“Well, would you just look at that. Our sources tell us that Mika Kingsley got hot and heavy with a very beautiful, very blonde, and very not his girlfriend Raeva Ray in a hallway at the very popular restaurant, Morelli’s. Luckily for us, they backed those claims up with some evidence. And folks, a picture does indeed say a thousand words.”
I don’t want to admit it to myself, but the relief I feel when I see that the blonde bimbo in the images on the screen is no other than little old me is more than intense. Frankly, there is no denying it. I audibly exhale as soon as I recognize myself in the pictures, and I burst out laughing. Mika’s face is still stoic, which I thought at first was because he wasn’t sure what my reaction was going to be, but now I am starting to worry. Apparently, the story is not over yet.
“Earlier that day, the playboy billionaire was visited by another gorgeous woman, a redhead this time. And if we can believe our very own eyes, it seems like our favorite billionaire playboy had some early afternoon delight! It seems that Kingsley’s stamina leaves nothing to be desired, living a lifestyle that most of us only wish we could, and who can be mad at him for that? Nobody, right? Well, besides his live-in girlfriend of course… oops.”
Nausea rises from the depths of me when I watch the footage of an immaculately dressed Layla walk into Mika’s office building. They fast forward to Layla walking out, a lot less immaculate-looking, made obvious by her attempt to reapply her lipstick in her little compact mirror. Her clothes look ruffled up, and she has a smirk on her face. Did it have to be her? I feel as though someone has just rammed a sledgehammer into my chest. The pain is unbearable, my vision blurs, and trying to breathe seems like a next to impossible task. I gulp for my next breath of—at this point—valuable oxygen.
“I’m going to need some space,” I manage to choke out.
“Baby,” he says, his voice cracking. “I swear to you, it isn’t what she made it look like. All of this is bullshit. They just have parts of facts and made it into something completely different. I needed you to see this so you could see they fabricated it all.”
He steps closer, into my personal space. I stand and try to push him away from me.
“Look at me, Raeva,” he pleads. “Please.”
Tears are falling freely, but even through the tears and hurt, the smell of him, of Mika—of freshly laundered clothing and the spicy smell of his cologne—weakens my resolve.
“She was at my office at my request, and Eric was present the entire time. I only warned her not to mess with you, but clearly, she either didn’t believe me when I told her that I would come for her, or she doesn’t care. But I swear to you, Raeva, I will never touch another woman besides you for as long as I live. I haven’t from the first day I laid eyes on you. You have to believe me. Please, Raeva.”
Mika steps closer to me, and my head is screaming at me to get away from him, but my body is stuck in place.
“She must have known they were out there or even tipped them off. I’m not sure, but I’m looking into it. Eric is in the car waiting. You can ask him, he will tell you the truth. He wouldn’t lie for me.”
He pulls me closer, and without even consciously deciding to do so, I bury my head in his chest. His heart is beating rapidly and loudly against my face. As stupid as it sounds, I believe him. I know that he would never betray me like that. He will keep things from me, yes, and he will go overboard when it comes to securing my safety, but I don’t think he would cheat on me.
“I believe you.” I sniffle.
“You do?” he asks, the relief in his voice evident.
“I do.”
Mika hooks my chin between his thumb and forefinger and angles me to face him. When our eyes meet, I swear I can see the truth in his eyes. Even though he has never actually said the words to me, right now, in this moment, I am 100% sure that this man loves me. He leans in and kisses me, and just as he pours everything into that kiss, I do the same in return.
I love you, it says.
I need you, it says.
I trust you, it says.
Unfortunately, Mika has to leave shortly after and get back to work. After a very draining and long-winded conversation with my mother, in which I get the pleasure of explaining to her that the blonde bimbo in the pictures is in fact her loving daughter, I still have some more people to cross of my list. I do clean up the Layla stuff a little bit, merely telling her that she is an ex that just happened to have business at his office and that the footage is circumstantial. After I talk to her, I return all the calls from my sister, Serena, and some from a few of my friends, too. The last person I call is my brother, River. He hasn’t called, probably because he’s a guy’s guy and doesn’t keep up with gossip. He most likely doesn’t even know what is going on. River may be a macho dude, but he’s also incredibly smart. Like crazy smart. My sister Serena and I have always been considered smart. We both graduated top of our respective classes, we are both bilingual, and the two of us have won scholarships through our academic achievements. But while River has done none of these things—he barely finished high school, and I truly believe that he has always been bored at school—he makes the two of us look dumb. He’s a walking encyclopedia and a wiz with computers, and I wish that he would try and make a career out of it. He’s that good. I wish he would just go to college and get a degree, but all he does is hang around losers all day. After everything that happened, I know I need to find out more about Layla and her connection with both Mikaela and Jasper. If anyone can help me find out, it’s River. To my surprise, River does know about what happened. When I call and ask him to meet me for lunch here at the penthouse, he’s apprehensive at first, but when I tell him about all the gadgets and latest software that Mika has, he’s easily persuaded. He shows up about an hour and a half after I hang up the phone. Clark went and picked him up for me so he didn’t have to waste money on a cab. I’m just putting the finishing touches on lunch when he walks into the kitchen.
