Chapter 26
There were camera crews in front of my apartment building when I got off the elevator car.
"Are they shooting a film in the building?" I asked the guy next to me, he just shrugged. "Strange," I said to myself but continued walking. I don't want to be late for work.
When I got near the front door, the men with the cameras stood alert and they flocked around me.
"Lauren, are you and Axel James an official couple? Are you gonna see him again soon?"
"What?" I said in surprise.
Oh my God, they know.
"Are you comfortable being a rebound to Katie Swanson?"
"Miss Grant, look here!"
"Congratulations. Is Axel James your boyfriend?"
"Just one picture, Lauren!"
I quickened my pace and tried to break free from the crowd. I can't go back to my apartment and look like a weakling in front of all these cameras. God only knows what rumors they can twist from a simple act. My lungs suddenly felt tight and I could hear the blood pumping in my ears. Everything looked hazy and the blinding flashes didn't help. Still, I braved through and thanked my lucky stars a cab stopped almost instantaneously as I hailed.
I was almost wheezing as I closed the car door. "Drive." was all I could manage to say until I got my breaths to steady.
I told the driver the building address as soon I felt myself calm down a little. I checked my phone and saw multiple missed calls from Axel and Hailey. If only I had checked my phone before leaving the apartment.
I rubbed my temples and bit on my right thumbnail, only to find out that my fingers were shaking. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing.
Inhale. Exhale.
Then my phone vibrated aggressively on my hand.
Axel.
I immediately accepted his call.
"Are you alright? Fuck, I was trying to call you. Fuck, I'm sorry I said 'fuck'. Fuck! I'm not mad, I'm sorry."
If the situation wasn't serious, I'd be laughing. But now I can't bring myself to even smile. All I could manage was to swallow the lump in my throat that was threatening to burst.
"I-I'm in the cab."
"Were there paparazzi outside?"
Then a long silence. I can't bring myself to speak. And when I was about to, he grunted, "God, I should've been more careful. I shouldn't have brought you to that diner and sat by that fucking window. What was I thinking? I should've just delivered your scarf at home. And you... You wouldn't have been implicated in this mess. This mess that is my life. I didn't mean to involve you, to disrupt your life. I... God, Lauren, I'm so sorry. I –"
"Hey." I interrupted his rambling. I even surprised myself that my voice was a little coaxing.
He let out a big sigh and it was shaky underneath. "I am so sorry."
I inhaled sharply, "I'm not gonna say that it's okay... I was shaken. I... I'm on my way to work now."
"Are you really still going to work? What if the paparazzi were outside?"
"I... I didn't think of that."
"I'll call Harper. Maybe she could do something. A back entrance or whatever..." he sighed, "I'm so sorry I can't be with you right now. I just landed in L.A. an hour ago and I got in the hotel just in time before the article was released. You, on the other hand, had to suffer without warning. Oh my God, I am really sorry. This was my mess. I'll think of a way to fix it."
I took a deep breath, "Yeah, alright."
"What?" he asked dubiously and something inside me just ticked.
"I... I don't know, Axel, what do you want me to say?" I whispered, afraid that the driver might get a whiff of who I'm talking to. My teeth gritted, "I don't have any experience with this kind of thing. I'm halfway to the office and every second that we speak, it's not getting any farther away."
"Okay, okay. I get it. We have to act fast. Here's what we're gonna do. I'll call Harper after this. You call Hailey, she's the only one you could trust in the city right now."
"Great. Okay. Bye," I dropped the call and immediately dialed Hailey. She picked up instantly.
"Oh my God, Lauren. Where are you now? You're all over Twitter."
"I'm in a cab. I'm on my way to work."
"You can't go to work. There will be paparazzi outside."
"And what do you suppose I'll do? I can't just stop my life because of them."
"No, you can't. And you shouldn't. But right now, you don't know what to do. They'll gang up on you."
"I've survived the one outside my apartment."
"And how did you feel exactly?"
A long pause followed. "Shaken up."
