally making some notes on his tablet. At first, they sounded like old friends who were just catching up on each other’s lives, until Drew brought up Vince’s name, causing Jen to squirm uncomfortably in her chair.

“So…let’s talk about the billionaire, Vince Moscolo. You’ve been dating him, haven’t you?”

Jen looked down at her lap, not wanting to admit the truth to Drew, before looking back up and quietly answering, “Yes,” she said, absentmindedly touching the diamond heart and key necklace Vince had given her.

“I never saw you wear that necklace before. Did he give it to you?”

Not able to meet his eyes, Jen whispered, “Yes.”

Hurt and anger welled up inside Drew, and he snapped at Jen. “That’s all you’re going to say?”

Annoyed, Jen reacted, “What do you want me to say, Drew? You told me to get on with my life.”

But I didn’t think you really would,
he thought, shaking his head. “Jesus Christ, Jen,” Drew swore. “Have you slept with him?”

Jen recoiled as if she had been slapped across the face. “That’s none of your business.”

Realizing he had crossed a line, Drew replied, “I’m sorry. You’re right. It isn’t my business, not anymore.”

Jen looked down at her lap and slowly shook her head. “It’s not, Drew. You know how much I care about you, and don’t want to hurt you. That’s why I didn’t bring it up.” When Drew didn’t reply, Jen asked, “Are you dating anyone?”

“No. I work 12 hours a day. I don’t have time to date, or even meet anyone. The last time I was out with a woman was a couple of months ago, when we had dinner here together.” He paused, before continuing, “And, besides, I doubt I could find anyone who could compare to you.”

At the next table, Frank worked on composing his report to Vince while he ate, noting that it was clear to him that Drew was in love with Jen, and that it appeared there had been something between them, something more than just a friendship, at one point in the past. He also reported that Jen admitted that she was dating Vince, and that she refused to divulge whether she and Vince had slept together, deflecting any questions about their relationship back towards Drew.

When Jen requested the check, Frank requested his too, and then followed them out to the lobby. Frank sat down in a chair and re-
opened
his tablet, capturing on video the moment when Jen said good night to Drew, as they hugged and he smoothed her hair, kissing her on top of her head, just before Jen headed to the elevators alone.

Vince opened the e-
mail
from Frank, and read his report twice before watching the video of Jen saying goodnight to Drew. As he watched her walk all alone towards the elevators, he was relieved that Drew didn’t try to go upstairs with her.
My good girl
, he thought.
Just remember that you belong to me.
Turning back to the report, he read one sentence over and over: “Based on my observation of both subjects, it is obvious that Drew Crawford is in love with Jennifer LaBella”.

He stood up and walked across the room. Pouring himself a measure of cognac, he wondered if Jennifer would call him as he had instructed her to, when he heard a tone indicating he had received a text message. He crossed the room, picked his cell phone up from the desk, and saw that the text message was from her, asking if he was still awake.

Vince immediately dialed Jennifer, who answered on the first ring. “You could have just called me,” he said. “I told you I would wait up for your call.”

“I know,” she replied. “But it’s late, and I didn’t want to wake you with a phone call, in case you were already asleep.”

“Never worry about that, my love. No matter what time it is, I always want to hear your voice. How was dinner?”

Jennifer relayed an edited version of the events of the evening. “It was good to catch up with Drew. He really is one of my best friends.”

“So you’ve said,” Vince said, sternly. “Tell me, Jennifer, did you ever date him?”

Jen was taken aback by his question, as the serious tone of Vince’s voice caused a chill to run through her body. “Why do you want to know?”

“Because you’re my girlfriend, and because I can be a little jealous when other men are interested in you.”

Jen took a deep breath and exhaled. “Okay, I understand. There’s no reason to be jealous, Vince, but I can’t answer your question with a simple yes or no. It’s a long story.”

“I’m listening,” Vince growled.

