Page 14 of Wild King
CHAPTER SEVEN
Kellen
The concierge washappy to give me a reservation for snorkeling at one p.m., so there will be time to have a little fun before we have to head down to the water. After that breakfast, I need to work off some of those pancakes, and what’s better than some lunchtime sex?
While I’m waiting for her to get back, I reach for my phone without thinking. It’s so ingrained in me to while away the time looking at social media that I don’t even consider that I’m on vacation, so what the hell do I need to look at what other people are doing with their boring lives?
Before I can toss the phone back into my bag, it begins to vibrate from a call coming in. Who the fuck thinks they should bother me now on a weekend? I told my brothers where I was going, so it couldn’t be them. Anyone else I don’t give a damn about.
I see Matthias’s name come up on the screen, though. Jesus, what the hell does he want? I swear he lives to make memiserable. What about I’m going away and don’t want to be bothered wasn’t crystal clear to him?
As much as I don’t want to talk about work with him, I swipe across my phone screen and angrily answer, “What the hell do you not understand about don’t call me?”
Like always, he sighs, and all I can think is he’s sitting in that cushy home office of his with his feet up on his desk thinking he’s far too important to deal with idiots such as me. I’d be happy to never hear from him again, if that would work for him.
“This is serious, Kellen. I wouldn’t be interrupting your trip if it wasn’t,” he says in that all-too-solemn big brother voice.
“What the fuck is so important that you have to bother me on a weekend, Matthias? I do get to enjoy days off, don’t I? Or is that another one of the many rules of King Industries that I’ve broken?”
“God, Kellen. Stop acting like you’re some oppressed man. This is serious.”
The tension I always feel whenever I talk to him begins to manifest itself in a headache. “Jesus Christ, what is your problem? You know, it’s not a crime to relax. You should try it sometime. Might as well get your jollies now because when that kid comes it’s going to be nothing but no sleep, shitty diapers, and playdates with other parents you won’t like.”
Damnit! I was having a perfectly good vacation here, but of course, my oldest brother has to rain on my fucking parade.
“Thank you for your assessment of my future, but we need to focus on your present right now. As I speak, the nightmare I was afraid of is happening in real time. A woman who worked here quit yesterday, and she’s all over the news talking shit about our company and you.”
None of this interests me since I constantly have to deal with disgruntled employees, so I hum and say, “Okay. I’ll handleit when I get back. It’s the weekend, for God’s sake. There’s nothing I can do today.”
Of course, that doesn’t make him happy.
“How was your trip back to the fifties, Kellen? We work on weekends nowadays. It’s called the internet. Big invention. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
“Well, I don’t work on weekends. I’ll take care of everything when I get back. I promise. Can I go back to enjoying this beautiful villa and my snorkeling I have scheduled this afternoon?”
Another sigh from Matthias tells me the answer is no.
“Kellen, listen to me. This is a real problem. This woman claims you sexually harassed her. Her name is Gina Manchester. Does any of this ring a bell?”
His voice is a mixture of frustration and genuine concern. It doesn’t happen often, but when he’s like this, he reminds me of our father. Maybe I should give him a head’s up about this whole Gina thing so he doesn’t have to spend his entire weekend a worried mess.
“Relax, Matthias. I didn’t sexually harass anyone. You know me. If someone isn’t interested in me, I walk away and consider it their loss. Gina’s texts were some I showed you. We slept together. No big deal. Everyone had fun. She knew what it was and what it wasn’t. She’s just pissed I didn’t want forever.”
My brother is silent for a long moment, which I can’t deny is a good thing as far as I’m concerned, but he finally says, “I don’t think that’s going to help when she sues us. You need to get back here and clean up this mess.”
Knowing he’s not going to let this go, I relent. “Okay. I’ll take care of things and you’ll see it’s nothing to get all bunched up about. Go back to your Saturday. I’m sure you have things to do, like wallpapering the nursery or covering all the outlets in the house with those little plastic protector things.”
“Just handle this. For the record, nobody uses wallpaper anymore. I’m not sure where you’re getting your information about what expectant parents do to get ready for a child, but maybe you should join us in the twenty-first century. In fact, you could try some time travel to the present when it comes to working and women.”
He doesn’t even bother saying goodbye before ending the call, but that’s fine with me. I don’t need to hear any more of his nonsense. The guy is a workaholic who has no appreciation for a good time.
I’ll never understand why Ava chose him over Theo.
A knock at my door tears me out of my thoughts about my brothers, and I remember the reason I was so happy to begin with today. My mystery woman. The one person who I know is going to make me forget all the bullshit Matthias tried to dump in my lap this morning.
“Come in!”
The door opens, and she pokes her beautiful face into the room. “Everything okay? I knocked a few minutes ago, but there was no answer. I don’t want to interrupt anything.”