by Mia Caldwell
He sighed deeply, averting his gaze.
“I’ve…made a huge mistake, yes.”
“God. Did you even think to consult anybody at that company before you pulled that little stunt? Did you stop to consider what that effect that approach might have on the staff?”
“I was a little rushed for time,” he weakly answered, staring me in the eyes. “It was the best point to break the news.”
“Yeah, well, why’s that, exactly?”
“It needed to get broken to the tabloids,” he answered coolly. “Disseminated from within my company. That’s partly why I explicitly called for an event photographer, to capture the moment. It would back up any claims made by my staff, of which there have already been some.”
“Oh yeah?”
“You…haven’t been following the tabloids,” he asked, tilting his head. “It was front page all week. We’d better get inside.” He was suddenly looking over his shoulder, staring down the street at the throng of people passing by.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Well,” he answered aloofly, “Considering all of these people, I’ve undoubtedly been spotted here by now. The paparazzi know what you look like, and they are going to be here any minute now…and then they’ll know where you live.”
Oh, goddammit.
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Chapter 12
Kiona
I pulled Cole inside the apartment and hastily locked the door behind him. Right afterwards, I pointed him to the modest two-seater table in my dining room.
“Look, I’m going to get changed, and then you’re going to tell me what’s going on and why you’re here,” I demanded.
“Take your time,” he replied casually, “but you might as well pack anything you’ll need for a while – and don’t forget your birth certificate, and any other identification you have. At least a couple of weeks, I’d recommend. Do you happen to have a suitcase, or should I make a few arrangements for you?”
“Yes, I’ve got suitcases…but why am I packing?” I paused, crossing my arms and glaring at him.
“Well, you’re coming with me,” he told me. “To my penthouse. The driver is waiting outside.” It acted as if everything was fine and that he hadn’t ruined me on stage.
Wait a second. “You’re kidding.”
“I’m not. Especially since they’ll be here soon.”
“You said you’d never let me live there. That you’d never trust me.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Explain.”
Cole sighed, glancing at his watch. “I owe you some an apology for the way I handled things. And if I leave you to the paparazzi, either they’ll tear you apart, or you’ll feed them bad information about me. Possibly both. You’re sitting on the first half of my fifteen million and I need you ready to put on a convincing show as my wife. The way I see it, you can’t stay here any longer. People are already starting to ask why nobody’s seen us together and I can’t afford to watch everything go pear shaped.”
“I…fine. I’m not going to stay here and live in fear of people peeking in my windows. It’s not like I really have anything here to hold me down anyway, now that you fired me. Am I at least going to be fed properly at your place?”
“I’m handy with a skillet,” he smiled. “If that’s not good enough, I’ll bring in a personal chef tomorrow.”
“Fine,” I repeated, slipping away towards my bedroom. “But don’t you think for a moment that I’m happy with this. You’ve screwed up…and you have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Looking forward to it,” he lied.
* * *
Just to piss me off, it turned out that he was right. By the time I’d dressed into something remotely classy and grabbed up a few possessions – mostly clothes, my laptop, some toiletries, and so on – I could already hear the throng of the paparazzi outside my windows.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, what’s going on out there?”
“They’re hungry for something,” Cole chuckled easily. “We’d better get a move on.”
I ignored his attitude and let him take one of my suitcases. I grasped the other one firmly, holding my keys close at hand.
“You ready?” He asked.
I glared at him. “No.”
“Where’s that adaptable spirit I like so much?”
“Maybe next time, don’t crush it in front of fifty people.”
“We’ll talk about that,” he admonished me, “but the important thing for now is that we get ourselves out of here and into the car…”
He took the other suitcase from me, and I opened the door.
The flash of cameras and loud, self-styled journalists was immediate and overwhelming. Cole was right, though – I had to be adaptable to get through this. I quickly receded into the persona of a strong, capable young woman who was used to being bombarded at all times by the tabloids.
“Miss Walker!”
“Hello, Kiona! Can we get a word?”
“Miss Walker, how long have you known Cole Andrews?”
“Mr. Andrews, how long have you lusted for your employee?”
“Miss Kiona, is it true that you fabricated your work history and lied to get close to your billionaire boss, in order to seduce the gentleman?”
“A word, Mr. Andrews?”
He held them at bay as I confidently locked the door behind myself. As he pushed through the crowd towards the car, the driver opened the door just in time for us to slip in.
