| Title: Getting Reacquainted Author: Priscilla Chapter 7 So the next day they were off to the hustle and bustle of New York. They arrived around mid-afternoon and since neither Jane nor Gavin had anything scheduled, they decided to go 'exploring the Big Apple'. They went to China Town and visited the Little Italy section of the city. For all the bad things that are said about New York, there are certain places which are simply magnificent. It was an awesome start to their little vacation. ******************************* After days of insane running back and forth, Jane's art show was finally all set for the grand opening tonight. Gavin chuckled amusedly to himself as Jane paraded yet another dress for him. She was really nervous and wanted to make a good impression tonight, but this was going a little overboard. Besides, Gavin thought, she looks good in everything. "Gavin don't laugh! I'm serious, tell me which one you think I should wear!" The smile faded from Gavin's face and he cleared his throat. Sitting up in the bed, he looked at the 5 dresses spread out next to him. "How about the red? You look great in red." He said finally deciding on a short dress with spaghetti straps. Jane picked it up and smiled at him. "I wish I was as calm as you are." She said coming over to sit on the bed next to him. Gavin wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. "You'll do fine, love. You'll see. Now help me find something to wear. I have no earthly idea what you wear to these kinds of things." He said standing up and pulling her up with him. **************************** Perfect. Perfect is the only word that could describe this night, Jane thought as she watched all the people that had turned out to see her work. She really had not expected so many people to show up, it was amazing. Gavin was right about the dress, about her doing well, about everything. "So what else is new?" She said, chuckling to herself and taking another sip of champagne. It tasted weird somehow, must be the crab puffs she'd had earlier. Jane turned around when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. "Jane?" The man asked. He was handsome, that was for sure. His eyes were a mix of blue and green; he had the perfect square jaw, nice athletic build. "Yes, can I help you?" She asked, completely stumped. The man extended his hand and introduced himself. "I'm Stephen Bale, your art-backer." He said flashing a perfect set of blindingly white teeth. Jane felt like an idiot. She shook his hand profusely; after all, he was the reason all this was taking place. "Mr. Bale it's a pleasure to meet you! This is simply amazing what you put together here." She said motioning to the setup of her art displays, the waiters offering drinks, and the buffet table off to the right. Stephen only smiled as he surveyed his work. He watched Jane from the corner of his eye; she was a stunningly beautiful woman. He felt the first stirrings of lust in his crotch and smiled to himself. Let's see how far you'll go to keep your fame little girl. Stephen cleared his throat to get Jane's attention. "Ah there's actually something we need to discuss, Jane. Would you mind coming to my office for a minute?" He asked once he'd gotten her to look at him. Jane got a confused look on her face. "Now?" She asked looking around the buzzing showroom. Gavin still hadn't come back from making his call. Maybe he'd just gone to the bathroom. Oh well. She smiled at the man responsible for this wonderful night and nodded her head. Stephen led them out of the showroom and down the long hall off to the right. When he flipped on the light, Jane almost gasped. This office could have been a Suite for all she knew. It had a wonderful view of the East River, couches, a mini fridge and a huge flat-screen television. Stephen made a gesture at the chair in front of his desk. "Please Jane, have a seat." He said, before discreetly locking the door behind him. ***************************** Gavin finally got back from the bathroom. He wouldn't have taken so long but the line was huge and some people actually wanted autographs, which surprised him. He hadn't expected to come across any Bush fans here. Looking around, he didn't see Jane anywhere. Great, he thought, now she was probably pissed at him for leaving her alone in here. Running a silver ring clad hand through his surprisingly not uncontrollable hair, he decided to go look for her and explain. ******************************** Stephen sat on the edge of his desk and watched Jane look at the possible display options for the next show. She smiled when she obviously found one she liked, and got up to show it to him. Having her so close to him was almost unbearable. Stephen took a waft of her perfume; something like flowers, jasmine to be exact. "This would look great with the Blue Collection, don't you think?" Jane asked, turning her head only to find his face inches from hers. His closeness un-nerved her, but she ignored the feeling. He was the man that had created the wonderful display for her exhit, he was paying for all of this. The least she could do was show a little gratitude. Stephen stepped in front of her and gently caressed the side of her face. "I think......that you are a stunningly beautiful woman, Jane." He said. Jane didn't know how to react, as he bent his head forward slightly and kissed her full force on the mouth. Absolute shock paralyzed her for an instant and then she snapped out of it, pushing Stephen away. She wiped her mouth angrily; smearing whatever was left of her red lipstick on the back of her hand. