Wilde Velvet (9 page)

“To be honest he has been a little … tough on me.” Claire nods, she agrees. I get the feeling she knows all about his domineering ways.

“I can understand that. Believe me.” I slightly narrow my eyes at her at words. My mind erupts with images of Jonathon and Claire. I can’t escape them as her words ring in my ears. I am sensing that she and Jonathon might have had a
fling or something along those lines in the past. I try to maintain my cool composure as I ask those dreadful words.

“How do you know Mr Wilde?” Claire melts at the mere sound of his name. Can I really listen to her gushing about him?

“Oh, me and Johnny go way back. Our families are really close friends. We were always with the Wilde’s, every summer in fact. We vacationed together and Johnny and I grew really close.” I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Why am I so bothered about her past with Mr Gucci? Is not as if he is my boyfriend or anything, but the sound of Claire’s voice gushing about him makes me feel physically sick. I am scared that my inappropriate feelings towards Claire are the result of my incompatibility for Jonathon. We come from different worlds. He’s rich and has
the
perfect lifestyle. Whereas I am poor and my life is far from perfect. I have done things in the past that would shock him. Things that I don’t even want to think back on. Even if I could open up to him and let him into my world. There’s no way that he would want to be in it, knowing what kind of person I am. I can’t deny that there is some type of chemistry between us, but I can’t get close to him. I need to stay focused on my music. But my senses are tingling. I want to know more about Mr Wilde and Claire.

“That’s sweet. You guys must have a really good … relationship?” Claire wickedly smiles. She knows what I am getting at. But will she answer?

“Are you asking if Johnny and I were … lovers?” I blush, but I remain cool. I want to know the answer. I nod and Claire pouts her lips at me. She runs her fingers through the ends of her short black hair. Her eyes soften as she replies. “We had a brief fling, but it was … terrible.” I frown. How could being with him be terrible? I would have thought that Claire and Jonathon would have been great together. They obviously come from the same background, so shouldn’t that be a good foundation for a relationship?

“How could that be? You guys seem perfect or each other. Being friends and then turning it into more, isn’t that what everyone craves?” Claire nods as she agrees, but her eyes lock on mine, alerting me that she has a different opinion.

“Being friends first is wonderful and it does make for a better relationship, but it didn’t work for me and Johnny. Don’t get me wrong he was great in … so… many… ways. But at the end of the day we realised that being friends was more important than having great…” She pauses, “well, you know?” I blush that was way too much information and I think that I am over this conversation. I smile politely at Claire; she knows that she has freaked me out a little with her brutal honesty. Her iPhone beeps and she is quick to reply to a text. I excuse myself; I want to examine the pictures on the walls further. I walk over to the picture of Madonna and I smile. She is standing on the stage, in some massive arena. The crowd is buzzing and she is oozing with greatness. I exhale; I would give my right arm for an experience like that.

The door opens and I immediately tear my eyes away from the picture so that I can see who has come into the room. I blush when I see Jonathon glid
ing into the room. I can’t escape the image of Claire and him having their ‘great sex’. I shiver at that thought.
If you don’t want to think about it, then don’t.
  My subconscious is on one today. I clear my throat as he walks over to me. I look up at him. Man he’s gorgeous. His eyes are dark, like big chocolate buttons glowing through me. His lips are soft and a vivid reminder of him kissing Candy erupts through me. I have got to stop thinking about him. He briefly smiles at me and his speech is quick and very brief.

“Hey,” he says in quiet tone. I stare deep into his eyes as I reply.

“Hey,” he smirks and then the volume erupts as Claire comes rushing towards us. Jonathon pulls her close to him when she reaches us and he gives her a massive bear hug. I am jealous. I want to be the target of his affection
. You finally admit it. Too bad it’s too late.
  I shake myself out of thought as I focus on Jonathon and Claire.

“Claire ¿cómo has estado?” Great he’s speaking Spanish, again.

“Bien y tu?” Oh and of course she does too.

“Bueno,” she finally tears herself away from him and she straightens her blouse. I stand awkwardly in front of them. I feel stupid and out of the loop. I don’t have a clue what they were saying. For all I know they could have been talking about me.
Now you’re just being paranoid.
  Jonathon looks at me as he begins to talk.

“So what do you think of Miss Harper’s voice?” Claire nods.

