Chapter 3
“It’s Evie and Micah!” A chorus of voices greeted them as they approached the park. Evelyn knew she would have to start going to places closer to Michael’s house, but for the last eight years, these people had been their extended family.
“Hi everyone!”
From the first day she risked taking Micah for a walk in the kangaroo holder strapped to her chest, these women had adopted her as one of their own. They supported her and gave Micah a safe space to venture out as a normal kid when she was scared for his health every minute of the day.
“Hey, girl! Where you been?” Tricia, the sassiest of the group drawled, hugging Evelyn. The other kids pulled Micah away toward the playground.
“Yeah, it’s been days. We were getting worried Micah got sick again.” Zoe was the one who worried about everyone. She was the mom of the moms. If a meal train was needed or funds to be able to cover rent, she was the one who rallied the troops.
“Mom got married and we went to the store and I got a new car.” Micah blurted, holding his hand open to show off the small, shiny red sports car.
“Married?” Alisha’s high-pitched question asked what they were all thinking. She wasn’t ready for these questions. She wasn’t even sure she was going to tell anyone, but Micah could never keep a secret, even if it was for a birthday.
“To who?” Becky demanded, knowing she didn’t date. They had never asked why, assuming it was because she was so busy trying to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.
“Where’s the ring?” Tricia glanced down at her bare finger. Of course, Tricia would notice. Damn, Michael! If he had cared even a fraction about their arrangement, he would have thought of this detail, or at least had someone who worked for him take care of it.
“It’s someone I’ve known for a long time. The ring is being resized.”
Maybe his PR people should have given her a prep sheet for what to say about the marriage. They mentioned something about an announcement to the media, but she hadn’t seen anything about it yet.
“Honey, if you’re happy, we’re happy for you. You just...” Alisha paused. Evelyn understood their doubts. She wasn’t acting like an excited newlywed, nor did she feel like one.
“Is it the baby daddy?” Zoe whisper-shouted, like all the little ears, especially Micah’s, wouldn’t hear. She loved them like sisters but she had also been witness to their penchant for gossip. Only her mom knew about her history with Michael. And Heath, but he wasn’t going to give away Michael’s secrets anytime soon.
“No, he told me to call him Michael. He’s got a big house on the other side of the bridge and wears suits.” Micah informed them as he sat at the table with his friends taking a drink of water.
“Oh my goodness, look at you all covered in mud!” Zoe exclaimed, taking the focus away from Evelyn.
“There’s an awesome puddle at the bottom of the slide,” one of Zoe’s boys explained.
“Did anyone else see that glint of light?” Becky asked, shielding her eyes and looking into the distance.
“Oh, there it is.” Alisha’s youngest pointed toward a black SUV parked on the other side of the playground.
“Is it a man with a camera?”
“That’s a huge camera!”
“That’s what she said!” Tricia cackled at her joke, and the other moms snickered.
“Hey, Micah, it’s time to get you home and cleaned up.” The cameras might have been for them if the announcement had gone out and the media figured out how to track her down.
“Aw, Mom, we just got here,” Micah complained but obligingly followed her request. If it was the paparazzi, she pondered how long they had been following them.
“Sorry, sweetie, but you’re soaked. I don’t want you to catch a chill.” The other moms hummed in agreement as they said their goodbyes and headed back to her car. She laughed at the thought of the paparazzi preparing for a chase when she could barely get the vehicle up to the speed limit.
When they arrived back at the Harding estate, she parked her old cranky car in the back of the house where someone had moved it previously, even though she hadn’t given anyone a copy of her key. Sending Micah to clean up, she gathered their dirty clothes and went on the hunt for the washing machine.
“Tilly?” Evelyn ran into the maid near the kitchen.
“Yes, Madam?”
“I’m a little lost. I’m looking for the laundry room.”
“Did you lose something, Madam?”
“What? No. I just need to wash our things. Micah got a little excited in the mud today.”
“I’ll take those for you.”
“It’s fine. Just point me in the right direction.”
“Madam, I really can’t let you do that. It’s my job. And I would get in trouble if I didn’t take care of it.”
“It’s true. Everyone needs to know their place around here.” A stern feminine voice inserted itself into their conversation. She hadn’t missed the double meaning in the woman’s words.
Evelyn turned around and faced a young blonde in an off-the-rack skirt suit that was too tight to be comfortable and four-inch heels that made her ankles wobble... She considered whether this woman was the reason Michael didn’t visit her on their wedding night. Then she reminded herself that she was fortunate to have him distracted.
“Hello. I’m Evelyn. I didn’t catch your name.”
“I’m Meghan, your personal assistant. Anything you need will go through me. Tilly, you may go. Take the laundry with you.” Meghan smoothed down the bangs of her straight-cut bob, watching Tilly scurry away.
