He was a nice man who came in by himself every few weeks, and felt it was his duty to tell her he’d seen something on a social networking site about Leo punching the reporter. He wasn’t sure if she had seen it yet, but wanted to warn her so she wouldn’t be caught off guard. Kelly didn’t have a profile on the site, but quickly signed up and did a search for Leo’s name. Sure enough, hundreds of messages popped up. She was right. The whole ugly thing had gone viral, and it was only getting bigger. She did another search, this time for her own name. It was everywhere.
Her hands shook, and her stomach churned. In some ways, she wished she was with the guys right now. She could use someone to lean on. But overall, she was glad she’d told them she wanted to be alone. This was a nightmare. Would her restaurant survive this kind of negative press? Were her dreams of owning the restaurant going down the drain?
Clutching her stomach, she lurched out of her desk chair toward the bathroom, barely making it in time before she vomited. Finally, when her stomach was empty, she sat back on her heels, grabbing a washcloth from the linen closet behind her and running it under cold water before using it to mop off her face and the back of her neck.
She lay down right there on the bathroom floor, too afraid to move further while her belly was roiling like this. Good thing she was a bit of a neat freak from owning the restaurant. Her floor was pretty clean, at least. After letting her stomach settle, she went back into her office to read some of the messages. Predictably, there was a mix, some people believed exactly what they heard, while others said judgment should be reserved until the truth came out about what happened.
Luckily everything had gone down at a time when it was too late to have made the late-night news, and she still didn’t see anything on the television stations’ websites, but the story was certainly catching on like wildfire via social networking. Some of the people involved in the discussion were skeptical about the claim that she was sleeping with both Leo and Scott, putting that part of the story up as conjecture. Others talked about how Leo’s stats had been slipping as of late, and since it wasn’t the first time she’d heard that, she started to worry about how all this was affecting him and how it would continue to affect him. Maybe that damn reporter was right. Maybe Leo was losing his edge because of her.
She bit her lip as the tears flowed again. If she truly was responsible for the quality of his play decreasing, she would never forgive herself. Common sense told her that for all their sakes, she should just nip this whole thing in the bud, go back to the way things had been before that fateful night the men had first touched her, but the very thought of losing them had her headed back to the bathroom. Besides, if the story was this big on social media, the more traditional media were bound to catch onto it, and then what would it matter when she did end things? Their relationship would be all over town anyway.
Wishing her stomach was settled enough for a drink, Kelly sat back in her desk chair and stared at the ceiling. How long would it be before the discussion veered away from had happened, to focus on her, the one at the epicenter of the whole ugly affair? What would people say about her?
Even though she knew it was ill-advised, she refreshed the search and read through the newest comments.
Oh, God. People are talking about the bistro.
She read further.
And now they’re talking about me.
Kelly slapped her hand over her mouth as she read how one of the guys had fantasies about having sex in a restaurant and how bummed he was that Leo and Scott had apparently beat him to it. Her skin crawled, as a few other guys chimed in about things specific to her, including her “magnificent tits” and “delectable ass.” One wondered if “piece of ass” would be added to the dessert menu.
That last comment sent her over the edge, and she slammed the laptop closed, only belatedly considering that if she broke the damn thing, she couldn’t afford to fix it. Skulking into her bedroom, she removed all her clothes and put on a large T-shirt before crawling under the covers. Sleep was a long time coming, and after she lay there taking peeks at the clock until nearly dawn, she finally got up and took a couple of swigs of vodka directly from the bottle. At long last, she fell into a fitful sleep, only to be awakened at a little after eight when the phone rang.
Kelly groaned. “Go ’way.”
She heard the answering machine click on. “Hon, it’s Bonnie. I heard about what happened last night. Are you all right? Come on, please pick up if you’re there. Are you with the guys? I hope so. I don’t think you should be alone right now. I’m gonna get dressed and come by your place to check on you.”