“Miss Kiona, wait just a–”
The door slammed shut, and the driver circled around and climbed into the driver’s side. “Home, Mr. Andrews?”
“Yes, Gregory, and make it fast.”
“Right away, Mr. Andrews.”
He pulled us out of the crowd, maneuvering us onto the street and through the next intersection. Soon, we were on our way as the crowd of cameras faded far behind us.
I found myself grateful that it was a Sunday.
“How did you even find out where I lived?” I asked Cole, demanding answers. “I fabricated that part, too.”
“You worked for me for months, Key. If I couldn’t find that information freely, what kind of employer would I have been? I didn’t exactly build my brand by being loose with the details, after all.”
Of course, I grumbled furiously.
“So, what’s next?” I asked.
“I’m taking you back to my home, where you will stay for the foreseeable future. Besides the obvious perks of living under a billionaire’s roof, you’ll be free from the grasp of the paparazzi; they’ll be unable to reach you in the penthouse.”
“Go on,” I told him.
“You’ll also join me on a few company trips to meet with clients, and we’ll vacation for a couple of days. Somewhere where we will be briefly seen, adding to the tabloids.”
“I thought the point was to get away from the tabloids,” I muttered.
“The point is to keep you safe from them, yes, but we still need to give them something to cover. Our marriage needs to be ironclad.”
Our marriage.
“…Which reminds me.”
He reached for my hand. I displayed the engagement ring that I had reluctantly accepted in front of dozens of people who now hated my guts.
“Good. We need to finalize that soon… Are you ready to tie the knot?”
“Yes…that’s…that’ll work.”
“Good,” he answered, averting his gaze.
I realized that there was sadness in his eyes, but he steeled himself almost immediately, dispassionately staring out of the window. Fifteen million dollars, I thought to myself. Sure, he was a little brash and maybe his timing on the marriage announcement could be better, but I had to keep my eyes on the prize. Yeah…I think I can probably work with that.
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Chapter 13
Cole
When we arrived at the building, Gregory dropped us off near the fr
ont. I led Kiona into the grandiose lobby, where the concierge behind the main counter briskly stepped aside and unlocked a small flap for us.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Andrews.”
“Greetings, Samantha. Long day?”
“The longest,” she smiled, guiding us through a nearby door. We stepped into a small entryway, with only another door nearby. “Can I have anything sent up for either of you?”
“No, we’ll be fine,” I told her, reaching for my key.
“Excellent. Call us if you need anything.”
I gave Samantha the courtesy of a nod, and she returned to her post. I had always liked her. She didn’t fuss over me, only ensured that I walked into the building with my needs met, and left it at that – none of the hushed idolatry that came from some of the other employees of the luxury apartment complex.
“You’re so fancy that you get your own entrance?” Kiona asked from beside me.
“Originally, the rooftop manor belonged to the owner of this establishment. When I took it off of his hands, I kept the private elevator and had the other entrances sealed.” I unlocked the door with my key, revealing the open elevator.
“Isn’t that unsafe? What if this breaks?” She asked as we stepped inside.
I turned to push the ascension button, choosing the top floor. After all, this elevator still had the infrastructure to reach the other floors if it needed to. “This is a reliable piece of machinery. It doesn’t break, and I pay for a technician to inspect it twice a month. Even if fate intervened, I happen to own a helicopter and employ a very capable pilot. I believe you might remember.”
We began to ascend, and spent the rest of the ride in silence. Dozens of floors came and went as we rode high up, and I briefly suppressed a coughing fit, squeezing out just a few to release my tension. We were suddenly bathed in light, and Kiona turned to realize that the back of the elevator was glass – and that we were now ascending above the city.
“You and your spectacular views,” she murmured in hushed delight.
I straightened my tie, hiding a smile. “They suit me.”
* * *
“I think I’m ready to make this work,” Kiona told me thirty minutes later over another pair of wine glasses. Her face was stern, somewhat contemplative. It was absolutely beautiful in the dim lighting of my home, as the sun was setting again. “I’ve given it some thought, and I think I might really, actually love you.”
“I almost believe that,” I smiled.
“You’d better believe it,” she grinned. “Because if you don’t, nobody else will. You and I… Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot here.”
She reached forward, sliding her palm along my arm. A quick breath escaped my lips at her touch.
“My, you really are having a change of heart.”
“You humiliated me. I’m not going to let that slide. You also could have handled things better at work. Honestly, though? I’m not so worried about that anymore. I mean, sure, I’m worried about Larry and the department, but if this deal goes through none of the office politics really matter.”
