Chapter 21 …It Pours

Brandon didn't show up that night, neither did he call or text. Gabriella tried calling him but there was no answer. Was he preoccupied with work? She knew him well enough to know he wouldn't ignore her calls unless he had a lot to do. She decided to give him a little more time.

But something happened at work the next morning that made Gabriella want to see him immediately. She walked into her cubicle as usual when she noticed that the office was buzzing with chatter – more than was customary. She also kept getting a lot of stares from people. She wondered what that was all about. Did she have something on her face? Was there a stain on her clothes? Or… A horrifying realization came to her. Had Archer's gossip about her relationship with Brandon somehow spread throughout the city and into her workplace? Brandon was a distinct public figure…

"Who would've thought? She always appeared to be so conservative…" A tidbit of gossip floated to Gabriella's ears.

"She must've thrown her hooks into him from the first day, him being a millionaire and all…" Now Gabriella began to feel nauseated. So they were gossiping about her and Brandon. She wished she could get up and leave and not hear another word of it, but how could she? She was stuck there, listening to everything though she tried to ignore it.

"Gabriella, are you feeling well?" Marci, one of Gabriella's whiny coworkers asked her. She and Wanda, her other coworker, appeared by Gabriella's desk.

"Yes, why would you ask?" Gabriella tried to appear unconcerned.

"Well, it's just that – you know, what with you dating a millionaire and all—"

"You might've let us in on it!" Wanda blurted out. "I don't think anyone knew until your profile picture went viral…"

"Then again, with all the articles that came out…" Marci continued.

"And with all the rumors…" Wanda mumbled. Gabriella looked up sharply.

"Wait, articles?" The articles, of course! Gabriella remembered what Brandon told her about the paparazzi three days ago… but that didn't seem like much, what exactly made her so newsworthy? Was this Archer's work since the wedding? Spreading false rumors through the tabloids?

"All I'm saying is, Gabriella, if you were planning to fool around with a millionaire, you should've been careful. All this notoriety must be so embarrassing for you." Gabriella paled at Wanda's unsympathetic words and her ears started ringing. 'Fool around', she had said. That means the gossip had gotten well out of hand. How did this happen? How far has it gone?

"I must say, it is impressive. How did you land a millionaire like that? What's your secret?" Marci asked rather bitingly. Gabriella couldn't bear to hear anymore. She got up from her chair and left the office reeling, voices buzzing in her ears. No doubt the gossip would double if she left like this, but she didn't care. She had to see Brandon right away, things were worse than she thought.

She stepped outside and tried calling him frantically. It went to voicemail. Gabriella massaged her face in despair and left a voice message for him.

"Brandon, if you're getting this, I need to see you. It's urgent." She shut her phone, wondering what to do. She was in no state to return to work, so she caught a cab back home – paying the extra fare was better than getting recognized on a public bus.

She paced briskly around her apartment, too nervous to sit still but too high-strung to do anything else. If only Brandon would call her! But there had been no news at all from him since yesterday.

Gabriella started to get worried. What if something happened to him? Was he hurt somewhere in a hospital? She started to imagine all sorts of horrors, then shook her head. No, she would calmly try to find out what happened. First, she would try to reach him. He was not answering his phone, so that was out. How else could she contact him? His workplace. But what would she say over the phone? No, it was better to go in person. Then she could at least find out everything more thoroughly instead of dealing with an answering machine.

She took a cab to Whiteley Enterprises the next day after calling in sick at work – until she sorted out the publicity surrounding her name, she was in no frame of mind to face her coworkers. Whiteley Enterprises was not as far as she expected; perhaps that's why Brandon always came racing to her place so quickly.

The building was a huge glass structure of grand modern architecture. It might have been a hundred floors high. The entrance alone was an impressive setup with a huge fountain in front, neatly trimmed shrubs, and modern art statues lining the pathway. Gabriella strode through the automatic doors, suddenly feeling nervous about entering. She felt insignificant in such a place and was inclined to run back out – but the thought of Brandon made her summon her courage and enter. The front lobby had a few people going about their duties. She went to the reception desk.

"Excuse me," she addressed the receptionist, "but is Mr. Brandon Whiteley in?"

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Whiteley only sees people by appointment."

"That's not what I asked. I just want to know if he's in. Has he been to work today?"

"No, he isn't in and might not be in for a few days." The girl was a little irritating. Gabriella started to frown at being unable to get more information when she heard someone call her.