“If you are going to be sending drivers and luxury cars every time you want me to visit, I may come and visit a lot more,” River says in greeting.
I smile when I see my little brother’s handsome face. River is two years younger than me, and he is the baby of the family and the only boy. You can imagine how spoiled the kid is. River may be the baby, but the boy is tall. I suppose he’s not a boy anymore, either. He’s around six-foot-three, and his jet black hair is thick and lustrous, even though it’s a little too long and styled in a way that looks as if he just got out of bed. Although my brother isn’t unattractive, he has no idea how to dress. He’s got terrible taste in clothing, and I honestly suspected he was color blind when we were younger. He would pair the weirdest colors and patterns, but now I believe he just does that to be different. He loathes mainstream anything. Today he’s wearing bright yellow skater shorts with a short-sleeved button-up in a multi-color and multi-stripe pattern, all of which are paired with white socks and flip-flops. Now, I am in no way a fashionista, but even I am aware that his style is an acquired taste.
“Well, hello to you too, little dimple.”
“I wish you’d stop calling me that. I’m a grown man, you know,” he grumbles.
River has a lone dimple on his left side, which is how he earned his nickname. I shake my head and chuckle.
River whistles.
“This is quite a place your boyfriend has. Not too shabby at all.”
“I’m sure he’ll love that assessment,” I reply, still laughing.
I decide to just have lunch here in the kitchen instead of Mika’s formal dining room; it seems cozier in here, and I think River will feel more comfortable in here, too. We sit at the breakfast bar, and I hand him a bottle of Stella and pour myself a glass of rosé. I have made River’s favorite food, and from the looks and sounds of it, he’s thoroughly enjoying his meal.
“So, what do you need me to do for you?”
“What makes you think I need you to do anything for me?”
River’s eye
brow shoots up.
“Really, Rae? You cooked me salmon and garlic potatoes,” he says, nudging his head toward the stove. “And if my nose is not deceiving me, you are baking me white chocolate chip cookies. All of those are my favorites. If you are not buttering me up for something, I’ll eat my shoe.”
I scoff.
“Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining here, sis. Just stating the obvious.”
“Okay, fine. You got me. I need your help,” I admit. “I need to find some…sensitive information...and I need you to help me find it. I may also need some access to private medical records.”
River sits back some in his chair, assessing me.
“So, on a scale of county jail to federal prison, what am I looking at here?”
I laugh.
“Maybe some white-collar type deal,” I say with a wink.
I tell him about what has been happening, and I tell him about breaking into Layla’s office and what I found there.
“My goody two-shoes sister, breaking and entering? Maybe that Kingsley fellow is a good influence on you,” he teases. “So what do you need me to do?”
I explain to him that I need him to dig into the dark spaces of the World Wide Web to find out what he can about Layla and maybe help me find out the connection between her and my future sister-in-law. I also need to know about why Jasper or Sam or whatever the hell is name was was her patient and how that relates to what happened to us, because it seems like too big of a coincidence not to be connected. I’m not sure how much this information will help, but knowledge is power, right? And if this woman is going to continue to try and come for me and my man, I better start getting ready to fight back. Know thy enemies and all that jazz.
“So will you help me?”
River is silent for long minutes. Our eyes are locked, and I can almost see the wheels in his head spinning. I’m about to start begging when he finally breaks the silence.
“You better be making me a ton of those cookies,” he says with a smirk.
Today has been one shitstorm of ups and downs. This morning, when I was getting ready for work, Raeva slid into the shower with me, and while it did cause me to be late for all my appointments today, she did make it memorable. I am not complaining, and I absolutely will put my morning wake-up call high on the list of ups. When I finally got to the office and was informed by Eric that TMZ was going to do a segment on me, my first reaction was to shrug it off. I literally told him that I didn’t give two shits what the fuck they would make up about me today. At that moment in time, I would have rated it very low on the downs scale. Ha! Boy, was I wrong. When a mortified Ellie interrupted my meeting with Ferguson this morning, I knew it was not going to be good. When I sat down to watch the segment and saw the pictures of me kissing Raeva in her blonde wig, I actually sagged in relief, which is ridiculous because I knew I had nothing to fear. I’d never touch another woman, nor do I have the desire to do so since Raeva walked into my life. I was about to turn it off when they dove into part two of their parade of bullshit. I saw the footage of Layla entering my building and then the footage of her walking out. She certainly didn’t look like that when she left my office, but I can see what this looks like. My very first thought was of Raeva and how she would react when she saw this shit. I would never raise my hand to a woman, no matter what she has done, but—and I am ashamed to admit it—this is the first time that I actually, for a split second, even entertained the thought. Another fine moment to add to my downs list. Layla Hayes is a psychotic bitch. I am going to have to find a way to deal with her. When I rushed home to prevent Raeva from seeing this without me having a chance to explain my side to her, I honestly thought that she wouldn’t believe me. The footage looks bad, and that combined with my…colorful past with women...well, I didn’t really like my odds. I never want to feel like after everything, I might still lose her, and I don’t even want to relive the memory of that feeling. That would be on the top of my downs scale. But Raeva choosing to believe me and standing by me means everything, that is at the top of my list of ups.
