Chapter 4
#RULESCHMULE
MADDOX
After arguing with Adrian the entire drive to the lodge, I was this close to telling him to forget the whole thing. The only thing that kept me from pulling over and tossing him into the snowbank was remembering the stack of invoices on my desk.
I needed this money. Badly.
“I’ll call around,” I told him. “Find someone who can stand in. You go inside and scope out… whatever. Just give me a few minutes.”
I could tell Adrian wanted to roll his eyes at me and accuse me, yet again, of being a stubborn pain in the ass. A “creative purist” who wasn’t able to shift on the fly.
But that wasn’t why I didn’t want to be in front of the cameras with him.
The real reason was simple—I wanted to be seen as the videographer, not the date.
I didn’t want to be the recipient of his charming smile and pithy comments.
I wanted to take the best damned images and video possible and use it to bring as many eyes onto my work as I could.
Without getting caught up in a silly fantasy.
“Yeah, Maddox, what’s up?” Nate Lewis’s warm voice rumbled over the other end of the line.
“I need a favor. I’ve got a guy—”
“Heard all about your guy,” he said with a laugh. “Everyone in town’s talking about it.”
“We need someone to be his date today for a video shoot. I was hoping you could—”
I could hear him talk to someone in the background before coming back to the line. “Definitely can’t today, but put me down for a sleigh ride with the guy. Maybe Sunday, yeah? Be good publicity for us. Sorry, Maddox. Gotta go.”
The call was over before I could say thanks.
I quickly dialed several other people. If they did say yes, it was the same as with Nate. They’d be happy to help, but not today.
After exhausting the list of contacts in my phone, I blew out a frustrated breath and dialed one more number.
“Sullivan Hardware, this is Maya.”
“I need your help with something.”
After hopping out of Adrian’s rental car, I walked to the lodge’s entrance to find the man and update him on the plan. I held the door for two teenage girls who were racing to catch up with their parents, but when they stepped inside, I heard one of them take a sharp inhale.
“Holy shit, Brynn. That’s Adrian Hayes!”
“No!” the other girl hissed, grabbing her friend’s arm. “No freaking way.”
“My parents are going to lose it. He changed my life. He seriously… omigod. How… how am I going to talk to him without acting like a complete cringe-fest? I have to say something to him, but what? And what if I burst into tears?”
Since they were basically blocking the door anyway, I didn’t feel bad eavesdropping.
Brynn nodded, eyes like lasers honed in on the beautiful idiot across the room. “Like, remember his post about his parents? And how he was so there for everyone in his comments. Hashtag ‘family complications’ went viral for days after that.”
The other girl closed her eyes for a beat. “He was so real for that. Like, so, so real.”
“And when he talked about burnout? I made my mom watch it with me. It was the first time she actually listened when I said I needed a break.”
Not-Brynn shoved her hand in her coat pocket, most likely looking for her phone. “That one got shared by, like, every teacher at my school. My counselor said it made the rounds on the staff Slack or whatever.”
“Ugh, he’s even hotter in person,” the original girl whispered. “He’s like the perfect guy, pretty and kind. I hate that he’s gay! It’s so unfair.”
They moved deeper into the lodge, giggling excitedly as they scurried toward a table off to the side where their parents were being seated.
I stood rooted to the spot, their words still echoing in my head.
Changed my life? Shared by teachers? So real?
It wasn’t that I didn’t think Adrian had fans—obviously, he did. But I’d assumed they liked him for curated photos, luxury travel tips, and whatever cashmere-scarf brand he was hawking that week. Not… this.
Not for talking about burnout. Or complicated family stuff. Or giving a damn about anyone’s comments.
I shoved my hands into my pockets, teeth gritted against the cold still coming in through the doorway behind me. The girls might’ve seen something in Adrian Hayes I hadn’t. Or maybe I hadn’t wanted to.
Didn’t mean I was wrong about him, though.
But maybe—maybe—I wasn’t entirely right either. Maybe there was more to his posts than I’d given him credit for.
“Did you find someone?”
