Chapter 2
REID
“Aww, you know I only realize how much you really love me in moments like these,” Bianca said, trying on a wide belt, glancing at herself in the mirror.
“And in the rest of the time, you don’t?”
“Well, yes. But I know you hate shopping, and yet… here you are. Lately, I think I’m the only person who can lure you out of your lair.”
“Bee-Bee,” I warned, even though she wasn’t wrong.
She pointed a finger at me. “Told you not to call me that. What would my friends say if they heard you?”
“That your older brother is in your corner, and they’d better not mess with you.”
“Uh-huh. That will earn me so many friends. Oooh, look. I want to try this on.”
I sighed. I’d set myself up for this, so I had no one to blame but myself.
I’d brought Bianca shopping on Rodeo Drive.
It was her favorite activity. I liked to make her happy.
“Let’s go to the evening gown department.
I promise this is the last store.” She batted her eyelashes, giving me a pleading look.
“You said that three stores ago.”
“Well, it got us moving, didn’t it?”
I nodded and she darted to the dresses section, heading straight to the sales associate.
At seventeen, Bianca was just as full of energy as she’d been when she was a toddler.
There was a big age gap between us, because Bianca had been a miracle child for my parents.
I was fifteen years older, and from the moment they brought her home, she’d become my favorite person.
It was hard to grasp the fact that my little sister was now trying on prom dresses.
She was a young woman, though when she had her black hair pulled back in a messy ponytail like right now, she looked much younger.
“Hmm… neither of these are good enough for prom. But I could use the black one for Mom’s parties. What do you think?”
“Buy both if you want to.”
She waggled her eyebrows, grinning.
“How’s school?” I asked after I paid, and we walked out into the blinding afternoon sun.
“Oh, you know. Same. Boring and never-ending.”
The edge in her voice clued me in that something was awry.
“Anyone giving you trouble?”
She avoided my eye, taking an inordinate amount of time closing the clasp on her bag.
“Tell me.”
“I don’t want to upset you.”
Fuck. What was going on?
“Bianca, what’s wrong?”
“Well… ever since Marion has been saying all that stuff about you, some idiots at my school have been attacking you to provoke me.”
“Bianca, you know none of that is true, right?”
I hadn’t even read everything Marion had said. After the first article showed up, I hadn’t wanted to read another word again. I’d figured since it was all lies, there would be no reason to read them.
She straightened. “Of course, I do. I showed them, right?”
“What do you mean?”
Averting her gaze, she went on. “Err… I got suspended for getting into a fight.”
Her words hit me like a punch. “Bianca….”
My sister had never gotten into trouble. She was a good kid. She liked movies more than school, and her grades weren’t all that great, but she’d never gotten into a fight until now. She’d never been suspended.
She shrugged. “It’s no big deal. It was just three days.”
“When did this happen?”
“A while ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t Mom and Dad tell me?”
“We all thought you had enough on your mind already. It’s no big deal.”
Yes, it was. A huge deal. Bullies were after my sister because of me.
I took a deep breath but failed to calm myself.
How had I let it come to this point? I’d ignored the tabloids because I didn’t care what Marion said, what anyone thought.
But I’d never imagined it would escalate like this.
Did my parents have to deal with uncomfortable questions?
Had they kept this from me just so they wouldn’t worry me?
I was thirty-two. They didn’t have to protect me.
I needed to fix this.
Was this what Hailey Connor had meant when she’d said innocents could be dragged in?
Despite myself, I’d slid Hailey’s business card into my wallet after she left my office last week.
I smiled, remembering the unabashed way she gave me shit, the way her brown eyes had narrowed on me.
I’d liked her eagerness to do her job. I admired her persistence, even though I’d been pissed that my team had blindsided me with the meeting.
She hadn’t been intimidated by me. That had been sexy as hell.
And the way her dark hair fell over her breasts, highlighting her small waist had been even sexier.
When she’d left her card on my desk, I’d nearly wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled her flush against me to kiss her. Clearly, I was out of my mind.
But the fact remained that my approach had been wrong.
I’d thought I didn’t need anyone managing the scandal, that it would just fade away on its own.
I was still convinced that it would eventually die down, but if there was a risk it would harm those I loved before that, then I’d do whatever it took to manage it.
“Did you hear anything I just said?” Bianca inquired as we headed to my car.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought.”
“Hmmm… were you thinking about a woman?”
“No.”
“You totally were. You answered too quickly.”
“Mind your own business, Bee-Bee.”
“Let’s make a deal: you stop calling me that, and I won’t annoy you. On second thought… nope. I like annoying you too much. So… who were you thinking about?”
“Bee-Bee,” I warned.
“Fine, keep your secrets. I hope to meet her soon.”
I said nothing. I didn’t want to bash my sister’s hopes. Bianca was too young to understand what it was like to be so deeply betrayed, hurt, and disappointed that you could never imagine trusting anyone with your happiness again.
I was hoping she’d never have to find out. I would do my damn best to make sure no asshole broke her heart. Then again, I wasn’t the best judge of character, or I wouldn’t have bought Marion’s spiel.
After dropping off my sister, I called Deborah.
“Reid, I’m about to leave the office. Anything you need me to do before?”
“Listen, Bianca just gave me some troubling news. Kids at school are picking on her because of the things the tabloids are saying.”
“Ah….”
“Are you sure no one in our PR team can handle this?”
“They wouldn’t be half as good at it as someone routinely dealing with tabloids and gossip sites. I have a list of other specialized agencies. I’ll call another one and set up a meeting for you since things between you and Ms. Connor clearly didn’t work out.”
I clasped the steering wheel tighter, considering this.
Judging by the fact that the first thing that came to mind when I thought of Hailey Connor was the way her hips had swayed when she walked out the door, I should tell Deborah to find someone else.
Yet I couldn’t ditch the thought that Hailey was the right person for this.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll contact Ms. Connor myself.”
I needed to fix this mess. The first step was getting back in Hailey Connor’s good graces.