by Kaylee, Katy
Logan looked her in her beautiful eyes. “We did that before, too. We shielded everyone around us all the time.”
She smiled. “That was a good thing. As far as this… it’s not happening anymore.”
Logan laughed. “It’s already happened three times. And may I point that two of those times were after you made your rule.”
Amber took in a deep breath. “Yeah, well it’s not going to happen anymore. I can promise you that. I have the self-control to think about my future and the future of my child before I make any more selfish choices. You should do the same. You worked really hard to get where you are, and that shouldn’t change because you came back here.”
Logan chuckled and put his hand out to lead her from the restaurant. “Sure, sure. I’ll keep that in mind the next time we have a conversation like this one.”
She just shook her head and walked out in front of him with a smile on her face. Logan could tell that she may be putting on a tough face for him, putting her foot down, but she didn’t believe what she was saying. The truth was, the two of them were attracted to each other by a force that seemed to be stronger than either of them. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t help but kiss her, and no matter how hard she tried to pull back or refrain, she always gave in at the first touch of his hand.
He wasn’t testing her on purpose, he literally was struggling to control himself. It was a battle he fought now every time he was in the same room with her. Meetings were going to be hell standing up in front of everyone and staring over at her across the table. Part of him wondered if it was dumb of him to have hired her, but the other part of him knew it was the perfect choice, at least for the company. He couldn’t believe how perfect she fit in there. It was like having another him walking around the office which made him more comfortable knowing the company would be okay when he left, if he left. He still hadn’t decided on that one and was kind of just playing it as it went.
Logan walked to the car, bumping into someone by accident. “Oh, sorry, bud.”
The guy nodded, putting his camera to his chest and looking back at Logan as he walked. In that moment it didn’t seem strange to Logan at all. People flocked to LA from all over the world, and tourists brought the best cameras they could find. They took pictures of everything from the Hollywood sign to obscure graffiti on the sides of buildings.
He climbed into the back of the car with Amber and gave her a smirk as the car pulled off. He wanted so badly to reach out and take her hand, but he withheld, knowing she would probably pull away anyway. He didn’t know why they were torturing each other, but he knew he had to pull them out of it. What he didn’t see coming was the brick wall he would slam into in just a few hours.
Amber
Amber rolled over in the bed, groaning and staring at the alarm clock on her side table. It wasn’t even five in the morning yet, still an hour before she had to get up for work. All she wanted was to go back to sleep, but the constant buzzing of her phone on the dresser refused to allow her to do anything but get up. She sat up in the bed, her hair a mess, and slapped her hands on the mattress below. She pulled her feet around and slugged across the floor, grabbing her phone and climbing back into the bed.
She pushed the hair from her face and blinked as she flipped on the side table’s lamp. She held the phone in front of her face and furrowed her brow. She had missed four calls and had five unread texts. She opened up the message screen and clicked on the first one. It was from Logan.
Amber, I don’t know how to express just how deeply sorry I am. Call me when you get this. We’ll fix it. Don’t freak out. That was a strange text from Logan.
There was a missed call and text from Taylor, so she opened the message. Girl, I know you are dead asleep but seriously wake the fuck up and check the news. I am not kidding. Call me as soon as you do.
Amber rubbed her head, flipping to the next one from her brother. What the fuck Amber. I want an explanation and I want it now. Wake the fuck up.
Amber was taken aback by the message. Both of her parents sent texts to call them. She dialed the voicemail and listened to her mom’s message. Like everyone else, she sounded shocked, but there also seemed to be an air of excitement in her voice which was strange all in its own. “Hi sweetie, it’s Mom. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me what was going on. Call me as soon as you get this. Let’s talk. Love you, honey. Keep your chin up.”
Amber tossed the phone to the side, now more than awake, and grabbed her laptop. She didn’t know what had everyone in such a tizzy, but whatever it was, it had gone down the chain. Why would Logan of all people be apologizing for anything? He had only been there a few weeks and him and her were completely secret. She flipped back through her mind, trying to figure out if someone had died, if someone told on her for Bradley, if someone had dug up dirt on her, but nothing came to mind. She was one of the most chill people that lived, never getting herself into anything deep.
She typed in Google news, and waited for the stories to process. There were stories about the current politics, war, the Emmy’s and…
Amber froze in place, absolutely still, not a movement in her body. Three lines down in the entertainment section was a picture of her and Logan sharing a kiss at the restaurant from the day before. Her mouth dropped open as she clicked right, finding that same picture on just about every tabloid page that came up.
“No, no, no….” she whispered to herself as she clicked on the article.
