by Elyse Riggs
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chase
I watch Kaylee leave. My chest is so tight it hurts, and I feel like I’m struggling to breathe. I have never felt this ripped apart in my whole life. When my other ex-fiancé left, I felt nothing but a sense of relief. And that was a real relationship.
It’s like a hole has been ripped out of me, leaving me an empty husk. Which doesn’t make sense. I won. The board of directors found in my favor. I’m leaving on a private plane in a couple of hours. This was our plan from the beginning. So why do I feel like I just made a colossal mistake? And why is she so mad?
I stand for a moment processing, blinking into the sun. All of a sudden, I feel the stares of onlookers and hear the clicks of the cameras of both paparazzi and tourists alike.
It makes sense. A scene of that magnitude is going to bring them out of the woodwork. And there’s no way a couple of plainclothes guards can hold back dozens of sneaky photographers with zoom lenses.
The strange thing is now they’re not helping me, now they’re documenting my pain and misery. And I don’t care. Suddenly I don’t care about anything.
I turn to my brother, who sits there with a confused expression and his arms crossed.
Ashley sighs and slumps into a lounge chair. She shakes her head sadly. “What did you do this time, brother?”
It’s time to face the music. I’ve lost her. And oddly, nothing else matters. Not the company, not the money, not even the judgy looks from my family members or the unwanted intrusion of the paparazzi.
I just stand here, having no idea what to do next.
“Sorry, man,” Liam says. “You can’t win them all.”
But I did win. I got what I wanted, just like Kaylee said. And yet all I have is a twisting feeling in my gut.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. For a brief second, I feel a glimmer of hope. Maybe it’s Kaylee. I pull the phone out of my pocket faster than a quick draw artist in the old westerns I used to watch when I was a kid.
Once glance, though, and the hope is gone. I have a text, but it’s not from Kaylee. It’s from Mark. I frown at it.
Congratulations, Chase. The better man won. I hope there are no hard feelings and you understand it was nothing personal. I just wanted what was best for the company. With that in mind, and realizing I was wrong, I resigned my position on the board of directors, effective today. I wish you and Kaylee lots of happiness.
I put the phone back in my pocket. It feels like Mark kicked me in the teeth with the text, even though I know he didn’t mean them that way.
“Why?” It’s all I can say without my voice cracking with disappointment that the text isn’t from Kaylee.
“Who was that?” Liam asks.
I sit down in the lounge chair. “It was a text from Mark. He resigned from the board of directors, just like you said.”
“Chase, what happened?” he asks.
“Well, like you said. Mark didn’t want to stay on the board since the decision didn’t go his way.”
Liam sighs. “I’m not asking about Mark, you idiot. I’m asking about Kaylee. What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know.” I know that I was mad at her this morning. Thinking back, I really was an ass. I run my fingers through my hair. Kaylee says I do that when I’m stressed. She’s right, too. She knows almost everything about me. I pushed her away. I just never thought it would hurt this bad to see her walk away.
“Oh shit.” Ashley says. “Chase, what the fuck did you do? You guys looked for-real engaged last night when we left. How did it all go to shit so fast?”
“We went out to celebrate,” I begin.
“Did you get drunk?” Liam asks. “Did you throw up on her? Pass out in the middle of, well, you know.”
Ashley snort-laughs at that.
“Nothing like that,” I say defensively. “I overheard her talking on the phone. About how awful I was. How I just throw my money around and don’t care about anyone. I don’t remember all of it but trust me it was brutal stuff.”
“Way to prove her wrong about being awful,” Ashley deadpans.
“Look, I got her flowers and everything. Then I overheard the conversation. She didn’t know I was there. So behind my back, she hated me and to my face, well, I thought there might be something there. I wasn’t sure though.”
“What are you saying?” Liam asks. “That she helped you to spite you because she hated you all along?”
“Okay, fine, when you say it like that it sounds wrong, but I heard her myself, Liam!”
“You think she used you for your money, then?”
“Yes,” I shout. “That. It’s obviously that.” It’s always that.
Liam’s lips become a straight line. He definitely doesn’t agree. He stands up and walks across the cabana and kneels down in the sand. It takes me a moment to figure out what he’s doing, but then I see him stand back up with the engagement ring in his hand.
“Shit, Chase. I hate to be the one to poke holes in your theory, here. But as far as I know, no gold digger in the history of the world would ever throw an absolutely flawless, ten-carat diamond ring back at a Covington. Never.”
He squints at it for a moment, holding it up toward the sun. “This thing has to be worth at least a hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Minimum. If Kaylee were a gold digger, she wouldn’t have thrown this back at you. If she were in this for the money, you’d have had to either win a legal action and send in the troops or pry it out of her cold, dead hands. Also, and I say this speaking as a man who has been married three times: You can fake sex, you can fake a great weekend, and you can absolutely fake an engagement. What you cannot fake is a fight. Fake couples don’t fight. They work together for a common goal. They care about each other. Which is what I thought you two were doing. Until it became something else entirely. And lastly, look at your face.”
He turns to Ashley. “Did you see his face when he got the text? A thousand bucks says he thought it was from her. When he found out it was a resignation text from Mark, did you see how sad he looked? Look at him, Ashley, does he look like he won?”
