To Cure the Playboy

CHAPTER 1

"Leslie, hurry up!" screamed my best friend Beth. She doesn't understand how crucial it is for me to actually look presentable at work, while a messy bun will suffice for an employee in the finance department at Harrison Inc. like herself.

I slicked my brown hair into a professional bun and took one look in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. My grey dress looked bland, boring and predictable, but that was my attire every day. I looked professional at the least and that's all that mattered.

Beth was standing impatiently in the front doorway, adding a dramatic effect by tapping her foot. She had her trademark messy bun, but she still looked gorgeous.

As always.

"I swear if it takes you this long to get ready here, I can't imagine how long it took you at your old place."

I chuckled half-heartedly. She was right; I did take forever to get ready, but only because I'm in front of cameras and press almost every day, talking about someone else's life.

I've been living with Beth for a couple of weeks now. After I was kicked out of the apartment I was living in comfortably with my former boyfriend...by him himself. He had to make room for his new girlfriend, a woman that I used to trust.

I should have believed everyone at Harrison Inc. when they said he was a slimy bastard. He's a lawyer, Garret's former lawyer when they were going through that investment scandal, a decade older than me and loaded with cash. I should have known it was too good to be true.

But I've moved on. I'm focused on my job and have blocked out any desires for a love life. Men are all the same anyway.

I grabbed my phone and purse off of the coffee table and walked to the door. My phone was buzzing with calls and missed emails from various magazines that wanted an interview with Garret, or wanted some questions answered that were not going to be answered either way.

As we walked down the hallway towards the elevator, Beth deemed it appropriate to talk about Gustavo, the janitor that she is having a "scandalous affair" with. Beth's definition of a scandal is completely different from mine. I kept trying to explain to her that Gustavo sneaking snacks from the vending machine to you for free is not a scandalous love affair, but she is completely insular to the words that come out of my mouth.

Blondes.

"So, Gustavo unlocked the vending machine again for me yesterday,” She said excitedly as we walked into the elevator. I glanced at her once, with a judgmental look in my eyes.

"Let me guess, was its Cheetos or Pop tarts? Because Pop tarts would mean that your affair has gone to a higher level.” She nudged me playfully and I laughed. The first time I truly laughed in a while.

"Seriously, Les! This is scandalous. I can hear the gossip now: Beth and Gustavo's secret affair. A janitor and a woman in financing. I would be shunned, ashamed. The very sound of it is so exciting,” She pressed the elevator button for the garage, smiling at the thought of her and Gustavo. I rolled my eyes and left her with her amusing thoughts.

I could feel Beth's stare as I was waiting for the elevator door to open. I looked up to find a slight grin on her face.

"What is it now?" I asked.

"You know, Caleb seems to really like you from what I've heard. I mean he's pretty cute, Les."

I sighed loudly before the elevator doors opened and walked ahead of Beth, so I wouldn't have to hear about Caleb anymore.

Caleb works in Human Resources and was technically the one who got me the job here. Even though Garret interviewed me himself, Caleb looked at my resume and called me in. I suppose he thinks I owe him a favor for what he did, but he's wrong, because the favor he has in mind is nothing near giving him a couple of dollars for lunch.

I power walked towards Beth's Honda Civic and waited for her to open the door. She jogged impressively in her stiletto heels and reached me, almost out of breath.

"Seriously...Les?" She asked between breaths.

"You were the one who was complaining about me being late."

"But we both know that's not the reason you ran from me,” She said, digging through her gigantic purse for her car keys.

"And may I remind you that we are taking my car. You can easily hop in yours."

"Yes, but carpooling is easier," I argued "and plus, I'm paying for gas remember?"

Once she opened the doors we climbed in and sat in silence. She had been pestering me to get back on the dating train ever since my former boyfriend kicked me out. I kept trying to tell her that I don't need a man right now, and that I'm perfectly fine with being independent. She never listens.

"Les, I really think that getting back into a relationship will make you forget about Hudson. You used to be so happy and now you're a depressed, over worked mess."

I sighed. Even though she was insulting me she was right, but I wasn't ready for a relationship. Maybe in a few months but not now.

By my silence Beth knew that I didn't want to talk about it anymore, and she put the keys into the ignition. Once the car was on she pulled out of the garage and drove down the busy L.A. street.

"I need my daily dose of Seacrest,” She said, turning on the radio to KIIS FM. Right when it landed on the station, the gossip they were speaking about caught my attention for the first time since our daily car rides to work.

"So, we have some surprising news for you guys, today. You know Garret Harrison's son, Sebastian Harrison, right?" A woman speaker said. Everyone in the studio agreed, adding in funny comments about my boss' reckless son.

"So apparently, he was spotted leaving a hotel two nights ago, with the Italian super model Maria Lombardi. She was obviously intoxicated and was barely able to walk,” The people in the studio gave off "oohs" and "what?" at the news.

"Was it the Harrison hotel?" A man asked jokingly. Everyone in the studio laughed in response.

"Wow, I can't believe he's related to that old raisin tight-wad, Garret,” Beth said as she turned the corner.

"Garret isn't a tight-wad, and he doesn't look like a raisin."

Beth laughed at my defense. "He's old, Leslie. I can't understand how Sebastian is related to Garret. I mean you've seen Sebastian? He's gorgeous!"

I scoffed. I have seen Sebastian before, but it was only for a second, and he ended up saying a rude remark to Garret which immediately changed my outlook on him. Lucky for me, the second time he visited Harrison Inc. I was out sick. He ended up bringing a swarm of paparazzi with him, and the security guards were outnumbered. It was a hectic mess.

"Beth, I have seen him before. He's my boss' son. And I don't want to see him anymore, considering he's rude and inconsiderate. But he's supposed to visit next week again, some important business dealing with Garret, I'm not sure. I'll just have to suck it up."

Pulling up to Harrison Inc., a big group of cars and people were in the streets. Mostly big black SUV's.

Beth honked her horn at the car in front of us, having trouble maneuvering around all of the people.

"What the hell?" I said. I rolled down the window and looked outside at the huge group of people standing around holding cameras.

"Paparazzi?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know why I wasn't informed of this,” I checked my phone and went through my emails, but nothing. I started to panic. I'm the fucking publicist and I'm not aware of any of this.

Once we entered the parking garage I jumped out the car and ran to the elevator, dialing my assistant, Darcy in the process.

"Leslie, I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you,” Darcy said.

I slowed my pace to a steady jog once I entered the room that contained the elevators to the lobby.

"Tell me what, Darcy? What the hell are all of these paparazzi doing on the street?" I said as I walked into the elevator. Before Darcy could answer, my phone hung up due to the lack of signal.

"Dammit!" I yelled. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

"What happened?" Beth asked.

"My phone hung up; I don't have signal in here."

I was now extremely apprehensive. I checked my email over and over, but nothing was about what was going on. Either that or it wasn't refreshing itself due to the signal.

The elevator doors opened, and a few people entered while Beth left to go meet with Gustavo.

Typical.

I pressed the button for the top floor countless times, even though it wouldn't make the elevator go faster. Around the 9th floor everyone was out, and I still had a few floors to go. Before the doors could close a hand stopped them from doing so. When they re-opened, a man walked in with a woman next to him, glued to her phone.