Untouchable ~ A Jared Leto/MARS Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Three

One thing's for sure, and that is I'm nervous.

I'm nervous about Katia Valkov's arrival this morning. I'm nervous that she'll walk in here like she owns the place—like she's been here dozens of times before and knows every nook and cranny as well as I do. I'm nervous that I'll be intimidated into silence...or, worse yet, into disappearance. I'm nervous about what she and Jared will discuss. I'm nervous about what she has hanging over him, if there's anything at all. Jared seems convinced that there is. And I'm nervous about the outcome of this meeting.

Will he, or won't he?

Probably in an effort to make me feel better, Jared fixes his famous vegan pancakes for breakfast. It's Saturday, which means Shelby doesn't have school. I can only hope she'll go hang out with Tyrell by the time Katia shows up, but she seems perfectly content to sit at the table with us and take her time eating. I glance at the clock—it's quarter after nine.

Jared doesn't miss a thing. "Five minutes since the last time you looked," he murmurs. "Lanie, this isn't as big a deal as you're making it out to be." His phone buzzes and he glances down at it quickly before silencing it.

"Who's that?" I ask, sipping my coffee.

"Suzanne Hoffman, my chief publicist," he replies. "Again. She's been texting me non-stop all morning. Seems like everyone has." He shoves the phone in his pocket.

"Yeah, I noticed it's been going off constantly. Texts and calls. What's up?"

Jared shrugs. "No idea. I haven't read any of the texts or listened to my voicemail yet. I try to make it a point not to spoil my appetite in the morning. Y'know, breakfast being the most important meal of the day and all that."

Shelby stabs into a large piece of pancake, her eyes flitting between me and Jared. "You guys seem uptight or something," she observes. Her phone beside her plate buzzes and she looks down at it, swiping the screen.

"Jared has...an important meeting soon," I explain. "I guess we're a little on edge about it, and—"

"Oh, my God!" Shelby squeals, looking up from her phone. "Nick Jonas is gonna be at Mylloni's house today! She wants to know if I want to come over and meet him!" She bounces up and down in her chair. "Please, can I?"

"Wow, Nick Jonas, huh?" Jared grins. "He's a pretty big deal."

"Big? He's awesome!" Shelby shrieks. "He's sooooo cute!"

"Who the hell is Nick Jonas?" I ask, looking from one to the other.

Jared's grin becomes a laugh. I shoot him a withering stare as Shelby rolls her eyes. "Oh, God, Mom. Seriously? He's super famous. As famous as Jared. Maybe even more famous."

"Hey now." Jared gives her a scowl, and then a wink. "With your generation, I'm sure he is a lot more famous than me. I'm an old man, after all."

"Oh, good grief," I groan. "You're not old."

"So can I go to Mylloni's and meet him?" Shelby implores.

I shrug. "I don't see why not. Jimmy can take you." I don't know who Nick Jonas is, but thank God Shelby has found something to get her out of the compound today. I have no idea how this meeting with Katia is going to go down, but given the woman's penchant for theatrics, I'd rather Shelby not be around for it. Hell, I'd rather not be around for it, but Jared wants me to be here—in the room, with them. God knows why.

Actually, I know why. He told me why, last night after our swim, when we settled into bed for the night.

He wants me there to lay whatever insecurity I have where Katia's concerned to rest. Because he knows she intimidates me and he says there's absolutely no reason why she should. "Believe me. Once you actually try to have a conversation with Katia, you'll feel foolish that you could ever have thought she's better than you," he said last night, pulling me into his arms. I lay my head in my favorite place—the crook of his shoulder, where I could both hear and feel his heartbeat, and I listened to him tell me that despite her vast wealth and stunning beauty, Katia Valkov is little more than a vapid, self-absorbed opportunist. "I don't love her. I never did. I don't particularly even like her."