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Is this what you brought me here for?!" Jane was completely irate. Stephen looked slightly amused at her current state of unease as he wiped her lipstick from his mouth. "What do you think?" He asked, a lazy grin covering his facial features. Jane wanted to puke. "I want out of this fucking room right now!" She yelled, walking over to the door and trying to open it. She couldn't, it was locked. "What the fuck?" She asked herself. Turning back to where Stephen was standing her eyes grew wide with disbelief. He was dangling a silver key hanging from a silver chain back and forth. "The way I see it is, you have two choices, you can either do me or say goodbye to your career." He said walking over to her. "FUCK YOU!" Jane shouted right in his face. The slap echoed throughout the spacious office, leaving Jane reeling and her jaw hurting like hell. Stephen pushed her onto the top of his desk almost as if she were weightless, kissing and sucking on wherever he could. Jane kicked and pushed as his hands pulled on the delicate fabric of her dress but she found herself feeling weaker by the minute. Stephen climbed on top of her and started to push her dress up her thighs, thankful that the drug he'd slipped into her drink earlier had begun to take effect. "Help! HELP ME PLEASE!" Jane screamed, tears were streaming down her face along with her makeup. She continued to struggle and scream louder when someone began knocking on the door loudly. "Open the fucking door!" Jane recognized Gavin's voice through the thick mahogany. It gave her new strength to keep fighting as Stephen tried to push himself inside of her. "No!" She screamed before the door the office blew inward and Gavin stepped through the debris. Stephen scrambled to get off Jane as Gavin walked further into the room looking really pissed. "What the FUCK do you think you're doin' asshole?!" He asked, picking Stephen up by his shirt collar and banging his head against the wall. Jane tried her best to cover her body with what was left of her dress before walking over and pulling Gavin off the bleeding man. "Let's just get out of here ok?" She asked, almost begging. Gavin gave the guy one more bang against the wall and let him slide down to the floor. He took his jacket off and put it around Jane's shoulders, leading her through the mess and out of the room. As they walked away they could hear Stephen's angry shouts of revenge. "I'll make sure you never work in this city again! You worthless bitch!" ********************************** After much protest on his part, Gavin drove Jane to the hotel they were staying at and helped her walk up to her room, which was a right next door to his. He'd wanted to go to the hospital and have her checked out, but Jane had refused. "You sure you're alright? Don't need me to get you anything?" He asked, brushing stray strands of her dark brown hair away from her face. Jane wanted nothing more than to ask him to stay, to help her feel safe, but reminded herself that he had a girlfriend and that they were just friends. "No, it's ok. I'll be fine." She said shaking her head. Gavin's forehead furrowed in contemplation as he studied her face. "You're lying." He finally said matter of factly. Jane chucked to herself briefly, then looked up into his eyes. "Stay with me Gav, only for the night." She said, looking down at her hands feeling like a little girl. Gavin's face brightened as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and closed the door behind them. Title: Getting Reacquainted Author: Priscilla Chapter 8 Jane stripped off her clothes slowly; her legs and arms were showed signs of bruising and they hurt like hell. Hopefully, the bath she was soaking in would help her relax a little. As she lay there in the hot water, several voices drifted into the bathroom suddenly; Gavin must have gotten bored and clicked on the TV. Bits and pieces wafted in from the living room and Jane could barely make out the conversation. "The well known model and aspiring actress was found in her bath-tub in her suite of the Cosmopolitan hotel at approximately 6 a.m. this morning. It is believed the cause of the death was a heroin overdose..." Her blood ran cold in her veins, but she tried to keep herself calm. The reporter had said a famous model and aspiring actress but hadn't said a name; it didn't necessarily mean it was Jasmine. God she hoped not. She quickly got out of the tub and put on the change of clothes she'd brought with her. Her heart constricted when she walked out. Pictures of jasmine paraded across the screen and across Gavin's blank facial expression. Jane sat next to him and slipped the remote away from his limp hand to turn off the television. Tears glistened his eyes but they didn't spill. "Gavin, I'm sorry." Jane whispered taking hold of his hand. Gavin turned his face towards hers as if he'd just realized she was there, and nodded briefly, not able to speak, then cleared his throat. "I told her. I fucking told her to get help, but she wouldn't let me get close enough.... and then we broke up and..... I haven't seen her since." Jane's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Did he say that he and Jasmine were broken up? "You two broke up?" She asked stupidly. Gavin nodded his head and stood up. "C'mon, we've got people to call." ***************************** A few days later, they stood holding hands at Jasmine's grave, sorrounded by her familt and friends. They had decided to have the funeral in London, not wishing to fly the body back to L.A. It was raining, and their clothes soaking wet, but Gavin just stared at the marble statute. It read: In Loving memory of Jasmine Wallace. Loving daughter and friend. 1978-2002 He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. The rain mixed with his tears as he bent down to place a bouquet of white roses to the ground, Jasmine's favorite. He stared at it a little a couple of minutes and then reached for Jane's hand and walked away. |