Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
S alem
I close my laptop after my video call with Matthias ends and turn around to face my new housemate. Wow, he is big. Even his head is big, and I swear even though his blond hair is short, there’s more of that than on other people too. I have to tilt my head back so far to look up at him my neck hurts. Where did Matthias find this guy?
“Sorry. Things are a bit in flux here at the moment,” I say, unsure how to explain that Kellen hates me, even though I’m trying my best to make sure he’s welcome in society again sometime soon.
“It seems,” Nathan says in a low voice. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
I smile and shake my head. “I don’t think so, but thanks. I imagine most of your job will involve guarding the door. I don’t know what Matthias is thinking his brother is going to try, but it seems since he hired you he believes something will happen.”
“Mr. King told me what to do. I’m not here to intrude on your job, so you don’t have to worry.”
That’s a relief, although I have a feeling his presence here isn’t going to help things improve between Kellen and me. I’m not used to being hated by a client. It’s even worse since he and I were together and now he treats me like I’m his enemy.
“Okay. Would you like me to show you where the bedrooms are?”
Nathan shakes his head. “No need. I’ll look around and see what’s what. If you need me, just yell.”
He turns and walks out, ducking so he doesn’t slam his face into the doorframe. I wish Matthias had given me a head’s up that he was sending Nathan. Not that I don’t appreciate the attempt to make things easier for me, but I think his gesture just made it ten times harder for me to cultivate any working relationship with Kellen.
Sighing, I return to the desk and flip my laptop open again. I need to focus on monitoring all mentions of him. I watch the alerts hit over and over. Damnit! For the second day in a row, the number is increasing.
Okay. People aren’t ready to forgive him just yet. That’s fine. I just have my work cut out for me.
I know if people saw the playful side to Kellen they’d see he’s not the monster he’s being made out to be in the media. I have to devise a plan that will showcase that side of him.
Thank God no one can see how he’s acting today. Even his biggest defenders would have a hard time with his behavior out on the patio and in here once he found out what Nathan’s job is.
In truth, I can understand his frustration and anger. I don’t believe Matthias is trying to make his life difficult with all he’s done, but I can see why Kellen resents what’s happening to him. It’s one thing to have the world against you. It’s entirely another when your own flesh and blood seem to turn on you.
Maybe if I talk to him he’ll see that none of us are against him. That we just want to help.
I make my way up to the second floor and see only one bedroom door closed. I think it’s a good guess that’s his room. I pass Nathan putting away his clothes and knock on Kellen’s door.
But I get no response.
“Kellen, can we talk? I want to explain something I think you should know,” I say to the door, hoping he’s listening and willing to hear me out.
Still no answer.
“Kellen? I really was hoping we could talk.”
The door flies open, and a moment later, there he is standing in those black shorts and nothing else staring at me with pure hate in his eyes. Seeing that unnerves me, but I take a deep breath and prepare to say what’s on my mind.
Except he beats me to it.
“So now you want to talk? Why? Because you have that gargantuan guy here to protect you? Let me guess. You two are planning to do your own version of Beauty and the Beast while we’re all here. Good for you, Salem. Don’t let me get in your way.”
I hate seeing him so unhappy, especially since he believes I had a part in making him feel this way. “I told you I didn’t know anything about Nathan being hired to come here. I don’t think it’s necessary, but I don’t have a say in that. Your brothers are the ones who decided he should be here.”
Nothing I say seems to have any positive effect on him. He simply continues to glare at me like I’m his mortal enemy and he can’t remember anything good about me.
“I really don’t want us to be at each other’s throats the entire time I’m here, Kellen. I’m working very hard to change the perception of you in the public eye. Just give me a little time. I know I can fix this for you.”
That only serves to infuriate him more, and he steps forward so we’re practically touching one another. Leaning down, he gets in my face and says in a low voice tinged with rage, “You aren’t doing this for me. This is for Matthias and my other brothers. Not for me. I don’t give a damn what people think of me. It’s them who care, not me. So save yourself the effort of trying to convince me you’re the good guy here. You’re not. You’re just a smaller version of my new jailer.”
He steps back and a second later slams the door in my face. Feeling like a complete failure, I begin walking back to my office, but Nathan steps out of his room and stops me.
“Do you need any help?” he asks before glancing down the hallway toward Kellen’s closed door.
“No. Thank you. You know, Kellen isn’t anyone you have to protect me from here. He’s just unhappy he’s stuck in this house with us. Don’t take it personally, though.”
Nathan smiles. “Oh, I won’t, but I hope you don’t.”
I nod and continue on my way downstairs to the office. As much as I don’t want Nathan to take what Kellen says and does personally, I’m finding it difficult to follow that advice.
It just feels like the person I met down in the islands is nowhere to be found anymore.
For the next hour, I research all I can find out about Kellen King. The fourth son of Maximilian and Elizabeth King, he attended Cornell majoring in business administration and Columbia to earn his MBA, graduating with honors from both schools. With MBA in hand last spring, he immediately went to work for his family’s company, heading the logistics division.