“I’ve smoothed some things over with the company,” I told her. “The first thing I did after I returned from Tokyo was call everyone into a companywide meeting and tell them how it’s going to be from now on.”
“You went to Toyko?” She perked up, her hand lifting from my arm. She steadied her elbow against the counter and held her chin against her palm. “And why the hell didn’t you invite me?”
“You wouldn’t pick up the phone,” I told her firmly. I was still angry that her absence had made my talk with Alphonse fall apart, but at least now it seemed that I didn’t have to fight her anymore. “I needed you, and I couldn’t reach you.”
“But you knew where I lived.”
“You think that was the first time I came to knock on your door? I’ve been there a few times. That’s why the paparazzi were so quick to mobilize…that, and you took forever to pack.”
“Oh, hush,” she told me, firing off a mockingly angry gaze. “So maybe I have a life that doesn’t revolve around my fake husband. Are you jealous?”
“Back on topic,” I continued, “I spoke to everyone. They all understand that it’s my fault, and that I was a fool for doing that in front of them all. I pinned the crosshairs on myself, so to speak.”
Kiona was staring at me with a quizzical look in her eyes.
“What’s the matter?”
“You did that?” She asked.
“Of course I did. What, did you think I was going to leave things as they were? Key, have a little more faith in me.” I felt somewhat disappointed – her expression clearly told me that she had. “Look, I sat everyone down and had a big heart-to-heart to the group. It was very productive. I explained my role in knowing that you were fabricating everything, and that I had personally hired you. It was made crystal clear that I didn’t hold anybody personally accountable for that.”
“Who’d have thought that Cold King Cole would have a heart-to-heart with anyone…especially his employees.”
“What was that? Old King Cole?”
“Oh, nothing!” She smiled, wide-eyed.
I narrowed my own eyes, but continued. “I also took the liberty of calling an impromptu executive meeting. There were some discussions with the board…and now I understand where I screwed up by firing you.”
“Coppersmith,” she replied.
“He’s been loyal, useful, and ultimately contributed a lot of success to my agency. I’ve rewarded him handsomely for it as well…but I’m afraid he has become something of a liability now.”
“That’s what Larry was telling me.”
My eyes narrowed again, and anger swelled up inside. These were not matters that supervisors should discuss freely with my staff. “Larry? What did Larry tell you, precisely?”
Kiona stammered. “No, I mean, he didn’t really know either. The only reason he said anything was because he wanted me to be his successor… I know it’s silly, but I’ve spent years doing jobs I only pretended to be good at. It was nice to be recognized for once. I enjoyed working at the company, and when Larry told me he was thinking about recommending me for the promotion…”
She looked disappointed suddenly, retreating inside.
“Look, Key,” I told her, my fingers curling around her chin and lifting it up. My god, she looks so beautiful with those wide eyes… “It’s all okay now. Larry isn’t in any trouble. As for Coppersmith…I’ll deal with him personally, in due time. I’m going to hire a new marketing head to replace Larry, and he’ll ascend to take Coppersmith’s role as Director. Everything will go back to normal. Besides, you’re going to be sitting on fifteen million and you had no intention of taking that promotion.”
Kiona nodded softly, gazing into my eyes. We were standing on opposite sides of an elbow-high divider, and I wanted nothing more in that instant than to sweep her into my arms and press my lips against hers, to swallow her essence whole. What the hell was wrong with me?
No, I thought to myself sternly. You know what you must do. I began to concentrate again, taking a deep, soothing breath as I closed my eyes. I can’t let her inside. I can’t let ANY of them inside. Just calm down…relax everything…and push the safety of those walls back up…
“Let’s get married,” I told her suddenly, as I pulled myself away.
“What, right now?” She muttered, gazing out the window. “Don’t you think it’s kind of late on a Sunday to do that?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I thought to myself. Truthfully, I had just wanted to break the tension before I did anything stupid. “But first thing in the morning. Let’s go ahead and make it official.”
“Yeah…alright then…but no church.” Kiona responded.
“No church?”
“Yeah. We do this secularly, okay?”
I turned to watch her, wondering why she was so insistent on that. She was clearly disappointed that I’d broken the moment, but my mental fortifications were alrea
dy in place. I wiped my hands with a nearby rag, setting my wine glass aside, and glanced over at the setting sun again.
“That’s an easier arrangement to make anyway.”
She nodded in my peripheral vision.