"Are you alright?" Cara asked quietly, putting her anger aside.
Hayden nodded, staring at the road ahead.
"You didn't seem very happy about that meeting," Cara commented.
"Yeah, that whole thing is a mess...." was all Hayden would say.
Cara sat back in the seat, wondering if this lunch idea had been a mistake.
"Where do you feel like going?" Hayden asked, looking at her for the first time since they'd left the office.
"I don't really care...I do need to get back within an hour though, to be fair to Melissa," Cara replied.
Hayden shook his head.
"How about we get a sandwich then?" he asked.
Cara agreed.
Hayden parked in the shopping center and the two got out to head to the Sandwich shop.
"Are you sure this was okay?" Hayden asked. "We could have gone to a nicer place."
Cara shook her head, "this is fine."
They ordered their food and sat at a table.
"Listen, the reason I wanted to bring you to lunch...is because I owe you an apology," Hayden began.
Cara was silent, waiting for him to continue.
"I know, I did the predictable asshole routine and walked out this morning...and I'm sorry. I go into something with good intentions and I end up screwing things up every time....but I don't want to do that anymore, not with you."
Cara just nodded, still silent.
Hayden looked into her eyes. "I like you Cara. I really do- I know we haven't known each other very long - but this isn't just about sex....I'm sure that shocks you but its actually the truth...and I'd like to see where this could go....that is, if you haven't gone back to hating me."
Cara gave him a half smile and rolled her eyes, teasingly, "well, leaving again was a jerk thing to do especially after you chastised me for it....but we're even now so we can just forget about it....and I have to admit that despite your attitude at times, I like you too."
Hayden's smile turned into a grin.
The two got their food and enjoyed their lunch, everything a little more comfortable since they'd talked through everything.
"So, are you going to do the movie?" Cara asked, after Hayden had told her the whole story.
Hayden sighed, "I don't know...I'm kind of getting pulled in both directions here....Tove would kill me if I don't do it."
"Well, you have to do what's right for you though..." Cara replied.
"I wish it were that simple."
Cara was quiet for a moment. "....you don't want to have to work with Sienna...is that it?"
Hayden looked down at the table. Sienna was something he really didn't want to talk about, especially not with Cara -- at least not for now.
"Sienna and I already did a film together....and we found that there were some things we couldn't see eye to eye on," Hayden said after a minute. "...so to go back into that situation, it could have the potential to create more problems."
Cara nodded, not pressing for more information. She knew there was more to it -- she'd heard bits and pieces of the story from other people, she'd seen Hayden's previous outburst...she'd even read about it in magazines even though she never prided herself on believing half of what those rags printed to sell more copies.
~~~~
After lunch, Hayden and Cara headed back to the office. Cara mouthed a simple 'Thank you' to Melissa for deviating from the usual lunch schedule and Melissa smiled in reply.
Hayden and Tove had a couple of other meetings with more producers.
Melissa went to lunch and Cara was back to work in the office.
Cara was completely alone in the office when the front door swung open.
Sienna walked through the door, pushing her oversized sunglasses on top of her head.
Cara looked up and gave a small meek smile.
"Yes, hello," Sienna said barely looking at her. "I need to see Hayden Christensen please. Is he still here?" her British accent very evident in her speech.
"I think he's still in a meeting....would you like to leave him a message?" Cara asked.
Sienna looked around the office, pushing her designer purse higher on her shoulder. "I'd actually like to wait for him, if he's not going to be very long."
"I really don't know how long the meeting will last," Cara said in an even tone.
Sienna just looked at her for a moment and took a seat in one of the chairs next to Melissa's desk.
She pulled out her Blackberry and that was that.
It was as if Cara was alone in the room.
Friendly girl, Cara thought wryly to herself.
Sienna was tapping away on her Blackberry, never looking up once.
~~~
Twenty minutes later
Hayden and Tove shook hands with the gentlemen as they walked out of the conference room.
The gentlemen let themselves out the front door. Tove walked through looking for Melissa. He stopped and turned around immediately after he had seen who was sitting near Melissa's desk.
Hayden walked out of the conference room, where Tove was, and saw his expression. Tove was trying to motion quietly over his shoulder.
Hayden looked beyond Tove's shoulder to see Sienna.
He rolled his eyes, feeling his patience wearing very thin.
He then looked from Sienna to Cara, who was actually looking back at him.
He gave a small smile to her and crossed the room.
"Sienna, can I help you with something?" Hayden asked as Tove made a beeline back for the safety of the conference room.
Sienna looked up from her Blackberry and flashed a grin, "oh could you ever!"
He looked up at the ceiling. Her blatant sexual innuendoes were not what he needed right now.
"I'm serious...what are you doing here?"
"Well, I just thought maybe we could splash around town a bit...I seem to remember you were quite the tour guide in Toronto...so maybe I could enlist your services here," Sienna said smiling, the blatant flirtation causing a rise in anger from the girl across the room.
Cara sat at her desk, feeling herself getting more and more jealous.
Get a grip, she thought. It's not like the two of you have anything exclusive...you have no right to be jealous, she tried to reason....but it didn't seem to be working very well.
"I don't think that's going to happen," Hayden said, a fake smile plastered on his face. "...and it never will, again."
Sienna faltered only for a moment. She noticed him glance at the girl sitting at the desk.
She picked up her bag from the floor.
"Well, if you change your mind...I think you know where to find me," she said.
Cara shook her head. It was amazing how one person could just exude such sexual energy. Her dating track record was starting to become more understandable.
Hayden sighed as Sienna left the office without another word.
He turned to look at Cara. "I'm sorry about that....that's...Sienna."
Cara smiled weakly. Thoughts began running through her brain like wildfire. Suppose she did continue to see Hayden to see where things led....and if he chose to do the film and had to see Ms. Sexuality everyday....
She could see there would be some jealous days in her future. It was inevitable.