"See."
"But I can't not go to work. I'm new, I'm still under probationary period."
"I know that. I'm in HR, remember?"
"Right..."
"Look. Call Harper. See if she can get you to work remotely or have the day off so you could have the whole day to figure everything out. She's the one who got you in the situation of dating a celebrity in the first place, I bet she would understand."
"God, I hope so. Axel called her."
There was a long pause, "Wow, so you've talked to Axel? Where is he, anyway?"
"Yeah, he called me. He's in L.A. right now, he had to shoot an episode of a show, he's a guest star or something. Anyway, he said he was sorry and that he'd call Harper. He told me to call you, see if you have any suggestions as to the solution."
"Oh really? So, he knows me?"
"Come on, Hailey, of course, he does. You're my best friend."
"Huh, nice of him to consider me."
"Yeah well, so? Do you have any ideas?"
"Well, I'm off to work in 45. If you come now, you could stay at our place. Hideout here for the day."
"Okay. Good idea, I just have to know what Harper says." I said then I felt vibrations in my hand.
It's Axel calling.
"Speaking of. Axel's calling."
"Alright, call me back."
"Will do," I said then dropped her call to answer Axel's. "Hello?"
"Hello, Lauren."
"Yeah."
"I've talked to Harper and she's cool with you taking the day off."
"But I can't possibly. I mean, I know this is bad but I also don't want to be given special treatment? That would be unfair to my co-workers because it really does sound shitty, like a horrible excuse." I exhaled. "Hi, I'm Lauren, I'm taking the day off because I'm dating a celebrity and paparazzi are following me," I said in a small mimicking voice then I saw the driver look by the rear-view mirror and I instantly felt embarrassment wash over me that I had to look down.
He exhaled loudly, "Okay, Lauren, it does sound like that but it's different."
"Different how? You're just saying that to make me feel better."
He scoffed, "I'm not. I'm making you feel less bad."
"What difference does that make?"
He paused for a while and I swear I could hear the wrenches turning in his head, "It doesn't matter. Did Hailey tell you anything? Have you talked to her yet?"
"Yes, I did. She said I could stay at her place today if I could have the day off."
"Okay, that's good. Have you told the Driver to change course yet?"
"Oh, uh..." I let out a nervous laugh, "Not yet."
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
"Okay." I rested the phone by my collar bone. "Hi, uh, change of plans, can you please change the route to West 162nd street?"
"Sure." The driver said nonchalantly.
I put the phone back to my ear, "I'm on my way to Hailey's. I have to call her. Tell her I'll be at her place."
"Okay. We'll talk later."
"Yeah, okay. Bye." I said then dropped the call.
I took a deep breath before dialing Hailey. So many phone calls. What has my life gotten into?
"I'm on my way to your place," I said as soon as she picked up.
"Alright. I'll wait for you."
* * *
AXEL JAMES' MYSTERY GIRL REVEALED!
WHO IS LAUREN GRANT?
Actor and supermodel, Axel James, was seen with a mystery girl a little over a week ago where the two were lovey-dovey under a tree and notably ran away from the paparazzi at an Apple-picking Orchard.
Mystery girl may have gotten away scot-free from their previous pap encounter but last night we finally got a clear photo of the two. The picture below shows the couple by the window, eating and laughing together at the diner owned by James' sister, Mia James-Monaghan.
Axel James' Dating History: Selene van Hauwermeiren, Bea Matthews, Katie Swanson, and More 》
Our mystery girl turns out to be Lauren Grant. Who exactly? We don't know either but here is what we know about Grant. She is an Accountant at MGC Models, the same modeling agency James recently transferred to. Did they meet at the agency or did he switch agencies because of her? That we are yet to know.
James was last linked to actress Katie Swanson, though they broke up a year ago.
see related article: Axel James and Lauren Grant's budding romance left Katie Swanson 'heartbroken' 》
And that's the first article drawn from the Google search. I wouldn't even dare go through all the other articles with Katie Swanson. I don't even know her.
