The CEO’s Quadruplets

Chapter 6

            Anne and Isabella stepped into the large empty elevator of Anne’s apartment building. Her loft was on the top floor, offering the best view of downtown Los Angeles that Bella had ever seen. Evan had apparently bought the place with his endorsement money as a teenager, and when they were making plans to build a life together after getting engaged both of them agreed the loft was too nice to leave.

            Isabella had ascended the many floors many times in her life. A week into dating Amory, Anne invited her over for brunch, which then turned them into going to yoga together. The two had so much fun together that day they did it again the next week, the week after that, and now again they had met out for brunch and yoga at Anne’s favorite studio just out of Chinatown. Since Isabella became pregnant, the two had not been able to make it a regular event, but that did not mean that they could no longer fit it in between their two busy schedules.

It always put Isabella at ease after a long week, and her pregnancy nausea had make this past week especially tedious. But pregnancy problems aside, Isabella had something bothering her each night as she went to bed, drove to work, or thought about her husband. Even as she watched the heavy doors close, the sensation pestered her.

            When Isabella made a run to the market last Monday evening after spending her afternoon packing boxes, she noticed a trashy tabloid, which hardly ever caught her eye. As much as Lizzie loved them or any of her friends who kept them religiously on their coffee table, Isabella never saw the appeal of those types of publications. That remained true until she saw Amory Blake’s photo in the far top corner next to face of a familiar bottle blonde with little baiting phrases to open the magazine.

            She looked at others around the one that caught her eye. Amory’s name had not been on just the one, but it was actually emblazoned on three of the glossy pages right next to the actress’s name. Her professionally white smile made Isabella sick to her stomach. The quads growing in her womb already did a good job of making her sporadically ill, and the sickness also came just an ebb and flow in frequency. Isabella was always on her toes thanks to the kids who were not even fully present yet. This tabloid was just icing on the cake for the green-eyed monster inside the darker parts of her soul, and Isabella was not a fan of the feeling.

Now with the week gone and a new one starting, pieces of that anger had not left Isabella. She had hoped to just get over it, but that was futile. It was still there just over her shoulder as she listened to Anne talk about renovating the half bath and getting her son a toddler bed. Isabella was not able to listen. She appreciated about hearing about her family’s life, but the magazines nagged her too much to really dedicate herself to the somewhat idle chatter. Finally, the frustration set in to the point where Isabella had to say something.

“Hey Annie, do you know about this Starla St. Clair?” Isabella asked when she found a break in the monologue her sister-in-law was giving.

“Isn’t she one of those little ingenues who came of children’s television?”

Bella shrugged. “I do not know. She’s got that fake blonde hair and a fake smile?”

Anne nodded with a laugh. “Oh yeah, I know who you are talking about. She has a thing about dating taken men. She’s one of those girls who thinks her power comes from her relationship.”

            Setting their yoga mats against the wall, they headed to the kitchen where her husband and son sat attempting to each lunch at the impeccably-restored farmhouse table that Isabella always envied just the slightest bit. Leo in the high chair, he turned and smiled at his mother before giving her a “goldfish kiss.” The little boy always puffed out his cheeks when he puckered his lips, and it made Isabella smile every time.

It seemed neither boy was a big fan of the broccoli on their plates. Anne had mentioned on the ride over that they were using a French parenting book. They were both trying new foods for the sake of their son.

            “Hey girls!” Evan called from the dining table. “How was yoga?”

            “Fine, but group yoga always smells like one big fart. I feel like we should just do it at home,” Anne joked, making her sophomorically-humored husband laugh.

            “What were you two talking about when you walked in? It sounds juicy.”

            “Did you know I married a big fat gossip, Bella?” Anne said looking back at her husband who was unfazed by the comment.

“I don’t know,” Isabella groaned as she thought about the young bright-eyed actress. “There was just something off about her. Have you ever met her, Anne?

            Anne shrugged, responding with, “No, but talk about her does filter through the grapevine. She has ruined a relationship or two in her wake, and I do not have much respect for home wreckers. However, the men that these stories are attached to are also total jerks. It did not surprise me in the least to hear that about them, but no normal man would fall for her.”

“She looks like a baby in makeup. Her face reminds me of a chipmunk,” Evan commented without prompting.

Isabella keeled over laughing as she took in his comment, and her laughter subsequently made little Leo giggle and dance in the confines of his plastic baby seat. It took awhile for the fits of shock and delight at Evan’s words to subside, and finally Isabella replied to her in-laws.

“I guess I just do not like her, and that is one thing that should not effect Amory’s work. She is not my co-worker. This is his dream, and I want to support him. However, I do not think Amory has a clue, and as clever as he can be I do not know that he realizes how unhappy I am when I see her face or hear her name. Having him in the papers like this worries me deeply. He does not talk about these reports in the gossip columns. I do not know if it just that he has no clue or he is not discussing this with me for whatever reason or reasons, and if gets worse they could start creating drama for the family. I do not want to be pregnant with the paparazzi hanging around outside our house. Those worms will do anything for a dollar, and if we become part of the hot gossip because of this girl then those cameras will more than likely be following me around as I try to waddle away.”