“She has a wonderful voice, but there are still a few things that we need to go over.” Claire responds. Jonathon looks at her and then back at me.

“I have told Miss Harper that she needs to work on her tone. Do you agree with my suggestion?”

“Yeah, but we managed to move really quickly. Once I told Ashley what I thought she should work on, she did it straight away. I feel that she is much improved.” Jonathon briefly smiles at me. I melt into a thousand awkward pieces at the sight of the crinkled line that has formed in his cheek. Why does he have to affect me so much? I wish that I could just not be attracted to him. Everything would be so much easier. But he makes it impossible for me, how can I not to be attracted to him when he looks stunning, all of the time?

“That’s … wonderful Miss Harper. I must hear the new and improved you!”

“Jonathon its Ashley, remember?” I say playfully. His eyes intensify at my comment. Oh no, I know that look, he’s mad at me.

“Please don’t acknowledge me so informally. When we are in the office, its Mr Wilde, you got that?” I feel so small. How dare he embarrass me like this? He is so rude and inappropriate. I don’t get him, why does she have to be so cruel to me?

“I’m sorry, Mr Wilde.” I apologise, well what else can I do? I don’t want to seem unprofessional and especially not in front of Claire. If Mr Wilde wants to be a jerk, then let him. I am not going to stoop to his level. I am not going to look like the bad guy, by confronting him about this. Instead, I will smile and get on with the rest of my day. But inside I will be screaming at him.         

The next few hours consist of singing and practising everything that Claire and Mr Wilde has taught me. My throat is actually starting to get a little scratchy from the pressure. Just when I think that I have done a good job, he
’s there to alert me otherwise. He never has a positive thing to say, it’s always ‘you can do better’ or ‘that was crap’. I don’t know how to please him. Claire is easy. She goes with the flow and she has even corrected him a few times when he has criticised my performance. I don’t know what his problem is and I have had just about all I can take from him.

I push myself off
of the stool and I run my fingers through my hair. Claire is stressed. I can tell by her eyes. Jonathon looks tense and in a foul mood. I am surprised at how quickly his moods change. I have never known a guy to have PMS before, but then there’s always a first for everything.

“What are you doing? We aren’t finished yet.”
he says locking his dark eyes on mine. I look at him, trying to hide my emotion.

“It’s after four and I have to work at five.”

“So your just gonna leave?” he says in a sharp tone.

“C’mon Johnny leave the poor girl alone. It’s been a long day and we all need a break.” Claire sticks up for me. I smile at her as she slips her blazer over her shoulder
s. She grabs her designer purse from the small table and she slings it over her wrist. She walks over to Mr Wilde and he gently kisses her cheek. I try to look away, but my eyes fix on them. She pulls back and she brushes past me as she walks over to the door. “I’ll see you again when you have something to record.” I smile at her again as she opens the door. In a flash she is out of sight and I am left alone with him. I feel uneasy as we stand opposite one another. I don’t know what to say to him. Inside I feel mad at him for the way he has acted today and I don’t know if I even want to talk to him right now. He makes eye contact with me and I get the feeling he knows that I am mad at him.

“Why is your face so sour?” I roll my eyes at his smart comment. Now I am positive that I need to get
out of here. I stomp over to the table and I grab my handbag from the surface. I take out my phone and I drum Sydney’s number into the keypad. Before I have the chance to hit send, he is standing in front of me. His hand is clasped over mine stopping me from pushing send. I look up at him and scowl. What is his problem now?

“What are you doing?” I say firmly. His eyes soften and his lip lightly quirks up at the side. He briefly smiles and that hot line forms in his cheek. I try to hide the fact that I could melt at the sight of him as he stares deeply at me.

“I could ask you the same thing. Who are you calling?”

“It’s none of your business.” I state. He nods but he isn’t happy.

“It’s that loser your calling, isn’t it?” I pull my hand away from him. How dare he make fun of Tyler when he is the one who is dating the Botox bimbo? He needs a reality check.

“Don’t,” I say loudly.

“Don’t what?” his voice is strong.

“Don’t make fun of Tyler and don’t presume that you have the right to stop me from doing what I want.”
he laughs. Man I could slap him right now.

“Ashley … Odio cuando que eres enojes conmigo,” he says in a soft voice. Doesn’t he get it? I don’t speak Spanish therefore I have no idea what the hell he’s saying. But is that the point? Does he like to speak to me in Spanish because I don’t know what he’
s saying? He could say anything. He could be telling me how he feels and here I am clueless. He frustrates me in so many ways.

