“Sir, ma’am, just to warn you I believe we were followed when we left the condo,” Carter alerts us.
“Reporters?” Nicholas asks.
“I believe so.”
“Unfuckingbelievable! All this over a fucking dinner,” Nicholas shakes his head.
“Think of this way, maybe it will be the confirmation the press needs to know we are still together.”
“Maybe.”
The moment we pull up to the restaurant, reporters are snapping our picture. We barely make it out of the car before they start screaming questions at us.
“Mr. Parker! Mr. Parker! Are you and Ms. Rose still an item?”
“Why haven’t you been seen together in three weeks?”
“What are you hiding?”
“What do you say to reports that PFS is suffering because of your personal life?”
“I say that my financial reports indicate otherwise,” Nicholas snaps at the young reporter who dared ask about PFS.
Carter and Hunter lead us through the crowd of reporters who continue to snap pictures of us and question our relationship status. Nicholas’s arm is wrapped firmly around my waist, anchoring me to him as we try to make our way to the front of door.
“Ladies, Gentleman,” Nicholas addresses the crowd before we go into dinner. “Ms. Rose and I are here to celebrate a successful business deal. I am aware that there are reports that we haven’t been together in the last few weeks. However, as you can now see, we are very much still together. Now, if you will excuse us we have a dinner reservation to keep.”
Seconds later we are inside the warmth of the restaurant and my ears finally stop buzzing from all the questions being yelled at us. We are escorted to our table where we are the last ones to arrive which I know disappoints Nicholas. Had it not been for the press outside, I’m confident we would have been the first.
“So Kenzie, how are you enjoying being famous?” Alex asks as I sit next to him.
“UGH, I don’t get why they care so much about what Nicholas does.”
“Seattle’s youngest billionaire who just happens to be good looking and single? Can you blame them, Kenzie?” Ella asks.
“I get that part, but still they act like his personal life has some bearing on his business decisions.”
“That part pisses me off,” Alex agrees.
Dinner goes well, I chat with Alex and Ella while Nicholas talks with the owners of the company he just signed. I try to make small talk with the owners but they aren’t very talkative so I stick to chatting with Ella and Alex who make me feel very comfortable. Less than two hours after we arrive, dinner is over and everyone says goodbye. Unlike when we arrived, Nicholas and I are escorted by Hunter to a rear entrance where Carter is waiting with the SUV. The press doesn’t see us leave and get back home without being followed.
“Thank you for coming to dinner with me tonight, Kenzie. I’m sorry the press has been bothering you so much,” Nicholas says as we stand outside the apartment door.
“Well at least the food was good,” I joke.
“That it was.”
“Oh, I’m not sure if you remembered but I’m going shopping with Cara tomorrow—“
“She has made sure I haven’t forgotten,” he chuckles.
“Oh?”
“She’s texted me several times this week reminding me that you two planned to go out tomorrow. She’s very excited about it.”
“I hope you don’t mind; when she asked me—“
“No, it’s fine. I mean, if I’m completely honest, I wasn’t expecting so much overlap between this arrangement and my family.” I nod in agreement because I knew he wasn’t expecting it. “But my family really likes you, so if this makes them happy then I’m fine with it. Unless you mind—“
“No! Not at all,” I quickly interrupt. “It’s been a long time since I’ve gone shopping with someone, so I’m looking forward to it.”
“Here’s my card,” he pulls a black American express card from his wallet and hands it to me.
“What’s this for?”
“For tomorrow.”
“I’m not following… ”
“Kenzie, you’re going shopping for the charity dinner this weekend right?” I nod. “Normally I would be paying for your outfit for the evening anyway so Bridget sends me a bill for your purchases and I pay for them. However, since you can’t very well tell the store to charge it to Bridget, here is my credit card for the purchase.”
“Nicholas… I don’t know that I feel right having this.”
“I trust you with it. Buy your outfit for the weekend and treat my sister to lunch. She’s expecting you to whip out my credit card for the dress anyway.”
“Why would she expect that?”
“She just would. You’re going with me to the dinner, so it’s only natural that I would pay for your outfit.”
“I could pay for it myself.”
“You could, but you won’t, and she won’t suspect anything. If you paid for it yourself, she would probably flat out ask you why I’m not paying for it. Don’t worry about it. It’s no different than when you go to Stacy’s and have it charged to Bridget.”
“I guess.”
“Stay with Hunter and Ben tomorrow. I have no doubt that the press will follow you when you shop. If it gets out of hand, just come back here. I can always have someone send over dresses for you to shop from home and not have to deal with the press. In fact maybe we should do that instead.”
“Nicholas, we’ll be fine.”
“Just stay with them, please, I don’t trust the press.”
“I will.”
