BROKEN AND BRAVE

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Now they'd made up. They'd become whatever they were before.
She scheduled a meeting to tell the board she'd be out for her next movie. She Porsha in charge while she was gone.

                      ***********2

She strolled with her car towards the outskirts of the city. No buildings, just road, just trees...and an unfamiliar snack bar. Who would set a Snack bar in the middle of almost nowhere? Two cars stood out of the bar. A red convertible and a hold-it-right-there the same Jay Kraps automatic she'd seen the other day, white as it was. She'd seen Jayson the last time she saw the car. She pulled over a distance away and watched closely from the comfort of her seat.
Not long after, two men left yhe bar and towards the lot. She spotted them a distance away. White white white. Hair band -white.  It was Jayson in full flesh again, Jayson and that guy. Shw knew that guy. Then it dawned on her.
It qas Pharell Manley. She'd dated thw Manley as her ticket to fame. He helped hwr get to where she was, to the top. And when she was at the top and ready to ahow some appreciation, he dumped her. She didn't care, She never loved him anyway. He disappeared shortly after. Then he was imprisoned for some foul act hed committed and his properties seized. She bailed him as her way of showing last gratitude. He rook it that she wanted him back.  He was lost shortly again. Since then she'd never seen or heard from him.
Until then...
And he was with Jayson. What business did he have with Jayson? And what business did Jayson have with that car? He claimed he couldn't afford anything than his generational pass on of the car he had and then she'd seen him twice riding that? Bad play.
She scrolled down the windshield to have a clearer look. Yes, it was him.
His clothes always fancy and she'd seen him make a distance call once and that phone was to die for, not her type but it was something. She never really took note of the clues.
What was he hiding?
Why was he lying?
She shook the stupid thoughts away. Why would he lie? Disguise? It was all her insecured thoughts. Even if he did, why should she care? After all, he was just a so-called bestie right?
Bestie...but she did care anyway.
She rode off.

                          *********3

He treated her to lunch. He asked her to pull over a few blocks from Bella Restaurant.
She did. She drove, for she wouldn't be seen dead in his car. That brought back the thought of him and the car and Pharell. She had prepared a question for him. Ao can you afford a meal for two at Bella?
She held her bag and elegantly walked towards the entrance, leaving him behind. He blocked her way.
"What?" She asked, using the Lucy Smolette tone.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Uh...inside."
Hw laughed at her response. "C'mon Lucy, don't tell me you'd like to see me extra bankrupted, now would you?we can settle for..."
He turned her 45 degrees anti clockwise "that" he finished. The girl stared confused at an old hotdog stand with cheap coffee maker.
He walked ahead expecting her to follow,to follow him to a...
"A common hotdog stand." She hissed under her breath and sighed. "Stay calm Lucy, stay calm."
"C'mon, the hotdog here's delicious!"
She rolled her eyes. "I should know." She whispered and took a last glimpse at the main Bella Restaurant, then at Jayson, smiled and followed.
"C'mon!"
"I'm coming." She hastened her pace.

                        ********4

La Presa Restaurant. It was almost dusk. Lucy met with Pharell Manley.
She sat, confident and ready to get what she came for...information.
Pharell had changed. He was more muscular, healthier, but his outfit didn't scream wealth as much as it did in the days...he still had the style though. He was one good looking mulatto, but he never did turn Lucy on, not once.
"Good day, Pharell." A flash of her past with him surfaced and she grimaced at the momentary thoughts of disgust.
The Manley guy was that pleased or excited to see her either. He wondered what she wanted from him after a long time of no see. He was always certain that any girl who came his way had a thing for him, including Smolette.
"Look, Lucy, you're a star,I made you one. I knowhow much you love me and all but I'm not interested.it's been over for ages and if you're smart, you'll forget I exist." He said, then flipped his hair to one side.
She looked at him, surprised by the level of his ignorance. She openly grimaced at him. "Oh Pharell, I haven't loved you in...forever, and rest assured you never really existed to me.and you still don't."
She peered at him,eyeballs to eyeballs. She stared at him as though she wanted to hypnotize him...to mesmerize him.
"Quit the look." He said, embarrassed at how she'd shamed his esteem."tryin ta charm me?"
"That'll be a waste.I didn't come to play cat and rat with you."
"So be clear."
She put forth a photo of Jayson and herself from her phone. She handed it to him.
"You're married?"
"No!" She said in disgust and guilt. Would it be disgusting to be married?
Kinda.
Wouldn't it be disgusting to be married to Jayson?
There was no answer to that. "I'm not. Tell me who this guy is to you."
"To me? You're the one with him in the photo..."
"Don't play dumb with me."
"He's a friend."
"Good,keep on..." She said. "About him."
"Look, you know him.you want his info's, go ask him. I'm in no place to tell you about him. Why would you investigate him anyway?" He stood and made to leave.
"I don't, but I wanna."
"Then do what they do, go ask him."
She stood and obscured his way. "One more thing."
"What?"
"We never had this discussion, this meeting." She said bossy but her eyes were pleading.
He laughed out, amazed. "Lucy you amaze me. Who knew you'd go this extent for love?"
"I don't love him!" She said and guilt slapped her.
"Sure ya don't." He laughed once more.
"You're excused, Pharell." She stepped out of his way.
"Nice day."
"Bah humbug." She sighed at the disappointment. She'd gotten nothing showing up there. She had better things to do, documents to sign, a movie to star in.

My apologies for late updates pips. I've been writing on another story which will soon be published.I wanna go a mile before publishing.
Thanks.