Dancing in the Gray (29 page)

“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya’!” She
shrugged her shoulders and went to the vanity to straighten up the
makeup. Trey was turning around to leave. “Hey Trey, thanks for
doing that stuff for my sister. Your secret’s safe with
me.”

Trey smiled, “Thanks. It was nice
meeting you. Thanks for sharing your concerns.”

This was the reason Trey wanted to
follow in his father’s footsteps.

~

Elise was sitting on her couch with a
cup of coffee when there was a banging at her door. Her heart began
racing. The last time someone showed up this early in the morning
banging at her door, it was Rixby. She learned from her last
mistake. Elise walked to the door and looked through the peephole.
It was Jeremy. She breathed out a sigh of relief and opened the
door.

“What the hell are you doing here at
7:30 in the morning on a Tuesday?” Elise was cranky before her
morning coffee.

“What the hell are you doing lying to
Martie about anything?” Jeremy was nose to nose with her. He must
not have had coffee, either.

“Coffee?”

“Love some!” Jeremy kissed her cheek
then walked past her into her kitchen.

“Really, why are you here?” Elise
followed Jeremy into the kitchen and grabbed a cup out of the
cabinet for his coffee.

“Uhm, let’s see. Trey called last night
freaked out wanting to know where you were and told me that he
fucked up and needed me to call Martie for him so he could find
you. I totally busted you lying to Martie. Then got a text from
Trey saying he found you here.”

“I am so confused.” Elise seriously
needed her coffee.

“You’re confused, honey? Last time I
saw you and Trey, you were in love. Then I get a frantic phone call
from Trey not knowing where you were. What the hell
happened?”

“Long story short, Rixby. But, it was a
big misunderstanding, and I think we’re ok.” Elise motioned for him
to follow her to the living room. “I’m about to watch Trey’s
interview with Channel 4.”

“I really need this coffee.” Jeremy
just shook his head and took a sip.

Elise turned on the television as they
sat on her sofa. Trey was already on set with the morning show
host. He was wearing a charcoal colored suit with a scarlet tie.
His hair was slicked back and he was clean shaven. “Wow, he looks
gorgeous.”

“Didn’t you see him this
morning?”

“He had to head home to change. He
wasn’t prepared to stay here last night. I’ll tell you the whole
story later.” Elise waved off Jeremy and focused her attention back
on the television.

Trey and the bleach-blonde host were
sitting on tall stools that were angled towards each other. The
host had just asked Trey about his brother’s wedding.

“Yes, my brother got
married recently. We are all very happy for him.”

“So why did they have the
wedding in Paris?”

“That’s where they were
engaged.”

Elise noticed that Trey was trying to
keep those answers really short. He was probably trying to respect
Jessie and Will’s privacy without being rude. Elise thought this
was supposed to be about his election, not a tell-all about his
family. That host was obviously never going to win any awards for
cutting edge journalism.

“So, do you see yourself
getting married any time soon?”

“I’m not opposed to the
idea.”

Elise was positive that Jeremy would be
able to hear her heart pounding in her chest. Trey’s face was so
soft and tender for just a moment when he answered her question.
She loved how transparent he was any time it dealt with matters of
the heart.

“Trey, tell us how a good
looking, successful guy like you is still on the
market?”

Elise raised one eyebrow and pursed her
lips. Ok, so maybe she shouldn’t be as upset as she was, but there
was no way that this gossip columnist didn’t know about Elise. And
on top of that, she was leaning over and had her hand on Trey’s
thigh. Elise did not like that at all.

“What rock has this bitch been under?”
Jeremy basically said what Elise was thinking.

“THANK YOU! I was trying not to be
catty, but REALLY!” Elise rolled her eyes and waited to see how
Trey would answer.

“I’m not on the
market.”

Trey’s answer was really direct and
pointed. Elise bit her bottom lip and looked over at Jeremy with
wide eyes.

“Well, he told her!” Jeremy was
grinning. “Oh, and by the way, I told Trey I would put a hit out on
him, too. But we’ll talk about all that later.”

“Jeremy!”

He was now waiving her off. “Shh! Look
at that whore!” Jeremy was pointing to the television.

Elise whipped her head back towards the
television. It seemed the host didn’t like Trey’s answer about him
being off the market and turned up the charm. She had her hand on
Trey’s arm and was smiling sweetly at him. Elise was getting pissed
now. This was beyond unprofessional.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t
think that those rumors could possibly true.”

Trey leaned over to the side table and
reached for his coffee mug causing her hand to slide off his arm.
It was subtle, but effective.

“Well, I would really love
to talk about some of the questions that you had about the
campaign, but I understand that being in politics, my personal life
is up for discussion, too. So, let me just lay it all out there. I
am in love with Elise DePaul. That is not a rumor. I am completely
devoted to her, and we are exclusive.

Elise didn’t know why she was shocked,
but she was. Even though he told her he loved her this morning and
hundreds of times last night, it was like she was hearing it for
the first time again. Using the words devoted and exclusive put a
very clear definition to their relationship.

“I hope you set your DVR to record
this!” Jeremy grabbed Elise’s arm. “Even though I threatened his
life, I really like him Elise. I hope you guys work out whatever is
going on.”

“We will.” How could she not? She loved
this man.

“Wow! When we return, we
will have to find what out the lucky woman did to snag America’s
most eligible bachelor.”

The morning show host stood up in front
of her chair and turned to the camera to let the audience know that
they were going to go to a commercial break before the segment
where the voters could call in and ask Trey questions. As she was
speaking, she placed her hand on Trey’s thigh again. The cameras
were still rolling as the station’s digital on-screen graphic came
up before they actually cut to commercial. Elise saw the host turn
to face Trey and stood right between his legs and leaned close to
him as she whispered something in his ear. Elise was now
pissed.

