Insert Groom Here

by K. M. Jackson

  Or at least what was left of it.

  She stomped out of her living room, which now held little resemblance to the calm sanctuary she had known earlier that very morning. Had this really only been one day? She was exhausted enough for it to feel like three. Looking around, she wondered how she was supposed to relax now that her normal beige space had been “spruced up,” as the props people called it—so much so, with their ridiculous pops of color, that she hardly recognized it as her home. As if she’d ever have juvenile pink and yellow polka-dotted throw pillows anywhere in her life.

  Eva shook her head.

  She didn’t get the whole idea of the apartment spruce-up slash makeover, but Louisa explained that though they would do some confessionals in the studio, they wanted shots of her after-date reactions at home, as well as a few getting-date-ready shots to pull readers into her story, have them really bond with her—as if any of the television voyeurs really wanted to know the real her. Come on, she knew the game, and even if they did, the real her wasn’t the her they were currently selling. No matter, she thought, Operation Invade Eva’s Life and Sell It for All It Was Worth was well underway. No way that train was pulling back into the station now.

  Stepping into her bedroom only bought more angst when Eva caught a glimpse of a dizzying array of bright colors and fabrics strewn about on her bed. After the morning twinset summit, Mitzi had called in the big guns and obtained one of everything in every color imaginable. She could barely find her bed, and at that moment, all she wanted to do was put her new wavy extensions up, wash the three layers of natural-look, camera-ready makeup off her face, and crawl into said bed.

  Her cell phone rang. A muffled sound from somewhere deep in the pile of garments had her diving into the colorful fabric abyss.

  After a frantic search, she found the phone, swiped, and put it to her ear.

  “You’re my new screen saver!” Her best friend, Cori, bellowed out way too exuberantly.

  Eva let out a groan. “Really, you too? You’re supposed to have my back,” she said. Her tone was annoyed, but still she was happy to hear Cori’s voice.

  She wished it was in person instead of via cell, as Cori was thousands of miles away, probably floating somewhere in the Mediterranean. Eva twisted at a hair extension, then dropped it, worried about pulling the blasted thing out and ruining the hours of hard work. Better yet, she wished she was on the ship with Cori—the sun beaming, blue water as far as the eye could see, and far away from the madness of New York that had become her life.

  “You know I always have your back, no matter what,” Cori said, sounding uncharacteristically somber. “It’s killing me I’m not there with you to give that asshole the ass-kicking he rightly deserves. The more I think of it, the madder I get. Who the hell does he think he is, dumping you like that, and all before ten in the morning? Talk about no class. We really should have exacted some sort of tangible revenge before I left. Just say the word, though, and I can see what damage I can do from here. My reach is long, you know. No way should that dude get off scot-free.”

  “Cori, come on. You know revenge is not my style.”

  Eva heard a distinct scoff. “Yeah, but it’s mine, and nobody screws over my best friend and gets away with it. Hey, speaking of screwing, did you take my advice and get yourself under or over a new guy yet? You know, work out some of that pent-up frustration and anger you’re righteously bound to be having?”

  “Cori, it’s only been two days.”

  “Hey, that’s forty-eight hours. Sounds to me like forty-seven more than you need.”

  The laugh she so desperately needed bubbled up in Eva’s chest. “You are incorrigible! And no. Now how is it I’m your screen saver? You’re practically in the middle of nowhere.”

  “The internet is a wonderful thing.”

  “Oh please. That depends on who you’re talking to.”

  “Well, I’m talking to you, and at least the clips show that you didn’t take his shit with a nod and a smile. You gave as good as you got. I’m really proud of you.”

  Eva let out a sigh. “Don’t talk so fast. You wouldn’t be if you knew the trouble I’m in now with this ridiculous follow-up show. I must have been temporarily insane.”

  Eva reached out and perused one of the dresses Mitzi swore was “ohmygodjusteveything” on her. She looked at the body-hugging red evening dress and shook her head, fighting hard to push down on her ever-growing anxiety. “I’m telling you, Cori, they’re planning to parade me around like a whore on a fire sale. You should see how they want me to get trussed up. There is so much red and Lycra I’m afraid I may start fires if I walk too fast. And we won’t get into how low-cut so many of these outfits are. I’ll look ridiculous.”