"And that is why you should always check your phone before leaving." Hailey scolded.
"Alright, Mom. I was rushing to work."
"What were you even thinking?" she slapped her thighs as she sat across from me. "Eating by the window."
I opened my mouth to talk and closed it again, trying to think of a better excuse. God, this is embarrassing.
"What? Are you a fish out of water? Speak."
"I... I was hungry." I said in a low voice as I was picking on my nails.
"What?" she said.
"Oh, come on, don't make me repeat it."
"No, I really didn't hear you. What did you say?"
I exhaled loudly and rolled my eyes, "I said I was hungry." I replied in gritted teeth.
"What?"
"Oh, really now, you heard that."
"Yeah," she scoffed. "I did. I just... Well, I can't believe my ears."
"Ugh," I groaned. "You don't understand. It was a moment of weakness. My stomach was literally growling. I was working for 12 hours and the last thing I ate was a sandwich. For brunch. At 11 AM."
Hailey looked irritated like I was about to get another scolding but her phone's alarm set off. She looked at her phone displeased, "I have to go to work now."
Phew, saved by the bell.
"Just..." she exhaled loudly. "Think about what you need to do now. Talk to Axel, figure it out. I'll see you later, Laure." she gave me a quick, albeit comforting hug.
"I'll be here. Take care."
She nodded then took off.
I slumped back on her couch. What now? I have no experience in this matter. I don't know anyone who has ever experienced this.
There no choice but to just talk to the other party involved.
With a heavy heart, I click on Axel's name to call.
"Hey, are you at Hailey's?" he started.
"Uh, yeah. I'm alone at her apartment, she had to go to work."
"Okay, okay..." he said but mostly to himself.
"So?"
"Well..."
"What's the plan? I've read the main article."
"Yeah, about that. I... I think it's good that they only said facts."
"Right. Like me being discovered to be involved with you by the public is a picnic."
"Hey, I didn't say it was a picnic. I know it's not easy. What I know is that in this time of scandal, all we could hope for is the truth. Not the twisted rumors that anyone could easily make up."
"Okay, okay. Jeez."
"Look, I've talked to my publicist about this and she said the same thing. Let's be grateful that the article only states the facts. We were at the Orchard last week and we went to the diner last night. They found out your name, your work... that's all there is, right?"
"Yeah, and the fact that they now know where I live."
"Oh, that."
"How do you even go out of your apartment with all the paparazzi? Can you teach me how you dodge them?"
"Well, I don't."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, they don't know where I live."
"They what?" I said in surprise and anger.
"I'm sorry..."
"How did they know where I live?"
"I'm guessing your LinkedIn?"
"What?"
"Remember how I easily found your place?"
"Oh, good God."
"You really have to be careful about that."
"And you didn't dare share that with me? Is it so hard to say 'hey, you might want to remove your address in LinkedIn'? Come on, Axel!"
"Well, it wasn't your LinkedIn exactly. It was your PDF resume that is attached in your LinkedIn."
I groaned, "Still, you should've said something."
"I didn't really have the chance since you punched me square in the face, remember?"
"Oh my God! Oh my God..." my jaw clenched and I stood to move by the window. "I... I can't..." my right hand brushed through my hair and I tugged it a little to alleviate some pain on my neck.
"Breathe in. Breathe out, Lauren," he said in a caring tone, trying so hard to sound cool but the small tremors in his voice slip and betray him. Nevertheless, I did. I tried to collect as much oxygen as I can to flow to my brain. I need to get it working so I could start thinking rationally.
"Alright, alright... Let me grab a pen and paper and let's figure this out the way I know how."
"How?"
"By making a list."
"Oh, great. I'm dating a nerd."
"Hey!"
"It's sarcasm, jeez."
"Not that. We're not dating," I stated. "I mean we are but not... you know! We're friends, right?"
"Right... Oh, before I forget, my family now knows about us and they want to meet you."
"What?"