Pearl was halfway through her morning at work. It was weird not seeing David there. But she knew a little time away from him was needed for her just as much it was needed for him. There was a knock at her office door. "Pearl, there's someone up front in the lobby here to see you." The receptionist said. Why did she come all the way to Pearl's office to tell her this? She could have just told her over the phone. "Ok? I'll head that way.." Pearl responded curiously. "He's an actor! It's Holden Tomlinson from Knights of Eden! Is he here for PR for our company? Oh my god I've loved him since he was in that spy movie with James Franco!!" She was practically screeching. "No, he's my....friend" Pearl replied.
She made her way to the front lobby of the building. It was always bustling there. They shared the building with a popular tech company so it stayed busy most of the day. Sure enough, there he was. Dressed in dark grey dress pants and a white button up with the top feThey made their way to the corner bistro about two blocks from her office. When they walked to the hostess to ask for a table, she nearly fell backward when she saw Rhys. "What can I do for you?" She looked like a deer in headlights. "We'd like a table for two, preferably not in the middle of the room." Rhys replied and handed her a 100 dollar bill. "Of course." She looked at her chart "right this way."She led them to a table in an unoccupied part of the restaurant that looked like it was used for large party reservations. She stood for an awkward amount of time after they sat down. "Thank you" Rhys said and basically shooed her away."So how has your day been going, Pearl? I feel like it's been a year since I've last saw you."No kidding Pearl thought. "It's been good. Busy. How about you? You know, I really know nothing about you. I have no clue. Are you an only child? Where did you grow up? How long have you been acting? How did you get into it? Are yo
"Pearl, earth to Pearl" Rhys said but Pearl couldn't find words. "You look a little peaked. You ok?""Yes. I'm fine." She finally managed to get out. "You're looking for a house here? In this area?""Not too far from here, yes." He put his hands on her shoulders. "You don't look too happy about it. I guess I was expecting a different reaction maybe? Ah I get it. You enjoy the luxury suites when you come and see me. I can assure you, we can still do that." His usual upbeat demeanor took a turn downward. "No it's not that. I just...am surprised, You know?" Pearl was definitely that. "I told you I was here to surprise you!" He joked. "Really though, Rhys" Pearl was just going to put it out there "what's wrong with you? There has to be something wrong with you. You're beautiful. Like, a Michelangelo statue type beautiful, you're a movie star, you're always positive...I seriously think you may have the best personality a human being has ever posses
Pearl was freaking out. This was not what she was prepared for. She should have been. It had been her naivety about the entire thing that got her here. She didn't see him as a celebrity even though she knew he was one. She pulled out her phone and called Janie. No answer. She pulled up her texts to send so thing to Dylan. He would help. But then she remembered and reread the text he sent last night that she didn't respond to. She was so exhausted after all she had dealt with yesterday. She felt horrible now rereading it. "Hey Pearl, hope you have a great night. I'll be awake for a little while if you want chat."She texted and tried to call him. Nothing. Ugh. She walked back to her Jeep and drove to the brewery where Dylan worked. It was a half hour drive from her place but she needed to talk to him. She also had this feeling she needed to explain herself to protect him in some way. She arrived at the brewery to see Dylan sitting at the bar, with a cup of coffee. "Thank G
They finished dinner and got back into the limo. She figured now was a better time to bring up the magazine. The night had been a whirlwind and she hadn't the chance yet to talk to him about it. "Rhys, do you pay any attention to gossip magazines?" She asked. He looked at her and grinned slightly. "I hear things about me sometimes. Usually on social media and online entertainment sites. I'm taking it you saw the article in the National Inquisitor?""Yes. I saw it today. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet." Pearl admitted. "It's something that I'd love to be able to protect you from. Hell I'd love to protect me from it, too. But you know I can't. And you have to know that's a part of all this. With me. Is that something that you can handle?" He asked as he grabbed her hand. "I don't know, honestly. I've never been in a situation even close to this. I don't really know what to say about it" Pearl said, being as honest as she could. She was terrified but didn't want to mak
Pearl awoke to Rhys bustling around the suite on his phone. "Yep sounds great! We will be there. You have all the info for the offer if it works out, right? Good. Thanks Bill. You rock." Pearl made her way out to main room. "Coffee" she said. "Well good morning to you too, babe. There's coffee over on the room service tray. And breakfast. I figured you might be hungry." Rhys gave her a big hug. Pearl made her self a cup and walked to where Rhys was sitting. "So what are we doing today? And I'll need to grab a change of clothes if you're taking me anywhere in public." Pearl said. She had texted her assistant late last night and told her she wouldn't be coming in today. Ashley seemed a little shocked but she said she would handle everything. "We can head to your place or you can borrow a shirt of mine." He suggested. He walked over and pulled a Tom Waits t-shirt out of his closet. She loved it, actually. "That'll work." She said. "Ah, we are at the stealing my clothes phase of our rel
Pearl settled into the hot bath and put the cool wine bottle on her forehead. The day had been overwhelming to say the least. Rhys dropped her at her apartment on the way home from seeing his new giant mansion. He had a meeting in Chicago that evening and wouldn't be back until late into the night. He offered to stop by when he got back into town but she told him she was happy to have some time to herself after the day they had. He understood and he kissed her forehead and told her he'd see her tomorrow. She checked her phone and she still hadn't heard back from Dylan. It bothered her. The whole thing bothered her. His reaction to her at the brewery and his lack of a response. It really bothered her. Why would he work so hard to build a bond with her and say all those things just to go back to being a dick? Her phone dinged and she saw it was a text from David. "You've been on my mind. I just wanted you to know that. I miss you. I hope you've had a good week." Pearl didn't know how
Pearl slammed her purse down onto the counter. She was furious. What did she do to him to make him treat her this way? He was being such a dick. She was so happy about the bond that was growing between them. He was in her mind constantly, even when she was with Rhys and David. The journal he gave her. What he said. Why was he purposely screwing with her head? She was hurt. He knew her past. She told him the truth about all of it. Even about Rhys and David. This was so unfair.She poured a glass of wine and sat in her chair. She thought about Rhys. He was perfect. He was literally Prince Charming. She still wasn't able to believe he was real and he barely knew her. It was too much, too fast. It had been two weeks. TWO WEEKS and he was having her help him pick out a house. No way. Not real. And David. She cared about him so much, but was torn on his disingenuous nature and the drama in his life. She knew him the longest of the 3, but his relationship with her felt the most
Pearl woke up to him gathering his things. "Good morning." Pearl said, half awake. "Hey...morning. Sorry. I gotta go." Dylan said."You have to go?" She looked at her phone. "But it's like 6:30 in the morning?""I know, I'm sorry. I have to be somewhere""Ok" said Pearl. And she heard her door close behind him. "Well, I guess that's that." She said out loud. That was not the wake up she expected. He gave her the morning ditch. And she deserved it. She never should have went through with that. It seems he was either completely terrified that it happened and felt awkward or he was just using her and bailed. Either way, it made her feel like shit. She fell back into bed and back asleep.She woke up at noon. She never slept in that late. These last few weeks had been a whirlwind. She had managed to sleep with a movie star, her boss and one of her best friends who was also a virgin. And the virgin ditched her right after it. When she listed it