"Miss Keller?" She turned around. It was Peter, Brandon's best friend.

"Peter? What are you doing here?"

"I work here."

"Oh." Brandon never mentioned that. "If you don't mind my asking, have you seen Brandon? I haven't been able to get a hold of him." Peter looked worried and pulled Gabriella to the side out of earshot of the receptionist before speaking in a low voice.

"How much did Brandon tell you?"

"About what?"

"Well… Never mind. I'll explain on the way. Come with me." He led her outside to his car, a glossy red sedan, not as expensive looking as Brandon's, but still impressive to behold.

"Where are we going?" Gabriella asked.

"To see Brandon," Peter replied tersely.

"You mean he's not coming to his office?"

"He won't be coming in for a while."

"Why not? Is it…" Gabriella trailed off, wondering if Brandon knew how badly the rumors had spiraled out of control.

"I think it's best if you hear it from him," Peter said gently. "You haven't seen the news, have you?"

"Not in a while. Why?" Gabriella asked, but she had a bad feeling she knew the answer.

"Brandon will explain."

"I'm worried about him, Peter. He's been off the grid for two days." Gabriella wrung her hands in her lap as she spoke.

"I know," Peter sighed. "Things have been hard lately. The company's also been having issues."

"Shouldn't he be at work then?"

"That's the problem. Him being at work started the issues. The negative publicity has been 'tarnishing' to quote the board of directors, the company name."

"Oh." Gabriella looked out the window, wondering why Brandon hadn't told her anything when he was clearly going through a hard time. They passed by an unfamiliar road and she turned to Peter.

"Where are we going?"

"The Silver Lake Golf Course. Brandon has been letting off steam there."

"So that's why his phone was out of range?"

"No, he deliberately wanted to shut everyone out. A lot of tabloids have been bothering him." Gabriella felt puzzled and a little hurt. He could've at least told her what was going on.

"Here we are. It looks like Brandon's already on the eighteenth hole." Peter stated as they got out of the car. Gabriella observed a lone figure far off in the middle of the green. She turned to Peter.

"Aren't you coming?" She asked him when he made no move.

"I'll let you two talk in private. I should stay out of this."

"Okay, then, thanks for driving me here, Peter." She told Peter and walked off towards Brandon. It was quite a long way; golf courses weren't designed for walking and by the time Gabriella reached Brandon, her feet were pinching in her kitten-heel shoes.

"Brandon!" She hailed him. He turned and saw her, dropping his clubs and hurrying to her.

"Gabriella, what are you doing here?" He asked in consternation. Gabriella frowned and put her hands on her hips.

"Really? That's what you ask me after you haven't seen or contacted me in two days?"

"Sorry." Brandon looked too meek and Gabriella knew he was in a low mood. But it didn't lighten the hurt she felt not hearing from him.

"Sorry? That's all you have to say? I was worried sick that something might have happened to you! How could you not contact me? Sassie told me everything that happened. Why didn't you come over?" Gabriella never felt so upset in her life, she was shaking with anger. Brandon looked wounded and reached out for her arms.

"Angel, I… I really am sorry. I had a lot to deal with, that's all."

"At work? Because of Archer?" Brandon flinched at his name. Gabriella went on, "I can understand that, things have been a mess for me too. But having you not replying to my messages? No calls? That was worse." She looked heartbroken at the end. Brandon pulled her into a tight hug, guilt seeping through him at the thought that he caused her pain.

"Angel, I will do anything to make it up to you. You have no idea how sorry I am for not contacting you sooner but… I thought I'd be able to sort through everything before I came to see you. I wasn't strong enough to face you when everything is so black around us because of me."

"Brandon, did you forget what I promised you two nights ago?" Gabriella looked up into his eyes as she spoke. He went silent, a small sigh escaping his lips.

"I know, Angel."

"When push comes to shove, you have to trust that we can go through it together." Gabriella's firm but gentle voice shook Brandon out of the apathy that had clouded him for the last two days. He straightened his shoulders, cupping Gabriella's face lovingly in his hands.

"It was inexcusable of me to cut you off like that," He nuzzled his head against Gabriella's. "I'm sorry for going AWOL on you, Angel. I'll drop you off at home now."

"And you'll stay for the night?" Gabriella asked earnestly as they began to walk back. Brandon looked doleful.

"Angel, I wish I could, really. But I have a lot on my plate right now and—"

"Does it have to do with the rumors Archer spread?" Gabriella asked straight out. Brandon nodded miserably.

