by Wild, Cassie
I giggled. “Yeah, but this is too much. There’s no way these people would give me the time of day if I hadn’t had Quaid and Kris arrested. And it’s not like I even did all that much. I wasn’t the one who convinced them to get the search warrant.” I snapped my mouth shut.
Ava and I had an agreement to not talk about Kris Bedford. She’d honored it. I was finding it a lot harder since I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
“Still, you’re an interesting story. Girl loses her memory and goes on a hunt to find the man who put her in a coma and bring him to justice. I guess it makes for intrigue.” Ava shrugged.
I’d already been offered money to give my exclusive story to a number of media outlets, but I’d refused. I didn’t want my name splashed across the headlines. I wanted to put this behind me. Now that I had Gracen’s assurance that things had worked out in my favor, it was time to move on.
“Open it anyway. It looks fancy.”
She was right about that. The thick envelope was embossed with a pretty floral pattern and gold lettering. Odds were this was a special occasion.
“Fine,” I grumbled, giving into curiosity. Inside was an invitation to a gala fundraiser for a local charity being held in the grand ballroom of the most luxurious hotel in the city.
“Whew!” Ava hooted as I read the information off the card aloud. “Somebody thinks pretty highly of you if you’re being invited to an event at the Four Seasons.”
I turned it in my hands, searching for more information. “There’s nothing on here to indicate who invited me.”
Ava held out her hand so she could investigate the invite. “You know, Pres,” she said, scanning the card, “I’ve heard of this charity. They do some pretty amazing work.”
“What do they do?”
“They donate time and money to prevent the spread of human trafficking,” she said. “They were on the news around the Superbowl. Did you know that it’s, like, the biggest event of the year for prostitution and human trafficking?” My eyes widened and Ava nodded her head sagely. “It’s the truth. And this organization did a lot of work this year. I think they said that something like five dozen girls were rescued.”
And I thought I’d had a rough life. It just went to show that someone always had it worse. “It sounds like a pretty good cause.”
“It is,” Ava agreed. Then, to my surprise, she added, “I think you should go.”
“What?” I gaped at her.
“Just hear me out,” she started. “If people hear that you’re going to be there, it could get around. They’ll tell their friends, who will tell their friends, and so on. People who might not have wanted to go will change their minds and decide to attend just so they can get a look at you!”
I shook my head with a laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding. Who would want to get a look at me?”
“Um, did you not get phone calls and emails from, like, every major news channel in the city, plus the newspapers? People know who you are. They want to know more about you. All of this could be a big deal for this charity. You could help raise money just by going. So yeah. I think you should go.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way. I could always trust Ava to make me look at things from a different perspective. What was the worst that could happen? I might even have a good time.
“Okay, okay, okay. You’ve convinced me,” I told her, finally giving in. “I might as well go. But just to this one thing. I don’t want this to become a habit.”
She laughed and clapped her hands. “Awesome! And now we have to go find you a dress.”
“Oh no!” I cried out. “What do I even wear to something like this? I wouldn’t know where to start looking.”
“We’ll go shopping,” my friend told me. “I owe you a Christmas gift, anyway. We’ll get you a beautiful cocktail dress. I think the invite said ‘cocktail attire,’ right?” I looked at the card again. Sure enough, that’s what it said.
“I don’t even know what a cocktail dress is.”
“No worries,” she quickly gathered her purse and keys. “I’ll show you. There’s a cute little black dress in the window at one of the shops in town that would look perfect on you.”
She amazed me. Who would have thought my purple-haired friend with her piercings and her black clothes would know about cocktail attire? Who would have expected her to keep her eye on store windows and pay attention to the displays? But then again, she always managed to surprise me.
“Oh, what the hell?” I said. “How many times will I have the chance to attend a fundraiser like this, anyway? Might as well go for it.”
Chapter 28
Kris
The biggest charity event of the year was tomorrow, and it was going to be a disaster.
“Kris,” my assistant reminded me for the tenth time that day, “everything will go perfectly. It always does.”
I smiled tiredly at her and wished I had the same faith in myself as she did. She didn’t know how the fear of not living up to my parents’ legacies still ate at me.
I had only been twelve years old when Dad died. It hadn’t been a shock though. Dad had been pushing sixty when I was born, and mom had been just over forty. I’d been a hell of a lot more than just an afterthought child.
I hadn’t had them for long, but I’d had more love than a lot of other kids I’d known. Kris Fields immediately popped into my head and I shoved him back out. I didn’t need that today. This was about my parents’ legacy. It was all I had left of them.
Mom hadn’t remarried after Dad died. He’d been the love of her life, and I sometimes wondered if that had been why I hadn’t looked too hard for something real. I hadn’t wanted the disappointment of not finding it. Or worse, the pain of losing it.
I knew they wouldn’t have wanted that for me. They would’ve wanted me to have more than just their charities, but that was what I had. And since I’d fucked up so royally with Preslee, it was probably the only thing I’d ever have.
