Page 81 of Wild King
I stop myself from unraveling and correct that thought. Whatever this is with Kellen’s ex, it isn’t my life that will be harmed.
It’s his.
“What?” he asks, hurrying over to sit next to me at the kitchen table.
For a long moment, I consider whether or not I want to let him in on this news. He was so happy last night when his nephew was born, and then we got together and had a great time. This will only serve to make him miserable again.
Once more, I remind myself that this is his life being examined under a microscope by the world, not mine. He deserves to know what’s happening.
So I turn my phone toward him and say, “This just came from my sister, Ever.”
His eyes scan the message, and his shoulders sag, like all the happiness leaves his body. “Charly Evans. Why am I not surprised?”
“My sister says the major media outlets are going to run this today, so I need to know whatever there is to know about Miss Evans so we can get out in front of this. Anything and everything, Kellen.”
A sheepish look comes over him, and he hangs his head. “Charly isn’t my finest hour, Salem. I dated her when I was nineteen or twenty. I was in college, and she was a waitress at a club my friends and I used fake IDs to get into. There was a lot of drinking, to say the least, and one thing lead to another. I thought she was a sweet girl, to be honest, but when my father found out about her and the club, he made it clear that wasn’t to happen again. It’s not like we were in love or anything. I was young, so was she, and we had some good times.”
My stomach twists into a tight, anxious knot as he recounts their time together. It’s nothing that should be an issue, but after sleeping with him last night, it would have been nice if we could have a few days without this being dropped into our laps.
“When was the last time you saw her, Kellen? From the way Ever hears the story everyone is telling, it must have been within the past month or two.”
Even as the words come out, I can’t imagine it’s possible. He’s been at the house with me all that time.
He shakes his head vehemently. “No. I haven’t seen her since that night I met her after she got out of work when the club closed and I told her I wouldn’t be coming around anymore. For God’s sake, that must be at least five years already. Why she’s coming out of the woodwork now is beyond me.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose to forestall the headache that’s beginning to form behind my eyes. “Because she sees a payday.”
“From me? The company? Whichever it is, she’s barking up the wrong tree, Salem. Nobody’s going to pay her to make her not lie.”
He’s so naïve sometimes. Maybe it’s because he grew up in this beautiful home surrounded by people who cared about him. Maybe it’s because he’s loaded so he doesn’t get to see the seedier side of life. I don’t know what it is that makes him think the way he does, but I have to make him understand what she’s doing.
“No, Kellen, she doesn’t plan to get money from you. She sold her story to some gossip rag, and now the mainstream outlets are running with it because you’re the flavor of the season.”
He sits back and shakes his head in disbelief. “Don’t they fact check these things before announcing shit to the world? I mean, I know the gossip ones don’t, but the mainstream media doesn’t?”
“They used to, but with the internet and amateur photographers everywhere nowadays, they feel like they need to beat as many people as possible to the story to get any benefit.”
I stop for a moment as a thought occurs to me. Now might be the time for Kellen to do one of those interviews I’ve been holding off on this whole time. I’d hoped everything would die down by now, assuming some celebrity would go on some bizarre social media rant or some sports star would disgrace themselves and give Kellen a reprieve from the spotlight, but since that hasn’t happened, an interview might be in order.
“Listen to me, Kellen. What I’m about to suggest may seem contrary to everything I’ve said before, but hear me out.”
He smiles and leans forward to kiss me softly on the lips. “I trust you, Salem. Tell me what you believe I need to do, and I’ll do it.”
I take a deep breath and slowly let it out, hoping my gut is right on this one. “I’m going to set up an interview for you. I’ve got half a dozen offers, but so far I haven’t thought it was the right time. I think Miss Evans just changed my timetable and made it the right time.”
His expression grows dark. “You know how my last one went, right?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t working with you then. I am now, and I won’t let anyone run roughshod over you with questions only intended to trick you into revealing something we don’t want you to discuss. There will be stringent guidelines as to what questions can be asked, and if the interviewer doesn’t follow the rules I establish, I’ll shut the interview down so fast their head will spin. Trust me. This is where I shine, baby.”
He smiles in that sexy way I can’t deny is so enticing. “I do trust you. Set it up. By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as hot as you talking about making some journalist’s head spin off their shoulders.”
“You like powerful women?” I ask, flattered that he likes my tough fixer side.
“Just you. Oh, and there was this female professional wrestler I was crazy about when I was a teenager.”
Kellen abruptly stops talking and then adds, “By the look you’re giving me, I’m guessing that wasn’t the answer you wanted. Let’s just go with I like you being powerful.”
“Good answer. By the way, we’re going to do some serious prep for this interview, so get ready. You may not be so crazy about powerful me afterward. I’ll also be right there with you watching the whole interview go down, so don’t worry.”