CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Jordan woke up with a Jolt minutes later because of the sound he heard from his phone ringing continuously, on and on. His assistant was calling him and he could see that he had also received messages from him, he sat up in bed and looked over at how Adonia was sleeping peacefully. He checked his messages and noticed that everybody kept on sending messages telling him to check his social media so he did. He couldn't believe what he saw, almost all pages that talked about celebrities had pictures of him and Adonia posted all over the social medias. He couldn't believe it, he tried to be as discreet as possible while coming over to this beach. He guessed a reporter had caught sight of them and kept track. This was bad, he had to do something about it quickly before it would get out of hand and affect Adonia too. He quickly called his agent that was in charge of his social media accounts and explained the situation. She explained she she was already on it and the issue would be resolved soon, he was glad to hear that and he thanked her before ending the call. He was glad he hired a competent agent, he laid back on the bed and waited for whatever news would come next as an update and hoped it would be good. He couldn't endanger Adonia just like that. It was just their first date and it didn't want it ending on a sour note.
Jordan felt betrayed that someone had taken pictures of him with Adonia, it was meant to be a simple get away with her, he just wanted to have a fun private time with her here where he was sure his affairs and business would be kept private since that was the hotel's management duty but it was obvious they had weakened in their security for someone to easily take his picture and have it posted on the social media that easily. The public could be brutal and would choose to believe only what they want to believe. he was going to lay a complain to the manager of the beach and hotel against their conduct of people's privacy because he had always thought that this was a secluded place, where their priority was to protect the privacy of people that lodged in and made sure whatever activity they carried out there remained within there. Now he couldn't even vouch for the place again, he hated the fact that he had been in the news top headlines too frequently these days. He wasn't the type of person who enjoyed having his life out there and displayed for the world to see like it wasn't his privacy, that was one of the reasons why he stuck to just directing movies.
He never wanted his name or pictures splattered all over the media especially if it sent the wrong message to the mass because they would start having questions that could attract people's attention and probably implicate him , his job and now Adonia too. Adonis was awake now and had already gotten a hang of what had happened, she was starring at him as if she was waiting to hear what he had to say to her but he really didn't know what to do, would he comfort her or apologize to her? He was confused, it was their first date but it was already getting complicated. It was no one's business what he did with his life, so he was quite pissed that a picture of him and Adonia was taken and he sensed it might get out of his control this time. He knew it might ruin Adonia's career, he didn't know how but it could do more damage than good to her, she was already hated by most of the fans that idolized her ex and he didn't want her to relive the experience.
It was not something he was willing to allow her go through again. Her talent was definitely not going to be recognized based on the kind or amount of people she knew but based solely on her hard work that she exhibits but he suspected the media was going to use the opposite of that to form a headline about her because they were bound to assume, it was what they were very good at; assuming on and on until they wrecked someone's life over their own benefits.
Jordan turned around to look at her after recovering from his thoughts, he wanted to calm her down and keep her panic at minimum by telling her he was trying to put the situation under control. He wanted to give her the reassurance that she needed and then brief her about what he was going to do. She wasn't looking angry though, she looked mostly sorry and he could see the fear and sympathy in her eyes, he figured she was feeling sorry for what was happening to him and he didn't want her feeling that way. She was involved too so she should also care about herself. He watched her sit up in bed, looking like she had something to say. He was about to stop her but he held himself as he decided against it, he wanted her to speak so he could know what she was thinking, he didn't want to stop her from expressing herself because it could end in a fight and the last thing he wanted was a fight with Adonia before he even made them official, the day started on a good day.. and he felt it should end that way, even though things weren't really going his way recently.
"Jordan, I am very sorry about what is happening now, this wasn't supposed to happen, we weren't meant to be seen and everyone would think otherwise and it could destroy your career because of all the Media toxicity" Adonis said "I am going to come out and say we met at the beach then maybe it'll shift their attention for a while to me before everyone forgets, they always do" she added and smiled.