“I’ll pick you up on Saturday?”
“I’ll be ready.”
“Good night, Kenzie.”
“Night, Nicholas.”
He leans down to kiss me when the air seems to shift between us; his eyes lock onto mine and his face stops only inches from mine. He moves a piece of my hair to just behind my ear, a sweet move that surprises me, just before his lips find mine. The kiss is soft at first, but his lips become firm against mine as he wraps his arm around my lower back, pulling me against him. My arms go around his neck, my fingers weaving through the back of his hair as I completely lose myself in the kiss. I can’t help but gasp when I feel Nicholas’s tongue against my lips. He cautiously enters my mouth, almost as if he is afraid of my reaction but I don’t push him away or stop him. I am completely caught up in this. I can’t remember the last time I was ever kissed so… passionately.
Ring ring
“Fuck,” Nicholas pulls away at the sound of his phone ringing from his pocket.
The ringing stops a few seconds later. Our heavy breathing is the only sound that can be heard in the hallway, when I suddenly remember that we are standing in the middle of the hallway outside my apartment. What’s worse is that Carter is only a few feet away at the elevator, thankfully though, his back is towards us but I have no doubt that he knows exactly what just happened between us.
“Kenzie… ” His eyes find mine and I’m pretty sure I see regret in them.
“Good night, Nicholas,” I kiss him on the lips softly one last time before I turn and enter my apartment.
I lock the door, reset the alarm and collapse on the loveseat, trying to make sense out of what just happened. Things seemed to have been going well between us; dinner went well and I thought the kiss was good too. But then why did Nicholas suddenly look like he regretted kissing me? Did he regret blurring the lines? Did he think he made a mistake? Did he think I didn’t want to kiss him?
I couldn’t just stand there; I knew the next words out of his mouth would have been an apology. I didn’t need to hear him tell me he was sorry for kissing me. Not when for the first time in years, I felt alive. No one has ever kissed me like Nicholas just did. No one has ever made me lose myself in a kiss; I’ve never felt like I did a few minutes ago and I couldn’t stand there and let him apologize for that. I didn’t want to hear that he regretted what just happened b
ecause of the stupid rules of the contract. I reread the contract the other week after I had kissed him, and it does not say that we can’t kiss. The only thing it exclusively prohibits is sex, so we have done nothing wrong. I’m sure Nicholas, being the knowledgeable business man that he is, would know this. If he regretted kissing me, it wouldn’t be because he was worried we violated some part of the contract.
I give up trying to figure out his motives and get ready for bed. Unfortunately sleep doesn’t find me easily and I’m in the pool by three thirty, desperately trying to swim the memories of the nightmare away. I keep looking for Nicholas, expecting to see him by the pool like he was the other morning but he never comes. Part of me is disappointed but part of me is also relieved, as I’m not sure what I would say to him if he were here this morning.
Since I won’t be seeing Nicholas again until the charity dinner on Saturday, I figure I have two days to figure out if I should say something to him or just forget that it happened or wait for him to bring it up. Vowing not to think about the kiss again today, I spend the morning doing laundry and getting ready for my shopping trip with Cara.
Knock Knock
“Are you ready, Kenzie?” it took weeks, but I’ve finally convinced Hunter to stop calling me Ms. Rose.
“All ready,” I confirm. “Are we picking up Cara?”
“We’re meeting her at Neiman’s; Ben is picking her up.”
When we arrive at the department store, Cara is there waiting for us and immediately engulfs me in a huge hug when she sees me approaching. I’m surprised that Nicholas has arranged for us to have a private dressing room for the entire day along with a personal shopper. Cara doesn’t bat an eye at the arrangements. I assume this is pretty typical for her when she goes shopping.
“Kenzie, you have to try this on!” Cara holds up what can only be described as gaudy… I desperately try to come up with the words to tell her that there is no way in hell I would be wearing that to the dinner on Saturday night without hurting her feelings.
“Oh my God! You should see the look on your face!”
“I thought you were serious!” I can’t help but join in her laughing.
“I hate trying on dresses, so I like to mix it up and try on silly ones. It helps pass the time and makes the trip more enjoyable.”
“Ah, makes sense. In that case you should try on this,” I hold up a neon pink beaded dress that looks like something out of the 50’s.
Over the next hour, we have managed to hand the personal shopper dozens of dresses that she has arranged to be hung up for us in the dressing room. The dressing room is a large room with two areas closed off with curtains to provide privacy while we change. The entire room is reserved for us so as Cara and I try on outfits, we take turns modeling them. I’m trying on the third dress when I hear my phone buzzing with a text. Cara apparently decided to send Nicholas and me pictures of the dresses we have tried on so far.