Pulling the covers over her head, Kelly burrowed down into the bed. Bonnie didn’t have a key, and Kelly fully expected she’d knock the damn door down if she didn’t answer it, but she just wasn’t ready to face anyone today.
Sure enough, the pounding started about twenty minutes later. Kelly forced herself to get out of bed, throwing a robe on over her T-shirt. She checked the peephole and saw it was indeed Bonnie. But as soon as she opened the door, flashes started going off.
“What the hell?”
Bonnie pushed her inside and closed the door behind both of them.
“Those people are persistent, aren’t they?” Gazing at Kelly, she assessed her from head to toe. “How’re ya holding up?”
“Miserable. You should probably start looking for another job. I’ll give you a recommendation—that is, if anyone actually cares about my professional opinion anymore.”
Bonnie tsk-tsked and shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere. The restaurant is not going anywhere. This will boil over. Some other professional athlete will do something dumb and everyone will move on.”
“I wish I had your faith.” Kelly made her way back into the office with Bonnie trailing behind. She opened her laptop and pressed the button to boot it up, but Bonnie closed it again.
“You don’t need to be spending time obsessing over this, Kel. Come to the restaurant, get involved with all that stuff you love to do, and you’ll see. You’ll feel a lot better.”
“I wish I could believe that, Bonnie, I really do, but did you see the things they’re saying about me? Someone called me a whore online last night, and I’m sure it’s even worse now.”
“Who cares what they say?”
“I care. I can’t afford not to care.”
“Kelly, I’m telling you, the best thing for you to do right now is to act normal, like nothing ever happened. You can’t let them beat you or drive you away from the job you love.”
Kelly looked up at her friend and coworker. “I’m not coming in today. I know I asked a lot of you last night, but can you hold down the fort while I try to process everything?” A single tear escaped, and Kelly swiped at it.
Bonnie’s expression softened. “Of course I will. Anything you need, I’m here for you. But I’m not going to let you spend the rest of your life beating yourself up over this.”
“Right now everything just feels so raw.”
“I know.” Bonnie leaned down to pull Kelly into a warm embrace. “You know we’re all here for you, and we won’t judge. I’ll make damn sure of that.”
Kelly sent her a watery smile. “I know that, and I appreciate you more than I can say.”
“Get some rest. You look tired. And call the guys. They’re undoubtedly losing their minds over this.”
“I can’t right now. I just—I need time to think.”
“Don’t take too long. It’s not healthy. And hey, I’m sure you’re mad at Leo, but he reacted like he did because he loves you. That’s plain to see, it has been for a long time now, you just weren’t looking for it, so you didn’t see it. But I did. Both of those guys adore you. Don’t let them get away. Most of all, don’t let that asshole reporter drive a wedge between you guys.” She paused and squeezed Kelly’s shoulder. “Now that I’ve given my lecture, I’m gonna go. I want to hear from you every few hours or I’m coming back over. And don’t think I’ll let you wa
llow forever, either.”
“Thanks, Bonnie. You’re a good friend and an awesome person to work with.”
“Back atcha, boss.”
Bonnie winked and sauntered out of the room. Kelly forced herself to make some breakfast and then sat down to try to take her mind off her own situation by watching a movie. Her doorbell rang numerous times, but she refused to answer it, knowing it was people in the media wanting interviews and comments. Then she heard some noise outside and peeked out of her front curtain. The crowd of media who’d been camped in front of her house were now gathered around someone she couldn’t see.
“Oh God, please let that not be Leo or Scott.”
Her cell phone rang and Kelly picked it up off the coffee table where she’d dropped it last night. Not many people had her cell number, and when she looked at the display, she saw it was Bonnie.
“Hey. The legal counsel for the Intimidators was here a little while ago, according to Jeff. He told him you weren’t here and the guy said he’d try you at home.”
“Ah, I’m guessing that’s who’s out front, then. He’s surrounded, and I didn’t recognize him.”