“What did you just say? If you aren’t aware by now, I don’t speak Spanish.”
he laughs at me.

“Of course I’m aware that’s the appeal.” I scowl at him. I need to get away from him, before I do something that I will regret. I push myself away from him and I hit send on my phone. I wait for Sydney to answer and when she does she agrees to pick me up. I shove my phone back into my bag and I make my way over to the door. Mr Gucci follows me and he is the one who pushes open the door. I step out into the hallway, followed by him. We walk together until we finally part ways on the sidewalk. He turns to look at me just as
he’s about to leave. His eyes are soft and the anger has passed. He looks nice and refined. I could stare at this version of him all day long. I cross my arms over my chest and I make eye contact with him. He briefly smiles at me as he cocks his head to one side. His lips part and his fluid voice echoes around me.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven. We still have to find you a song.” I force myself to smile at him.

“Okay,” he nods as he stares at me. He finally tears his eyes away and then he jumps into his car. He revs the engine and then in an instant he’s gone.

Nine

Sydney came to collect me shortly after. Now we are sitting in her car as she drives slowly and asks me about my day.

“So c’mon tell me all the details. I wanna know everything.” she gushes. I sigh. Where do I begin?

“How much time do you have?” I say in a playful
way. Sydney senses that I am a little upset. I know that she will question me, but I really don’t feel like talking about it. I am so confused about Mr Wilde that I don’t know how I feel. I can’t believe how jealous I got when I saw him with Candy. Then my jealousy intensified when Claire filled me in on their past. Then to make things worse, he keeps talking to me in Spanish and I don’t know how to react to something like that. I have no idea what the hell he’s saying. He could be making fun of me or telling me that he loves me. Either way I am clueless and confused about him. One minute he’s nice and the next he’s awful. He embarrassed me in front of Claire. He made me feel so small when he told me off for calling him Jonathon. I don’t mind it so much when he’s mean about my music. I know that he is the professional and that I need to listen to his advice. It’s the personal stuff that bothers me. Why does he have to torture me? Why can’t he just let me be?

I fill Sydney in on what’s been happening. She is about to unleash her thoughts.
Brace yourself this could be bumpy.

“Wow
. That was a long story.” she states. I am waiting for her explosion she should have erupted by now. “

“Is that all you have to say?”

“What else can I say? Sure it sucks that Mr Gucci is mean to you, but don’t let him get under your skin. He’s probably just pissed off at you because you turned him down that night at the bar.” I giggle. She does have a point.

“Yeah you’re right. I shouldn’t let him get to me. Anyway
, I have a date to look forward to.” Sydney coughs at my confession. Now she is about to erupt.

“A date with who, Mr Gucci?” I giggle again. Sydney’s reaction is priceless.

“No, it’s with this other guy I met. His name’s Tyler and he’s also a musician. He’s really nice.” Sydney narrows her eyes at me as we stop at a red light.

“I thought you weren’t into
… dating?” she says raising one of her dark eyebrows at me.

“I’m not, but he’s just so …” I trail off as I think of him. He isn’t anything special to look at. But that doesn’t matter to me. He has an amazing personality and I could
definitely see myself liking him. He is kind and warm hearted. I haven’t been with a guy like him. I have only ever been with Brandon and he is the reason that the term ‘bad boy’ exists. He was mean and tough. Everyone was scared of him, including me. He did unspeakable things and I can never forgive myself for being a part of that. I never want to return to being that girl. I can’t relive the past and that’s exactly why I can’t allow myself to get involved with Jonathon. He reminds me of Brandon and of the way he used to make me feel. With Tyler it’s smooth. It doesn’t have bumps and it’s not complicated. Easy and carefree that’s what I crave. “Tyler is just so different to other guys that I have dated.”

“You’ve only ever dated one guy and that was
Brandon. You know that not every guy is like him, right?”

“Of course I know that, but I don’t want to risk getting hurt
… again. I know that if I am with Tyler, then things will be easy. He’s nice and caring and that’s exactly what I need.”

“You need someone who is going to look after you. Love you and treat you with the respect that you deserve. You deserve to be with someone that you truly love. You can’t base your life on what’s easy.” I nod. I know Sydney’s advice is
true and I would really like to experience love again. But for right now, music is my only love.

