Page 58 of One Baby Daddy
“Eh, just keeping you on your toes.”
“No need, I’m doing fine on my toes myself. For the love of God, respond when I ask you to.”
Chuckling, I look out the window, observing the clear blue skies, full green trees, and the skyline of the most enchanting city I’ve ever visited. “Well, I’m responding now. Got the details, I’ll be ready for the car at seven tomorrow morning.”
“And did you see they don’t want you to shave? They want a good five o’clock shadow on your jaw.”
“That won’t be an issue.”
“And have you been working out? I hope you haven’t been eating any salt, because I can’t have you bloated.”
Jesus Christ, heaven forbid I look bloated.
“James, don’t ask that question again.”
“So I’m going to take that asnotbloated.”
“Move on.” By now, he should know I take my workouts and eating seriously. And before you go harping on the cakes I’ve been eating lately, I ran extra the mornings after.
“I think that’s it, except, you’ve asked for Adalyn to be seated on the set. You haven’t mentioned Adalyn to me, but I heard she’s your—”
“My girlfriend.”
“Yeah.”
Silence falls over the phone and I know I threw James for a loop, one I’m sure he’s not loving at the moment. From the bathroom, the shower shuts off and the creak of a glass door opens. My mind goes straight to what Adalyn might look like wrapped in a white terrycloth towel with her wet hair hanging over her shoulders. My mind wanders, envisioning her lotioning her smooth, silky skin, brushing out her long brown hair, and letting the towel fall straight to the ground . . .
“Hayden, are you paying attention?”
“Huh?” I blow out a breath and turn my back to the bathroom.
“Yourgirlfriend. You know you have to run these things by me first.”
That last sentence really grabs my attention.
“The hell I do. My personal life has nothing to do with my professional career, and I suggest you remember that going forward, or we’re going to have a problem.”
A long, irritated sigh.
He can sigh all the fuck he wants, but it’s not going to change anything. I’ve never mixed my personal life with my professional life, and I don’t plan on doing it now.
“Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Just a heads-up, James. If you at any point make Adalyn feel uncomfortable, you’re done. Got it? None of this talking shit to her behind my back. I’ve seen enough movies to know where that leads. Stay the fuck away from her unless you are offering her a drink or are genuinely being a nice guy.”
“It won’t be an issue.”
“That’s what I like to hear. See you tomorrow.” I hang up before he can say anything else. I plug my phone in its charger and rest it on the nightstand.
Walking to the closet, I open the doors to find a few black garment bags waiting for me. I don’t take advantage of my “celebrity” status very often, but when I’m in need of a suit and all I have is jeans and regular shirts in Binghamton, I flash my celebrity card and have some suits sent to my room before we arrive.
I want to make sure I look nice for Adalyn and for some weird reason, I didn’t want to wear the same suit she saw me in at the charity event.
Charcoal, light grey, textured black, and a steel blue. What to wear?
I guess it will depend on what Adalyn’s wearing. I’ll wait.
Still a little peeved about my conversation with James, I walk to the window where I look at Central Park. I like the guy, he works well with my agent and has scored me some great sponsorship deals, but he oversteps his boundaries often. I can take it when it’s just me, but now that Adalyn is involved, I needed to lay down the rules.