“Probably. Anyway, just wanted to let you know. On my way out of your house, I told them they were all assholes and to leave you alone. One of them asked me if he could put that on the record, so I told him where he could shove his ‘record.’”
Kelly barked out a laugh. “You’re too good to me. Better go let the suit in before he gets eaten alive out there.” She shut her phone and approached the door, cracking it just a bit. “Hey!” The man saw her and began to charge in her direction, with various members of the press trailing behind, trying to vie for his attention. He pushed his way through the front door, and she slammed it on the rest of the crowd with a satisfying thump. “You’re the legal counsel for the Intimidators.”
“I see my reputation has preceded me.”
“My friend called from the restaurant.”
“Ah. Anyway, my name is Patrick, and yes, I represent the Intimidators in various legal matters. First of all, I want you to know you have my deepest sympathies about all this. Sometimes, especially in a hockey-crazed town like Buffalo, the media can get a little…aggressive.”
“Is that what we’re calling it these days?”
A ghost of a smile appeared on Patrick’s lips. “I was being polite. Now then, would you mind if we sat down and talked about what happened? I think I’ve convinced Roger that suing either Leo or the team is not in his best journalistic interests, but I still want to hear your side of the story, just in case.”
“Sure, as long as you don’t mind waiting while I take a quick shower. I’d rather not talk in my robe.”
“Not a problem. I’ll just have a seat and wait for you.”
“Thank you. There’s coffee in the freezer if you want to make some.”
Kelly hurried through her morning routine and then sat down at the kitchen table to relay the entire scenario to Patrick. When she finished, he just nodded.
“All right then, everything you’ve said exactly matches what Leo told me.”
“You’ve already spoken to him?”
“Things happen fast in times like these.”
“I guess so…”
“Thank you for your time and for the coffee. If I need anything, I’ll be in touch. Oh, and I told the media if they didn’t stay more than a thousand feet away from your property, I’d have them arrested for trespassing. There are laws about that stuff now.”
“I appreciate that.”
She showed Patrick to the door and then sat down to contemplate. What was more important, her work or her guys? Being able to live her life as she pleased? She wasn’t sure, but she wanted to stop worrying about what everybody else thought and do whatever made her happy. She just had no idea if she possessed the strength to pull that off.
Chapter Fifteen
Kelly spent the next couple of days holed up in her house, thinking about the future and obsessively watching the social networking sites on the Internet. The story flew all over for the first forty-eight hours or so, and then seemed to die down some. She had no idea what would happen when she actually showed her face in public again, but she wasn’t relishing it.
She had just polished off the last piece of the chocolate cake she’d baked a few days beforehand when the doorbell rang. Licking the frosting off her finger, she went to look in the peephole. Bonnie was standing on the other side. When Kelly didn’t immediately open the door, Bonnie rang the bell again and called out, “I know you’re in there, Kel. Open up!”
Shaking her head, Kelly swung the door open and ushered her friend inside. She hadn’t seen any reporters since last night, but that didn’t mean they weren’t still hanging around, hoping for a juicy quote. “What are you doing here?”
“Get dressed. You’re going in to work today.”
“Am I now?” Kelly asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Yes. I let you wallow, but now it’s time to rejoin the rest of us. The world didn’t end when people found out about your relationship with the guys, and it’s not going to end now. So you need to get up off your butt, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and come back to work. You have a business to run.”
Kelly couldn’t help but laugh. “Has anyone ever said that you’d make an excellent drill sergeant?”
“A couple of people. Now go take a shower.” She pointed in the direction of the bathroom. “Go!”
“Fine,” Kelly grumbled. “Who’s the boss here, anyway?”
“For right now, I am. Now go!”
“I’m going!” It didn’t seem like she had any other choice. She’d been thinking about returning to work in a day or two anyway, but Bonnie had taken the choice out of her hands, which was probably for the best. She showered, and when she pulled the Kelly’s T-shirt over her head, she realized how much she’d missed working. No matter what, she always had her work. Even if she didn’t have her own restaurant, she still had her skills, and she would land on her feet. Of course, Bonnie hadn’t said anything about how business had been at the restaurant.
