CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KATE
This was a disaster.
I scrolled through the web, watching my name pop up on almost every single tabloid there was. They didn’t name my full name, nor did they detail anything about my occupation, my previous home or my history. They didn’t even mention anything about me living with Gray, which just went to show how little they really knew about our relationship.
But there were pictures everywhere—particularly, pictures of Gray’s arm around my waist as we faced off Darla. I didn’t realize how intimate we looked that day until I saw the pictures, with Gray not taking off his arm right away even with Darla gone. It was easy for anyone to assume there was something going on based on the pictures alone, and it didn’t take long for the media to gobble it up and speculate all over it.
Who is Gray’s current woman?
Is this the start of something new?
Famous race car driver caught in a catfight!
This irked me. We are just friends. But the irritation disappeared almost instantly to be replaced by the feeling of being horrified. Instead of turning my laptop off and ignoring it, I found myself poring over the pages and reading every little thing, not sure whether to be mortified that some people called me his latest plaything or choking with laughter as they questioned if marriage was in the future for us. God, they were insane.
I’d stayed in my room while I watched the news on all the sports channels. Gray had left a while ago to go get in some practice laps. But the door slammed open a little later, and I was out of my bedroom before I realized there was someone with him. It was someone I wasn’t familiar with, a homely-looking guy with blond hair and silver-rimmed spectacles. They were talking but trailed off when they saw me standing there and staring at them.
The guy stared back, blinking a few times. Then he visibly brightened, a gleam entering his eyes that had Gray narrowing his eyes in turn.
“Mark…” he said in a warning tone.
I knew that name, as Gray mentioned it once or twice. I watched as he approached me, holding out his hand and ignoring Gray altogether.
“Hi,” he said. “It’s nice to finally meet you. My name is Mark Thompson.”
He was so friendly and pleasant that I couldn’t help but smile. I shook the hand he held out, noting down his strong grip. “Hi. I’m Kate Isaacs.”
“Yes, I know.” He beamed. “You’re Paul’s little sister.”
I raised a brow at the specifics but didn’t argue. I mean, I was Paul’s younger sister, after all. “And you’re his PR person, the one who gave him the love of his life.”
“Love of his life?”
“Chuck.”
Mark laughed at that, then looked around for the dog right away, to which I told him that Chuck was sleeping soundly beside my bed. “I knew he would warm up to the dog.”
“Oh, he loves the dog,” I confirmed. “He’s crazy about Chuck, and Chuck’s just as crazy about him.”
Mark looked amused. “See? I knew it. He kept grumbling about it the first few days, but I hadn’t heard any grumblings since. I guess I have you to thank for that?”
“Oh, no, don’t thank me. He loved the dog all by himself.”
“Will you quit talking about me like I’m not here, you two?” Gray grumbled.
We both ignored him, grinning at each other instead. I already liked Mark even if it was my first time meeting him.
“Gray has told me all about you,” he said after a while.
I gave Gray a puzzled glance, which he returned with a roll of his eyes. He went to the kitchen with some plastic containers, and it was only then I noticed the smell in the air. My mood immediately brightened, and I followed him in. Mark followed after a few seconds, and we gathered and watched as Gray opened the containers and made our mouths water.
“Wow,” I said. “I didn’t realize you had it in you to order delicious, processed food, Denton.”
“Oh, Gray has his fair share,” Mark confirmed. “It’s just his nutritionist telling him over and over to keep a healthy diet, so he’d have more years to go race cars in peak physical condition.”
“Again, quit talking about me,” Gray warned, though there was no heat to it. “Eat up while it’s still hot.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I said. “Eat up, Mark.”
The three of us gathered plates and sat down, then started scarfing the food down. It was a comfortable atmosphere, and based on how Gray and Mark chatted about stuff in front of me, I could tell they were good friends. I could also tell that Gray must have told Mark I could be trusted, because they didn’t hold back or look secretive. Sometimes they even asked for my opinion about certain news and gossip, and I did my best to contribute. I began to realize that Mark wasn’t as harmless as I first thought, and beyond his homely appearance, he was actually kind of cute behind those glasses, hiding quite a sharp mind and a brilliant wit. Only a few people really could handle Gray’s sarcasm, and it looked like Mark and I were among them.
When we were almost done eating, Mark leaned over and fixed me with a steady stare. Because our topic had kept on at gossips and their impact on reputations for quite a few minutes now, I had a feeling what was coming—probably some questions about my opinion on the rumors circulating about me and Gray, to start off.
