Kallie

Kallie was surprised to see the woman standing in Ash’s living room. His mother had a very large glass of wine in her hands, and the idea of it being Ash’s mother made her weak in the knees. Her nerves grew and her hands began to shake, and suddenly she felt very out of place. Like she’d barged in on a moment not meant for her. Why hadn’t Ash told her his mother would be there? Why didn’t he at least tell her she was coming over?

Kallie felt cornered, and she didn’t like it.

“Kallie,” the woman said.

Like his mother was trying her name on the tip of her tongue.

The woman was wearing enough jewelry to blind a man and the clothing on her back was obviously expensive. Kallie was painfully aware of her fake jewelry and her department-store clothing in the presence of a woman like her. She watched as Sylvia raked her eyes up and down her form. A small crinkle formed at her nose, like she didn’t enjoy what she saw.

“So what brings you back to the city?” Sylvia asked while ignoring Kallie. “Did you finally grow tired of screwing tourists?”

Kallie’s eyes widened before they shot up to Ash.

“You’re being inappropriate, Mother,” he said.

“So, you’re screwing locals then,” Sylvia said.

“Enough,” Ash said.

“Well, whoever you choose to spend your time with, just be mindful of who you are. Our family has a reputation to uphold in this country, whether you choose to be in it or not. Slumming around and lowering your standards won’t help you if you want to get serious about your life.”

Kallie watched as Sylvia took stock of her again and her stomach dropped to her toes. Was his mother talking about her?

Ash stepped forward and Kallie watched the scene unfold. Ash grabbed his mother by the elbow and not-so-gently escorted her toward the door. She was fighting against her son and he wouldn't let up, and Kallie stepped off to the side to give them room. To get out of the way. To hopefully melt into the walls, so she couldn't be seen.

“You’re not allowed to come into my home and talk to my friends that way,” Ash said. “Go crawl back under the rock you’ve been hiding under for the last year and leave me alone.”

“You’re being an idiot,” Sylvia said. “Just like your father. Always thinking with your dick instead of with your head.”

“Pretty sure cocks have heads,” he said flippantly.

Kallie watched them disappear around the corner and walk down the hallway. They were still talking, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. She gripped her hands and tried to quell their shaking. She leaned against the edge of the couch and closed her eyes. Her heart was slamming against her chest and all sorts of familiar feelings were rushing back to the forefront of her mind.

This was how James’s mother used to treat her.

Kallie didn’t look up until she heard the door shut firmly. Her eyes rose to meet his and sorrow dripped from Ash’s eyes. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as she trembled on the couch.

“I’m sorry for my mother,” he said. “My family is full of assholes with inflated egos. There’s a reason I pulled away from them a long time ago.”

James’s mother wasn’t as public with her opinions as Sylvia had been, but they were still one and the same. Would Kallie always be considered inferior by mothers of her partners? Was that something she would have to come to terms with? She felt Ash stroking her back. She felt him unclip her hair before he ran his fingers through it. She relaxed into him, her cheek pressed to his chest.

She could feel his rhythmic heartbeat underneath his soft shirt.

“Forget whatever you’re thinking,” Ash said. “You’re wonderful, and beautiful, and a much better human being than my mother ever could be.”

His words were sweet, but Kallie still felt a nagging sense of inadequacy and disappointment deep within her gut.

“Come on. Why don’t we go lie down for a little bit?” Ash asked.

The next thing Kallie knew, she was waking up in his arms. Curled around his body with her work clothes from the previous day still on. She stretched and looked at the clock, smiling when she saw it was almost ten in the morning. She still had two hours before she needed to be in her office, and it felt good to be able to settle back into Ash’s grasp. He pulled her close and nuzzled into her neck before she drifted back off to sleep. And when the two of them woke up again, it was a little after eleven.

“You're late,” Ash said.

“Nope. I cleared my morning,” Kallie said.

She felt him smile into her neck before peppering it with kisses.

“We didn’t eat dinner,” he said.

“I think we were both pretty drained from the festivities of last night.”

“Forget about her. My mother’s opinion has no bearing on me.”

“Nice to know, because I don’t think she was very impressed,” I said.

“My mother’s never impressed. It’s a personality trait of hers.”

“How charming,” she said flatly.

She lay there in bed until the last possible second. Staring into Ash’s beautiful hazel orbs and getting lost in his smile. A passionate make out session at the door sent her off to work with a fuzzy feeling in the pit of her gut, and she almost forgot about the storm brewing outside.

Almost.

Just as Kallie opened up her office door, a text message was sent to her phone. From Eris. All it had was a clickable link, and Kallie almost ignored it. For all she knew, Eris’s phone had spam on it and whatever she clicked would infect her phone as well.

But her curiosity got the best of her and she opened it up anyway.

The second James’s face popped up on her phone screen she felt her stomach lurch. She shut her office door behind her and watched the interview as a tagline appeared below the screen. Tears rose to her eyes and fell down her cheeks as she pressed her back into the doorway. She slid to her ass, her heart stopping in her chest as her hand gripped the phone.

Gold Digger Digs Claws into Worthington Heir.

“Oh no,” she said with a whisper.

The picture of her and James kissing popped up on the screen and she thought she was going to be sick. Her hands were shaking violently, and she couldn't stand to her feet. She heard a videoconference coming in through her laptop, but she couldn't get there. She couldn’t get to the person she had agreed to help because she needed help.

Out of the frying pan and into the fucking fire.

Only this time, Kallie didn’t know what the fallout would be.