“What's up?” Coop asked casually when he took the call. “How are you?”
“I'm crazed, that's how I am,” she said, sounding frantic. “Where the hell were you?”
“I was on location, doing a commercial.” It was a lie, but it calmed her down for a minute.
“You could at least have called me,” she said, sounding injured.
“I thought of it,” he lied, “but I didn't have time. And I thought we both needed space. This isn't going to go anywhere, Charlene. I think you know that.”
“Why not? We were great together.”
“Yes, we were,” he conceded gracefully. “But if nothing else, I'm too old for you. You need to find someone your own age to play with.” It never even occurred to him that she was only a year younger than Alex.
“That's never stopped you before.” She knew from the tabloids and people who knew him, that he'd been out with girls who were even younger than she. “That's just an excuse, Coop.” She was right of course, but he would never have admitted that to her.
“It doesn't feel right,” he tried another tack. “It's awfully hard making relationships work in our business.” But that wasn't plausible either. They both knew he'd been out with every actress and starlet in Hollywood, sometimes for long periods of time. He just didn't want to pursue it with Charlene. He thought she was vulgar, at least in the way she dressed, and a little obsessive. What's more, she bored him. He was far more intrigued by Alex. And not entirely indifferent to her fortune. It wasn't his main attraction to her, but it certainly added incentive to lust and fascination. Charlene had none of that to offer. And he also wisely sensed that if he wanted to date Alex, he would have to keep his nose relatively clean. Appearing in the tabloids with a girl who had started as an actress in porn videos was not going to further his cause with Alex. And for the moment, Alex was the object of his current interest. Charlene was history, and an extremely brief, undistinguished chapter. He had had many like her, and he always tired of them quickly. And the few exotic elements she had, like a Japanese grandmother, and having lived in Paris and grown up in Brazil, simply didn't make up for what she lacked in distinction. Besides which, he had discovered, she had a vicious temper, and she seemed a little unbalanced to him. She was not taking the hint and disappearing gracefully, she was hanging on to him like a pit bull with a bone in its teeth, which was something Coop hated. He much preferred swift, painless endings to the dogged, desperate pursuit Charlene was inflicting on him. He resented her for it, and felt trapped and claustrophobic every time he talked to her.
“I'll call you in a few days, Charlene,” he said finally, but that only enraged her.
“No, you won't. You're lying.”
“I don't lie.” He sounded greatly offended. “I have a call on the other line, I'll call you back.”
“You're a liar!” she screamed, and he quietly disconnected. He didn't like anything about the way she was behaving. Overnight, she had become a major problem. But there wasn't much he could do about it. She'd give up eventually, but in the meantime, she was being very unpleasant, and Coop was annoyed at her.
He called Alex that afternoon, but she had three emergencies back to back, and she didn't get back to him till that evening. And all he got was a message on his voice mail from her. She'd been going to bed at 9 P.M. when she called, and said she had to be up at four the next morning. Establishing a relationship with her was not going to be easy, but it was definitely worth it, in Coop's eyes.
He finally connected with Alex the following afternoon. She only had a few minutes to talk, and she was on duty for the next several days, but she agreed to come to dinner on Sunday. Although she warned him she'd be on call then.
“What does that mean? They call you for advice?” he asked hopefully, and somewhat naively. He couldn't remember ever dating a doctor, although he had dated several nurses, and a chiropractor once.
“No,” she laughed easily, and he loved the sound of her laughter. Everything about Alex was honest and open. “It means I have to leave in a matter of seconds, if they page me.”
“I may have to confiscate your pager in that case.”
“There are days when that would be extremely appealing. Are you sure you want me to come to dinner if I'm on call?”
“Absolutely sure. I'll make you a doggie bag if you have to leave.”
“Would you rather wait till I have a day off free and clear? I have one next week, if you'd prefer that,” she offered fairly.
“No, I want to see you, Alex. I'll make something simple you can take with you.”