“Umm…well, Drew and I are very good friends. Truthfully, he is one of my best friends. Of everyone in the world, outside of my family, he probably knows me best. He had broken up with his long-
time
girlfriend not long before Chris and I broke up. We acknowledged that we had some feelings for each other, but we never acted on them, because I thought it was too soon after having broken up with Chris. Then his father became ill and he had to move back to California, making it impossible for us to be together, so we decided that we would each move on, and move forward with our lives, without each other.”

“So you never slept with him, you never had sex with him?”

“No, Vince. Drew and I never had a sexual relationship.”

Goddamn it. It’s their unresolved feelings that are keeping her from moving in with me.
“But isn’t it hard for you to see each other if you still have feelings for each other?”

“I never said that, Vince. I don’t have feelings for him, not anymore.”
At least none that I’m willing to admit to you,
she thought
.
“I have feelings for you, Vince. I care about you. You’re the only man in my life.”

Unable to control himself, Vince became agitated, and began to pace back and forth. “I don’t like being betrayed, Jennifer,” he hissed, before pounding the wall with his fist.

“And I would never betray you, Vince.”

Vince walked over to his desk, and clicked on the video again, watching Drew and Jen say goodbye.
If she had wanted to sleep with him, she would have invited him up to her room,
he thought.
She is probably telling the truth.
“I believe you, Jennifer,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I miss you, and wish I was there with you, so I could make love to you right now.”

“I wish you were here too, Vince.”

After they ended their phone call, Vince placed a call to Frank Webb and arranged to have him continue to file reports on an hourly basis while Jennifer was in San Francisco. “And I mean hourly, even overnight. I don’t care what it costs. Arrange to have someone watching her 24 hours a day.”

Over the next few days, Vince anxiously awaited receiving his hourly reports on Jen’s activities. With each report and video he was sent, he found nothing that would arouse his suspicion, not even when Jen met Drew to go running early one morning, because she mentioned it to him on the phone the previous night. He was even amused, and somewhat puzzled, when he watched her purchase a large box of chocolates at See’s.
That’s odd,
he thought.
She hardly ever eats candy.

Once Frank’s final hourly report was filed after Jen cleared security for her flight back to New York, Vince called him again, this time for a different assignment. “I want you to find me a girl, someone I can employ, to capture Drew Crawford’s attention, and divert it away from Jennifer.”

“A girl?”

“For God’s sake, Frank, I need to hire a call girl,” Vince snarled. “I need a professional, someone who will seduce him and take his mind off Jennifer. This is going to be a long-
term
assignment, maybe a year or more, so she has to be special. See if you can find someone who resembles Jennifer, if possible. And I want this done right away. I’m willing to pay the right woman $10,000 a month, plus expenses, to give Drew Crawford the full girlfriend experience. Do you understand me?”

“Yes. I’m on it.”

After hanging up with Frank, Vince sat at his desk, brooding. He had enjoyed the hourly reports he’d received on Jennifer, and the sense of control it gave him over her, and over their relationship.
It’s not going to be as easy to keep tabs on her once she returns to New York. Other than her morning run, her schedule isn’t predictable, and Brad can’t follow her everywhere,
he thought.
If only she would agree to move in with me.

Vince’s blood began to boil as he thought back to the numerous conversations he had with Jennifer over the last few weeks in which he had asked her to live with him.

Each time she explained, attempting to reason with him, “I like my independence, and I love living in Brooklyn. Besides, we’ve only been dating a short time, Vince. I’m not saying never, I’m just saying it’s too soon.”

Vince tapped his fingers rhythmically on his desk while staring out the window at Jennifer’s apartment building across the East River, as he weighed his options.
I have to find a way to make her move in with me, so I can watch her all the time.
A thought crossed his mind, which he dismissed at first, but when he could find no other alternative, he made a phone call to a friend of his late father in Brooklyn, and came to an arrangement that he was sure would make Jennifer turn to him for protection. “I don’t want her hurt, just scared,” he said, as he hung up the phone.