The headline made her cringe, but the article was so much worse. “Millionaire and eligible bachelor Logan Townley just might not be on the market any longer. He was spotted inside the posh café, Blue’s on 3rd, Monday afternoon schmoozing it up with this dark-haired beauty. They laughed and joked, leaning toward each other and smiling. When the lunch was over he took her face in his hands in a movie-sequel pose that made every girl weak in the knees and kissed her gently on the lips. Reporters captured this image before watching the two leave the café and ride off in one of his private chauffeured cars. What will come of this, we are all waiting to see. It has been long known that Logan Townley, for business sake, has been contracted to keep any and all relationships strictly behind doors if at all. This would be the first romantic connection the press has ever been able to connect to the Tech Genius…”
Amber clicked the screen off and shook her head, rubbing her face. “This is so bad. Oh my God.”
Just then her phone buzzed again. It was her brother, Jordan, calling. She grimaced and picked up the phone, putting it to her ear. “Hello?”
“MOTHER FUCKING HELL! What in God’s name were you thinking Amber! I am so pissed off right now, it’s not even real. I can’t calm down.” Jordan was more than livid.
Amber put her hands up. “Just take a deep breath Jordan. I didn’t find out anything about the picture until five seconds ago. Let me process.”
Jordan scoffed. “Process? You want me to let you process what is going on? You are the one that knew about it and kept it from every member of this family. I mean seriously, did you think you could get away with hiding it forever? The press has been chomping at the bit for four years to get something on Logan. He is the angel boy and no matter how well they play the media, no one is as innocent as he claims to be to the public. They knew eventually he would fuck up.”
Amber was a bit put off. “Fuck up? I don’t really think kissing me can be considered fucking up, but thanks for the vote of confidence bro. Just because you’re mad about MY life, doesn’t mean you can insult me.”
Jordan sighed. “I didn’t mean you are a fuck up… No, you are not turning this around on me. You always do that and I am not falling for it this time. You are like some double agent. I want to know, one, what the fuck is going on? And two, how long has it even been happening?”
Amber didn’t even know what to say. “It just happened, you know, since he’s been back and I’ve been working for him. It’s nothing serious.”
“It’s serious that my little si
ster is kissing my best friend on the cover of every tabloid in the country,” he yelled out.
Amber felt terrible. Not only did he just catch her in a lie, but then she continued to lie about her and Logan’s history together. If it weren’t for Bradley she would just come out and tell him they had been together in the past, but that was dangerous. If she told him when they had been together, there would be a really good chance that Jordan would connect the dots and figure out that Logan was the father of her child. That was an incredibly dangerous revelation for him to come to. In fact, it was dangerous for anyone to come to that conclusion.
Not only would they immediately go to Logan, but she would have to explain herself to her family. That was not the conversation she wanted to have with them over family dinner. They definitely wouldn’t understand their connection, they wouldn’t understand what had happened between them, and they would definitely not get why they were fooling around again. On top of that, if they found out that she had purposely lied about Logan being the father, they would be more than disappointed in her.
Bradley would be the one that was hurt most in all of it. “Look, Jordan. It was just a thing that happened. It’s not something to blow up about. The media is blowing it completely out of proportion.”
Jordan snorted. “From the look on your face in the picture it looks like they got it exactly right. You didn’t look like you were the least bit uncomfortable or nervous. That leads me to believe that is not the only time or the only thing you have done.”
Alice stiffened her shoulders. “Don’t go there, Jordan. We are not having a conversation about my sex life and I don’t even want you to think that you can attempt that right now. I may be your little sister but I am an adult, a grown adult. I can make whatever decisions that I want to. I know you are pissed, but you really need to calm down. At least you know Logan is a good guy.”
“No, don’t pull that shit on me. He is my best friend, older than you, and not even staying in LA. What the hell do the two of you think you are going to accomplish with this? You can’t think that it can be serious with him all the way in New York and you and Bradley here. You aren’t thinking with your brain, you are using your emotions, and that isn’t like you.” Jordan had lowered his voice but was still jabbing at her.
Amber let out a breath in irritation. “You are jumping to so many conclusions here. We haven’t even considered anything long term.”
Jordan’s jaw was clenched. “I’m going to fucking kill Logan.”
Amber looked over at the clock. “Look, I gotta get to work. We can talk about this later.”
Jordan hung up the phone without saying another word. Amber looked at her cell and shook her head. He was having the exact reaction that she always knew he would have. The difference was, she wasn’t in a relationship with him that time around. When they were together they managed to keep it hidden. Now that they weren’t, it was spreading all over the place like she was some royal member of court.
She got dressed in irritation and pulled her hair back in a ponytail, not even bothering to put any make up on. She was so exhausted with it all already, and it had only been an hour. If it was that popular of a story, she knew there would be even more media hunting her down, and that was not something she was looking forward to. She headed to the parking garage and got her car, driving toward the office. When she arrived, there was press everywhere. She couldn’t even get into the parking garage.
The valet came running over. “They’ll never let you in there. Here, I’ll park your car.”
She grabbed her bag and stepped out. “Thanks.”