Liam finishes up his speech. I don’t argue. I know that it’s all true. I just wish I didn’t feel this way. I don’t even want the company anymore. I only want Kaylee, but she made her thoughts pretty clear on the matter. I never expected it to end like this.
“You’re right,” Ashley says, staring at me. “That’s new.”
“Fine,” Liam says, reading the mood, a first for him. “How about I buy you a drink?”
That I can go for. I think that right now I could drink an entire bar full of alcohol. I nod at him. Then I panic for a second and look at my watch. “If we hang around here, we’ll miss our private charter.”
Liam “Ah, we’ll catch another one tomorrow. Let’s get you drunk.”
Then the three of us head inside to the resort bar.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Kaylee
I turn on my heel and walk away from the carnage. In my mind, it feels like an action movie where the star, that’s me, throws the hand grenade and then walks off into the sunset.
As I make my way across the beach to where the waves are breaking and the sand is firmer and easier to walk on, I feel like a weight has been lifted off me.
What now? I have no idea. All I know is that I’m free. I got my dramatic breakup and storm-off. I threw back the ring.
Okay, I feel better except I don’t. Once the adrenaline wears off, I’m just sad. I don’t know how I deluded myself into thinking that he actually had feelings for me. I know that despite my best efforts I have real feelings for him. Even if it was all make believe on his part.
I decide that the concept of a love life intervention is sound in principal, but I don’t ever want another one. This one started off fine and ended in disaster. Maybe I would have been better off with the Paolo.
And now my only plan is to walk the beach. I don’t know how far or to where, all I know is I need time w
ith my thoughts. Lots of it.
I pass the Beaky Tiki, glancing over and seeing the paparazzi high fiving each other and looking down at their phones and ordering lots of food and drinks. It’s a fun looking, rowdy crowd. And it’s not for me. At least not now.
Chase got what he wanted, and the paparazzi took their trophies too. It looks like I’m the biggest loser in this situation. So I do the only thing I can. I keep walking.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Kaylee
I walk the beach for what feels like hours. In reality, though, it’s only been forty-five minutes. Still no closer to clarity, all I am now is tired, hungry, and thirsty.
Hoping that the paparazzi will leave me alone since they got what they wanted, and needing the familiar comfort of the Beaky Tiki and my friends now more than ever, I text them an SOS message, begging them to come back and meet me again.
I fill them in on the new developments of the breakup, ring toss, and storm-off. If Fi and Angie were lamenting my lack of drama before the whole Chase Covington saga, they are getting more than they bargained for lately.
By the time I get back to the Tiki on my walkabout, they are sitting there at our usual table. In a pleasant change of pace, the whole bar and grill is nearly empty. Could it be? My heart leaps for joy as I realize they’re gone. The paparazzi must have bugged out after they got what they wanted.
Right this moment, they must be on their planes and back to wherever the hell they came from and out of my hair. I breathe a sigh of relief. Then I remember that Chase is probably gone too.
Ugh, and now I’m all mopey again. So much for my small victory.
I get to the table breathless and winded from the long hike. Fi and Angie both stand up and pull me into a long hug. I need it even more than I thought I did.
Then we sit. The table already has drinks and chips and salsa. Bless my friends. I dig in and drink half of my drink before even taking a breath while my friends watch me as if I’m going to break in half any moment. Who knows, maybe I will.
“What about the ring?” Fi asks.
“Oh, that was great. I wish you were there. I threw it right at his head. Hit him too.”
“Oof,” Angie says. “I did mention that was worth like, six-figures, though, right?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Did I mention I got him right in the head?”
“You did, yes,” Fi says. Her expression falls. “And he let you walk away, just like that?”
“Just like that,” I confirm. “Said I got what I wanted.” I fight back tears.
“No way,” Angie says. “I was sure he was falling for you. I just can’t believe it. What the hell happened?”
“It was all part of his plan,” I say, finishing my drink and desperately looking around for a waiter. Oddly enough, I didn’t see anybody I recognized. Huh, I thought Abigail was working tonight. “It was never real. And you were right, I couldn’t help it. I fell for him. And to him it was just a business transaction.”
Fi takes the hint and stands up, instantly getting attention. She orders the shots and then sits back down. “I don’t know what to say, Kaylee. I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” I answer so fast it takes me a moment to realize that it’s true. Despite my best efforts to hate him, I know I’m going to miss him. And I’m deeply disappointed it ended this way.
That’s stupid, though. How could I be crazy enough to get attached to a Covington I only met a few days ago and who I entered into a bullshit financial verbal contract with?
I eat more chips and salsa and wait for the drinks.
“So, did he win the corporate whatever that he was fighting for?” Angie asks. She looks like she’s trying to make sense of it all.
Good luck with that, sister. “Yup, got his way. Kept his stupid company. Only because I helped him, though. Or he probably would have lost it. And it doesn’t really matter, he loses either way.” I smile a small, sad smile.
“What do you mean he loses either way?” Fi asks. “He already won, right?”
