by Michele Hauf
“Want to go to the market today?’ Hawk leaned against the doorjamb and ran a hand through his thick hair. “Maybe get some fresh fish and grill it up tonight.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“What do you want for your birthday?” he asked with a stupid grin, as if he’d already had a million ideas.
“Oh, no.” She adjusted the covers and sat up. “You already bought me a present for the next twenty birthdays.”
“I can’t go to your parents’ house next weekend empty-handed. That wouldn’t look right.”
“We’ll drive the Range Rover and bring the dog.”
“Hey. Marvin is mine.”
As if on cue, the damn dog came racing into the bedroom as if the ocean were on fire. He leaped onto the bed and circled three times before lying down as close to Kennedy as he could get. He lifted his eyelids and stared at Hawk, daring him to try to snuggle with the lovely lady.
“Damn traitor.” Hawk yanked back the covers. “You’re my dog, and she’s my girlfriend. Got it.” He pulled the dog close to his chest and scratched his ears.
Marvin thumped his tail and licked Hawk’s face.
“That’s better.”
“Are you jealous of a puppy?”
Hawk scooted to the middle of the bed and then set Marvin down on the other side.
Marvin didn’t like that too much, but he settled in with his head resting on Hawk’s stomach and his gaze shifting between Hawk and Kennedy as if he were hanging on their every word.
“That is one smart dog,” Kennedy said.
“Scary smart.” Hawk laughed as he patted the dog on its head. “But seriously. I want suggestions for your birthday. Nothing extravagant. Those days are over.”
“That I don’t believe.” She rolled to the side and propped her head up on her hand.
“If you need something, we’ll get it for you, but I know I don’t need to buy you extravagant gifts. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to get you something for your birthday. You don’t wear a lot of jewelry, so I don’t think that would be a good idea because I would only buy something expensive.”
“I don’t want you to buy me stuff.”
“Well, what about a blouse? Or a sweater for walking the beach at night? Or maybe some slippers.”
She leaned in and kissed him. “You know those little clip-on reading lights that go on books? I could use one or two of those.”
“That’s reasonable,” he said with a smile.
Her phone buzzed.
His rang.
“It’s too early for this.” She rolled over and snagged her cell. “It’s my dad.”
“It’s my mom.”
“That can’t be good,” she mumbled. “Dad?”
Hawk stepped from the bed and made his way toward the bathroom to take his call.
“Is something wrong?”
“Where’s Hawk?”
“He’s on the phone with his mom, why?” She hit the speaker button and set the phone on the bed.
“I don’t want you to watch this alone.”
“Watch what?” She shook out her hands. “You’re scaring me, Dad.”
“Get your laptop and go to Cindy’s YouTube channel.”
Hawk stepped from the bathroom. His face had grown pale. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “That woman is going to be sorry she ever messed with me.”
“Hawk,” her father yelled through the cell. “Don’t go off halfcocked and do anything crazy. She has no idea what she’s talking about.”
“Sir, that’s not even the point. She’s invaded your daughter’s privacy, not to mention mine. What she did was illegal, and I’m going to have her head for it.”
“I’m really fucking lost here people.” Quickly, Kennedy found one of Hawk’s shirts and pulled it over her head. Then she clicked on the smart television and found the YouTube channel.
“Don’t swear, young lady.”
“Dad, I’m almost thirty-three. I can say fuck if I want to, and when Cindy is involved, fuck is absolutely appropriate. Now someone needs to tell me what is going on.”
Hawk grabbed the remote.
She glared at him. “If she said something about me for the world to hear, I have a right to know.”
Hawk sat on the edge of the bed. “Mr. Monroe—”
“Please, call me Ted,” her father said.
“Ted. Did you watch the entire video?”
Kennedy wanted to scream. “What video? I’m tired of not knowing what the hell is going on.”
“Babe. You’re going to know soon enough. We’ll watch it together. But I just need to talk to your dad for a few minutes, okay?”
She nodded. What the hell was she going to say, no?
“Yes. We’ve seen the entire thing.”
“It’s not what you think, sir,” Hawk said as he rubbed his temples.
“I’ll let the two of you watch it,” her father said. “Kennedy, your mom and I will be home all day. Come on over if you want to. We love you.”
“I love you too.” She tapped the red button. “What the hell?”
“You were right to be concerned about the cleaning people.” He stood and pointed the remote at the television. He clicked away until he found the right YouTube channel. “I need to go call the legal team.”
“It’s Saturday.”
He tossed the remote on the bed. “I’m sorry.” He snagged his jeans and a shirt and headed for the door.
“You’re not going to watch?”
“I’ll watch in my office while I talk with my lawyers to figure out what we legally can do. But the damage is done.” He tapped the screen. “It’s been seen over a million times already. As far as public opinion goes, I’m not sure we can do anything. I really am sorry that I dragged you into this mess. I should have never asked you to lie about anything, and now you’re the one who is going to pay the price.”
Marvin snuggled in her lap.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You will when you watch. I know this means that things have changed for us. I get that. Just know that you’ve changed my world, forever.” Hawk disappeared down the hallway
She clicked the play button, and Cindy immediately appeared on the screen. God, she hated that woman.
