Insert Groom Here

by K. M. Jackson

  She noticed Carter Bain shoot him a look at his tone, but Walker ignored him and continued. “So, today it’s just us, and we want to talk about what happened yesterday and how to fix it. Carter here thinks we have a good way for both you and the station to come out winners when all is said and done.”

  Eva continued to stand, staring at the three of them, probably for longer than need be, because the air got thick and—she hated to admit it—weird with an uncomfortable charge she wasn’t in the mood to acknowledge.

  Carter Bain gazed at her expectantly, as if he had a pocket full of magic beans to sell that would make, if not all of her dreams, than at least all of his own come true. Her mother took a seat, but not before giving her a look that let her know how disappointed she was in her and the whole sorry affair and that she needed to get in line and on board with trying to fix it. Hell, she was sorry too. She hated to disappoint her mom, no matter if to the rest of the world she was as Teflon as they came. Eva knew different. Disappointing her mother meant disappointing herself. That said, Eva still wanted out. Standing where she was, jilted and with all eyes on her, she wanted to run back to her apartment, shut the blinds, turn off the phone, and stay away from the TV until the next great celebrity disaster hit and she was nothing but a forgotten funny blip on the social media radar.

  Eva looked back at Walker, and all she could see was him with his camera and the last image she had presented yesterday. Raving like some silly, little wounded child who’d gotten her favorite toy taken away. After dad and his dying debacle, her mother never raved. At least not publicly she didn’t. No matter the talk in her face or behind her back, she was grace and elegance through and through.

  Thankfully, Eva thought, her most unflattering footage had not aired, and for the life of her, she didn’t know why not. She recorded the show, and when she arrived home, she thought she’d see both parts of her tirade on TV, but the footage ended after her awful proclamation to Kevin about getting married with or without him and her storming out of the studio. The next segment, after the break, was a poorly timed “bringing the romance back into the kitchen” cooking segment. Nothing on her and the rant in the not so greenroom. Still, what had aired was bad enough. She hated what it did to her reputation, how she now was looked at as one to be pitied. She’d had enough of that as a kid and then later after her father’s affair. Ward women didn’t do sad or pity.

  Aidan Walker cleared his throat, bringing her attention to him once more, and surprisingly, the look he gave her wasn’t one of disappointment, and it wasn’t full of promises like Bain would probably offer; it came as even more of a surprise that it wasn’t even apologetic, as it should have been, for filming her. No, it was the same look he had presented the day before, right at that moment when she’d decided she wanted to kiss him and, all at the same time, to kick him. Smug, self-assured, even a little detached, and way too cocky for his own good.

  His hooded gaze went from her eyes to her lips, sending a fissure of some sort of strange airwave sparking across the expanse of space separating them. His full lips twisted ever so slightly as he looked farther down, sweeping from her collarbone to her breasts to her hips, all the way to her toes, then back up to her eyes again. Eva forced herself not to flinch. Just take him on, head on.

  But then he did it. Again. Walker had the nerve to shrug.

  It was as if the red ON AIR light suddenly flashed, bright and glaring, as if he was a matador waving the red flag. Eva sucked in a breath full of life-giving air and smoothly took the seat opposite him, looking him in the eye. “Really, Mr. Walker? You have got to be kidding me with that dammed shrug again.”

  Walker smiled, zinging her once again as his face seemed to change from dark and slightly menacing to all-out, knock you down with a sexual feather gorgeous. Eva sucked in a breath as she steeled her back, grateful she had taken the seat. She shook her head and turned to Carter. “Look, I don’t know what type of game you two are playing, but you’ve got five minutes to fill me in before I call security and have you escorted out of our offices.”

  Carter put up a hand. “No need to go there, Miss Ward. Aidan is right. The offer we have for you would be mutually beneficial.”

  Eva narrowed her gaze. “Somehow I doubt that.”

  “Just hear them out,” her mother said from her leather throne on the other side of the desk before she remembered they were in mixed company. “Please. Unfortunately, your quick declarations have gotten you, not to mention the firm, into a sticky situation. Now it’s time to do what damage control you can.”

