Kallie

Kallie felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't eat. She could barely sleep. And everywhere she looked, there were reminders of Ash. Her bed. Her walls. Her windows. Her bathroom. Hell, even her damn office. He had touched every part of her life, both physically and metaphorically, and she couldn't shake him. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to blink. It hurt to think about doing anything else other than lying in bed and being depressed. But she had a job to do and clients who were still there, despite the news being run on her. So she got up and dragged her depressed ass into the office.

She walked into her place of work and tried not to remember the time she and Ash had made passionate love there. She tried not to recall when he pinned her to the wall and bent her over her own damn desk. The cum stains were still etched into the facade of the desk. The area a little darker than the rest of the wood around it. It was the first time she had admitted to herself that she loved Ash. The first time she was truly convinced she had moved on from James and made the right decision.

The right choice.

Kallie sat down at her desk and forced herself to work. She took telephone calls and booked times to go give quotes and she had videoconferences with people who needed help with all sorts of things. Rearranging their schedules. Managing their money. Rebuilding their finances. The works. It was one phone call and one videoconference after another, and for a moment there she forgot all about Ash. All about the violent storm raging outside the walls of her pathetic office.

But it was a storm she would weather alone.

Because Ash wasn’t there any longer.

She breathed a sigh of relief when all of her meetings were done for the day. Despite the media storm and the fire blazing all around her, she had nine people call for her services. Nine in one day. That was a record for her business. But that still didn’t erase the reality of the life she was leading. It still didn’t erase the heartache she felt deep inside.

Kallie sat back and stared at her computer, moping as her mind ran away with her.

She couldn't concentrate. Every time she pulled up something to do, her mind would wander to Ash. To the island. To the storm they had gotten stuck in and all the lies that led them to this point. She forgave him when he wasn’t what he seemed. She trusted him after blatantly lying to her about some incredibly important things. Had he forgotten about that? Had he forgotten how she initially reacted to him having money? Was he being that opaque about all of this?

Kallie tried calling Ash three separate times before she pulled up her social media.

She guessed he was being that opaque about it.

She scrolled through the contents of her social media life and scoffed at what she saw. Women applauding her for using men the way they’d used women for so many years. Other women debasing her for being the poster child for why men never trusted women. Never leaned on them for anything. And it didn’t take her long to stumble upon pictures of Ash.

Pictures of him with other women.

His arm was around a young, black-haired woman in a short black dress. Thigh-high boots. She was handing him a drink before another picture showed them dancing together. Grinding on each other. She recognized that club. That was the club he had found her at. The club Eris had dragged her to that night.

Despite what she knew was best, she clicked on the article and continued scrolling.

Pictures of him in that place were everywhere. Blond women. Brunettes. Tall and short. Thick and thin. Covered in glitter and completely clothed. All of them up against him. All of them being touched by him. He had a massive smile on his face. He gazed into their eyes as he ground his hips into them. His legs were between theirs and his arm was hanging onto them. He was throwing back drinks and laughing with fervor, surrounded by beautiful women she could never hold a candle to.

Well, he certainly didn’t take much time replacing her.

What an idiot Kallie had been to think otherwise.

What she and Ash shared hadn’t been real. It couldn’t have been if he didn’t trust her. If he couldn't see through James’s bullshit. If it was this easy for him to flee to a club and wrap himself around other women, then he clearly never could have loved her. Never could have enjoyed her the way she thought he would. She felt her heart slide to the floor as it gasped for air. She kept scrolling through the pictures, hoping to find some redeeming quality. Maybe a photo of him walking away with a grimace on his face. Or a frown. Anything to signal to her that it was a ruse. Or fake. Or simply a mistake on his part.

But there was none.

Only smiles and laughter and drinks and beautiful women.

Ash Worthington.

And he wondered why he was a goldmine for gold diggers.

“Knock, knock.”

Eris’s voice pulled her from her trance just before her office door opened.

“I come bearing gifts of food.”

“I’m not hungry,” Kallie said.

“Then I’ll eat it while I sit with you in this very small office you still haven’t upgraded,” she said.

“What are you doing here?” Kallie asked.

“You mean besides coming to comfort you while James lies about your entire existence to the nation?” she asked. “Nothing, I guess.”

“I haven’t heard from you in days.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been a little missing in action lately. But, apparently, Jeremy is more distracting than I originally assumed.”

“The guy from the club? You’re still doing that?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. I’m very much ‘still doing that,’” Eris said. “And he does what he does very well.”

“At least someone’s life is headed in a positive direction.”

“Have you talked to Ash about this?”

Kallie shot her a look.

Eris held her hands up. “Just asking.”

“I did talk with him,” Kallie said. “And it didn’t go well.”

“What? Did he not believe you or something?”

“He didn’t just not believe me. He called me a gold digger. Said James was right. Told me that he didn’t know how in the world he’d fallen for my ruse and then downright told me he didn’t trust me. I showed him our texts, Eris. All we did was call while I was on the island. Three times!”

“Yeah, those messages are bullshit,” Eris said. “I can’t believe he’s getting away with this.”