I blinked at Adrian. He’d approached me while I stood there staring into space and was now looking at me with a little divot of concern between his eyes.
“Uh, no,” I said.
“You’re freezing. Come sit by the fire.” He pulled me away from the door and guided me to a table against the wall on the far side of the giant stone fireplace.
Thankfully, he didn’t pressure me to be his date or say something obnoxious about my rules. Instead, he took the seat opposite me at the small table and waited patiently for me to speak.
I swallowed. “So… obviously, it’s very last-minute. And the good news is…” I closed my eyes and cracked my neck from side to side before opening them again and meeting his expectant expression. “I’ve lined up plenty of dates for you this week.”
“Pretty sure I can guess the bad news from that chiropractic routine you just did,” he pointed out. “Spit it out, Sullivan.”
“No luck on finding you a date for today.”
He lifted one perfectly shaped eyebrow but didn’t say anything. His patience routine was unnerving.
I ground my back teeth together. “So I will do it on three conditions.”
His second eyebrow shot up to join the first, and the edges of his lips curved in satisfaction. “Oh, goody. More rules.”
“One, that you keep your smug bullshit to yourself. Second, that this is the only time. Rule three has a onetime exception only. Third, see those teenage girls over there trying hard not to stare and point at you?”
Adrian’s eyes dipped in confusion as he turned to scan the room. “Uh, yeah?”
“They’re apparently fans of yours and would really like to take a photo with you,” I admitted reluctantly. “And since we’re waiting on my sister to show up to help us with the filming, now that I can’t hold the camera, you have time.”
He stared at me with incredulity. “You want me to go greet my fans while you sit here and watch?”
I flicked out my fingers and examined my nails as casually as I could.
“Your adoring crowd awaits. And if you think I’ll be watching you instead of catching up on work via my phone, you’re sadly mistaken.
I have a photo shoot to confirm for tomorrow and a million emails to return.
” I waggled my fingers in a “get out of here” motion. “Now, shoo.”
He let out a breath and stood. Within microseconds, he was sporting his toothpaste smile and setting off to charm his fans.
I pulled out my phone to check my email and account balances, but when I heard twin gasps of surprise coming from the family with the girls, I couldn’t help but look up to appreciate how excited they were and pat myself on the back for helping them out.
Adrian introduced himself politely to everyone and chatted for a few minutes, but I was surprised that it was actually the mother and father who stood up and asked if they could give him a hug.
I stared at the scene. What the actual fuck?
Were they as starstruck as the teens? This guy wasn’t a psychologist sharing healthy communication habits or a philosopher posting moralistic platitudes.
He was a luxury lifestyle persona. His job was literally to sell the fantasy of a richer lifestyle, of wealth and opulence.
Of greed and privilege.
The mother wiped a tear away with a laugh as she took the girls’ phones to take a few pictures.
I couldn’t look away. Who the fuck was Adrian Hayes that he’d had this kind of effect on a random family of tourists in Legacy, Montana?
“For real?” Maya asked with a laugh. I blinked and looked up at her.
“You’re here,” I said stupidly.
“And Mom used to say I was the smart one in the family,” she teased.
I shook my head to clear it. “Thank you for coming. I was, uh… lost in thought about some work stuff.”
Maya looked over at Adrian and back at me, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Work stuff. Right.”
As I scrubbed my face with my hands to keep from snapping at her, she leaned to the side to watch Adrian as he finished up with his adoring fan club.
“God, he’s even cuter in person, isn’t he?” she said on a sigh. “Remember that time I asked you to help me make sugar cookies for Rosie after her favorite horse died?”
I blinked at her, confused about the rapid subject change. “Uh, yeah?”
“I got the idea from a post Adrian did about having a terrible day. Anyway, never mind. Where do you need me?”
Keeping up with the conversational pace of a teenager wasn’t easy at the best of times, and now was definitely not the best of times. I tried to set aside her fangirling and get to work.
And tried not to picture Adrian Hayes having a terrible day.
Or someone comforting him with sugar cookies.
#NeedMoreMen #GossipGirls #IgnoreTheDepth #SoldierOn