This was a woman with aspirations. Even if there wasn’t anything between her and Michael yet, Meghan had already decided she was in charge. She was going to be in for a bit of a rude awakening with Eveyln.
“I think you may be mistaken about the definition of the word ‘assistant’. I make my own decisions. You may help when needed. My things are not to be trifled with, do you understand?”
“Michael...I mean, Mr. Harding asked me to be sure you are prepared for upcoming events. I will be keeping your schedule and a list of things you need to do.”
“I don’t know what you’ve been told about me, but as a single mom who had to hold down multiple jobs, I’m pretty fucking fantastic at multitasking and getting my shit done.”
“But Michael said-”
“I know you have to report back on everything I do. In the meantime, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together. It would be nice if we could get along. But to do that you have to take a chance to get to know me and not what Michael has said.”
“I don’t know... I mean, I get it, but I need this job.”
“Don’t worry, Meghan. We’ll work it out. Now tell me what items need to be on this schedule.”
“Your premiere as a couple is next week. It’s a black-tie charity dinner at the Kennedy Center hosted by the McAllister Foundation.”
“I’m familiar with the McAllisters. I assume this is for the children with congenital heart defects?”
“So, I don’t need to tell you how important this is to Michael. Now, we need to go shopping for a dress. We can go to some of the high-end department stores but there are a few boutiques that may have something to accommodate you.” Meghan examined Evelyn’s oversized college sweatshirt, baggy jeans, and worn-out generic sneakers with a grimace.
“Do you know how much those gowns cost? I can’t do that!”
“But Mrs. Harding, you have to attend and wear an appropriate gown.”
“No one said I had to spend thousands of dollars on it or that it had to be new. Come, Meghan! I’ll show you how the little people survive!”
“ENTER!” HE GLANCED up from his paperwork at the sound of a knock. “What were her activities today, Banner?”
“They ate a meager breakfast of oatmeal with some fruit,” Banner read from his small notebook.
“I’m not interested in their eating habits unless they are demanding luxury items and selling them on the black market,” he barked at the thorough butler.
“Mrs. Harding packed a bag...”
“Can you please stop calling her that? Anything but that. What was in the bag? Did you examine it?” Michael asked, sure Evelyn would trip up and reveal her true self when no one was looking.
“I did not. However, Cora helped pack it with lunch and snacks. Mrs— Ms. Evelyn added a jacket for Micah.”
“Next.” He closed his eyes, trying to hide his boredom.
“They ventured to a store I believe is called the BudgetShopper.”
“BudgetShopper? What would they be doing there?” He was familiar with the place for its business acumen and his constituents' preference for the store, but he couldn’t remember ever having stepped into one.
“It appears that Mrs. Harding ‘splurged.’ Her words, as overheard by Tilly.”
“Ah-ha! So it begins. I would have expected something higher-end, but this is a creative way to begin. And you have an itemized list of the expedition?“
“Yes, sir. One child’s footie pajamas, one pack of boy’s underwear, and one pack of boy’s white socks. All generic store brands. And one toy car.”
“That sounds interesting. Is it rechargeable or solar-powered?” Michael envisioned a gleaming battery-powered vehicle some children had instead of bicycles.
“Neither. It is manually driven.”
“I guess it’s good exercise but not much of a spending spree. How much was it? Five hundred?”
“A dollar ninety-nine in the clearance basket. It is approximately three inches in length.”
“That’s all they bought? Certainly an interesting way to begin. I imagine it will ramp up over the weeks to more items at more expensive stores. What else was on their agenda, besides meals?” Evelyn was proving more crafty than he had anticipated, but time would win out.
“They went to a playground in town.”
“By themselves?”
“They were seen talking to a large group of people, mostly women, and children, until they were chased off by the paparazzi.”
“Meghan reported that she met with that woman and went dress shopping for next week.”
“Yes, sir. That is my understanding from what Tilly observed.”
“What else did Tilly say about the interaction?”
“That Ms. Meghan was very scary as usual and she worried for Ms. Evelyn.”
“Excellent. Ok, Banner, I have to take this call. Keep up the good work.” He answered the phone once he heard the door click shut behind Banner. “Sabrina. Tell me something good.”
“Ethan and Blake are on the line too.”
“Have you seen the email I sent to you?” Ethan asked.
“Not yet, I’ve been in meetings all day. What am I looking for?”
“You have a copy of the press release that went out this morning. It was approved by Blake and Heath. Make sure you review it. You’re going to get asked questions.” Ethan reiterated the importance of reading the document, since Michael had obviously proven unreliable on that front with the Evelyn arrangement.
“Nobody cares about this.” He scoffed. “It’s a blip.”
“Is that why the media tracked down your wife and kid and took pictures until they ran off?” Sabrina demanded.
“Banner just said something about that. So they’re curious. They’ll find someone new to obsess about tomorrow.” Michael had dealt with the press enough to know how fickle they could be.