“I’ve been trying to track down whoever he hired to be the photographer for the wedding, but there’s nothing. That was his job. The photographer and the reception. I was supposed to do the ceremony and coordinate with the musicians,” Kallie said.

“Honestly? With the shit he’s spinning, there’s a good chance he’s paid the photographer or some shit to get rid of the pictures.”

“Could you give me something here to work with? I’m about to throw myself out the window.”

“Kallie, the point to all this is that you deserve to be trusted. Through anything. And Ash couldn't give that to you. He struck me as wishy-washy from the beginning. Ever since I met him in that club and gave him the rundown. And I’m sorry, but any man who can question your motives after I come for him is looking for a way out.”

“You think?” Kallie asked.

“I do,” Eris said.

“You did go at him kind of hard.”

“And yet he still wants to believe your bullshit ex and his fun little talk-show interview over you. But, in his defense...”

“Are you kidding me right now?” Kallie asked.

“Look, even I can admit when someone’s built up a decent story. The way James is spinning this? Those text messages he created for that damn show? It’s pretty convincing. And with no pictures from the wedding, there’s nothing else you’ve got to come at him with. I mean, I could talk to the girls and we could go to the press, but then all that looks like is your friends sticking up for you.”

“He fucked his best man’s wife. Where the hell is that guy?” Kallie asked.

“Look, we can figure that out later. The point is that I’m not justifying Ash’s actions, but it’s a tall order. Yes, he should have sided with you. But he’s also only known you ... what? Two weeks? Three weeks? And then all this shit happens and there’s a picture of you kissing James—”

“He kissed me.”

“I know that. Kallie, I know that. I’m your best friend. I’m the one that caught him with that skanky bitch. But James is playing this smart and he’s playing this ruthlessly. If he can’t have you, no one can. That’s what’s happening right now. And the more names you pour into the mixture, the harder he’s going to come. At me. At the girls. Hell, even at the woman you’re going to say he fucked. Which he did, but there’s no proof of that. It’s his rich word against yours, and you know he’ll win. Right now, in this climate, he’ll win.”

“So you’re saying I need to keep my mouth shut and not expect Ash to trust me. Great,” Kallie said.

She fell back against her seat as tears streamed down her cheeks. She had no way to prove her side of the story. At least, no way that wouldn’t be misconstrued by the media. They’d already branded her as guilty. They’d already accepted the invitation to James’s slanderous pity party. They’d already turned Ash against her. But she shouldn’t have to prove her side of the story. The man she was set to spend the rest of her fucking life with banged her bridesmaid the day of their wedding. In the chapel closet! All she wanted was to escape and find a way out of her emotional turmoil, but James somehow gets to win?

How the hell was that fair?

“I hate this,” Kallie said.

“It’s not fair,” Eris said. “It’s really not. But you’re better than all of this. You’re strong, Kallie. Stronger than any person I’ve ever known. And I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering how in the world you’re going to prove your innocence. But you shouldn't have to. James is the shithead here, and Ash is a close second. I can see where Ash is coming from, but that doesn’t make him any less wrong in his reaction.”

“He called me a gold digger. He believes this nonsense,” Kallie said breathlessly.

“And it’s his loss,” Eris said as she walked around Kallie’s desk and pulled her friend in for a hug. “It’s his loss.”

Kallie leaned into her friend’s stomach and sobbed. She cried for all the nights she spent with Ash and all of the beauty she wouldn’t experience with him again. She cried for all of the heartache James had caused her and all of the retribution that was going to come from this. She cried for her aching heart and her empty soul. She cried for the future she saw herself leading with James until Eris came bursting into her bridal suite. She cried for her future. For her past. For the present. For the upheaval she couldn't control and the chaos ensuing around her. She cried until she couldn’t any longer, then she heaved and coughed and sputtered.

“Let it out,” Eris said. “Because once you’re done, it’s time to buckle up and keep going.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Kallie said in a whisper.

“Then I’ll help you. Whatever you need, I’ll make sure you get it, okay? This will blow over. It’s a fad right now, but something else will happen eventually. James will fall on his face or some celebrity somewhere will be caught naked on a shoreline and the headlines will change. All of this will fade away, and this story will be a distant memory in a month or so. That’s how pop culture works. That’s how sensationalism works. It sucks now, but it won’t suck for long. Because something is always happening. That’s the true power and influence of the media.”

“So James just ... wins?”

“Oh, no. That asshole doesn’t win. I’ve already hired the hitman to take him out. James is as good as dead.”

“Well, tell him to stop by Ash’s house next,” Kallie said as she pulled away.

“That’s the spirit,” Eris said with a smile. “Now, you want this sandwich I brought you or no?”

Kallie made herself eat, but she still felt hollow inside. Nothing made her feel better. Not the empty threats. Not the sandwich. Not the soda sitting on her desk. Nothing. She didn’t know what she needed, but it wasn’t any of what she had in front of her. She felt cooped up in her office, yet somehow safe from the world around her. She briefly considered bringing a sleeping bag and camping out in her office. Removing herself from the world for a little while. She felt like she needed an escape, but wanting an escape is what got her into this mess in the first place.

So if she couldn't escape, then what could she do?

Because Kallie was fresh out of ideas.