“He hates his job. Told me so. I told him he should quit that stupid thing. I mean, he has more money than he knows what to do with. His passion is some European soccer league. Or football, as he calls it. That’s the ironic thing,” I say shaking my head as the drinks arrive.
“He would have been happier in the long run by losing, in this case. But hey, not my circus, not my monkeys. Not anymore.”
We all drink. It’s a lot to process. This weekend feels like it’s taken years off of my life. “Hey, at least the paparazzi finally left. Looks like things are finally getting back to normal around here. Or at least post-Covington normal.”
Fi looks at me. “Just another ex. But hey, how many of us can say we dated a billionaire, even briefly?”
“Fake dated a billionaire,” I correct. “But it’s a fair point. Only one thing could make me feel better about all of this.”
“What’s that?” Fi asks.
“The money,” I answer.
“Oh no, not this again. Not after the day you’ve had,” Fi says.
I open the banking app on my phone.
Angie takes one look at my face and then puts her drink down on the table. “Oh shit, Fi, she’s going to do it.”
My finger hovers over the button. I suck in a few quick breaths. My friends are against it, that much is clear. And they’re right, too.
This isn’t about how smart or stupid it is to give back the money. It’s about me being able to feel good about living my life.
Angie and Fi lean closer, all of us staring at my phone app. They look like they’re holding their breath.
“Don’t do it,” Fi whispers.
I press the button.
Angie and Fi groan. I breathe a sigh of relief. What it feels like to me is freedom. Then I remember Chase’s annoying words this morning. “Oh yeah,” I say, “I forgot to mention that this morning he called me a charity case. You believe that?”
Both of their eyes get wide.
Angie shakes her head. “Oh yeah, girl, you totally did the right thing just now. I just wish he hadn’t gotten his way in all of this. You got stuck with all the annoyances and got fired, and he got everything he wanted. It doesn’t seem right.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chase
Liam, Ashley, and I eventually get bored and drunk throwing down drinks at the resort bar, so we go back up to my suite.
Ashley says she’ll catch up with us because she wants to grab some things from her room.
Liam and I throw ourselves heavily on the couch. The windows facing the beach are closed, so I open them all back up. I need the breeze.
I turn to Liam. “You’ve been married three times. And divorced three times. Is it always this hard?”
Liam exhales. “If you’re looking for advice, I’m not going to be able to help.”
I glare to him, wondering why he’s being an asshole. I expect to see a smirk or at least sarcasm on his face, but it’s not there. All of a sudden, he looks sadder than I am. “What the hell?” I ask him. “What do you mean you can’t help me; you’ve been through this three times.”
“No, I haven’t,” he says. “I haven’t been through what you’re going through. I never had a girl look at me the way Kaylee looked at you last night. And I’ve never seen the devastated look you’re wearing now in the mirror. Like I said, when my relationships were over, I was relieved. They weren’t real, and they weren’t built to last.”
“But Kaylee and I were fake from the beginning. Well, we did have an unbelievably great one-night stand. Then she tried to sneak out, but you and Ashley were here.”
“Hey,” Liam drunkenly interrupts, “that’s right. She tried to sneak out. Also, not a move in the repertoire of a gold digger. Chase, my man, she was never after your money.”
That stops me in my tracks. He’s right. I stare out the window for a few minutes until Ashley knocks on the door.
When I answer it, she’s holding three boxes of S
crumptious Chocolates and a few skin care products.
“What’s all this for?” I ask, irritated.
“Well, I have to do a live session for my followers,” she says, pushing past me into the room.
She doesn’t even notice that I’m angry.
“I have been so caught up in your drama that it’s been days since I put out any new content. That means only one thing can save me, a skin care battle royale,” she says as she throws all of the boxes and containers onto my kitchen table.
“The chocolates are for me, I mean you. Since you’re sad and all. They’re amazing, trust me, they’ll cheer you up.”
I stare at her waiting for her to figure out what she’s doing to me, but it never kicks in. “Those chocolates aren’t going to make me feel better,” I thunder.
“Why the fuck not?” Ashley asks.
“Because they remind him of Kaylee, stupid,” Liam says from behind me.
Ashley breaks into laughter. “Oh yeah. Well, maybe they won’t help you then, but they’ll sure as hell help me. And you can’t blame me for buying the chocolates. One, they’re delicious, and two, I had no idea at the time that you two were going to break up, did I?” At the end of her little speech, she gives an annoying and overly sassy head waggle.
“Where did you even get them?” I ask, knowing that the chocolates Kaylee gave to Fi for the charity event were the last ones she had.
“Oh, believe me, it wasn’t easy to track them down,” Ashley answers. “The only place that had any left was a Taffy Teaky. I mean the Laffy Taffy.” She finishes the sentence, then looks confused.
“Do you mean the Beaky Tiki?” I ask.
“Yes,” she points at me. “That’s the one. Cutest little beach bar I’ve ever seen. Too many paparazzi though. I had to sneak in with my biggest, loudest hat. Mind if I use your balcony? A beach sunset from a penthouse suite is the exact right location for this particular session. Oh, who are we kidding, there’s never a bad time for penthouse sunset beach session. I’m going to look so pretty.”