  There was a long pause, and Eva pulled back to look at her phone before returning it to her ear. Maybe they’d lost the connection. Cori’s international cell service was excellent, but it could be spotty with her out in the middle of the sea. “Hello!” Eva yelled into the phone. “Are you still there?”

  “Sorry, yep, I’m here.”

  “Well, then why are you being so quiet? I gave you the perfect segue to jump in and tell me I’m right.”

  It was Cori’s turn to laugh. “That only works if I agree. The outfits sound perfect. You know, I’ve been dying to get some vibrant color into your wardrobe forever. You do tend to gravitate to the neutral and the bland.”

  Eva felt her lips twist. Of course Cori would like the idea of some sort of low-cut body hugging, red dress. The woman never met a piece of Lycra she didn’t want to shack up with.

  “You know I don’t do red, and as I’ve explained to you before, taupe is a color.”

  “Well, you also didn’t do reality TV or have full-blown tell-off sessions on national TV, but now that’s all changed, so what’s a bit of color going to do at this point? I’m so proud to see my little caterpillar coming out of her cocoon, and taupe may be a color, but so is vomit.”

  “That’s not even remotely cute, Cori.”

  Eva could practically see her friend’s smile through the phone. She knew her protests were not fazing her a bit. “Maybe not to you, but I think it is. And hey, if you’re going to go for it, you might as well go for broke. You know me. No halfzies on anything. I say go for the red. I know you’ll look fantastic.”

  She hated to admit that her friend could be right. She reached out and ran her hand across the hem of the dress and let out a sigh. If she was going for it, she might as well go all the way.

  “Come on, don’t be so melodramatic,” Cori said. “Time to buck up, kiddo. You’re going to rock this. Now, enough about the dress. What do you know about the men you’re supposed to be dating? I want to hear all. Just think about it. So many delicious possibilities, and you get them all. That asshole Kevin did you a favor. By the way, have you heard from him?”

  A knot twisted in Eva’s stomach. “Not really, only a text saying he’ll stop by to get his things soon.”

  “I hope you told him where he can shove his things!”

  Eva shook her head as if Cori could see through the phone. “No, I can’t afford to go off. Not after what I did on TV. It’s too dangerous. Right now it’s all about fixing my image. My mom is all up my behind about my image and the damage I did to the company by going off like I did. So because of that I just texted Kev and said his stuff would be in a box with the doorman.”

  “Humph. You’re a better woman than me. He’s so lucky I’m not in town, but I’ll be back, and then it’s on. And your mother needs to relax. She knows all press is good press.”

  Eva smiled. “You’re right. And the free press is the only bright spot in all of this, according to my mother. She’d be glad to hear that your summers interning at the company weren’t wasted. And you know that relaxing and my mother have never met. You’re a great friend. But no. I don’t need you in trouble for me. No covert, late-night drive-bys to Kev’s place with you playing Thelma and me doing Louise, or would it be the other w
ay around?”

  “You know I’m Louise, but lately who knows? You do have quite the temper on you. Now, on to better things. Dish on the hot new prospects. All I have out here are moneyed retirees or nuevo-rich jerkos, and extra-oily cabana boys are becoming a bore.”

  “Yeah, you’ve got it real tough out in the open water. But really, I don’t have much to tell. Walker seems determined to keep me in the dark as much as he possibly can. He says it will make my reactions more authentic. But if I know him, he’s only doing it to get my goat. I swear, the man lives to infuriate me. It’s like he’s asking for another knee to the balls, or worse.”

  “What? Wait. I know it’s been like five minutes since we spoke. And honey, all jokes aside, I’m so sorry I’m out of town during your time of need and not there for you with Kevin and his bull. We’ll have a right bonfire in his honor when I’m back in New York. But what is this about Walker and ball kicking? Shouldn’t it be Kevin getting his balls smashed? Besides, I thought it was that Carter guy who was running the show.”