“Mr. Kingsley, your sister is here to see you,” Ellie’s voice sounds through the intercom.
“Send her in.”
I immediately regret my curtness.
“Thank you, Ellie,” I add.
Mikaela stalks into my office with purpose just moments later.
“Tsk-tsk, brother. Kissing strange blondes in restaurants.”
I shoot a stern look her way, letting her know that I am not amused.
“What?” she asks, quasi-innocently. “Too soon?”
“Did you just come here to be annoying? Or was there an actual reason for this pleasant visit?”
“Oh my, you are touchy today. What are you worried about? Raeva knows that she’s the woman in those pictures. No biggie.”
I frown.
“Mik, did you actually watch the whole thing?”
Her turn to frown.
“Well, no. Should I have? When I saw that it was Rae in the pictures, I knew I didn’t have to kick my brother’s ass,” she says, laughing. “Did the two of you go a little too far? Gross. Nope. No, thank you. I do not want to see all that!” she continues as she scrunches her face.
I sigh.
“Sit down.”
She raises a brow, and I know that she wants to argue but something, maybe the tone of my voice, stops her. She complies and takes a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk. For the third time today, I pull up the damn segment. I turn my computer screen so she can watch it. When she gets to the second part her face falls.
“What the fuck, Mika?” she says angrily. “Tell me that you didn’t go and mess up everything you finally found for that terrible woman.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Mik. I would never betray Raeva like that, but thank you for the vote of confidence.”
Mikaela scoffs.
“You can’t seriously be insulted. After years and years of whoring around, you can’t blame anyone for jumping to—oh.”
The light bulb has gone off in her head.
“Yes. Oh,” I reply dryly.
“Has Raeva seen this? Because that’s the woman from the bathroom.”
“She’s seen it, we’ve dealt with it, and she knows it’s not true. What do you mean, woman from the bathroom?”
Mikaela proceeds to tell me about the run-in they had with Layla and several of her friends at the Serenity event and how Raeva came to her aid. I feel a little pang of pride when she tells me how Raeva stood up for her and now, more than before, I know I need to find a way to manage Layla.
“What is this woman’s problem? Do you kno—never mind. You slept with her.” She says it like a statement, but I still choose to reply.
Her disapproval is evident.
“There really isn’t anything I can do about the shit I have done before I met Raeva. Don’t you think I wish I could just erase all the dumb shit I have done?”
I don’t even bother to hide my annoyance. But honestly, I am not even annoyed at Mikaela. I’m annoyed at myself for spending years sabotaging what I have with Raeva without even knowing it.
“So, now what?”
“I have no idea.”
Mikaela rises from her seat and circles around my desk. She stands behind me and wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly from behind.
“It’ll work out. I know that you love Raeva and that you will do anything and everything to protect what you have. And Raeva believed you, so that just goes to show how much you two have grown. That woman doesn’t stand a chance.”
I smile. My twin sister has always been my biggest cheerleader.
“I have to go. I was just stopping by on my way to see Dr. Samson.”
I sit a little straighter, the mention of a doctor’s visit making me worry.
“Is it the headaches? Are they still bad?”
“They are. Every time I sit and try to remember anything from the last five or so years, my head just starts poundi
ng. It’s as if my body doesn’t want me to remember.”
I hate that I have been so preoccupied with everything going on lately that I have not been on top of Mikaela’s health.
“Is anyone going with you? I’ll cancel the rest of my day if you want me to go.”
I reach to press the intercom button so I can tell Ellie to cancel the rest of my appointments.
“Where are we going, Lady Kingsley?”
I look up, my finger hovering above the button. Eric Hardwick strides into my office as if he owns it.
“The two of you realize that I am perfectly capable of going to a doctor’s appointment by myself, right? I may have lost a chunk of my memory, but I am still a grown woman.”
Eric smirks and holds his hands up as if he is being robbed.
“I wasn’t aware that offering to take you somewhere was taking away from your adulthood.”
Mikaela rolls her eyes. She’s being a little oversensitive, and I am not really sure why.
“I’m good. That’s all,” she huffs. “Besides, I have security with me.”
I’m not entirely sure why she’s suddenly this disgruntled, but I am smart enough to know when to just let her be.
“I’ll walk you down,” Eric offers.
Mikaela just nods her head, leans down, and kisses me on the head. I watch them walk out of my office. I am in the middle of returning some emails when Eric returns.
“I gotta tell ya, Ferguson wasn’t exactly pleased to be ushered out of here mid-negotiation.”
“I pay you good money to manage these things,” I grumble.
“Oh, let there be no doubt that I have done more than just manage him. He’s offering twice what we asked for. I better get a commission on this one.”
“Putting up with your ass is more than enough commission.”
Eric chuckles.
After Tomorrow (Kingsley series Book 2) Page 9