by Kasey Krane
On the ride down to the garage, I kept checking my emails and texts. There was no correspondence from Everett. I was in that meeting for over an hour, and that would’ve given him enough time to get to Sean’s place and back.
I feared the worst. What did Everett find when he got there? Did he have to rush to the hospital? Did he have to call the cops?
I drove like a lunatic all the way to Sean’s apartment building. I parked haphazardly on the side of the road and ran up the steps to his apartment. I knocked several times and there wasn’t any answer.
“Sean! Everett! Sean!” I shouted their names and continued banging on the door. I had tears in my eyes. My whole world was spinning.
I never should’ve agreed to Sean living alone. I never should’ve let him go. I should’ve been there to protect him.
Then I heard their voices as they stepped out of the elevator together. My heart skidded to a stop. I turned to see them coming towards me. They both had happy smiles on their faces. There were paper bags of food on Sean’s lap as he wheeled himself towards me.
“Hey Sis, we were just talking about you,” Sean said.
It was a struggle to blink the tears away, but I needed to act fast. I didn’t want them to see what a mess I’d become, but I was sure they’d noticed.
“Do I want to know what was being said?” I asked. I tried to laugh, but it came out all awkward and throaty.
“No,” Everett said and they looked at each other and laughed.
“Sis, will you just relax? I’m fine. Everything is fine,” Sean said as we entered his apartment together.
Everett declared he was going to make coffee for all of us. I didn’t even know he knew how to do that. Sean wheeled over to me and grabbed my attention. He knew I was panicking, as much as I tried to hide it.
“What happened? Josh sounded worried.”
Sean shrugged. “I’ve had an essay due and I’ve been working hard on it. And I guess…you know how I get when I’m struggling with something. Self doubt creeps in.”
“You should’ve called me, Sean. If you weren’t feeling good about yourself.”
“I dealt with it.”
I sighed and he smirked at me.
“And besides, I feel a lot better now. It was kinda nice you sent Everett over. He had a fresh perspective for me.”
“What did he say?”
“We talked about losing our parents. It’s kinda strange but comforting to know he’s going through the same experiences I have been through, you know? The same experiences as you. So you guys have a lot in common.”
I would’ve never put it like that, but Sean had a point. And I had to admit my brother looked very calm now. He was smiling like he genuinely meant it. Whatever magic Everett had worked on him, it worked.
“Well okay, I guess I’m just happy you’re doing okay.”
“I’m doing great.”
Everett reappeared with mugs of coffee. I gulped mine down because I needed it, even though it chafed my throat. Sean and Everett stared at me.
“I have some doughnuts in that bag if you want those too,” Sean joked. I rolled my eyes at him.
“Anyway, I’d love to stay and chat but I have to get to class or I’ll miss my essay submission.”
The panic rose in me again. If Sean left, I’d be alone with Everett and I didn’t know how to handle that. I knew I needed to thank him for stepping in and doing such a great job, but I didn’t have the words for it.
“Great, you’ll do good. You have my number now, so text me if you want to chat,” Everett said. They clapped hands and did that guy-shake. Sean came over to me and it looked like he wanted a hug but was too proud to ask for it.
I leaned forward and gave him a tight hug and he moulded himself to me. He didn’t even pull away when I gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
“I’ll see you soon. Maybe we can have lunch together tomorrow?”
He nodded.
“Just pull the door shut behind you when you’re leaving. But don’t feel like you need to hurry up and go,” he said with a wink. My stomach did a flip.
Had Everett said anything or was Sean just picking up on the sexual tension between us? Either way, it was bad news.
I saw how much Sean liked Everett. I didn’t want him fixating on us having a relationship because that wasn’t going to happen.
Once Sean had left, Everett turned to me. He had a doughnut in one hand and pink icing on his lips that made me suppress a smile.
“See? That wasn’t so bad,” he said.
“What did you tell him about us?” I snapped.
The last thing I wanted was for us to start getting comfortable with each other.
“I didn’t tell him anything about us. All he knows is we work together. That I’m your client.”
I put down my nearly empty mug of coffee and crossed my arms over my breasts. While the images of last night played in my head—his cock inside me, his hands on my breasts, his tongue in my mouth…I tried to focus on reality. Last night was just a fantasy that could never repeat itself. No matter how sexy he looked right now.
“You should’ve texted me when you got here. I was worried.”
“I said I’d let you know if there was anything to worry about.”
“You should’ve texted me.”
“Fine.”
Everett put down his doughnut and dusted his hands.
“I’m going to leave now, because it looks like you need some time to yourself,” he said.
Maybe I’d pushed it too far. Maybe I should’ve thanked him. I definitely should’ve thanked him. But for some reason, it felt like if I did, it’d be admitting defeat.
Defeat of what?
I said nothing and kept my back to him as he went to the door and then left.
