The Clip

chapter 6

Hayley flagged a taxi and entered without even telling the driver where she was headed, the driver, who was looking at her through the rear view mirror did not say anything too and Hayley was grateful for that. She checked the time on her phone, it was a few minutes past eight. Hayley sighed and rested her head on the car seat with her eyes tightly shut.

What was the point in even going for any more interviews? What was the point in trying so hard to please a man who saw her as nothing more than a mortgage? She sighed again and hummed a tuneless tune.

Of course, she should be happy that she finally had the freedom to live above her father's demands. With a shrug, as if to convince herself that it was for good this time, she exhaled deeply and sat forward. The road was buzzing with activity, children off to school, the tiring horns of cars as they waited impatiently for the traffic to move.

Hayley smiled at the refreshing sight and then she sighted the familiar building and touched the driver, he parked and she shoved him a few dollar bills and flashed him a pleasant smile.

It took the second knock before the door opened, Logan stood there with a surprised look, then his surprise shifted to happiness and then he stepped aside for her to enter.

"Good morning."

"Ah ah, I didn't think I'd be seeing you today. Why didn't you call?" Logan answered in his usual way.

"It costs nothing to return a greeting, Logan." Hayley said as she slumped into a chair beside his bed.

"Maybe after you tell me what you are doing here." Logan said as he walked over to the fridge and brought back two cans of soda, then he passed one casually to her.

Hayley snatched the soda, opened it and gulped down a good quantity before she sighed and relaxed again on the seat, "My dad is at it again."

Logan rolled his eyes, "I'll be surprised if he allowed you to enjoy a quiet morning for one straight week." He walked back to the small area in his apartment that served as his office and sat down. "So how long will this brawl last before he comes for you?"

Hayley shook her head, "I'm afraid this one is not ending anytime soon, Log."

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"He threw me out, I mean he literally disowned me this time. And I could no longer handle his constant nagging, so I stood up to him."

Logan's mouth dropped open, "You don't mean it! But… where will you be staying now? Because, well, you just literally got out of a cage."

She eyed him cautiously, "He's still my father so mind your words."

Logan rolled his eyes and spurned his chair to face her, "You know you are welcome here, though. And you know there is always a space in my bed for you." He winked and licked his lips seductively.

She laughed and poked him in the ribs, "Stop fooling around."

Logan shrugged and turned to his laptop again, he knew she would always dismiss his feelings. To her, it was always a joke, but the stab he felt in his heart each time was always the same. But he had decided to take his time and wait until she was ready to see him and she was going to see him soon, he hoped.

"You know you can stay here though." He told her without looking up from his laptop.

Hayley grinned and hoped on the bed, "Of course I know, baby boy. But I also know that you are a man and this apartment is barely enough to contain just you."

Logan looked over his shoulder and frowned, "Are you saying I will take advantage of you?"

She laughed, "It's not something you have never done, is it?"

They both laughed. She lay on the bed and took out her art book, then she started flipping through the pages. There, in one of the pages, she saw the card that Alex had safely tucked into the book and the memory of their encounter came back to her. She turned the card in her hand and stared at the digits on it. "CEO, Allure Arts." The letters read.

Should she call him? She shook her head lightly and dropped the card, then she picked it again and her eyes traveled to her phone. How would she face him? She didn't know why, but the embarrassment from their second meeting was making her cheeks burn red even as was thinking about it now. How she had managed to make a total fool of herself in front of the man was completely beyond her.

But boy, he was beautiful! No, handsome. She shook her head again and picked her phone. She would definitely need a place to stay. All her life, she had had to live under the shadows of her father, under his watchful eyes and having to answer to him. But now, she had an opportunity, the opportunity to chase her own dreams before her father would come to his senses and come back for her.

Logan was right, this was certainly not the first time he had chased her out, but it was the first time she had defended herself and the first time she had actually agreed to leave. If her father came back, which she somehow knew he would, then Logan's house was not the safest place to be. The man would not mind coming into this house to drag her out if worse came to worse.

They knew Logan was her only friend, her one time boyfriend. A relationship which her father had seen to it's end because he thought Logan was too mild for the daughter he was spending so much time training. Part of the reason he hated Logan so much too was because he had caught him smooching her once in their parlor. And another time, he had caught her in a compromising position with him on her high school graduation night. Those were only some of the reasons.

The only reason their friendship was still waxing strong was because they had been friends for long, even before they thought they were in love. And as introverted as she was, and with Logan's carefree attitude, Hayley could not bring herself to make more friends, and so her one time boyfriend, now ex, was still her best and only friend. Their relationship was the only one she had, and his place was the only place she could stay for now.

"What are you thinking about? And what is that you are fingering like that?" Logan asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Hayley quickly dropped the card, "Fingering, really?" She asked with a half smile, then she tucked the card back into her book, "You need to do something about your vocabulary."