“Did you just see that?” Elise looked
over at Jeremy.

“Yes, but I was hoping you didn’t see
it. That talk show host is something else.”

“I’m seriously contemplating driving
down there right now and kicking her ass!” Elise stood up and was
pacing back and forth in front of the sofa. Her blood pressure had
to be through the roof. So this was what true jealousy felt
like.

“Elise, Trey just poured his heart out
about how much he loved you. He’s not going to let this woman near
him. I’m sure he is very skilled at bouncing a tramp.”

Elise slowly turned her head in
Jeremy’s direction, “Bouncing a tramp? Pardon my French, but what
the fuck does that mean?”

“You know. He probably gets hit on all
the time because of who he is and can get himself tactfully out of
those awkward situations – bouncing a tramp.”

“Gets hit on all the time! So this is
just something I need to get used to? You are not making me feel
any better, Jeremy! Would you like to show me a couple pictures of
the models he’s dated? Jesus Christ!”

“Look, its back on.” Jeremy pointed to
the television. “Sit down and chill out.”

Elise was fuming. She felt her face
getting warmer. The host and Trey were now sitting at a different
part of the set where there was a living room setting with two sofa
separated by a coffee table. Trey was sitting on one sofa and the
slut was sitting on the other. Elise felt a lot better now that
Trey was out of arms reach of the leach.

“We are back, and we have
our first caller on the line. Martie from McLean, you’re on air
with Sherri and Trey. What’s your question?”

Elise and Jeremy slowly turned their
heads and looked at each other. Elise spoke first, “It can’t
possibly be…”

“My question isn’t for Mr.
Trey, it’s for you? Do you make it a common practice to act like a
floosy when you have guests on that you’re attracted to? Can the
man actually talk politics without you trying to feel him up? He
just told you he loved someone and was devoted to her. That’s not a
green light where I come from, Missy.”

Yep, it was Elise’s mother,
Martie.

“Holy shit! Momma!” Elise covered her
mouth with her hands. She could not believe that her mother just
said what she did.

“I love me some Martie!” Jeremy was
clapping his hands together and smiling from ear to ear.

Sherri, the slut, seemed to be caught
off guard by Martie’s questions, which were more statements than
anything. Trey, on the other hand, was taking a sip of whatever was
in his mug, trying to hide the uncontrollable grin on his face.
That caused Elise to start smiling, too.

He had to know the caller was her
mother and was actually smiling at the way she reprimanded the
host. He wasn’t upset or angry. He was smiling.

All of a sudden, Sherri apologized and
said that they had lost the call due to technical difficulties and
were going to commercial break to see if they could figure out the
issue. Coward!

Elise’s phone buzzed on her kitchen
island indicating that someone sent her a text message. Elise
hopped up off the sofa and ran to her phone. There was a text
message from Trey. Elise closed her eyes and took a deep breath
before she opened it.

*Trey: Dinner tonight at my home. I
have a training session there at 4 pm so how does 5:30 sound?
Please pack a bag since you’ll be staying the night. I love you,
Elise! And tell Martie……THANK YOU! LOL!*

She really loved this man.

Chapter 24

Elise called Trey’s office hoping to
actually get in touch with his assistant. She decided she was going
to surprise Trey tonight by making dinner at his home and needed
the directions to his house.

“Trey Watts’ office, Maggie
speaking.”

“Hi Maggie. This is Elise
DePaul.”

“Hi Ms. DePaul. It’s so lovely to hear
from you. Are you looking for Mr. Watts?”

“No Maggie, I actually wanted to speak
with you.”

“Me? Ok.”

“This is the deal – Trey wants us to
have dinner at his house tonight, and I would love to surprise him
by actually preparing the meal myself. So, I hate to say this, but
I don’t know where he lives.”

“Ok, well he will be there at four
o’clock for his workout, so the house should be open. I’ll email
the address and directions to you. I’ll also cancel the caterer and
let Secret Service know that you will be arriving there on your
own.”

“Caterer? He hired a
caterer?”

“Yes. He was having French cuisine
prepared for you tonight.”

Elise was touched. “Never mind, Maggie.
I don’t want to interfere with his plans. Please forget that I
asked.”

“Ms. DePaul, can I be honest with
you?”

“Yes, Maggie, and please call me
Elise.”

“Ok, Elise. I think he would love it if
you surprised him by preparing the meal. He sometimes takes
everyone else into consideration and forgets about himself. I think
that gesture would be very kind, and he would really appreciate
it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He is so fond of you. I have
never seen him like this before.”

“Ok, Maggie, I’m officially blushing.
Thanks for your help.”

“Anytime, Elise. If you need any help
with the directions or with the house, just call me.”

“Thanks Maggie.”

~

It was around 4:45 pm when the GPS in
Elise’s Porsche lead her down Old Dominion Drive. Trey wasn’t
joking when he said that he lived only a few minutes away. When the
GPS said that she had reached her destination, Elise was
shocked.

Trey’s home was breathtaking. She drove
down the long asphalt driveway lined with lush red trees to the
front of the house where Maggie told her to park. His house was a
colonial style with beautiful stones that covered the front of the
home. The house had to be sitting on two acres of land from what
Elise could see. It was tucked away and very private which Elise
could totally understand how that could be appealing.

In the driveway were a couple of
vehicles; a black SUV, an Audi Sedan, a Cadillac Escalade and a
CLS550 Mercedes Benz. Elise knew that the SUV was his Secret
Service vehicle since she had been in it, but she wasn’t sure who
all the other vehicles belonged to. She suddenly felt that it was a
bad idea for her to have come here without Trey knowing. It looked
like he had guests or clients over.