Page 28 of Wild King
Wincing, she says, “More time being hours. I’m not sure that’s enough time to truly get to know someone. My guess is he’s not the person you think he was at that resort. I’m thinking he’s more the man who bailed on you without even saying goodbye and sleeps with his subordinates at work. That’s likely who Kellen King is, unfortunately.”
Her assessment of him stings, so feeling defensive, I shrug and say, “Nothing unfortunate about it. If that’s all he is, then too bad for him. My job is to showcase the best side of him to fix this problem for his brother and the family business.”
“Tell me. Are his brothers all as good looking as him? I think I saw a pic when the oldest one Matthias took over King Industries, but what are they like in person?”
My sister. Always with her eye on a possible match for me.
I smile, thinking back to meeting them all in the game room at that enormous home on that huge estate. “Let’s just say that Mr. and Mrs. King didn’t produce a bad one out of the bunch.”
A huge grin spreads across her face while I proceed to toss shirts and pants into my suitcase. “I knew it! If one is hot, then they’re all hot. Great genes. That’s what it is. Did you like any of them? I mean, assuming they aren’t all like Kellen, maybe you and one of his brothers could get together.”
Throwing her a nasty look, I shake my head. “I wasn’t exactly thinking about which other King brother I’d like to move onto next during that short but not terribly sweet meeting, Ever.”
When she doesn’t continue our conversation, I find myself slipping into memories of my time with Kellen and wishing we were at that villa instead of back in reality where he’s a bad guy and I have to fix his mess.
My phone vibrates in my purse next to Ever, so she reaches in and fishes it out for me. Glancing at the screen, she smiles. “It’s Joshua,” she says in a singsong voice.
My ex-boyfriend Joshua Travers is a corporate lawyer I broke up with last month a few weeks before I flew down to the islands. The man never had time to see me, so I didn’t expect that our break up would bother him.
I was wrong. He’s called nearly every day since then, mostly leaving voicemails that express how much he wants me back because I rarely answer his calls. Unfortunately for him, my time with Kellen showed me that the sole reason I was considering going back with Joshua wasn’t a valid reason. I’d thought he was okay in bed, but one day with a man who knew how to please a woman shot that idea to hell.
So now I have no reason to want to get back with him. I haven’t told him that, though. I’d rather just avoid the whole situation and move on with my life.
I wave away the idea of answering the call. “Just let it go to voicemail.”
“No way! Joshua is always good for a story. Let’s see what he has to say today.”
And with that, she answers the call, opening up a possible Pandora’s Box for me. Sisters can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.
“Hey, Joshua! It’s Ever. I’m in charge of Salem’s phone at the moment. What’s new?” she asks with a giggle.
I scowl at her, shaking my head, as I whisper, “Why do you encourage him? You’re cruel.”
“She’s packing her suitcase for a business trip.”
Ever holds up the phone and smiles. “He wants to talk to you.”
Glaring at her, I sigh heavily and hold out my hand. “Fine.”
I take a deep breath, not interested at all in this conversation. “Hi, Joshua. I’m sorry, but I’m really busy.”
That doesn’t sound the least bit believable, but I don’t care. He hasn’t gotten the hint that I don’t want to talk to him by my not answering his calls and texts, so maybe he’ll finally get it now.
“I heard something today that I can’t believe. Are you actually working with Kellen King? I told the person who said you were that’s not possible because no client of yours would ever have given that interview the other night.”
In addition to never making time to see me and being utterly mediocre in bed, Joshua’s tendency to be a know-it-all is also a reason I didn’t mind breaking up with him. “I am handling his PR, yes. I didn’t come on board until after that interview, though, so you’re right on that point.”
“I’m surprised at you, Salem. I thought you were a feminist.”
There’s nothing more infuriating than a man thinking he knows better than a woman what a feminist is. Do we women go around explaining to them how it feels to have balls?
“My being a feminist has nothing to do with this job, Joshua. I’m a fixer, and Mr. King requires me to fix his reputation, which is why his company came to me.”
“But he sexually harassed that poor woman. Isn’t that an immediate ticket to hell in the opinion of every woman in the world?” he asks, punctuating his question with a chuckle.
The way he says that poor woman instantly gets under my skin. He doesn’t care about her. Joshua has never cared aboutsexual harassment victims, and that assumes we should call the woman accusing Kellen of that, which I’m not convinced of yet. Plus, that crack about every woman in the world bugs me. He barely knew anything about this woman when we were dating. I think it’s safe to say he knows next to nothing about all the other women on the planet.
“You really have no idea about women, do you?”