Chapter 10 #2
She reared back, meeting my gaze. “How would it not be an issue?”
“We tell them we’re dating.”
She took a few steps back, getting out of my hold. My fingers itched to bring her in for another hug, because it hadn’t been long enough. “Excuse me?”
“Think about it. The media thinks it’s a PR relationship, so let’s take advantage of it. We’ll make everyone believe this is the real deal. That way the media won’t drag you—”
“And we can clean your image in the process,” she whispered to herself.
My brows etched together, and I frowned.
I was about to protest, but I stopped myself.
Instead, I quickly recovered and blurted, “Exactly.” I wasn’t even thinking about me, but if this was where her mind was at, I was willing to go with the flow.
“I need to soften my image. What better way than being in a serious relationship?” Eagerness took over me as the puzzle pieces continued to connect inside my head.
She remained quiet for a full minute, like she was contemplating it, but then she shook her head. “How are they supposed to believe we’re in a relationship? Everyone in the organization knew I was engaged. Add the fact that I don’t exactly like you.”
“Damn.” I took a step back with a scoff. “I mean, I kind of knew already, but could you soften the truth next time?”
“The same way you softened the truth for me yesterday?” She gave me a hollow laugh. “Your ego doesn’t need to be protected.”
I winced. “Okay, fair. I deserved that. But this is a good idea…” I let the words hang between us as my eyes connected with hers in a silent plea.
I could confidently say with my full chest I didn’t give one single fuck about my reputation.
But I knew Kennedy well. If she found out I was only doing this for her, she would have shut it down quicker than I could have gotten on my knees and said the word please.
She needed to believe I wanted this because it benefited me too.
After all, I was a dick, right? She could keep thinking that. I had no issues playing a role I knew like the back of my hand, even if a pang of disappointment hit me out of nowhere at the idea of lying to Kennedy.
“The only way I’d consider this crazy idea is if you take it seriously. It could soften your image and not put me in such a bad light. As much as it pains me to say this,” she tightened her shoulders and cringed as she continued to say, “it isn’t the worst idea you’ve had.”
I smiled triumphantly as I leaned in closer. “Are you calling me smart?”
Her eyes practically rolled to the back of her head. “Stop putting words in my mouth, Anderson.”
“You should probably start calling me Henry if I’m going to be your boyfriend, baby,” I joked with a smirk.
She immediately feigned a gag and made a disgusted face. “I’d rather you call me Jonesy than baby.”
I softly grazed her cheek with my knuckles with a playful tsk. “You and I both know that’s a lie, but I’ll let it slide, baby.”
She swatted my hand away with a scowl etched on her face. Fuck me, she looked cute when she was pissed. She always scrunched her nose, like she couldn’t decide if she was annoyed or secretly amused, making little creased lines appear on top of her nose.
It was safe to say I had a masochist kink when it came to Kennedy Jones and only Kennedy Jones.
I chuckled and leaned against my truck, my eyes never leaving hers. “What do you say?”
She bit her bottom lip momentarily. It took every ounce of self-control I had to not reach for it and nip it myself. Fuck. With those perfectly cupid-shaped lips, I wanted nothing more than to get a small taste and intoxicate myself with her.
But this was fake. A beneficiary contract. I was fairly certain she’d kick me in the balls with her pointy heels and a sardonic smile etched on her face if I ever attempted to get near her mouth.
I wasn’t brave enough to find out. But boy, was I also eager. The internal battle was never-ending.
She sighed. “I hope this works.”
“It will,” I assured her, trying to sound confident.
There was too much riding on this for us to fuck it up, and this was a crazy idea. I was honestly a little shocked she’d agreed so quickly. But I wasn’t in the business of betting against myself. I had to take my wins where I could get them.
We strode through the arena toward the GM’s office, and the closer we got, the more I could feel my heart wanting to jolt out of my chest.
I had never dated anyone seriously. How was the media supposed to buy this whole thing? We needed to come up with a solid plan. But it was too late to back out. More than that—I didn’t want to. Deep down, I was kind of excited.
I knocked on Anthony’s office door, and after a beat, he said, “Come in.”
I opened the door and found Anthony sitting in his chair with Coach Sloane to his right, the director of human resources, Mac, and the director of public relations and Kennedy’s boss, Brad, to his left.
“Please, take a seat, guys,” Anthony said, his tone eerily calm.
The office was charged with something heavy, like a storm was going to hit at any moment.
