Chapter 65

Author’s Note: Back to Houston, and we’ve got some interesting developments in the offing. One thing I love about this series – and I sense it from the feedback that you do, too, my loyal readers – is the breadth of fun characters. We are going to see a lot from the supporting players as we move forward. Some will become major characters. I hope you enjoy it. And please let me know your thoughts.

Juliet’s words had sent me spinning. And, before I left, we didn’t talk about what she had said or what she actually meant by it. Was it just a lustful outburst in the heat of passion? Or should I take it literally? We had fucked hot and fast until she had a string of orgasms, and I came inside her. Once we finished, she mumbled something about a meeting and flew out of the house like a hurricane. I felt a connection with Juliet that made her easy for me to read. Or so I thought. And I felt for the first time an awkwardness in her exit that made the conclusion that we had crossed into a new, potentially dangerous place almost inescapable.

At the same time, any consideration of something beyond our prior superficial, occasional interactions seemed totally absurd. Juliet was a rising star with the biggest movie of her career coming out. As production wrapped, there had been murmurs of Oscar buzz. She was linked, off-and-on, romantically to Stephen, the biggest movie star in the world. There was no chance she could have meant what she said, regardless of what my intuition told me.

On the flight home, Jess and I talked at length about it. Probably to the point that I annoyed her, but at least I was honest. I spilled my guts in detail, including my suspicions. Or were they hopes? She could see I was in anguish about it, and she got directly to the point in her assessment.

After we had beat the topic to death, Jess looked at me with a stern caring, and said, “So what? Who cares if she meant it one way or the other?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I think you’re approaching this the wrong way,” she said, “but I don’t blame you for it. It’s exciting when somebody like Juliet shows even a little bit of interest in you.”

“I feel that,” I said. “I really do. It’s a magnetic impulse.”

“Now you get how I feel about Johnny,” Jess said, and I did a double take because it had been a long time since she had brought up the star quarterback. We both ignored that, and she pressed forward. “The thing is, when you’re dealing with that level of celebrity? It’s hard to know what’s real. So you have to make your own decision about what you want.”

“That makes sense,” I said.

“Let me finish,” she said. “I know I could try to handle Johnny in a different way. But before I jumped into ... whatever it is I have with him – I suppose you could call it professional – I had to decide for myself what it was going to be. And the costs of any other arrangement simply aren’t worth it, at least as it pertains to Johnny and me.”

“I see,” I said, wondering if she had thought about leaving me for Johnny. Or maybe if she still would consider trying to.

“I’ve got a fun thing with him,” she continued, “but it has limits, and I make sure it stays within those limits. You simply can’t approach someone like Johnny – or Juliet – like a normal person who knows about normal relationships. Their whole lives are a different kind of circus. That can have implications for you if you change the balance of power or the dynamic. It would have implications for all of us.”

Jess very carefully articulated and emphasized those final four words.

“That I totally get,” I said. “And I’m not saying – I’m not saying at all – that this is something I would want. I just needed to tell you what she said and that it was messing with my head.”

“And you have to consider that she said it just to have that specific result,” Jess said.

“That’s a good point,” I admitted. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Let me bring it back to another analogy from personal experience,” Jess said. “If I tried to make my relationship with Johnny something more, I’d be crushing Shelly. I would be crushing you. I’d be crushing Kat and Rita. I realize that, yet I still have fantasies about Johnny. Do you see what I’m saying?”

“I think so,” I said. “I’m making conclusions based on an ambiguous statement. And there’s every reason to believe that Juliet isn’t sure what she’s doing.”

“And even if she does?” Jess said. “You have to consider what that means to us. We’re a family, John. We’re trying to make a real family, beyond the four of us. We love you, and we’re committed to you.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I get it. It’s a la-la land fantasy. I appreciate you being patient with me. I appreciate you making sure I’m staying grounded.”

“Look, babe,” Jess said, and she took my hand, “I get it. I totally get it. I get it more than you will ever know. But if you have tunnel vision? Take a step back for a minute. Look at what you have. Look at what that means. I haven’t always done that. I’ve taken you for granted so many times. I vowed a long time ago never to do that again, okay? And I’m not going to let you make the same mistakes I have.”

I nodded my head as I rubbed my temples. I watched Jess as she looked at me with her unwavering, steel blue eyes.

“I love you,” I said. “You always tell it to me straight. You always keep me in line.”

“No, I don’t,” Jess said candidly. “But right now? I’m being as real as I’ve ever been with you. Do you understand?”

“I love you,” I repeated.

“I love you, too,” I said.

Her stare made me uncomfortable, but I was a little embarrassed. I don’t know what I had expected Jess would tell me. She told me everything I wanted to hear. Or maybe it was the opposite of what I wanted to hear. But if the latter were the case? I wasn’t sure I could handle what came beyond that. So I changed the subject.

“How do you feel about LA?” I asked. “I mean with Kelly being in Vegas.”

“I feel all right about it,” Jess said. “But I think Infinity has a little bit of a case of shiny-object syndrome.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We are so focused on Vegas,” Jess said. “And that is great. It’s smart, too. But I’ve been so involved in Houston, well, I think we are neglecting LA a little bit, and the natives are getting restless. They’re used to having someone glad-hand them, and Kelly just isn’t up to that right now.”

“So you feel like you need to make a change?” I offered.

“Oh, there’s no way not to make a change,” Jess said. “The LA clients are way too demanding, and I ran the numbers last night. They’re way too profitable still. Vegas might be glamorous and fun right now, but we have to stick to the reality of what the numbers tell us.”

“And what are the numbers telling us?” I asked.

“I’m going to move Alix to LA,” Jess said. “She’s going to run things there.”

“Wow,” I said but didn’t offer more.

“Alix is the best girl I have,” Jess said. “She wants more responsibility. She’s earned more responsibility. There are prospects in Houston who could move up. I’m in Houston. You know I’ll always be in Houston. I can manage that. But I don’t want to manage LA. Alix and handle it. She’ll thrive.”

“That’s a big move,” I said. “Wow.”

“John, we have to keep up with the business,” Jess said. “Alix is the only one who can do it right now, and you know it.”

“You’re right,” I said. “She’s incredible. She is completely up to it, too. I know she is. She wants the responsibility, like you said.”

“And there is so much talent in Houston right now,” she continued. “Do you see the same potential I do? There’s Crystal. And Katie. Even Bianka.”

“No, I think you’re right, darling,” I said. “And you’ve hit the nail on the head. Infinity is in growth mode. You have three markets now. And if you don’t have someone you really, really trust running each of those? You aren’t going to find sustained success.”

“I know,” Jess said, looking at me seriously. “You taught me that. That’s why we’re here. You taught me well.”

“I did, didn’t I?” I said, smiling.

Jess and I had come a long way. She was right. Alix had to go run LA.

When we got home, I felt a disconnect among the four of us. Kat and Rita remained unusually busy with work. It made sense. It was fall sweeps, and there were more promo shoots and specials to be done. But there was also a trepidation among us. We were disappointed when Kat hadn’t gotten pregnant last month. And we were trying to kill time as best we could until her next ovulation cycle came around.

So Jess and I focused on the business at hand. Well, Jess focused on business. She and I went back to the Hooker House almost as soon as we returned to Houston so she could talk to Alix. It was Wednesday morning, and I had nothing better to do before we met Kat and Rita for lunch, so I went with her. Part of me was hoping I might be able to catch up with Katie.