  Eva flopped back down on her bed with a thump as she fell back. “Carter is, or at least I thought he was, until Aidan Walker decided to slip onto the scene and take over everything.” Eva told herself to get a hold of her nerves. Cori knew her too well and was too perceptive. And she purposely hadn’t mentioned Aidan Walker when she was at Cori’s the other night for that reason.

  “So it seems to me you’ve traded one suit for another.” Cori paused, and Eva could practically hear her wheels turning over the phone. “Wait a minute, are you talking about the Aidan Walker? Isn’t he the hotshot reporter who got himself into trouble and also happens to be the heir to his father’s entertainment holdings? Hold the phone! What do his balls have to do with anything? You and Aidan Walker’s balls. Who would have thunk it? I had a feeling you were holding back on me the other night, but I thought it was just you being you. Now I come to find out you were holding out on Aidan Walker dish. I’d be full-on mad if you weren’t a meme on my phone right now.”

  Eva let out another groan and shook her head. “The meme comment is low. But maybe I deserve it for holding out. First, who his father is doesn’t change the fact that he’s a jerk, and second, how would you know all that about him? Oh and C, I don’t think you really want to know the balls part. It’s not all that pretty.”

  Cori responded with a snort of laughter. “Have you lost your mind? What balls are? But we’re talking about a rich-ass, with a capital R, good-looking dude, so of course I’d know at least general stats. You’re dealing with me, and I’m no amateur. My business is dealing with folks with enough money to spend it on ridiculousness like weeks on yachts. And as for two, don’t even think you’re getting out of a hot, rich guy’s balls convo. You know I live for this type of stuff. Now spill it.”

  With that, Eva gave up the fight and talked to Cori about her lowest of the low. She felt surprisingly lifted when, as she described Aidan’s squeak before he hit the floor, Cori let out a bark of laughter and not the gasp of revulsion she would be sure to get from anyone else.

  * * *

  Aidan paced his bedroom and fought to keep his voice calm as he listened to his father rant over the speakerphone. He was running late and had planned to be out the door and on his way to Eva’s by now to supervise her getting ready for her first official “date.”

  Not that she needed supervision, but still, he didn’t have time to take this call with his father today or to indulge him by listening to his usual rantings. They had a packed schedule, and as it was a Sunday, there were people getting paid overtime for their services, a fact that he mentioned to his father in an effort to shorten the conversation, but still the man continued on. Aidan threw his towel aside and casually walked over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of boxer briefs and tugging them on. At this point, he was only half-listening. The rant was going on long past enough. He put on his jeans and was pulling his tee over his head when his father’s voice stopped him.

  “Dammit, Aidan, you know this is not what I meant. I’m pulling you off this project. There are better uses of your time than some ridiculous wedding piece. I called you in from the field to get involved in all aspects of the business. Now there’s a shareholders meeting on Tuesday, and I expect you to be there.”

  Aidan bit back on telling his father what he could do with his shareholders meeting, but held to his control. It would do no good blowing up and getting into a fight; besides, he was almost as confused as just about anyone as to why he was voluntarily working on Eva’s story, so how could he really fault his father for being bent out of shape? “Dad, I told you I’d handle it. You asked me to get involved with programming while I was here, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. If you want me involved, you have to accept it my way, or I’m out. You have plenty of lackeys that can sit in a boardroom chair and smile, and I have plenty of other stories out in the field that I could be covering.”

  “I don’t have to accept any such thing,” His father said, his indignation clearly rising. “I could cut you off completely. How would you cover these stories you so badly want to cover without my backing you?”

  Aidan stilled and told his tongue to stay in his mouth. Unfortunately, his tongue wasn’t in the mood to listen to his brain. “Fine.”

  “Good.” He felt his father’s smug smile through the phone, and it burned him up. He’d used this ploy for years. He knew Aidan loved his life on the road, and he also knew that he loved the autonomy he was afforded by his position in the company, not to mention his family’s wealth. But that freedom came at a high cost.