He proved me wrong.
“I know you’ve read all about the gossip between you and Gray, so I’ll get to the point. Is there any chance you’ll keep pretending to be his girlfriend and to help save his reputation?”
I stared at him with surprise. But before I could answer, Gray was already answering.
“No,” he bit off, narrowing his eyes at Mark again. Mark ignored him, keeping his gaze on me.
I tilted my head, thoughtfully looking back. “What’s wrong with his reputation?”
Mark didn’t hold anything back. I listened as he explained all the gossip going around about Gray having a different woman on his arm at every single event he went to, whether it was something as casual as going to the club or as formal as some big-time event. Then he went on to tell me about Gray’s company sponsor, whose owner’s son—now the owner—had it in for him and just really disliked the fact that he couldn’t stay with one woman. The son, Steve, thought it was messing up with his business and keeping Gray’s reputation steadily decreasing, which in turn would make him lose money. I didn’t realize car owners held reputation in such a high regard, especially when what was important was winning. But Mark explained that Steve was from a different breed, using the gossip as an excuse to threaten Gray that if it kept going on, then he was going to have to drop Gray and get a different race car driver for his company—someone fresher who could potentially surpass him, with a clean image.
“That’s seriously messed up,” I murmured once Steve was done.
“It is,” the PR agent agreed. “He’s a messed up man, but at this point, Gray has been with that certain car company for years, and changing everything would just result in him losing his momentum right now. We all know Gray wants to win this year, and we’re doing our best to make it come true.”
“I can damn well punch that guy in the face if I need to,” Gray grumbled.
Mark shook his head, then turned to me solemnly. “See? He’s turning to violence already.”
Gray cursed.
I nodded, ignoring Gray and not bothering to admonish him. Mark and I stared at each other, fuck Gray is handsome, and I wonder what it would be like to actually be his girlfriend… I knew he was waiting for me to respond. I tried to find the right words to say, feeling a bit flushed, finally settling for the truth.
“As much as I would love to help Gray out,” I began, “I still have to consider making a living here. Florida is a pretty expensive place, and I don’t want to depend on Gray too much for free.” Gray looked like he was about to protest and tell me he didn’t mind, but I shot him a look to let me finish. “Pretending to be his girlfriend in front of a vicious media would consume my time, and I really need that time to look for a decent job here.”
“See?” Gray said to Mark. “I told you it’s a bad idea, but you just keep arguing about it. Even if it would help my reputation, it just wouldn’t—”
“You’ll be paid,” Mark blurted out. “It’s all part of keeping his image intact, and of course you’ll be paid for your time.”
My back stiffened. “I’m not some call girl—”
“She’s not some paid service—” Gray said at the same time.
Mark held up a hand. “She isn’t. She’s a friend who’s helping out a friend. In turn, you, Gray, will be helping her out.”
The way he phrased it had me relaxing and realizing he didn’t mean it the way I thought. My mind processed it before I could stop myself, wondering if it was even feasible. I mean, if it was just pointless in the long run, wouldn’t it mean I’d be scamming Gray in the end for his money?
Because he was the only one who could answer that truthfully, I turned to him. “Will it really help your reputation?”
Mark looked like he wanted to answer but smartly kept quiet. Gray stared at me, considering and reluctant at the same time.
“It might,” he finally said. “It will definitely keep Steve off my ass if he thinks it’s serious.”
“And you need to actually layoff the ladies Gray,” Mark warned. “A cheating scandal would destroy you.”
He’s right. Could Gray do it? I knew I should say no. That was the proper thing to do, really, so as not to complicate things between us. But I’d never been known for doing the proper thing and if I am being honest I kind of want to do this. I held out my hand. Gray stared at it incredulously—then, at me.
“If this gets in the tabloids, which it will, your ex…”
“He doesn’t read the news nor watch television,” I confirmed. “Plus he has never been interested in a single sport in his life. I’m in, as long as we keep this professional and it doesn’t mess with our friendship. And I don’t want anything sordid or lecherous in public. Hell no.”
Mark snorted, then clamped his mouth shut again. He leaned over in anticipation, still not saying a thing. Gray stared at my hand again, his expression conflicted. I thought he would turn me down, stubborn man that he was.
Instead, he surprised me by shaking my hand.
“We really should stop making deals after this one,” he grumbled.
I murmured my agreement.
Mark beamed, obviously pleased.