And I was determined not to fuck this up too. My mother could trace her family back to the Mayflower. She’d been old money. My father had been a self-made millionaire. Living up to the family name was more than a little pressure.
And that pressure reached a critical level on days like today. I knew that the reason assistants were created was so the Big Boss could sit back and reap the rewards of their hard work while he focused on the high-level stuff, but I couldn’t let it go and allow them to do all the work. I needed to be involved at all levels.
“The final head count was five hundred and twenty-three?” I asked Felicia. She stood beside my desk with a tablet in hand, scrolling through her notes. She was about six years older than me, but looked at least five years younger. Her girlfriend, Marjorie, worked in accounting.
“Yes, five-twenty-three,” she confirmed.
“And we have a variety of vegan and gluten-free dietary items on the menu?”
“Yes, there’s a ton to choose from. Nobody should have any complaints.” She glanced up at me, concern in her pale green eyes.
“Hmph. You should meet some of these people. They’ll find something to complain about, trust me,” I told her as I flipped through pages of notes spread across my desk. Everything was covered in a rainbow of post-its and scribbles. Felicia loved to tease me about being surrounded by gadgets, but resorting to post-its.
We talked over the selection of songs the band should absolutely not play under any circumstances, and the items we’d received for the charity auction. We’d managed to pull together some exciting stuff this year. I was eyeing the private flying lessons myself.
“You could easily afford your own flying lessons,” Felicia reminded me with a wry smile. “You could afford flying lessons for everyone in attendance, I bet.”
I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t go that far.” Much of my net worth was tied up in investments, but the annual returns and interest afforded me an extremely comfortable lifestyle.
I hadn’t had the heart to give up my p
arents’ home, even though I had no desire to live there alone, with all those empty rooms greeting me at the end of a long day. But, there was no way I could give it up. Maybe someday...
For now, I was more than content with my apartment. It wasn’t like I needed the extra room anyway. My track record with women hadn’t exactly been getting any better.
I tried not to think of Preslee. I didn’t need the sadness and regret I felt over the way we’d left things, not when I had so much else on my mind. But I couldn’t forget anything about her. Her smile, the way her lips felt against mine, her laugh, the weight of her head on my chest. I lost myself in memories of our time together. The way it felt when I was inside her. God, she was perfect.
Then the heated daydreams turned dark as I recalled the look in her eyes when she realized that I had been lying to her all along.
This was the spiral I always found myself in, which was why I tried to make it a point to avoid the memories.
But that hadn’t stopped me from inviting her to tomorrow’s event.
I had no idea why I’d done it. I’d never been such a masochist before. I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her again. I hoped to be able to get a minute or two alone with her, to make sure she was okay. I knew fairly well how things had turned out with Quaid and Kris, and I was overjoyed for Preslee.
I just wanted to say I was sorry, one more time, in the hopes that she would at least forgive me. I couldn’t let things go on the way we’d left them. I’d get down on my hands and knees and beg if I had to.
I just couldn’t lose her.
“You still have Preslee Keats on the list as attending, correct?”
“This Preslee must be a very special girl for you to keep asking about her,” Felicia observed.
“You have no idea.”
Chapter 29
Preslee
The moment I stepped out of the cab and took in the gilded majesty of the hotel where the fundraiser was being held, I felt out of place. I told myself at least a hundred times they wanted me to attend. So what if I wasn’t rich? So what if I had never owned a cocktail dress prior to this occasion? I’d be just fine.
My stomach dropped. Ugh. This was a huge mistake. As I made my way down the hall to the ballroom, I tried not to look as nervous as I felt. At least Ava had been right about the dress we’d chosen. Black silk with intricate beading that swirled and sparked traced down my soft curves. Capped sleeves flowed to a full knee-length skirt lined with a lighter black ribbon. I felt elegant and sophisticated. My lace embellished stilettos added five inches to my height.
I presented my invitation at the entrance to the ballroom, and was immediately greeted by a handful of men and women standing nearby.
“Preslee Keats! You have no idea what a pleasure it is to meet you,” one of the older women gushed. It was as if I’d cured a rare disease or saved a group of children from a burning building. I shook the woman’s hand, along with the hands of everyone else in the group.
“You have some real gumption, young lady,” a distinguished older gentleman said, his thick gray mustache and navy bow tie made me think of the walrus in Alice and Wonderland. “You showed a lot of strength and smarts by standing up for yourself. If it weren’t for you, those two cretins would still be walking the streets. You’ve done a great good.”
I was overwhelmed. I had never thought of it that way. Of course, Kris had more to do with it than I did – but there was no way for me to explain that. Instead, I thanked the man for his kind words and turned to the next person.
After an hour or so, I wasn’t feeling as nervous as I had when I arrived. I still felt out-of-place, but I managed to hide it by listening intently and nodding my head a lot. I amply enjoyed the hors d’oeuvres that were being passed around on silver trays. If my mouth was full of food, there was less chance of my foot slipping in it. In fact, I was gorging on stuffed mushrooms when one of the society ladies standing a few feet away exclaimed, “Oh, look, there’s Kris Bedford now.”