Logan rolled his eyes, "What is that though, the card."

She exhaled sharply, "I think I might have gotten a proposal, I can't exactly call it a job."

He frowned and tilted his head to the side, "Another interview at a hospital?" He shook his head, "I've told you to give up on that stupid dream, it's not yours, it's your father's dream."

Knowing where that was headed, Hayley quickly said, "It's not about medicine. It's about my paintings, someone is actually interested in them."

His eyes widened, "Now that is the kind of news I want to hear! Girl, have you called him already? Don't tell me you are you having second thoughts?!"

"That's the thing. You won't believe who it is. I'm actually wondering if that would be a good idea."

Logan frowned, "Is he that rich?"

"You will be surprised."

He watched her with a new interest, "Who is it?"

She was about to tell him all about last week's crazy encounter with Alex Xander Jr and she was already fantasizing about how he would shriek at the gist when his phone and laptop beeped at the same time. Hayley rolled her eyes at how quick Logan spun around and picked his phone, she knew just what it was.

"Yes!" He shouted, even jumping up happily, "Finally!"

Hayley frowned, "What is it?"

"News, baby! Money!"

"What news?"

"Well if it's not Ursula Xander!"

Hayley frowned and swallowed whatever she had to tell him about Alex. She had forgotten for a second that her friend was a gist-thirsty blogger. But why he had to bring up Ursula Xander's name now that he was just about to tell him about her husband's invitation was oddly annoying. And to think she was looking forward to getting his advice on this!

"She is a pretty famous actress and wife of Alex Xander Jr, CEO of Allure Arts and mother of their only son, Finn Xander Jr. Her husband's brother runs Xander Groups and owns Hope Alive Hospital. What else? Oh, she lost her parents- in- law in a home invasion gone wrong six months after her marriage. Her parents are famously known for their roles in…"

"Hayley!" Logan was laughing so hard at the way she was breathing so hard now from talking non stop.

"I didn't ask you to give me her profile, I only asked if you knew her. And you won't blame me because you spend every day of your life painting those things in your art book and yet you still tuck it away."

She walked over to him and slapped him lightly on the back, "Of course I know the Xanders. And don't talk about my paintings like that." She took his soda from the table and gulped down everything before she asked, "What about Ursula, is she starring in a new movie?"

Logan nodded and turned back to his laptop, "Is there ever a time when she is not staring in a new movie? The news I have about the Xanders is actually juicier than just her movie roles. It's information that can fetch me money if it gets into the right hands."

Hayley frowned, "What is it?"

"Alex Xander Jr recently ran over a girl, and girl, this was just last week. That girl is currently at the verge of death in the hospital, but of course, he paid off bloggers and threatened every person at the scene to say nothing about the incident to the media."

As he spoke, he pressed a few buttons on his laptop and a video of the accident scene popped up. Hayley was surprised to find herself in the video, it was indeed a clip from that Monday morning. The part where she was holding the girl's head up and Alex was trying to apply pressure on a wound on the girl's leg. She gulped and looked at Logan, who was watching the video with so much attention and interest.

"If he paid everybody off, then how did you get the video?" She asked him.

With his eyes still on his laptop, he answered, "One of the witnesses snitched." He winked, "Someone who obviously knew he could make money from it."

"Even after being paid off?" Hayley asked with disgust.

"Welcome to the new world, baby." He told her with a teasing smile. "The only problem is that the woman in the video is still unidentified, but a trusted source informed me that she is his new play thing."

She contemplated on telling him that she was really the one in the video. And she thought of telling him what had really happened that morning, but knowing Logan, and with the fact that her face was not even visible in the video, thanks to her hair which was flowing down on both sides in the clip.

She knew he would not believe her anyway, he would simply dismiss her claims and point out that she was feeling sorry for someone she barely knew. And if he finds out that it was indeed Alex who had offered her the invitation, then he would further think she was only defending a celebrity who had offered to help her.

"My guess is that he was rushing to drop her off when he ran over that poor girl."

"Logan! You don't know that!"

"What? Have you forgotten the scandal with him and that musician who he had an affair with? His wife will kill whoever that girl is, and she looks like another poor girl who he just wants to take advantage of.

"Logan!" She sighed, it was too much to hope that she would tell him the truth. "So what are you going to do with the video? I mean, it's just a clip. And you can see him… them, trying to help the girl."

Logan leaned back in his chair and grinned, "All I need now is just a glimpse of that girl's face. Another clip with her in it will give me all the evidence I need against him. I'm sure his wife would appreciate such juicy information. Oh, and the press! Did I forget?" He looked up at her and a smile played on his lips, "What do you think, baby?"

Hayley packed her books into her bag and made sure she had carried Alex's business card, Logan was confused but he just watched her with amusement. It was not the first time she was opposing his job.

She stopped long enough to ask, "You want to know what I think? I think you are about to sabotage that innocent girl's life."