  Eva’s face appeared to him in his mind’s eye. She was all done up in her pretty pink twinset, her pearls glistening, a sweet but carnal invitation to her beautiful neck. When she played at being little miss perfect ice princess, Eva was just the type his father would love to see him settled down with. A woman with the perfect image. So like his mother. Smooth, polished, never a hair out of place. Never a feather ruffled. So nothing like every woman his father cheated on his mother with.

  Aidan spoke up. “Okay, fine. Cut me off if you must. Fire me if you have to. But I’m seeing this project through. I can do that and handle the board. I’ll live up to my obligations, but it’s going to be on my terms. You asked me to get involved and I am, but you can’t hold me down. This is what I’m doing. I’m never going to be a behind-the-desk CEO like you. You have to take me as I am or not take me at all.”

  There was a long pause, and Aidan shook his head as he reached for his shoes as he fought to ignore his mounting anxiety. It didn’t matter. This wasn’t even really a gamble. His father would see things clearly. Aidan had proved himself time and again. And not that he wanted to leave WBC, but if he was a free agent, son of Everett Walker or not, he’d be snapped up by a rival network in an instant. His father knew that, and his competitive spirit wouldn’t let that happen.

  “You’re too damned cocky for your own good, boy,” his father finally said by way of acquiescence.

  Aidan let out a breath. It annoyed him that he wasn’t relieved about staying on with his father as much as he was about staying to see things through with Eva.

  “So I’ve been told. Listen, I’ve got to go. Some of us don’t golf on Sunday. Give my love to Mom.” As he said the words, Aidan knew his father would probably not pass on the message; he and his mother barely talked. Sure, they were the image of domestic bliss for the media, but anyone who really knew them knew that their image was carefully manufactured for the press. His mother resided dually at their home on Long Island and their apartment on the Upper East Side, and his father spent the bulk of his time at a residence in Midtown, supposedly to be closer to the office. Aidan made a mental note to call his mother later. If he relied on his father, the message would get to his mom during their next charity gala.

  With that, Aidan hung up and grabbed his keys before heading out the door, hopeful he could catch Eva while she was still sleepy and in need of her morning coffee.
/>   * * *

  “You’re late.”

  Eva opened the door with a well-practiced smile that got markedly broader when she noticed Aidan’s disappointed frown. With a flourish, she stepped aside to welcome him into the apartment while biting back a giggle. “What’s the matter, Mr. Walker, think you’d once again catch me unawares?”

  He looked down at her. She knew he was taking in her appearance. Her new extensions were loosely pulled back, then forward, into a flirty side ponytail, her face was a bit more made-up than usual, with brightly highlighted eyes, and there was a shot of pink gloss on her lips. The biggest change was in her casual attire—a light floral skirt and a sleeveless blouse. The transformation, though minimal, was still significant. But instead of looking pleased, Walker frowned. “Is the crew here already?”

  “Nope,” she said, casually taking the coffee cup from his hand. “Thanks. Didn’t the schedule say the call time was eight? It’s only seven-thirty. Even though you’re late, you’re still early.” She paused as she put the coffee cup on the counter, then turned back and looked him in the eye. “Again.”

  He stepped into the living room. “Yeah, well, I like to get a jump on things. Early bird and all.”

  She raised a brow. “So what am I, the worm?”

  His eyes narrowed on hers, then raked up and down her body way too slowly for her to be comfortable. “Hardly, Miss Ward.”

  She smiled. “Please, call me Eva, and I’ll call you Aidan. No need to be formal this early in the morning. And really, you didn’t have to bring me coffee. I have a perfectly good coffeemaker here, and I’ve already had a cup.”

  He nodded and took three quick steps around her as he went into her kitchen. “Great. I could use another cup.”

  Eva stared, her mouth gaping open. In less than thirty seconds he was in her kitchen, opening cabinets and pulling down a cup. She watched as he popped a pod into her coffeemaker. Well, wasn’t he one to go and make himself at home? He drummed his fingers for a moment as the coffee finished brewing, then took a sip and graced her with that damned sexy smile.