Who made her like this? He was already feeling his anger building, he wanted to reprimand her for trying to put it all on herself alone. What happened wasn't her fault so he didn't understand why she would think to apologize for something that didn't happen because of her. He knew it was meant to be nobody's business if he was seen going out with a woman, even if she was from his crew set, but that's the price you pay for being a celebrity.. the media, paparazzi and press always using your life to make a living. He wanted her to know he wanted to be here with her too, if he couldn't get someone to take the pictures from the prying eyes of the public, he was going to allow it be that way and he was going to assure her that he didn't think she was the one that caused anything because she obviously didn't force him to be there with her, he planned the whole date from the beginning so they would stay strong together, no matter how bumpy the ride gets.
He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she thought she was the cause of what was happening and was ready to carry the cross alone. It hurt him that she really thought so low of herself, he couldn't believe her or the fact that she wanted to blindly walk into the already made mess herself! Alone! If only she knew how much more damage it could cause her, he knew she wouldn't be strong enough to take all the hate and snide comments from the media and fans.
He tried keeping himself calm from loosing his temper "you're worth more than this Adonis, you shouldn't think so low of yourself and it pisses me off that you want to face this all alone when it wasn't even your fault to begin with, why would you think you were the cause of this?" He didn't give her the chance to say anything before he went on "I know you think we are not suppose to be doing this but it doesn't matter. The press would always get away with prying into celebrities lives and what we're doing isn't wrong. If we were normal people no one would even care so don't tell me you want to apologize when you did nothing wrong" He said and drew her close to himself. He hugged and gently patted her hair as she sighed into his shirt "I thought, maybe you wouldn't want to be seen with me" she defended and he shook his head "that would never happen, I want this too and I'll gladly tell the press that we're together" he replied "we'll fix this, I'll fix it" he added to keep her mind at ease.
Jordan held her closer to himself and he was sure she could hear his heart beat against her ear, that was what she did to him, how much effect she had on him and he was okay with it. Adonia was a really simple and lovely woman that if he was to make a choice, he'd choose to be with her. He knew how she was fragile too and she quickly or rather took things too serious than she should. He knew she had already weighed the gravity of this situation too heavy in her head and was already preparing herself to be led into the den of the media only to be eventually slaughtered by them no matter how she tries to clarify the pictures and notions they already had about her.
He needed to call his agent again. The only person he knew that was capable of helping him clear any evidence of that picture from the media. he didn't know any other person that was good at this, if he said he couldn't do it he would have to leave the pictures there and face whatever that was going to happen, he was just afraid of what it was going to do to Adonia, he hoped it wouldn't affect her acting because she was really improving, seeing how long she left the acting scenes. She was surprisingly really impressing his assistant too because he couldn't stop talking about how good she was whenever he got the chance to talk about her, it all happened when he couldn't direct due to June's illness and his need to be with her at the hospital. She needed this chance to work more on herself and become the best at what she does, not to get distracted by some disturbing news about them both that most of it would not be true. If he couldn't control the medias comments on the pictures, he was going to sue anyone that spoke Ill of him and Adonia because he wouldn't let anyone hurt her feelings... Not again!
He figured there was no need for them to stay at the hotel anymore since they didn't have a reason to stay and had to figure out a way to fix the problem they had at hand, so they could find solutions to what was happening. "Adonia, we need to get going, I don't want to leave but we have to go so we can find solutions to what just happened" Jordan told her. They had to start preparing because they had a long way to go back and he wanted to return before it turns dark.
Jordan dropped Adonia off first at her apartment and told her to call him if anything came up before telling her good night then immediately he drove off to his agent's office, he had to know what happened so far and if there was any way they could take the pictures down. If there would be no solution, he was going to be with her to answer any questions from the media, it was all he could do for her as a second option before he gets himself and her out of this situation.
He got to the office and quickly walked in, his heart beating fast as he hoped to hear good news while nearing his agent's office. On getting there, his agent told him that he couldn't take the pictures down completely because it was too hard to track and identify the main source of where the picture came from. It wasn't going to be easy and he knew it too. He asked him to do anything possible to clear the issue and also call his other associates if they could help but they all couldn't do anything, it was way beyond something they could fix anymore, they had to know the source before they could do anything to help him but the person had gone off grid ever since the pictures had been posted.
