Page 68 of Indescribable Love

Chapter Thirteen

A week later, Juliette was sitting in her tiny apartment sipping some hot tea and wishing a giant hole would just open up and swallow her, effectively putting her out of her misery.

She was officially unemployed.

She and Vanessa had the uncomfortable conversation, but there was no coming back from any of this. It didn’t matter that Max and his team lied or how obvious he’d been about it. The fact was that she slept with a client and didn’t see what was coming, didn’t stop Greg Wylder from getting his fifteen seconds of fame. Naturally, Max had sold the footage to all the gossip sites with the headline that didn’t put Simon in the best light.

SIMON BENNETT HEARTLESSLY SHUNS LONG-LOST FATHER! IS AMERICA’S SWEETHEART REALLY A VILLAIN? HAVE WE ALL BEEN DUPED?

Yeah, it hadn’t been pretty, and her heart broke for him.

Well, it broke and then hardened when she thought about how he had told her he loved her and immediately assumed the worst of her.

Whoever was doing his PR managed to get the story shut down and scrubbed by the end of the day, but there were still some sites talking about it. But through it all, the show went on and the tour continued. Tonight was his last stop in Chicago, and then the tour had a week off. Because she knew his schedule intimately, she knew he was going back to LA to the house in the Hollywood Hills to relax. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he needed it.

Nikki had texted her every day, keeping her up to speed on everything, but Juliette never replied. She couldn’t. Every time she allowed herself to think about that day, all she could see was Max’s smug face when she stepped out of Simon’s dressing room. She’d refused to acknowledge him, but he taunted her the entire way out of the venue.

“You should have just played ball, Jules. Or better yet, backed the hell off after that first call we had. You brought this on yourself, and I can’t wait to see how you spin your way out of this one!”

Everything that happened had been humiliating and for a guy who gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, he hadn’t for her. She’d foolishly let herself believe that she was enough and he’d gone and proved that she wasn’t. She hadn’t been enough for her parents either. They cared more about drinking and fighting than their own daughter.

So yeah. She was pretty much done with love in any and all aspects. It was better that way.

Unfortunately, she was still woefully unemployed, but on the flip side, getting a new job didn’t require giving her heart away, so she’d take that as a win.

Finishing her tea, she went and showered and vowed that she was going to force herself to sit down and go over her finances and set some realistic goals for herself. The smart thing to do was move out of this wildly overpriced tiny apartment. She could easily find someplace cheaper outside of the city. Finding a job was going to be the real challenge, though. Right now, it seemed almost impossible.

When she came back out to the kitchen table with her hair up in a towel, she saw she had multiple missed calls from a number she didn’t recognize. It was the first time she’d even looked at her phone since last night, and it looked like they’d been trying to reach her since about eight yesterday evening. They’d left a message every time too, so…

“Hey, Juliette, it’s Jax. Simon’s brother. Um…can you give me a call, please?” And then he left his number. The next message came an hour later. “Hey, it’s Jax again. Simon’s a wreck and everyone’s really worried about him. I’d really like to talk to you about this. Call me.” Again, he left his number.

Her heart was racing because she wanted to call and see what was wrong, but…the smart thing to do was keep her distance. It was best for everyone.

But her curiosity got the better of her and she listened to the next message and Jax was sounding a little more pissed than he had in the previous calls.

“Okay, I get it. You don’t want to talk. And considering what you did, I don’t blame you. But Simon’s talking about canceling the rest of the tour and we can’t let that happen. So maybe put your selfishness aside and do the right thing!” Then he ended by repeating his number again.

Before she got to the next message, her phone dinged with a text from Nikki.

Nikki: Got the confession that you’re not responsible for Greg showing up!

Nikki: Things are pure chaos here! Please come back!

Nikki: Jax has been trying to call you. Have you talked to him?

Nikki: I really wish you’d talk to me. Even if it’s to tell me to leave you alone.

This was Juliette’s MO, though. She always retreated when things got bad in her personal life. She’d learned after her rebellious youth that her impulsive nature always got her into trouble. So when things went bad personally, she’d just retreat and wait for things to get better.

“I don’t ever see this getting better,” she mumbled.

Jax’s next two messages were more of the same and she deleted all of them. Simon Bennett was no longer her problem.

But oh, how it hurt just knowing that.

Stupid heart.

Stupid, traitorous heart.