Sydney drove me to work and tonight the café is extra busy. We have four parties of six in and I am rushed off my feet. I have been working for two straight hours so far and my head is already spinning from taking people’s orders. I wouldn’t say that I am the world’s greatest waitress. I always try to be polite and put the customer’s first. I am grateful that I have a job to go to every night. I know how tough this city is
, and I know that there are so many people out of work right now. Everyone thinks that LA is all glitz and glamour, but that’s not the real story. There is so much more to the city than just Hollywood. There are so many different cultures here and everyone is unique and different in their own way. When I first moved here, I spent a lot of my free time at one of the local beaches. I would sit on the sand for hours, just watching the people of LA as they went about their normal day. I would laugh and privately mock those who worked out, and I would relate to those who swam and sunbathed all day. Hell, I wonder if I ever saw Mr Gucci. He loves to work out and running along the beach with the salty breeze blowing through his gorgeous hair, would be the perfect way to get noticed. I bet he loves the attention he undoubtedly gets from females. And I can speak from personal experience; females most certainly like to focus their attention on him.

“Fuck,” I say a little too loudly. The wine glasses that I was carrying have slammed against the wooden bar surface. Luckily they didn't break, just the embarrassing noise and a few worried glances in my direction. My cheeks flush hot and I scowl in his direction as he walks smugly into the cafe –where I work. What the hell is he doing here? And to make things worse he is with Candy, the ultra-blonde bimbo with more Botox than sense.  I try to make myself invisible behind the bar. God please don't let him see me. I carry on with my chores, carefully sliding the glasses into the shelf under the bar. I am extra quiet. I don't want to bring attention to myself. I finish with the glasses and I slowly peek out from behind the tall bar. I can see the top of his head. He is slouching against the counter as one of the waitress's grabs two menus from the large pile. I watch as she shows Mr Wilde and Candy to their table. I smile; at least she showed them to her side of the restaurant. I would hate to wait on them. Just the thought of it sends shivers down my spine.

Once they are settled at their table, I notice that Jonathan is facing away from me. The people sitting at my tables are beginning to look a little flustered. I suspect that they need drinks or something. I manage to pick up enough courage to grace them with my presence. I quickly take their drinks order and I rush to the bar. As I prepare the drinks, the waitress who showed Mr Wilde to his table runs towards me. She stops in front of me. I shoot her a concerned look as she stands in front of me, with dirty plates lined along her arms.

“Ash, could do take my back table. I'm swamped.”
she says as she flashes me a golden smile. My heart starts to race as I realise that she wants me to serve Jonathan and his bimbo. I shake my head as I begin to tell her that I can't.

“I'm busy on this side. Why don't you ask Matt?”
she frowns at me.

“I can't he's helping in the kitchen. C'mon the customers have been waiting ten minutes for their drinks. You know what Sal's like. She will go off her head.” I grimace as I conclude that I have no other option but to serve Mr Wilde. I politely smile at the other waitress and she tells me that their drinks are already prepared. I place the other tables drinks onto
the tray next Mr Wilde’s, and I slowly walk over to my table first. I serve them with their drinks and then I walk over in Mr Wilde's direction. I reach the table and Candy is looking at me rather funny. I don't think it's clicked that she meet me today, but the look on her face alerts me that she is trying to figure out where she has seen me before. I edge closer to the table and I place the drinks down. Jonathan is texting on his phone and he hasn't looked up at me yet. Candy smiles and she still looks confused
. Poor little bimbo. Stop it Ashley. It's not her fault that you're jealous
. My annoying subconscious is back. I pull my notepad out of my apron and the pencil out from behind my ear. I take a deep breath, trying to preserve all of my courage. My eyes close for a brief second and then they shoot open again. Jonathan's deep brown eyes are locked on mine. I have to be careful. I don't want to fall into them. I force myself to smile at him as I take their order.

“Are you guys ready to order? Or do you need another few minutes?” I say proudly. Candy is clueless. She still hasn't figured out who I am. Jonathan is scanning my entire body and then his menu. He is making me feel a little uneasy, but somehow I manage to remain cool.

“Candy, baby, are you ready to order?” he says in a smooth yet form voice. Candy beams at him and then she focuses on me.