Padding out to the living room, she found Bonnie leafing through a magazine. She looked up at Kelly and said, “Ready?”
“Not quite. So tell me. How’s business been?”
“Good. If anything, this has increased our business. So stop worrying.”
Kelly bit her lip. “I don’t want people gawking at me.”
“So stay in the back for the next few days. I’m telling you, it’s not bad. And if any of us hears a bad word said about you, we’ll take care of it. We love you, Kelly, and we love working for you. Now go finish getting ready. We have dinner to prep, girl!”
“God, that sounds good. I can’t wait to sink my hands into all that stuff again.”
She turned to go into the bathroom and heard Bonnie call out, “That’s the Kelly we know and love!” Several moments later, Kelly was ready. When she reached for her keys, though, she swore. “What’s wrong?”
“My car is still at the arena. Well, that is, if it hasn’t been towed by now.”
“No, it’s not. The guys had it moved to the restaurant. It’s in the back lot. They said they didn’t know if you would be up to seeing them, so they decided to leave it in the lot instead of bringing it here.”
“I love them, Bonnie. But I’m not sure I can do this.”
“Only one way to find out…”
Blowing out a loud breath, Kelly said, “Now or never.”
“Let’s go.”
Once at the restaurant, Kelly threw herself into the prep work for the evening. All the while, her employees rallied around her, coming up to give her hugs and say encouraging words. She was touched, and she wiped a tear from her eye more than once during the afternoon. She’d decided she liked Bonnie’s idea of staying in the back for now. Maybe in a few days or a week she would be able to move about freely within the dining area, but for now, discretion seemed to be the better part of valor.
&n
bsp; She sent Bonnie home and took the dinner shift herself, surprised at how easy it was to slip into the mundane task of cooking and plating meals. Before she knew it, ten o’clock had rolled around. Some stragglers remained in the bistro, but most of the customers had long since left. Getting out a rag and the bleach solution, she set about cleaning off the prep tables while her staff took care of breaking down the various stations in the kitchen.
The door swung open so fast it hit the wall, and Kelly gasped, spinning around.
It was Leo, looking every inch like a charging bull. “I knew you were in here.” Turning, he ushered Scott through the door. “Yeah, her staff was lying.”
Scott came over to stand in front of her. “You can’t keep avoiding us, sweetie. We’re not going anywhere.”
“I figured as much,” Kelly muttered.
“Can we talk? Maybe in your office?”
She wasn’t sure this was the time or the place, but after looking each of them in the eye, it became obvious they weren’t going to take no for an answer. “Sure.”
The guys followed her into the tiny office, and when she turned to face them, she couldn’t believe how crowded in and yet safe she felt. She waited for them to speak.
Leo began, “First of all, you should know that we told Patrick to make it known that anyone who printed anything negative or inflammatory about you or our relationship would never get a quote from either one of us again.”
“That explains why the television stations and newspaper have been quiet…”
“Yep,” Leo continued. “Scott and I have been doing a lot of talking over the past couple of days.” He glanced at Scott and then said, “We asked you to move in with us, and we still want that.”
“But there’s more,” Scott replied, smiling.
Kelly shook her head, smiling. “I don’t trust that smile for a minute.”
Scott dug into his pocket and extracted a ring. Kelly gasped, one hand flying up to cover her mouth and the other clutching at the desk behind her. It was a beautiful four-diamond ring with a large center stone and three smaller stones surrounding it. Now his smile turned a little shy. “We had this made for you. The smaller stones are Leo, you, and me. The bigger stone represents all of us together.” He picked up Kelly’s hand and said, “Will you marry us, Kelly?”
Carr, Cassandra - Head Games [Buffalo Intimidators] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 12