Coach’s shoulders were practically up to his ears, while Mac’s face gave nothing away.
Brad was the only normal-looking man in this room, but he’d always been like that.
You could never tell what the guy was thinking.
I swallowed hard as Kennedy and I took our seats.
Anthony leaned forward, elbows on the desk, fingers interlaced.
He watched us with a level of scrutiny that made every muscle in my body tighten.
The only sound in the room was the steady ticking of the clock with the Thunder’s logo on the back wall.
Each second hung with a silence so thick, it was suffocating me.
“How bad is it?” Kennedy asked.
“Not gonna lie to you. It’s not looking good,” Anthony said.
“Reporters have a lot of questions,” Brad commented.
“I’ll fix it,” Kennedy jumped in. “I promise.”
“How long has this been happening?” Coach Sloane asked, face impassive.
I shot Kennedy a look. Her shoulders were tense, and she bit her lip in contemplation. I wanted her to answer, because more than anything, I needed her to know she held all the cards. Whatever she decided, I was going to follow her lead.
Without thinking too much—because, let’s face it, I had never been someone to question things, and I wasn’t about to start—I interlaced Kennedy’s hand with mine. I couldn’t say much with words, but I wanted her to know I was in her corner. No questions asked.
Her eyes moved to where our hands were connected.
The way she was death-gripping my hand, I instantly knew how unsure she felt.
That look of vulnerability settled on her once again, and something primal and possessive roared in my chest. I was ready to take charge.
Not because I wanted to be controlling, but because she needed it.
I cleared my throat in a failed attempt to calm my nerves. “It’s…recent. We’ve been dating for about a month, but we made it official as of yesterday.”
“Those pictures were taken yesterday.” Anthony narrowed his eyes at me. “Kind of weird timing, don’t you think?”
My mind went blank, but we were too deep in this. I had to keep going. “Well—”
Kennedy cut in. “Since we decided to make it official, we didn’t think going to the store together would matter much. We certainly didn’t expect people to notice us. If you look at Henry’s attire, he was wearing a cap and a hoodie. It was a complete accident.”
Anthony leaned back on his chair. “As you guys know, the organization doesn’t have any issues with employees dating, but they do have to disclose it,” he said carefully. “Were you planning on disclosing this relationship?”
“Of course,” I said. “We were planning on meeting with you today.”
Everyone in the room looked at us expectantly, like they were waiting for us to break. I squeezed Kennedy’s hand in reassurance. It was…nice to feel her palm against mine. Natural. Like they belonged.
Anthony nodded. “Okay, then. This is good. Now we can release an official statement and kill the rumors that this is a PR relationship.”
“Because it isn’t, right?” Brad interjected, raising an eyebrow.
I shook my head. “I’m crazy about her.” My eyes found Kennedy, and I gave her a smitten smile. It was scary how good of an actor I was.
Oh, so this is what we’re calling your little crush now? Acting? my brain mocked.
Kennedy smiled, too, though it was awkward as hell. “Right,” she forced out.
We were going to have to come up with a plan and practice, because the tension rolling off her body was apparent.
“Okay, then. I will email both of you some paperwork. Please sign it as soon as possible,” Mac said. “I’ll go get it done right now.” With that, he strolled out of the office.
“I’ll draft the statement and give you the final version in an hour or so, Anthony. I’ll schedule something for later today so we can address this with the press,” Brad said.
Anthony clasped his hands. “Perfect. Kennedy and Brad, you’re dismissed. Anderson, you stay here for a minute.”
I tensed. Shit.
Kennedy nodded, and before she almost got out of my grip, I brought her hand to my lips and gave her a soft kiss. “I’ll see you tonight?”
The move startled her. Her eyes became as big as saucers as she squeaked, “Sure,” and quickly stood and walked out of the office.
We were most definitely not selling this. The woman was smart, beautiful, and strong as hell…but a terrible actor.
“What’s up?” I asked once the office door was shut.
Anthony and Coach glanced at each other for a moment then stared at me with blank expressions.
“What’s really going on?” Coach asked gruffly.
Anthony raised his hand to stop him. “What Sloane is trying to say is, if you are doing this for PR purposes, you don’t have to. Yes, you fucked up, but you’re not resorting to…”—he cringed—“desperate measures, right?”
I scoffed at them in disbelief. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Even if this was fake, I didn’t like their tones one fucking bit.