“Welcome to LA Entertainment with Cindy Lockhart. I’m coming to you late tonight with some stunning information regarding Hawk Jefferson and his alleged girlfriend, Kennedy Monroe.”
Alleged. What the fuck did she mean by that?
“It has come to my attention that this relationship is nothing but a sham. As you can see from these pictures and videos taken from inside and outside of Hawk’s home.”
Cindy pointed to a screen behind her in the video.
“We can clearly see that the couple does not share a bedroom. Though, I have to feel sorry for Hawk since he’s clearly given up his own bedroom for this hoax.”
“Motherfucker,” Kennedy mumbled.
“I have it from a close inside source that six months ago, when this image of Hawk carrying Kennedy over his shoulder was taken, it was the last time the two of them were ever seen together outside of work until just recently. No one. And I mean no one can keep a relationship that secret. Not when you’re Hawk Jefferson. There have been pictures of him taken at his home over the last few months and not once have we seen Kennedy there. Or any woman, for that matter.”
Hawk stuck his head back into the bedroom. “I going to meet the lawyers. They suggested that you take off soon in case they put any kind of bugs in here.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” She clutched the covers to her chest. The idea they could be spied on, or someone could have made some insane sex tape that might show up on the internet any second now made her stomach turn.
“I wish this was all some kind of bad joke, but it’s not.”
“I can’t do this, Hawk.” She shook her head. The piercing pain bounced from one temple to the other. “It’s too much to take. It’s not
just being caught in a lie, that’s kind of no longer a lie, but it’s the complete invasion of my privacy.”
“I know. I get it.”
She snapped her gaze to his and glared. “But you accept it as part of your life. As part of who you are. I don’t. And I won’t.” She sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a slow swish.
“What are you saying?”
A single tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
“I see.” He snagged his wallet off the dresser. “Please lock up when you leave.” He patted his leg. “Let’s go, Marvin.”
Marvin yelped.
“Now,” Hawk yelled.
Marvin jumped from the bed with a whine but followed Hawk down the hallway.
Kennedy turned her attention back to the television.
“Earlier today, I managed to interview Kennedy’s best friend, Tallulah Craig. Here is a portion of that interview, which is very telling.”
Oh shit. Could this get any worse?
“Tallulah, how long have you known Kennedy?” Cindy asked, shoving the microphone at a smiling Tallulah.
Fuck. Tallulah had no idea what she’d gotten herself into.
“Most of my life. She’s going to be in my wedding,” Tallulah said with pride.
“And did you know about her so-called affair with Hawk?” Cindy asked.
Tallulah shook her head. “I was stunned. Everyone at the office was totally shocked.” Tallulah raised her hand. “Although, not totally surprised. I mean, we could all see that the two of them were close.”
“Because she is his assistant, right?” Cindy asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.
“Well, yes. But it made sense to me that they got together.”
“But if she was your best friend, why didn’t she tell you? Why didn’t she tell anyone? I mean, did she tell her family? Her sisters?”
Oh fuck. Don’t answer that one.
“Well, no. She didn’t tell anyone.”
“And why is that? Did she tell you?” Cindy asked.
“Things happened quickly, and they didn’t want to be in the public eye. They wanted time to figure things out.”
“Is it possible that they manufactured a fake relationship?”
“Why would they do that? What would be the point?” Tallulah asked.
Good question. Right redirection. Way to go Tallulah.
“Could it be because Hawk was really concerned he could be the father of Heather’s twins?” Cindy pointed to an image that rolled across the screen behind her. “This shows Hawk leaving Heather’s condo four months ago, about the same time her twins were conceived.”
“But he’s not the father, that has been proven,” Tallulah said with a dazed and confused look.
“True. But at the time, they were also trying to prove he didn’t push her down the stairs. So, maybe, just maybe, your friend was setting up an alibi.”
Tallulah frowned. “Hawk didn’t do that, and Kennedy wouldn’t lie for him like that.”
“Well, Hawk did have an alibi, though we still don’t know what happened to Heather, and I was surprised the police never questioned Kennedy,” Cindy said as the camera angle changed, pushing Tallulah out of the frame. “That was until I found out Kennedy and Hawk weren’t in a romantic relationship, so there was no love triangle, and Kennedy would have no motive to push Heather. I could be wrong about that.”
Fuck. What a bitch. Cindy certainly knew how to twist things, but this was just making shit up as she went along.
“I also had the privilege of speaking with the doorman at Kennedy’s building who specifically stated that he’d only seen Hawk Jefferson enter Kennedy’s apartment once.” Cindy held up her index finger. “One time. And that was the night he carried her home after finding out her boyfriend had been cheating on her.”
“Should I be happy you didn’t tell the world that Tallulah was the one sleeping with my boyfriend?”
“And finally, I was given this video footage from a security camera at the Land Rover dealership where Hawk bought Kennedy a brand-new Range Rover. Was it really a birthday present for his girlfriend? Or was it a bribe so he could save face? Well, watch and you’ll be as mortified as I was to find out that Hawk basically bought Kennedy to pretend to be his girlfriend to get his parents off his back and to impress an old friend from college. It’s all so Pretty Woman.”
