Page 34 of Size King
“How can you know that?” she asks in desperation. “Aiden, many have gotten fired formuchless. Their careersneverrecover, and their reputations become stained for life. If I don’t get fired from the agency, I’ll probably have to go somewhere else anyway. Or maybe I should start applying for jobs at the Times Square Mall.”
“Kate,” I say, reaching out and grabbing onto her hand. “I’ll make sure your job is protected and that you have security. I’m not going anywhere. There is no Tech Wreck without me, and Tech Wreck is only getting bigger. As long as I’m here, you’ll have job security, I promise.”
“You can’t put everything all on the line for me,” says Kate. “Honestly, it almost doesn’t matter whatyou’redoing in the video. You can play it off easily, but me? This makes me look like a whore that sleeps around to get ahead or something.”
“That’s not the case.”
“I’m fully aware of that, Aiden, but you and I both know it doesn’t matter what the truth is,” she snaps. “Look at the tape and tell me we aren’t in deep shit.”
“We’re definitely in deep shit, but nothing we can’t overcome,” I say as reassuringly as I can. “We just have to figure out what we’re going to do.”
“Why are you not freaking out?” Kate asks.
“I’m absolutely freaking out,” I say shamelessly. “I’ve just gotten good at not showing it.”
“You’ll have to teach me how to do that,” she says. “But Aiden, if it gets to the point where you have to, like, lie for me or something—”
“I will protect you, regardless of the cost,” I say. “And there’s nothing you can do about it. We’re in this together, Kate. Don’t lose sight of the partner you have.”
She takes my other hand, hugging it against her face adoringly.
“I’m just so upset,” says Kate. “We finally got out of the storm, and now we’re right back in the middle of another one. We need to catch a fucking break already.”
“Amen.” I chuckle. “Bu, you just said it. We got out of the storm. Didn’t it seem impossible to make me look like a decent person after everything Sarah did and said? Well, this is no different. We’re going to figure out how to get through this, we’ll find out who released the tape, and we’ll decide what to do next. We’ll find ourselves an opportunity somewhere in this mess, and we’ll do the best that we can.”
* * *
I leaveKate’s apartment alone, wearing a hat and sunglasses to try and conceal my identity from people passing by. I don’t see any people or cameras around the building, and so I think I’m going to be okay.
I’m wrong. As I approach the front entrance to her apartment complex, I can hear mumbling and loud chatter on the other side, with sounds of cameras going off randomly. There is a crowd waiting for me, anxious to ambush and prepared to add fuel to the developing fire in my life.
I’ve handled cameras and reporters before, so I’m not worried, but I do wonder if I should try exiting her apartment complex from another way. I asked Kate before I left which exit I should take to leave, and she said it didn’t matter. There are many exits, but I suspect that there will be cameras and people waiting at every point. I just decide to grin and take it.
I step out of the complex and am hounded by tons of paparazzi, flashing their cameras and shouting out their questions. It’s all inaudible yelling and nonsense to me, so I just push through the crowd, weakly waving and smiling as I head to my limo.
I know that this is going to hurt. The paparazzi is catching the walk of shame, seeing my disheveled hair and unkempt clothes, and surely reporting it to whatever source is paying them. It’s even worse that I’m not leavingmyhome, but Kate’s. They are lucky that I’ve just had some of the best sex of my life the night before. Otherwise, I might have gotten confrontational with someone.
It’s much worse outside my house. The paparazzi is practically an army outside my property, waiting to get any shot of me. The windows are tinted on my limo, but that doesn’t stop them from taking pictures of the car as we pull into my estate and close the gate behind us. I’m grateful that I don’t have to walk throughthatchaos.
I get in the house and go straight into the shower. I considered just changing and getting to the office right away, but I want to wash away whatever stress I can and try to feel a sense of clarity while cleansing.
As I stand there in the shower, letting the hot water hit my back while I lean against the wall, I contemplate everything. All that has happened, all that is waiting for me outside my house, and all the options at my disposal. I have to figure out the best way to handle all of this, playing calm and collected when I’m really in emotional turmoil will only last for so long.
In weighing my options, many come to mind, but most of them don’t satisfy me, and the ones that do are all crazy and probably won’t work.
Then, I get an idea. It’s simple, yet I can’t shake it. We will just fake being together.
* * *
After I get settledin my office at Tech Wreck, I call Kate and tell her to meet me here. She says she won’t have long since she has an angry boss waiting for her at the ad agency she works for. I consider calling her boss, but I know that will only worsen things for her.
I really don’t think the idea I’m toying with is a bad one. If we just fake being boyfriend and girlfriend for a while, it will make it seem like we are just fooling around as two people that really care about each other. It seems like somewhat of a stretch, but how will anyone know we are lying? If Kate goes along with it for a little while, then the scandalous footage will just morph into an embarrassing sex tape between a fledgling couple.
I’m still not looking forward to proposing the idea to Kate. I know it won’t be something she can’t handle, but it certainly is unorthodox and will probably dictate how she lives her life for a few weeks. I think I’ll be ready by the time she gets to my office, but I’m not.
When she arrives, I wait for her by my office doorway so that I can usher her in immediately and close up. My blinds are already drawn, and I’m doing my damndest to avoid all the eyes of my curious employees as they stare at me.
She gets in my office. I take her coat, close the door, and lock it.