We should’ve kept it professional. We should’ve stayed out of each other’s pants.
My phone pinged almost immediately with email notifications. They were from Steffi and she’d sent me links to some tabloid photos online.
All her email said was—
You got him to hang out with Sean? For a photo-op?
Before I’d even clicked on the photos, I felt sick.
The pictures were exactly what I expected them to be. What I should’ve thought of before I allowed them to be seen together.
Everett walking with a boy in a wheelchair.
Everett’s hand on his shoulder. The boy in the wheelchair looking up at him in admiration.
Everett buying doughnuts from a food truck and handing it to a boy in a wheelchair.
—That was what my brother had been reduced to. An anonymous teenager in a wheelchair who was now going to be pitied. And Everett would suddenly transform into this amazing hero who spent his free time with boys in wheelchairs.
I was getting what I wanted. An image transformation for him.
But at what cost?
And what if Sean thought that I’d used him?
Twenty-Two
Everett
And just like that, Keira dropped off the map without an explanation.
It’d been four days and I hadn’t heard a word from her. Not since I walked out of her brother’s apartment in a cloud of irritation and frustration.
It was a constant battle with her. Every time she came anywhere close to me, she pushed against me again. Even after I had a perfectly successful morning with her brother when we were able to talk to each other and share our genuine emotions, she wasn’t even able to thank me for it.
Instead, she made me feel like it was all a big mistake.
Sure, I’d never experienced something like this before, so maybe I didn’t know what I was doing—but it certainly didn’t feel like a mistake.
I knew I wanted Keira, and much more than just as a fake girlfriend. Much more than my PR Agent who’d turn my life and career around. I wanted her in my bed, every night and every morning. I just didn’t have the words to express them to her. I wanted this fake relationship to transform an
d grow into something real. Whatever that meant. I just knew I wanted to hold on to her, but she kept slipping away.
And now I couldn’t reach her.
I’d spent four days waiting for her to call or text or email. Then I sent her a few emails and texts, asking if she’d anything else planned for us. Wasn’t she supposed to be working on my case? I was still her client, right? Regardless of what happened between us.
But I got no response.
I considered showing up at her apartment again like I did that night, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t take that well. I even thought about firing off an angry email to her boss and demanding to have a meeting with her.
Eventually, I just decided to wait.
Besides, I had a few things keeping me busy.
I’d taken her advice and showed up at my office. Tate was there to show me around. He had taken the initiative to get himself relatively involved in the business in the past few weeks.
He even told me my brothers wanted me to have our father’s office. I couldn’t do it. I stood at his desk and stared at all the family photos he’d put up there and I left.
But being there in the office, meeting the people he used to work with every day, seeing the legacy he had left behind—reminded me of what he would’ve wanted me to do.
He depended on me. He would’ve wanted me to keep the company afloat and that was exactly what I’d do.
So I called for a meeting with the shareholders. Whether they approved of me or not, I needed to get in their faces and make them see I was here to stay.
Finally, I’d take charge of the family business and my own life.
All my brothers showed up for the meeting with the shareholders, and they were all equally as surprised as I was with the turn of events. None of us had expected it to work out.
“You haven’t been drinking,” Harris said. We waited in our father’s office for the shareholders to arrive for the meeting.
“No, I haven’t. I just kinda stopped and I haven’t been thinking about it,” I replied.
“Does this have anything to do with the blond bombshell?” Oliver asked with a chuckle.
“Your PR chick?” Jack was surprised. “You’re faking a relationship with her for the cameras, right?”
“Yes, something like that,” I replied.
“What’s that supposed to mean? That it’s not fake?” Harris was curious.
“It means it's complicated. We’re working together.”
“And sleeping together?” Harris smiled.
“You fuckers are making me want to drink again,” I growled but they all laughed. I still didn’t know where things stood between us.
“Well, whatever it is, it’s working. You’re looking…good, bro,” Harris continued. He walked over to me and extended a hand. I shook it and he nodded. “I just want to take this opportunity to tell you I’m sorry for…what went down before.”
“Tensions were running high. We suffered a big loss. All of us. None of us were thinking straight,” I said.
“Mom and Dad would want us to stick together, even though we drifted apart in the past few years. They’d always hoped we’d find our way back to each other,” Tate said.
Oliver and Jack nodded, while Harris and I smiled at each other. Tate was right. It would’ve filled our parents with so much joy to see us like this today. All of us together, standing in our father’s office, dressed in sharp suits, waiting to meet with the company’s shareholders. Things were on the verge of sentimental in here.
“Well, I should probably apologize for my behavior too. And yes, I’ll make a formal apology to Mendez. Even though I still think he had it coming.”
“This girl has really done a number on you,” Jack said with a chuckle.
One of the secretaries knocked on the door and said the boardroom was ready for us.
We looked at each other. We were glad we weren’t going in there by ourselves.