Sorry for the texts while you’re at work. I hadn’t realized Cara was going to send you the pictures –Kenzie
Up until now I haven’t had Nicholas’s cell phone number, so I hope he doesn’t mind me texting him. I’m sure he is swamped at work and the last thing he needs or wants is to receive texts from Cara as we play dress up. When he doesn’t respond I stick the phone back in my purse and continue on with our modeling show.
A couple of hours later, Cara and I have both found dresses for the charity dinner on Saturday. As Nicholas predicted, Cara doesn’t bat an eye when I hand the personal shopper his credit card as a payment for my dress. Hunter arranges the delivery of the dresses while Cara and I discuss lunch plans. We settle on a small bistro a few blocks from the department store, but the minute we step out of the dressing room we are blinded by the flashes of cameras.
“Right this way ladies,” Hunter leads Cara and me through the crowd while Ben follows closely behind us.
“Where’s Nicholas Parker?”
“Is he aware that you two are out shopping?”
“What event are you shopping for?”
“Mackenzie, what do you say to the rumors that Nicholas Parker can’t keep a woman happy?”
“Cara, why do you think all the women in your brother’s life run away from him? Is he hiding something?”
“Why don’t you all just leave my brother alone? It’s none of your business what he does with his personal life!” Cara exclaims just before we split up to head towards our cars.
Thankfully only a few minutes later, I’m safe inside the SUV, although a couple reporters continue to snap pictures of the car. Honestly, I don’t understand what the big deal is: I went shopping with Nicholas’ sister; this is news? With everything else going on in the world, reporters decide they need to focus on what we bought for a charity dinner?
Lunch another time? – Cara
Definitely –Kenzie
“How did they know where we were, Hunter?”
“We suspect one of the employees tipped off the press after recognizing you. We are trying to determine who notified the press so it can be addressed.”
I shake my head in disbelief; while I worked as a personal shopper I never would have dreamed of calling the press if a client was there. Granted, I never worked with anyone I think the press would care about but still, I wouldn’t have invaded someone’s privacy like that. When we reach The Accord, I’m once again thankful for the security in the building as we pull into the private underground parking garage that can only be accessed by a key card.
If the paparazzi were following us, they wouldn’t have been able to make it into the garage. This week has forced me to realize I need to accept Nicholas’s offer to stay here through the duration of our arrangement. I realize I could never afford to live in an apartment with this level of security which means I would be dealing with the press on my own every time I left my apartment or tried to come home.
When I get home, I change into a pair of comfy yoga pants and a fitted T-shirt, seeing as how I am not planning on leaving the apartment again today. I curl up on the loveseat and start a book that I’ve read before but one that I could read many times without losing interest. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep from the previous night catches up with me and I soon fall asleep. I must have slept for a couple of hours because when I wake up the room has darkened, as I l didn’t leave any lights on. I grab my phone to check the time and realize I have a text message from Nicholas which is surprising because I haven’t heard from him all day.
I need to talk to you. Are you free tonight? –Nicholas
Yes, I’m free. Home now. –Kenzie
Do you want to come to my apartment? – Nicholas
Or, if you would rather, I can reserve a private room somewhere? – Nicholas
No, I’ll come up. –Kenzie
I know why he offered the private room, but at this point it’s unnecessary. I spent the weekend at his apartment and then we spent an entire day on his boat in the middle of nowhere. I no longer have any worries about spending time alone with him. Plus, I know we’re not truly alone in his apartment since both Julie and Carter live there. I quickly use the bathroom, throw my hair into a messy bun and slip on a pair of shoes before setting the alarm to head upstairs.
“Good evening Ms. Rose,” Carter startles me as soon as I open my door.
“Oh! I wasn’t expecting you, Carter.”
“The security codes have been changed since you last used them; the one you had is no longer active,” he explains.
“Oh.”
A few minutes later, the elevator doors open to Nicholas’s expansive foyer.
“Mr. Parker is in his office,” Carter ushers me down the hallway to Nicholas’s office.
“Mr. Parker, Ms. Rose has arrived,” Carter announces.
“Thank you, please come in, Kenzie,” Nicholas gestures for me to sit in the chair across from this desk. I’m immediately reminded of the last time I was in here. If Nicholas tries to give me money again, I swear I’m going to scream. I
really hope he doesn’t think he needs to pay me for today—
“Kenzie… we need to talk.”
“Okay…” Well this wasn’t what I was expecting and Nicholas’s uneasiness is alarming.
“I…. I….” he runs his hands through his hair and takes a deep breath before continuing. “I think we need to end our contract with Bridget.”
Want more of Kenzie and Nicholas’s story?
On Her Terms will be available Fall 2018!
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On His Terms (The Arrangement Series Book 1) Page 32