“Oh, fuck me.” Kennedy turned off the television. She didn’t need to relive the conversation she had with Hawk in the lobby when they sort of argued over buying the car.
Specifically, the part about him thanking her for agreeing to be his fake girlfriend in front of his old college buddy Rusty and his wife, Lilly.
She picked up her phone and started a group text.
Kennedy: Are you two up for Saturday morning breakfast?
Ethel: Hell yes. Where?
Kennedy: Anywhere that isn’t public.
Jackie: Come to my apartment. I’ll have pancakes, bacon, and alcohol. Lots of alcohol.
Ethel: That Cindy is a bitch.
Jackie: You can say that again.
Ethel: Fucking bitch. But Kennedy, how did she get that video?
Kennedy wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Kennedy: What she’s reporting is true. Hawk and I didn’t become a thing until last week, and we just broke up.
8
Hawk spent the rest of the weekend holed up in his house, avoiding the media and trying to get a hold of Kennedy.
By the time Sunday night rolled around, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He sat at the bar at Thirsty’s and nursed a bourbon straight up with the bottle left on the counter and James giving him dirty looks from the other end.
He’d been humiliated before in the eyes of the public, and normally, he didn’t give a shit. As Kennedy always told him, he managed to come out smelling like roses because he was generally a good guy.
Not this time.
Nope. The media laid into him, calling him a fake. A fraud. Wondering why he needed to pay a woman to be on his arm. They picked on his manhood. Not a big deal. He could take it.
He didn’t care. He’d weather the storm. So would his business.
What killed him was the way the media treated Kennedy. They painted her out to be a cross between a prostitute, like the character Julia Roberts played in Pretty Woman to a cold calculating, gold-digging woman who went rogue after her boyfriend cheated on her and only wanted Hawk for his money.
Which made no sense and those covering the story knew it, but they still tried to put that square peg into the round hole.
“Thought I might find you here,” Rusty said as he pulled up a chair. “Hey, James. I’ll have what he’s having.”
“I wish he would slow down. He’s five shots in.” James set a glass on the counter.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Rusty said. “When was the last time you talked to her?”
“Yesterday morning when I left the house,” Hawk admitted. Not for lack of trying though. He’d called her eight times. Texted at least that many.
Nothing.
She didn’t pick up. Call back. Or text.
“I know this doesn’t make up for anything, but Cindy was fired, and we’re doing a public apology to you for her bad judgment on the show tomorrow.”
“I appreciate that, but it doesn’t change the fact that what she reported was all true. Even the spin she put on it wasn’t that far off.”
“This might help the sting a little bit. She was arrested about two hours ago.”
That got Hawk’s attention. “For what?”
“She set the entire thing up at your house. Paid the cleaning person to take pictures. Paid another photographer. That’s illegal. The story will switch to her and her weird obsession to make you look bad.”
Hawk laughed, shaking his head. “Not so weird. I dated her a long time ago, and I guess she’s still bitter over the breakup, though I had no idea.”
“She actuall
y mentioned that.”
“I’m shocked. She swore she’d deny ever knowing me that way. It was shortly after Isabelle and I broke-up. It didn’t last very long. Things were fine until Heather, who is one of Cindy’s best friends. Ever since then, I swear, Cindy’s had it in for me.”
“And Kennedy,” Rusty said.
“That’s what I don’t get. What does she have against Kennedy?”
“Why did you and Cindy break up?” Rusty asked.
Hawk shrugged. “I was starting to sign some big up-and-coming names. Some top models and actresses. I had the mindset of being a player, and she was kind of boring. She wanted to get married and all that crap. I wanted a good time. We lasted all of maybe a month. When I first started dating Heather, she was a party animal, and then she wanted to get married. That’s when I walked away.”
“Is that when Cindy went wacko?”
“No. It started when Lorna and I broke up.”
“The night Kennedy got shitfaced and you carried her home like a sack of potatoes,” Rusty said.
“What are you getting at?”
“Cindy was here, in Thirsty’s that night.”
“No way. How do you know?”
“Her Instagram stream.” Rusty held out his phone and showed some images. “So, when you and Kennedy were outed as a couple during Heather’s accusations, Cindy thought sharing that image would cause a lot of problems.”
Hawk swirled the bourbon in the glass before bringing it to his lips. “Okay, but why?”
“Well, she really believed you and Kennedy were a couple. The two of you were very convincing.”
Hawk chuckled. “It was easy because I fell in love with her.” He’d barely allowed himself to think those words, much less say them out loud, but he needed to get them out there, or he was going to go mad.
“That was obvious when we had dinner together that night.”
“We were faking.” Hawk shook his head.
“You can’t fake something that special. You might not have known it or been involved intimately, but the two of you are perfect together,” Rusty said.
Hawk lifted his glass. “I thought so, but we’re done before we even really got off the ground.”
“That’s too bad.”
No shit. “Tell me more about this theory of yours. I’m curious. Why did Cindy keep going after Kennedy?”