Article after article talk about him in glowing terms, comparing him to his father and suggesting one day he’s going to be at the head of King Industries. Every business magazine and journal heralded his joining the company as a win.
Kellen was an intelligent student who succeeded in undergraduate and graduate school. He was the darling of the business world less than a year ago.
So what happened to change him into the man he is now? Nothing in all I’ve read paints him as a selfish bastard.
Until recently. Now he’s public enemy number one and the biggest villain of the business world.
I continue searching for any information that might solve that riddle and come across news of Theo King’s death last fall in an accident during a race in France. He’s described as fun-loving and popular with the women, a charming ladies’ man who was a bad boy and chased danger.
Ava’s words echo in my head as I read about the deceased King brother. I’m not sure how well she knew Theo, but as Matthias’s girlfriend, she likely had some understanding of how close he and Kellen were.
Maybe she’s right. Maybe his brother’s death has affected Kellen and made him into the person he is today.
After nearly three hours of working on learning all I can about my client, I close my laptop and stretch my arms and legs. Everything I’ve found about Kellen King so far indicates he’s an incredibly talented and intelligent man who everyone loved until he suddenly changed and began behaving like no one else in the world matters a few months ago. Nothing in his educational or work history hints at him ever being anything but a professional destined to lead his family’s company someday.
I truly don’t understand what happened, but I have the sense that I won’t be able to show the world someone who can be admired and respected until I figure it out.
Exhausted and starving, I walk out to the kitchen, wary that I might run into Kellen once again. I don’t think I can handle another confrontation with him today. At the resort, he was charming, so I enjoyed challenging him. Now, he’s utterly miserable, so even speaking a few words to him is a chore.
I open the refrigerator and see the delivery service Matthias arranged for our meals must have begun. I pull out a container and see through the clear cover that it has meatloaf with gravy and green beans, along with mashed potatoes. I consider having this for dinner, but one look at those mushrooms sitting on top of the slice of meatloaf turns me off.
The next container I take out has a piece of chicken covered in what looks to be barbeque sauce. I might enjoy that, as long as it isn’t too spicy. The last thing I need to do after today is add to the ulcer I suspect is growing inside me. This container also has some kind of potato, boiled maybe, and carrots.
I look at the underneath of the container and see listed what it holds and heating instructions. Microwave for two minutes, stir the vegetables, and then continue heating for another two minutes.
While I wait for my meal to cook, I notice it’s already dark outside. I thought it was only five o’clock when I finished working. A quick glance up at the clock on the wall tells me it’s nearly seven already. Where did those two hours go?
That’s what happens when I get into my work. I lose time more often than I want to admit. Ever calls it dedication. I worry it’s more my way of avoiding the world and hiding in my job.
Then again, considering what’s happening in this house, I don’t think anyone would blame me for hiding or avoiding.
The microwave dings to let me know my food is ready, so I take out the container and let it sit for a minute while I search for a plate and fork. The smell of the barbeque sauce fills the air with sweetness that makes my mouth water.
I pull out drawer after drawer looking for a fork, and finally I locate the silverware in the one nearest to the stove. Makes sense. I should have checked there first.
As my food cools, I open the refrigerator and see a variety of soda and iced tea for me to choose from. It seems that Matthias has thought of everything.
“Too bad his brother isn’t more like him,” I mumble as I grab a glass from the cabinet and pour a drink of orange soda.
Suddenly, a banging noise outside in the yard startles me, and I run to the front door to look out. I see Nathan standing in front of a car, completely blocking out one of the headlights with his body.
I rush out to where he is and ask, “What’s going on?”
He points at the car, and I squint to look inside. Kellen sits in the passenger seat angrily staring out at us, and a man I’ve never seen before sits behind the wheel. He looks stunned that Nathan isn’t letting them leave.
“I caught him sneaking out while you were making dinner. I hurried over to stop them from leaving. I think your client would have his accomplice run me down, but thankfully, the driver doesn’t seem to want to kill someone for his friend tonight.”
Anger and sheer betrayal courses through me, and I consider just telling Nathan to let them go. If Kellen has sunk to sneaking around to escape this house, even though he knows I need him to stay out of the public eye until I can fix the problem he’s caused, then maybe this job isn’t going to work out and I should just tell Matthias I quit.
As I stare into the car and see nothing but hatred in Kellen’s expression, he throws open the car door and slams it shut so hard the car shakes. Storming over to where Nathan and I stand, he seems so upset I worry he might actually hit one of us.
Rage fills his eyes as he barks, “I bet you’re loving this. Is this the only way you can keep a man with you? I bet I’m not the first guy who wanted to get the hell away from you.”
His words sting like a hard slap to the face, but I refuse to let him see how they make me feel. I’ve tried to be understanding with him, but I don’t see how this is going to work.
I walk away without saying a word, unable to speak without showing how much his words hurt me. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there isn’t a good side to Kellen King after all.
Maybe people hate him for good reason.