  Flames licked at Eva’s face. It was bad enough that she was in the mess she was in, but to be publicly dressed down by her mother in front of these two? It was just about too much. Biting back a response, she fought not to look Walker’s way and catch any more unearned bravado in his expression. Instead she kept her gaze trained on Carter Bain. “What is it you had in mind, Mr. Bain?”

  Bain smiled, and on anyone else, she supposed it would be cute. But after her previous dealings, Eva was not biting. Her lips stayed firm as she crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair, frankly happy for the support. Carter’s smile faded as he opened up a case and swiped at his tablet. “As of yesterday, the game’s been changed. Now, normally, we’d go to the runner-up couple and give them the planned dream wedding. Easy and done. But it would seem that you are a big draw. According to our social media analyzers, you took the ratings off the charts yesterday, and for hours after the show you were a trending topic on twitter with the hashtag #GetEvaMarried, followed closely by my favorite, #InsertGoomHere.

  Eva groaned at the thought of it. What a disaster. She was an unwanted YouTube sensation. And to emphasize the fact, he swiped the screen again and showed her a GIF of her yelling at Kevin, pushing back the chair, which fell behind her to the floor. The video repeated on a loop with the words I WILL GET MARRIED in big block letters underneath. She looked completely bonkers.

  Carter continued, “Now, you know, press like this we can’t buy.”

  “Of course you can.” Eva’s mother chimed in, always the businesswoman. “But it’s damned expensive.” Valerie gave Eva a wink as if at least in this she’d done something right. Hey, press was press.

  Carter cleared his throat and nodded. “Well, yes we can, it’s just we’d rather not. And that said, you are the story. Everyone still wants to see you have your happily-ever-after. It will mean huge ratings for us and redemption for you.”

  Eva shook her head, then looked up at Carter. “Listen, once was enough. What if I’m done with the whole dating and marriage thing?”

  Her mother sucked in a breath, and Eva raised a hand her way. “At least for now, Mother. Once publicly burned is enough for me. I made a mistake saying what I did. It was done in a fit of anger.”

  “We do know about your hot temper, Miss Ward,” Walker piped in with a low chuckle.

  Eva stilled. “Is that supposed to be funny? I’m actually quite levelheaded. You can ask anyone. I only show anger when I’ve been unjustly provoked.”

  “Duly noted. I’ll be sure to let everyone know to keep provocation at a minimum.”

  Eva felt her pressure rise. “What are you really here for? You said this was Mr. Bain’s idea, so why are you even involved? Don’t you have a real celebrity to chase or some war to exploit?”

  Eva saw a muscle in his jaw tick as he leaned forward in his chair.

  “Miss Ward, I think we’re getting off topic,” Carter Bain chimed in. “Please, let’s stay focused on the issues at hand.” He tapped his screen again. “See, here we’re talking about a whole new direction for your image.”

  Eva bit at the inside of her cheek in order to hold off on commenting as she watched Carter swipe his screen again and saw an image of herself come to life. There she was, photoshopped and looking perky as all get out in an overly satined and tulled white, princess-style wedding dress with a cutout blank figure in the spot where the groom should be. The hashtag was above in bold let
ters: #InsertGroomHere. Carter grinned. “Isn’t it fantastic?”

  What the living hell? Eva blinked and wondered if she’d ever be able to close her mouth again as Carter continued to chatter on. “We’re talking topnotch, full blitz and glitz all the way. The search will be on to finding you your perfect groom!”

  He’d lost his mind. Eva looked at the trio as they all looked back at her expectantly. Had they all lost their minds? Or maybe it was her who had gone over the bend. Eva shook her head. With the way things were going that was more than likely the fact. Trying her best to sound rational though, Eva directed her words and thoughts towards Carter Bain. “Mr. Bain there is no way this can work. Kevin and I were supposed to have our wedding next month. No one will believe I can find true love in a month.”