“Do you hear yourself? The paps just chased off your wife and kid. Then they published the pictures,” Sabrina, the serene one in any crisis, scolded him.
“Were the pictures anything bad or embarrassing? She wasn’t in a secret rendezvous was she?” Based on their reactions, he was sure there was a scandal coming his way.
“Jesus, man! She was with her baby’s playgroup. She looks beautiful with the sun glistening on her hair. She was laughing and having a great time until she was scared away.” Blake, sounding poetic in his description of Evelyn, was clearly biased.
“As long as she’s not breaking the contract already.” He had assumed that leading separate lives was one of the perks of the arrangement. The fact that she was the former love of his life didn’t change his perspective.
“Fucking heartless, man! You know what? If anyone from the media asks you absolutely anything, reply ‘no comment’.” Ethan had never been so critical, but they couldn’t understand that he had to stay out of her business for the sake of his sanity.
“What the fuck?” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I have to answer questions about the upcoming vote on the bills going through legislation.”
“No. Not even that,” Ethan roared.
“Michael. Listen carefully. You agreed to this marriage to change your image. You’re a family man now. You need to take an interest in that family, especially when they are being stalked,” Sabrina explained in controlled contrast to Ethan’s tantrum.
“What’s the big deal? Someone took a couple of pictures on a playground. You see that on social media all the time.”
“First of all, it’s against the law and Heath is already looking into recourse. The General Data Protection Regulation requires that the parents or legal guardians of a minor give explicit consent before their image can be published online.” Sabrina was a pro at backing up her statements with facts.
“How do you know she didn’t give her permission? Or maybe she sold the pictures to them. Aha! There’s another revenue stream for her.”
“Get a hold of yourself. If you had looked at the screenshots we sent to you, you’d see she was concerned. Also, the news outlets have removed the pictures from their sites because there was no permission given in any form. But nothing disappears from the internet and these pics went viral before they were taken down.” Sabrina continued to be the voice of reason.
“Michael, this isn’t like you. If you don’t resolve whatever is going on with her, it is going to be obvious to everyone that this marriage is a sham. You’ll not only hurt your opportunity for VP, but you could destroy your career.” Blake had seen plenty of campaigns implode. He knew how bad this could turn out.
“You can tell us. We might be able to help or it could be cathartic just to talk about it,” encouraged Sabrina.
“I knew this was a bad idea as soon as I saw her, but I thought if I just avoided her most of the time, I could handle the occasions when we have to be seen together.”
“That’s not working. Even the pictures we took of you together looked painful. There was some serious Photoshopping that needed to be done.” Ethan, the graphics expert, had done an amazing job making them look like a happy family.
“Until the kiss. That is one for the books. You two have some serious chemistry. That’s not ancient history no matter how many times you repeat it to yourself,” Blake teased, lightening the mood.
“Fine! But this is off the record.”
“Absolutely,” Sabrina assured.
“Evie was a scholarship kid in her freshman year at the university where I went to law school. She was so fucking smart and witty, and she lit every room on fire when she entered. We were inseparable from the day we met. The fact that we were both from the DC vicinity made it easier to see each other during vacations.”
“Right, Heath gave us a variation of the story that we included in the press release,” Ethan confirmed
“It’s so romantic.” Blake had hoped to make a love-match from the first suggestion of the Wife for Hire agency.
“Here’s the twist. She turned eighteen before I graduated. We had a great party, then went back to her place where I proposed.”
“Yay!” Blake cheered, though he knew there wasn’t a happily ever after in this story.
“She said ‘no’.”
“No! Why?” He appreciated Ethan’s incredulous outburst.
“Said she couldn’t say, but insisted I had to trust her. Asked if we could just keep dating and not worry about all of the formalities. She knew there would be a prenup. It was the only explanation for why she wouldn’t want to make things official and start our lives together.”
“Oh, I don’t believe that.” Ethan commented, like he was watching a TV drama.
“You’d be right. I was so incensed that I took off on my motorcycle. I hydroplaned around a turn and the next thing I knew I woke up in the hospital. The doctors were saying I’d never walk again.”
“But you did!” Blake pointed out the positive.
“With a lot of bullheaded determination. It still hurts sometimes, especially if I stand for too long.”
“Right, we have that in our notes,” Sabrina confirmed.
“I usually push through until I can casually find a place to rest. I don’t want it to count against me in the running for VP.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being differently abled,” Sabrina’s comment sounded like it might have its own story behind it.
“Ha! I’m competing with men like my father. They’ll eat me alive at the hint of a vulnerability.”
“A lot has changed. It can inspire others who live with chronic issues.” In his field of work, Ethan would be up to date on the conversations about accessibility in the media, but politics was a different beast.
“That may be the case with the voters, especially the younger generations. If my dad taught me anything, it’s that Congress is still a shark tank, ready to attack at the first drop of blood. I have to stay on guard at all times.”