Page 29 of Wild King

“I know about you.”

“No, you don’t. You merely think you know me. We never spent enough time together for you to understand much about me.”

And right there we arrive at the same topic we always end up discussing. He has no interest in talking about that, though.

“I know his type is the kind of man you hate. Just watching him in that interview told me that. He’s just a cocky, wealthy guy who thinks he can get away with anything because of his family name.”

I hear something strange in his voice. Why is he acting like this? Joshua never wanted to know anything about my clients. Kellen King certainly isn’t the worst person I’ve ever worked with, so what’s this about?

And then he says the words that explain what’s going on.

“Guys like that bed everything and anything, so you better watch out. He may be a scumbag, but he’s charming, and I know that’s your weakness.”

Ahhh. Now I get it. Joshua is jealous. Maybe if he showed me any of this when we were together I would have had a problem breaking up with him.

“Nice of you to think I can’t hold my own with a charming scumbag. Remind me again why we’re not together anymore.”

“I just wanted to warn you. That’s it. Good luck with this one. I’m not even sure you can fix this guy.”

Disgusted at how little he thinks of my skills as a fixer, I hastily correct him about what my job with Kellen King is. “I am not fixing a man. I’m fixing his public persona. Big difference. Thanks for calling.”

I jab my finger into the red END button on my screen and toss my phone into my luggage. “The nerve of that guy!”

“So I’m guessing that wasn’t his best pitch to get you back?” Ever asks, shaking her head.

“If it was, then he has even less chance of getting me back than he did before. What an ass. Only he would think he should call me to warn me about my client’s ability to charm.”

Ever sits up and hops off the bed. “Especially since you know firsthand about that man’s charm. You should have told Joshua that Kellen already got into your pants. That would have been a very different conversation if you had.”

She walks away and heads toward the kitchen, so I yell after her, “You know, letting that detail out would make this job next to impossible, so how about we agree to never mention that to anyone? Did you hear me, Ever?”

A few seconds later, she pokes her head around the doorframe and smiles. “Sorry. I got carried away there fantasizing about making your ex feel like dirt. You’re right. We will never speak of this again.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, I never thought you should go out with him anyway. He’s way too boring for you. You deserve someone fun.”

I nod as I think I met someone like that. Except Kellen turned into a bad guy, and now I’m not sure I will ever see him as anything else.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Salem

When I finish packing enoughfor a couple weeks, I drag my suitcases out to my kitchen where Ever is sitting at the table drinking a Diet Coke. I set my luggage near the front door and join her for what will be the last time for a while.

“You know there are two other clients who are going to need your attention while you’re upstate since we already talked to Miss Show The World Her Goodies and her team already. Do you want me to take over with them?”

I blow the air out of my lungs as I go over the list of items I’ll need to work on to begin cleaning up Kellen’s reputation. It’s not a lot, but I’m going to have to pull out all the stops to convince people to help me get the word out.

So I should hand those two other clients to my sister. On the other hand, those clients don’t require as much from me since I’ve been working with them for the past few weeks. In addition, I have the feeling I’m going to need something to take my mind off how hard it’s going to be working with Kellen and everyone in the media who’s already got their mind set about him.

“No, I’ll take care of them too. I’ll have my files, my laptop, and my phone, so nothing will be different than if I was here in the city.”

“I know. I just figured I’d offer since I just finished with that actor and his mess. Not that I don’t think someone else will come along needing our services.”

Laughing, I look around my apartment I’m going to miss for the next few months. “They better. Living here costs some good money.”

She stands up and tosses her empty soda can into the garbage. “Not to worry. I charged Matthias King the premium price to clean up his brother’s mess.”