  Carter nodded soberly. “You’re absolutely right.” Then he grinned. But they will get behind two months. Just think of it, eight men, eight weeks to the perfect end-of-summer wedding, leading into fall sweeps. We will get our ratings, and you will be a star.”

  “More importantly, you’ll come out triumphant, darling, which is what you should be,” Valerie chimed in. “Not like some victim with no recourse that this on-air breakup just happened to. It will end on your terms, not Kevin’s, and the Ward name will be back fully intact.”

  That was it, she was officially in cray town. Giving herself a mental shake, Eva snapped out of her social-media trance and looked at her mother. In her gaze she could see she was reliving all the embarrassment of her father’s not-so-secret indiscretions. To her, there was no other option. Perfection and excellence were the only revenge for all past hurts. Never let them see you sweat, and definitely never let them see you cry. Eva would regret nothing more than the day they decided that going on that stupid show would be a good idea. She should have known better, and now her mother would never let her live it down. Not if she didn’t fix it. Sure, in the beginning, her mom had been all for the increased exposure for the firm, but now that it was all screwed up, well, there was no way she could leave it that way. She couldn’t have the Ward name tainted by yet another scandal. Eva felt her heart sink as her fate was sealed by her mother’s expectant gaze.

  But Eva turned from her mother and looked at Walker. Damn him. His look had changed. The indifference had gone, and now his gaze was full of pity. It was as if he saw the silent communication that had passed between her and her mother and read too much. Pity, just like the looks she had gotten all morning. Pity, just like the looks she got when people found out how her father had died in the arms of a woman who was not his wife. The same pity that brought on yesterday’s “Oh, woe is poor me, I got dumped and then a shrug” wall-banging. Well, she wasn’t having it. Eva could tell by Walker’s look that he didn’t think she could do it. He thought she’d bail and go running off to Saks or Bergdorf’s on a shopping binge, or at least go off and hide away in her apartment or something. Well, she was not that girl. She would never be that girl. She was the woman who would face this head-on, with or without cameras in her face. And, at the moment, it seemed they would be there either way. All eyes were on her, whether she liked it or not, so she might as well make them ones she could control. She needed to turn this story around so she came out the victor and not the victim.

  She was over this pity party. Time to call last dance and be out.

  * * *

  “No good-byes are easy, but I’m really hating this one,” Eva said to Cori, the woman who had been her friend ever since they were paired as “the two roommates least likely to have anything in common ever” in college. For the life of her, Eva couldn’t figure out how their friendship had lasted as long as it had, but somehow they just clicked. Cori was the light to her dark, the wind to her wing, and on most occasions the wing to her woman, though in reality that was vice versa since it was Cori who was the bigger pickup artist of the two of them. Without Cori, Eva could honestly say her college years would have been spent primarily studying and going to class, but thankfully she had had Cori to mix things up for her and give her a taste of some of life off campus.

  They were in Cori’s apartment, Eva having just finished helping—actually more like watching—Cori pack more swimsuits than seemed humanly possible for her latest stint abroad while they drank bubbly and shared cupcakes between plotting some never-to-be-carried-out revenge on Kevin.

  “You know, this is a trip I really don’t want to take. Especially not right now while you’re going through this horror. But are you sure you don’t want to at least go over to his place and egg his door or something?”

  Eva let out a breath. “Cori, we are not in junior high.”

  Cori pulled a face. “I’m just going easy. I can get devious, but since I have to leave tomorrow, I don’t want to leave you holding the bag.”

  Cori was a head marketing manager for a popular private cruise line, and she was about to jet off to the Mediterranean for the summer. The pay was not the best, but it was still not a bad gig if you could get it.

  “No, I’m going to go aboveboard with this one. I have too much damage control to do.”

  Cori rolled her eyes. “Yes, I get that, but do you really think this show is the way to go?”

  Eva bit her lip. “Of course I don’t, but I don’t see any other way.”