"I can deal with it all, I just need a little more time." Gabriella noticed he was avoiding her eyes. She furrowed her brows.

"Wait, Brandon? Is there anything else you're not telling me?" She asked and saw his Adam's apple bob heavily.

"I'll explain everything soon, okay? Just trust me," he pleaded with her. "Right now, it's better if you're not seen with me."

"Then… you've been avoiding me on purpose for the last couple of days…" Gabriella said with realization. Brandon stopped walking as they arrived at his car and kept his gaze on the ground.

"I'm… sorry, Angel." Gabriella felt her eyes prickle with tears.

"That's a heck of a way to protect me, Brandon," she chided him. He closed his eyes, knowing he deserved to hear this. He mutely held open the door for her as she went in. They drove in silence, Gabriella sitting tight-lipped to keep from breaking down in front of him and Brandon too guilty to try and justify himself with words.

"I promise, I'll clear up everything and come for you, Angel," he finally told her when he dropped her off. She turned to him with a resolute expression.

"So you're gonna avoid me until then?" She asked. His silence was more than enough of an answer. Gabriella sighed.

"You could at least call me…" She walked into her building when Brandon reversed his car without a word and rolled away. She felt lost, like she had gotten nowhere going in circles. Things were still a mess but Brandon had not let her into his confidence or tried to share his burden with her. How could she open up about her own troubles at work with him if he was shutting her out? If he wanted to face the storms alone, she would have to as well. She only wondered dismally how she was going to hold her head up at work the next day. Who would ever believe that scandalous gossip wasn't true?

Gabriella changed into her pajamas and flopped on the couch, curling into a ball. How did this get so bad? She thought it over. Things started to get unsettled from the day he picked her up to go to Meredith's wedding – someone had tipped the paparazzi off about their relationship and blown it up into a sensational story… But Brandon hadn't been too worried about that, had he?

"He didn't want me to check the news that day…" Gabriella remembered aloud. She quickly checked him up online and all the articles concerning him – it was just as she expected. Nasty articles about him having a gold-digging girlfriend filled the page. It was just as Brandon told her. But the worst articles were the ones hinting that she might be playing for keeps by getting knocked up to get his millions. Gabriella felt revolted and shut off her phone; this amounted to defamation of character! The sickening comments that she read were just too much to bear! She had an inkling Archer was behind this from the start from what Sassie told her… Did Brandon know? Was this why he was acting so off?

So far, there haven't been any pictures of her online... But her profile picture had to be taken down before it caused any more damage. She never thought it would cause so much trouble… and with Brandon's prominence, she knew he was going through a wringer as well.

She tried calling him – protection or not, she had to see him. Things were blown way out of proportion and they had to face this together – she realized how worried Brandon might have been now, thinking about her. That would explain his insecurity two nights ago, and why he was worried she would leave him…

The lights in her apartment suddenly went off. So did the air conditioner. Gabriella was puzzled. This wasn't a fuse; maybe it was a temporary blackout. She waited for a while but the power still didn't come back on. She tried calling the helpdesk but the line was dead. Apparently, it was connected to the main power line, which means it wouldn't work in a blackout. She quickly threw on some clothes, grabbed her handbag, and went out to investigate. To her annoyance, the elevator didn't work. She had to use the stairs. By the time she reached the ground floor, she was perspiring and irritated. The lobby was crowded; she wasn't the only tenant who came down to complain.

She had been about to speak to the manager at the desk when the sound of sirens rang outside. Within minutes, the fire department appeared and rushed into the building after ushering the tenants out.

"What happened? Has there been a fire?" Gabriella asked one of the other tenants.

"Something to do with the fuse box, I think. Apparently, it sparked and a small fire broke out. It caused the blackout too," the elderly tenant said. The building manager addressed everyone outside the building.

"I'm sorry everyone, but the power's out and might be that way for a few days."

"Why? What happened? Why won't it come back on?" Gabriella asked him.

"There was a minor fire – nothing to worry about! However, the building will be unsafe until all the wiring has been thoroughly checked and that could take a few days."

"So what do we do? What will all the tenants do without electricity?" another tenant asked.

"I'm sorry, but the building will be sealed off until everything has been checked. All tenants are advised not to return to their apartments for a few days." Gabriella bit her lip in worry; she didn't think it was possible, but problems seemed to be piling up on her plate one after the other. Like they say, 'when it rains, it pours'. Now, where was she to spend the night, plus a few extra days?