I nearly choked as my eyes scanned the room frantically. She was right. There he was, across the room, at the center of a group. They were all trying to get his attention, patting him on the back, shaking his hand. I saw more than one woman preening. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Not only were they older, prettier and more sophisticated than I was, but they probably hadn’t told him that they never wanted to hear his voice again.
Another woman spoke up. “I have to admit, when it was announced that he’d be taking over the family’s portfolio and all of its holdings, I was less than impressed, but it seems as though he’s been doing a great job.”
He was in charge of a portfolio? Of what family?
“I felt the same way. How many eighteen year-olds get their hands on that kind of money and don’t blow through it with frivolous purchases?” I strained to hear more.
“It would take quite a long time to get through upwards of a billion dollars.” The first woman mused.
I almost dropped my glass on the floor. A billion? Had she said a billion?
“He’s been extremely savvy. He’s the entire reason this organization has done so well in the last few years,” the second woman remarked. “Whatever he touches turns to gold. He’s actually managed to increase his net worth. Can you imagine?”
No. I couldn’t imagine any of this.
Not only was he not Kris Fields, but he happened to be a philanthropic billionaire.
As if he felt my eyes on him, he looked up. Our eyes met and his lit up. So...clearly not pissed at me.
This was too much for me to handle. Not only was he here, but he was the man of the hour. He was ridiculously wealthy. He wasn’t at all who I thought he was – but then, he never had been.
I turned and pushed my way through the crowd. I had to get out of there. I flushed as the blood rushed to my head and my chest began to tighten. I needed air. I couldn’t think, not with all of these people and definitely not with him around.
“Preslee!”
I didn’t have to turn around to know that he was chasing after me. I could keep trying to run, but if I was completely honest, I didn’t want to. I needed closure here too.
I turned toward him.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” he breathed. A huge grin broke over his face, tentative at first, as though he wasn’t sure whether he could believe that it was really me. It was like the sun peaking over the horizon. “You look…absolutely beautiful.” His eyes danced over my body.
“You look really nice too.” I blushed even as I said it. It sounded stupid, but I didn’t know what else to say. And it only seemed polite.
“So…Quaid and Kris. They’re where they belong,” Kris said. I nodded.
“Yes. Detective Gracen told me how much of that had to do with you. You played a huge part. Krazelburg couldn’t discredit you the way he did me. Your information was what convinced them to get a search warrant.” I sighed. “I can’t thank you enough for that.”
He smiled again. “And what are you getting? I’m guessing they settled, after all.”
“You’re right. More than enough to pay off my hospital bills. I don’t have to worry about those now.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad, Preslee. I’m very happy for you.”
We were talking like strangers, sharing the basics. It killed me. The space between us broke me in ways I’d never imagined. I wanted to close the distance between us, to lay my hand on his shoulder and find the intimacy we’d lost, but I didn’t know how to breach the gap.
“Thanks to you. It’s all thanks to you.” All of the anger I’d felt toward him was gone.
“So what now?” he asked. “Where do you go from here?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, really. Does anybody? I go back to school, and I keep working. I get a place of my own again. Life goes on.”
“Preslee…” he said softly. “I’m trying to play it cool here, I am, but I just can’t stand here in front of yo
u and pretend that we’re friends. I’m not okay with that. These past few weeks have been hell for me, not being able to be with you.”
I struggled not to cry. “I know what you mean.”
“Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?” he asked. “You have to know that I didn’t mean to mislead you. I hated myself for not telling you the truth, but the more time we spent together, the tougher it got to admit who I was. I had no idea it was all going to come back and bite me…and you…like that.”
I looked at the floor. I had thought about this, of course. I’d thought of nothing else since that day at the station.
“I know you didn’t mean to hurt me, Kris, that doesn’t make it right, though.”
“Is there any way you can forgive me? I’ll do anything, I swear.” His voice didn’t have his usual confidence. In fact, he sounded broken.
I had to give him the truth. I owed him that.
“The time I spent without you…it made me realize what an impact you made on my life. You took care of me, tried your best to protect me. You helped me find the person responsible for my accident, and you made it possible for me to get a little bit of justice.” I smiled at him, with tears in my eyes. The weight I’d felt on my shoulders suddenly lifted. “How could I not forgive you?”
A wide smile broke across Kris’ face and I fell into his open arms. I had missed the feeling of having his arms around me so much.
“I love you,” he whispered in my ear.
“I love you too,” I said. And I did. So much. And still... “What’s this about you being a billionaire, though?”
He smirked. “Not the best question with which to follow up a profession of love, you know.”
I grinned. “If that’s how you feel about it…” I made a move to walk away, only to be pulled back into his strong arms.
“You know what? I wouldn’t even care if you only told me you loved me so you could get your hands on my money.” He chuckled as he lowered his head. His lips brushed against mine, sending a race of electricity through me. “You’re worth it.”