  Cori let out a long breath. “That’s it. I’m calling off my trip. You need me this summer. There is no way you should go through this alone. I can work at Starbucks or—shudder—temp for your mother or something.”

  Eva gasped. “You’ll do no such thing.” She got up to hug her friend. “As if you really would anyway. Though the offer is appreciated. You really are loyal to a fault, but we both know what you think of both those jobs, having had them in the past. I don’t need you making that kind of sacrifice. I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.” Cori raised a brow just when Eva gave a loud hiccup from the champagne.

  “All right, big girl. How about you stay here tonight and I’ll get you Ubered home in the morning.”

  Chapter 6

  Eva sat with her back steely straight and tapped her nails on the highly polished veneer of the conference room table. Though she told herself that this time in the conference room was no different from the last meeting she had attended here, she knew it wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

  Glancing to her left once again, she noticed the empty chair and blinked as the threat of tears had the nerve to prick at her eyes.

  Stop it! Don’t you dare fall.

  She’d already had this talk with herself on the way over. Told herself she’d be just fine on her own and was better off anyway. Still, self-talk was one thing, and action was altogether different. The last time she had been here, she at least had Kevin by her side. Not that he was the most staid or the most assuring, but at least he was there—another body on her side of the table, giving her support and having her back, so to speak. This time it was only her, and the empty chair punctuated that fact.

  She woke that morning for some reason feeling less anger and more loss over the absence of Kevin than the morning before. She knew mentally it was wrong. But there it was. Annoyingly, everything reminded her of how thoroughly he’d woven his way into her life and how comfortable they’d been, despite the obvious flaws she should have seen sooner. Today the bed just felt cold and lonely, the absence of his emergency toothbrush and toiletries a reminder of the intimacy she’d miss out on. And hell, even though she hated to admit it, Kimberly at the front desk had rattled her. It wasn’t easy finding a man in this city, and she didn’t want to be another statistic. And more than anything, she didn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become the clichéd, angered, done-wronged woman who threw herself into her work, never again to find happiness with another partner.

  Suddenly annoyed with her wimpish musings, Eva afforded herself one last tap, then stopped drumming her fingers and looked up. She swept her gaze across to the dynamic show of strength along the other side of the table. WBC was definitel
y well represented.

  Carter Bain sat at the head of the table; to his left was his assistant, Karen Waters, a no-nonsense-looking woman with a dark bob that had a respectable amount of pouf for someone in what had to be only her mid-thirties. Next to Karen sat a casually dressed young woman with wild curly hair, introduced as the assistant GP and named Louisa Tera. Milly Parker and Jeffrey Nettles, a formidable couple of relationship experts, occupied the seats next to Louisa. Both of them smiled at Eva with slightly scary, overly enthusiastic grins, as if she was about to be pulled in for some sort of experimental shock therapy.

  Yes, it was indeed lonely on her side of the table.

  Milly smiled even wider than Eva thought possible, her petal-pink lipstick spreading uncomfortably broadly across her face as she began to speak. “Now, Eva,” she said with a sniping, sharp punctuation on the a at the end, “how’s about we get going on the search for your Mr. Right.”

  “Or at least Mr. Right Now,” Jeffrey chimed in with a nudge to his partner’s side as if the corny joke needed extra punctuation.

  They both chuckled as the rest of the table stayed uncomfortably silent. Eva felt her lips go tight, so she forced herself to smooth her expression to her resting neutral face. This was not their fault, she silently told herself. This was hers. Her and her big mouth. It was her temper that had gotten her into this mess in the first place, and it would take all her cool to get herself out of it. They were just doing their job and capitalizing on her faux pas. She could understand that. Hell, she made her living off of that.

  Carter cleared his throat. “What Jeffery is getting at is that we all know it’s unlikely you’ll find your soul mate in such a short time.”

  Eva turned to him and raised a brow. “Gee, you think?”

  He continued, not taking the bait or skipping a beat. “But what we’re at least trying to do here is find you someone that you’ll feel comfortable with as you walk down the aisle, taking that big step into the at least immediate future.”