The Ex Factor - Erin McCarthy Page 0,37
harder than it needed to be.
She was pulling her hair up into a knot when her sister called. “Hey, what’s up, Elle-Belle?”
“You sound cheerful. I thought you’d be pissed.”
Uh-oh. “About what? Chance and I are having ups and downs, but we’re doing okay, all things considered. No blood shed.”
“I’m not talking about you and Chance. I’m talking about the pics that leaked of you in your underwear. The headlines are awful. Like seriously, the entertainment industry is a bunch of dicks. Who gets off on this stuff?”
Jolene wasn’t surprised but she still felt her shoulders tense. She was a woman. The last thing in the world she wanted was the focus of media to be on her appearance. Yet she knew that had to be what it was. “I was aware what I signed on for in the business, but honestly, I’ll never understand fat shaming. Why does anyone care what I weigh, or what anyone weighs for that matter?”
“Because they’re petty and jealous.”
“So give me the worst one.”
“The headlines aren’t the worst. It’s the comments from so-called fans on social media. But basically, it’s things like Hart at her heaviest. Breakup leads to extra pounds. They’re comparing you to stars who got fierce after a breakup and saying you let yourself go to shit.”
“It’s only ten pounds.” Jolene desperately wanted to open the window in the bedroom and breathe in some fresh air, but now she was terrified they’d snap a bedhead shot of her with zero makeup and puffy eyes. Then they’d be saying she was hungover and fat. “Oh, well, nothing I can do about it.”
“There is so something you can do about it. You can haul ass back to Nashville and show up at a club looking amazing. Ginny wants you to relocate to somewhere more private but personally I think you should slap on some makeup and a short skirt and hit the town.”
“I’m not sure what would be more private. We can keep driving into the country but someone will hunt us down. As for going out in Nashville, I don’t know.” It wasn’t a bad idea, she just didn’t feel like she and Chance were done doing what they needed to do yet. “I’d kind of like to stay put for a minute. We’re just starting on this album.”
“So let’s talk about you being in your underwear with Chance’s arm around you. Did I tell you this was going to be a sexfest or what?” Elle asked, sounding smug.
“I wouldn’t call it a sexfest, exactly. We fooled around.” With his cock inside her. “It wasn’t a good idea. We ended up pseudo-fighting.”
“During sex?”
“No!” That made her laugh. “I feel sorry for the man who has to tame you. He’s going to have his hands full.”
“No one is ever going to tame me. I was born a cunning wild child and I’ll die an old wild woman. It’s because I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about me, an attitude you should try on for size.”
“If I never cared about opinions, I’d suck at this profession.” Jolene unlocked the bedroom door and spotted Chance sleeping on the couch. “I have to go. I need to call Ginny and the PR team. Thanks for the heads up.”
“You’re welcome. And if you would like me to drive out there and shoot some photographers, it’s open season on coyotes. I can say it was an accident.”
That made her laugh. “Thanks. I’m okay for now, but I’ll let you know.”
After she hung up, she quietly padded across the living room pausing to take in the view of Chance sleeping, his mouth slightly open, arm dangling off the couch. Dolly had inserted herself between his legs and seemed to be taking more than her fair share. Jolene felt guilty for a second, but then she remembered there was a bunkroom upstairs. He could have slept in a bed. That didn’t make him any less adorable though. He looked seriously cute in his sleep and she wanted to bend over and kiss him.
Resisting the urge, she went for some coffee. She knew she shouldn’t look at the posts, but she did anyway. Elle was right. The comments were scathing. She was sorry she’d looked. It shouldn’t bother her. Being famous set her up as a target. But then she always thought about all those women who weren’t famous who were bullied and embarrassed and ashamed for not being some stupid idea of female perfection. They didn’t deserve to be