Immediately, camera flashes began to go off and she put her arm up, pushing through the crowding media trying to get to the front doors. They were yelling out questions, but she kept quiet. “Amber, how long have you been seeing Logan?”
“Amber, is it true that you have known each other all your lives?”
“Amber, can you comment on the agreement he has with the board and what this will mean for the future of his company?”
Amber shook her head and finally made it to the front door where the building security guard opened the door and hurried her inside, closing it behind her. She straightened out her wide leg dress pants and pulled her jacket closed, buttoning the middle buttons. She stepped onto the elevator and leaned her head back against the glass as the doors shut.
This was not at all what she had expected out of her Tuesday morning. She couldn’t believe that kind of drama was going on. When the doors opened several of the staff stared and whispered, but she just pushed through, walking past her office and into the waiting area of his. His door was cracked, but his secretary shook her head. “He’s been in phone meetings with the board all morning. I’ll let him know you stopped by.”
Amber gave her a comforting smile. “Thank you.”
As she began to walk away she could hear him raise his voice. “God damn it, am I supposed to spend the rest of my life alone? It was a kiss, not me wandering drunk with a prostitute.”
Amber left the office feeling absolutely terrible for him. Everything was falling down on his shoulders.
Logan
“I can’t fucking believe you, bro. You are my family; my best friend and you betrayed my trust like this. She is my damn little sister,” Jordan yelled into the phone.
Logan shook his head. “Jordan… it was just a kiss, and it’s not like I planned this. You had nothing to do with the thought.”
Jordan growled. “Obviously. Maybe I should have been. It’s not like it’s just some random girl I don’t know. We all grew up together. You lived with us.”
Logan winced. “Ouch, dude, I thought I was family.”
Jordan sighed. “I thought that you were too. At least, I thought you thought of us as family and didn’t hold secrets like that back from us. The whole situation is disgusting to me. I don’t need you as my best man anymore. In fact, if I ever see you again, Logan, I will fucking kill you. Stay away from my sister.”
He slammed the phone in Logan’s ear. Logan tossed the phone on his desk and leaned his head back. It was probably worse than what he had imagined it would be like when they finally found out. Only this time, Amber and him weren’t in a relationship. He shook his head and pressed the new com button on his phone.
His secretary answered. “Yes?”
“Hey, is Amber still in the office?”
“No, she left a while ago. She did come by this morning, but you’ve been in on calls all day,” she replied.
Logan nodded. “Thanks. Go ahead and get out of here for the night.”
“Thanks. Let me know if you need anything.”
Logan released the button and swiveled his chair toward the windows. The sun had already gone down and he could see the sparkling lights of LA. He felt terrible for not getting a chance to talk to Amber that day. Not only that, he felt absolutely terrible for all the things he had put her through over the years. This was just another smack in the face for her. She was going to have to deal with her family on top of everything else. That part was a bit simpler for him because he didn’t have to face them, but she did, and she would have to do it on her own.
He got up and walked over to the window, looking out over the city. He felt like total shit. Everything that had happened had been his fault. If he hadn’t pushed her to take the job, and had controlled himself and respected her wishes, none of them would be in the situation they were in. Logan had these visions of grandeur when it came to Amber, and he felt like it had clouded his judgment to the point to where he had overstepped his boundaries and it all was coming crashing down on them. He should have just stayed away from her like she had asked, made it easier on her to continue living her life like she had for the past five years.
Feeling the streams of guilt, he grabbed his suit jacket and headed out, taking the back exit and jumping into the car waiting for him. He wanted to avoid the press at all costs, and they had been waiting there for him to come out the entire time. H
e took the car to Amber’s house and slowly rode the elevator to her floor. He paused outside of her door, wondering if he should even be there, but before he could knock, she opened it and stared at him. There were tears in the corners of her eyes and he braced himself for the backlash.
To his surprise, though, she stepped to the side, whispering, “Come in. We have to be quiet. Bradley is asleep. He could tell something was wrong with me, so it took me a while to get him down.”
Logan stepped inside and waited for her to close the door. “I promise you, I have no idea how the picture got out. They must have been at the restaurant with us the day before. Amber I am so sorry.”
Just then the vision of him running into the guy with camera flashed through his mind and he groaned, rolling his eyes. She looked at him, confused. “What?”
He shook his head. “When we were coming out I ran into a guy with a camera but I just thought it was some tourist. He must have been photographing us. Fuck. I’m so sorry.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and shrugged. “It is what it is, I suppose. I don’t think you did it on purpose. Hell, you have more to lose than me. I read about your agreement with the board. I think it’s crazy, but I get it.”
Logan looked up at the picture of the family on the wall. “And your family. They must have had so many questions.”
She followed his eyes to the picture. “Mom and Dad not so much, but Jordan yes. I ended up just telling him that it happened this time around. I was too afraid to tell him about last time because I knew he would be even more pissed than he already was.”