“Come on boys, let’s give these people a Baker show,” I said, leading my brothers out of the room.
I smoothened my tie as we headed in the direction of the boardroom. I did actually bother with a tie today. I wanted to make an impression. I wanted to make the right impression.
And the last thought I had before we walked into the boardroom was of Keira. I imagined she’d be proud of me if she saw me here today. If she knew the steps I’d taken to get to this position and how determined I was to work hard for my family.
Maybe she didn’t know it, but she’d shown me a reason to turn my life around. And not just for the cameras.
And to everybody’s further surprise, the meeting with the shareholders went unexpectedly well.
I’d listened to a lot of crap the last few weeks, about how these people would try to kick me out and complain about how our share prices had dropped. However, it seemed like they’d changed their minds.
I’d prepared a speech and a short presentation on what my vision was for the future of the company. I’d spent a lot of time and energy on it, researching and studying with Tate’s help. And the presentation went off smoothly. Everyone in the room appeared to be interested in what I had to say, and they seemed to have faith I’d be able to get it done.
When I was done and sat back in my seat, they congratulated me. My brothers beamed with pride, obviously stunned by the knowledge and prowess I’d shown. I guess I was listening all those years when Dad used to lecture me about the business in the background. I didn’t even think I had it in me to pull it together.
“It’s commendable you were able to change your image and the bad publicity in a matter of days,” one of the shareholders said.
“It took some work and planning. What you see now is a carefully constructed image of the man I should’ve been.”
“And this is all thanks to the PR agency working for you?” someone else asked.
I nodded.
“The blond woman being photographed with you has really caught everyone’s imagination. You two look like you have a good thing going.”
“She is actually the woman working with him,” Harris spoke up.
“The PR chick?”
Harris smiled wide while I remained silent.
I hated being reminded of what our relationship really was. Or at least what it was supposed to be.
“Clever girl,” the man murmured, like he was thinking.
“And what about the boy in the wheelchair? Did she plant him too?” someone asked from across the room.
Sean? They were talking about Sean. I had no idea those photos were taken or were being circulated. Fuck.
“That was a very smart move,” Harris added.
I wanted to tell him to shut up but he was just trying to be supportive. He didn’t know the truth.
But what was the truth?
Did she plant him? Did she plan the whole thing?
“Those photos of you two at the Cancer Society Ball really added to the glamorous romantic story she’s been building. A beautiful couple in each other’s arms.” This time it was a woman who had spoken up, and the others nodded in agreement.
“And the next day you’re seen walking around with a boy in a wheelchair. Those tabloid photos look effortless and natural,” she continued.
I sat silently in my chair while the others spoke about me and Sean. I didn’t know what to say. I felt a pressure building up in my chest. I hadn’t allowed my mind to go there, but now Keira’s silence these past days made sense.
She was thirsty for professional success—that much was clear to me from the start.
Did she plant Sean in my path too? Just to add to the story in my favor? To make her plan work?
“Excuse me gentlemen, but I have a phone call to make,” I said, standing up with a jerk. I couldn’t be around these people anymore.
I needed to get the facts straight.
Twenty-Three
Keira
Everett sent me a few emails in the days after he spent time with Sean. They were all gruff
arrogant messages about how I wasn’t being professional because I hadn’t gotten in touch with him yet. He said he wanted to know where my plan was headed and if I had anything else in the pipeline for him.
Maybe he was right, and maybe I should’ve been more professional about it and reached out to him with some other ideas. But I couldn’t make myself do it. Not after I saw the photos of him and Sean together.
Everett smiled straight at the cameras in those photos. He even had a hand on my brother’s shoulder as he handed him a donut. He gave off the vibe of being some kind of modern-day Messiah. It was sickening.
He knew the cameras were there. He knew what kind of photographs were taken of him, and he spun the story in that direction on purpose. He knew he’d gain the sympathy vote. I just couldn’t believe he’d do something like that. Especially after he had claimed he wanted to keep his charitable donations anonymous.
What a load of bullshit!
I needed time to calm down. I needed to decide how to handle it. I knew I couldn’t work with him anymore. I couldn’t work with someone who’d used me without my knowledge. All he had to do was keep Sean out of it, but he viewed my brother as an opportunity and took it.
Then a few days later, I finally responded to one of his emails suggesting we should have a meeting in my office to discuss further plans. I got no response.
When I sent him a follow-up email the next day, I got no response to that either. He ghosted me.
I was confused and angry, but I finally got the answers to my questions when George called me into his office the next day. It’d been a week since I last saw or spoke to Everett at that point.
“Congratulations on a job well done, Keira. The Baker family has been very happy with the campaign. So much so we’ve even received a few queries from people connected to the family, looking to hire us for their own image consultancy. They must be praising you to everyone they’re meeting.”
My brows furrowed. I didn’t know what to think.