“I'll have the house salad with no dressing or croutons, thanks.” I jot down her order, screaming inside as I do. I quickly scan her frame, and yes she is pencil
thin. I am guessing he likes his girls that way. I politely smile at Candy and then I look at Mr Wilde. He is smirking rather annoyingly, and I am scared that he will have some type of remark or comment about my job.

“I'll have the steak, rare.” I politely smile as I jot down his order. I make eye contact with Candy and then at Mr Wilde. I slide my notepad back into the front of my apron. My feet slide against the wooden floor as I begin to walk away. But a sudden jerk against my arm pulls me back towards the table. Jonathan's hand is gripped onto my wrist and I am forced to look at him. His eyes are playful as he stares at me.

“Ashley, hold up.” he says as I try to walk away again. His fingers are pressed into my skin. Leaving behind white bruises of where his fingers are.

“What can I do you for you Mr Wilde?” I ask in a firm voice. Candy looks confused. I can't believe that she
hasn’t figured out who I am. I stare at him. Hoping that he realises what I am thinking. What does he see in her?

“Please it's Jonathan.”
he states. I roll my eyes. Sure, we are back to first name basis.

“Really, I would have thought that would have been too informal, you know?”
he smirks but looks annoyed at the same time. I realise that my tone was a little too harsh.

“Ouch! Tell me, do you treat all your customers like this?” No. I store my anger bursts for when I am around you.

“I usually save my rudeness for the really annoying customers, you know?” he laughs at me and as he does, Candy finally breaks her silence.

“Do you two know each other?” Jonathan shoots her an appalled look.

“Don't you remember meeting Ashley this morning?” he says firmly. Candy presses her eyebrows together as she looks at me.

“Is she the girl from this morning?”

“Let me save you some time. Ashley is the girl we picked up this morning. You know the one you were jealous of?” Candy laughs. I don't think she realises that he was being rude to her. Poor girl. My mind spins and I reflect back to his comment. Candy was jealous of me. I find that very hard to believe. Is he toying with me? Is he trying to get a reaction out of me? If he is, I am not going to let him win. I smile politely and this time I am going to leave. He isn’t going to stop me.

“I’m gonna go and give your order to the kitchen, so if there’s nothing else I can help you with?” I
say ramming my hands into the back pockets of my shorts. Sal and Kevin –the couple who own the restaurant are really down to earth and luckily they don’t force their staff to wear a uniform. It gets really hot and I just usually wear shorts and a t-shirt to work. The other waitresses do the same, and I guess it doesn’t bother the customers. I have never had a complaint about my clothing. More likes jeers and whistles from the guys who come here on a Saturday night. Dam it, tomorrow is Saturday and I have a date with Tyler. Man I am almost forgot. It’s been so long since I had a date, and I have been a little nervous since I agreed to go out with him. I don’t know how to act or what’s appropriate for a first date. With my last relationship, it was easy, forced and instant. Everything happened so fast. I literally met Brandon on a Monday and by Friday we were boyfriend and girlfriend. Don’t ask for an explanation. I don’t have one myself. And I quite frankly I don’t want to relive that whole time in my past. That’s why I have decided to heave off men forever, yet why did I agree to go out with Tyler? I snap out of my panic. I can’t think about his now. I have tables to wait on and hungry customers that are glaring in my direction. I smile once again at Candy, and I subtly narrow my eyes at Jonathon as I walk away from their table.

I managed to convince Matt to serve Mr Wilde. I couldn’t cope with the stress. I am almost finished my shift and I can’t wait to get out of here. I clear my last table and I quietly smile to myself as I run into the back room to grab my things. I sling my bag over my shoulder and I say my goodbyes. I push my frizzy ponytail away from my neck. I am sweating and I feel as
if it’s choking me. I scan the restaurant as I emerge from the old oak door. I see that a few diners are still at their tables. Still sipping on wine and gazing into each other’s eyes. I notice that Candy is sitting by herself. A small dessert is her only company. I slightly shake my head. Mr Wilde was really mean to her earlier and she didn’t even notice. I feel for the girl. I know how intimidating he can make one feel, saying that, I still don’t get why he’s with her. I mean he seems as if he should be with someone who is smart, independent and someone who can be his match. I just don’t see how Candy can be any of those things. He is so head strong and she is so weak minded. I don’t understand their relationship, but who am I am to comment. It’s not as if I would be a better match for him. We would never work. We are too different.