Jordan had to go back to his office looking stressed and worn out, he didn't feel the need to go back home because it wasn't going to help him, it was only going to remind him of June and that would make all the feelings he was going through right now hurt more. This was not how he planned today to go from the beginning, now he had to shift his next filming schedule to the following day so he could get himself together and be a firm state of mind so he would not get unnecessarily angry at anyone who didn't perform or act to his satisfaction. He had to talk to Adonai so he was going to send this information about postponing the shooting via his assistant so he could get it to all the actors on the scene for the next day, he didn't want to let his mood disrupt the whole hard work of the set so he was just going to take a break.
Jordan was still lost in his thoughts... Thinking if there was any other option to save Adonia's face when he heard footsteps coming closer to his office. He wondered who it could be coming by to the office by this hour when it was really late and he knew nobody was around when he came here and everywhere was quiet. The footsteps got louder, he knew whoever it was, the person was heading directly to his office. Whoever it was though, he knew he didn't want to see or speak to anyone so he was just going to politely ask the person to leave because flaring up and yelling wouldn't help, he just didn't think he needed company now, he needed to be alone.
Jordan was shocked by who he saw, what was she doing here??
She was always good at making a grand entrance but he wasn't expecting her and she was the last person on earth he wanted to see right now, it would be best for her if she left here without him telling her anything, he didn't have the strength or the time for her whims and wills. He decided he would ignore her till she gets angry and leave on her own, one thing she hated was getting ignored.
Belle strolled in like she owned the office with a smug smile on her face once she saw him, he guess she was hoping to see him by coming here when she wasn't even sure if she'd meet him. He always worked late nights when they were together, so maybe she thought he still did. Her confidence was one of the things that made him attracted to her, the way she walked into places like she owned it and got all the attention on herself was one of the Reason why his self esteem grew too and his want to be better and bigger grew also because she was always pushing him to be better but that was all in the past.
He didn't know what she was doing here and he didn't want to know but he knew his ex wife, she never leaves until she gets what she wants., he decided to offer her a seat to hear whatever she had to say. She left all the chairs at the front of his desk and came directly to where he was sitting, he wasn't expecting this approach but he was definitely not going to give what he thinks she wants from him. He was only going to listen to her if she really needed to talk to him about anything important at all.
Jordan didn't want to get aggressive with Belle but she was getting too close to him and he wasn't comfortable with it. He was with Adonai now and he wasn't interested in getting involved with Belle, not anymore. He was going to stop her before she got too far because she was always used to getting what she wants whenever she wants it from him and he guessed it was partly his fault, he gave her the feeling that whatever she desires, she was definitely going to get it from him but this time, he wasn't going to let her meet her expectation, this was going to be one of the many more times she won't be getting it from him onwards because he knew exactly what she wanted.
Jordan took his time to access her dress, she was in a low v neck dress that exposed a lot of cleavage and he knew she wanted him, he knew she had seen the pictures of him and Adonai on the media and had gotten possessive like she always did whenever she saw him with a new woman after their divorce. Then she would seduce him and wreck every new beginning he always almost had with any woman he met in the past but not anymore, he wasn't going to let her have her way any longer. This time was different and Belle's charms had lost it's effect on him, she was always telling him that he wasn't going to find someone that was better than her and he knew she only feels threatened that he was moving on with someone else while she was still alone and the media would make that a new topic too in the entertainment industry; questioning how she feels about him being with a new woman which would definitely hurt her ego so she made it a habit to wreck every relationship in his life before it got serious. If she can't be with someone, he wouldn't be with someone too.
She had always been toxic, bad for him right from when they were married and she always told the public that he had been distant in their marriage which was the sole reason why it didn't work out between them. He wasn't distant though, he never was because he knew he was very observant and did his best to be a good husband and partner for her but it seemed she just wanted out of the marriage, she only did it the wrong way by painting him to be a bad man to the public simply because she wants to end the marriage. It was obvious she wanted the attention.