“Well, what did he do?” Fi asks.
“Clocked him. Right in the face. Hard.” I held a hand over my heart. “Swear to God, that dude’s going to have a hell of a shiner. Then he just turned tail and ran like the coward he is.”
“Oh wow, that must have been so amazing,” Angie says.
“I wish I could have seen that,” Fi says.
“That doesn’t sound like a fake fiancé, that sounds like a real boyfriend,” Angie chimes in.
I sigh. “And I’m telling you no,” I answer. “He was just being nice. This is a business transaction for him. A very sexy one, but all the same. It just is what it is.” I shrug.
Fi takes a sip of her drink while she studies me for a moment. “If you say so. But if we’re being honest here, I’m about to knock that awful hat off your head too. What were you thinking?”
I grin at her. Then I take off the hat, grateful that somebody finally got around to calling me on it. “It was part of the disguise. You know, for the corporate espionage.”
“Yeah, well, make sure you burn it afterward,” Angie chimes in.
I place a tongue firmly in my cheek. “I don’t know, now it’s got sentimental value.”
Fi reaches for it and I giggle and lean back, holding it away from her. Angie reacts by throwing her balled up napkin at me.
Then Angie gets serious and leans forward. “You’d better be careful, Kaylee. The photographers here are onto you.”
“What?” I look around me, but it doesn’t feel like I’m attracting an abnormal amount of attention.
“I keep hearing whispers of your name,” she continues. “I think the cat’s out of the bag.”
I frown. “If my identity is out, somebody would have probably confronted me by now, right?” As casually as I can, I glance around the rest of the bar. It’s true I’m getting stared at a little. But I’m loud, and also wearing a bikini under the tank top.
Then, out of nowhere, one of the paparazzi actually approaches our table. A skinny, bald guy with glasses materializes boldly and rudely right in front of us. “Excuse me, miss?”
Fi shoots him a savage glance. “Get lost, creeper.”
The photographer’s red, sweaty face gets even redder and sweatier, and then he leaves all flustered.
Fi looks pleased with herself. “Don’t worry, we’ve got your back, Kaylee. With any luck, he’ll tell his friends you’re not who they think you are. But I don’t think we’re going to be able to hold them off much longer.”
I nod in agreement. “Well, in another twenty-four hours or so this whole thing will be over anyway.”
“Your life is so exciting,” Angie says. “I want more details. Are you still sticking to your no sex rule? In that bathing suit?”
I laugh and then we catch up on the other juicy details, only now we have our food. Before long, my friends have to get back to their jobs. I stay behind, finishing my drink and staring at the surf. For a brief moment, everything feels normal.
For some reason I’m in no hurry to get back to Chase. He stuck up for me with Brad earlier, but I don’t know what that means. I’m starting to feel mixed emotions about everything.
It feels like I’m getting sucked into an emotional rip tide. Only I don’t know which way to swim to get out of it. Or if I even want to. How did this get so complicated?
Right now I have questions, but no answers. And I should get back to the resort. With any luck at all, the recording I made would help Chase figure out what the board is thinking. I’ll do whatever it takes to help him. And then he’ll be gone.
Chapter Forty-One
Kaylee
I take my sweet time getting back to the cheap lounge chairs where I left Chase earlier. When I get there, he doesn’t even notice me. He looks lost in thought as he taps along at something on his phone. His face is scrunched into a frown.
I get into the chair next to him. “Hi.”
He turns to me and then pulls the earbuds out. “Hi, yourself. How was lunch?”
“Good. Did you eat?” I ask.
“I grabbed a bite from the bar, thanks. You’re probably wondering what’s on the recording.”
“I’m all ears,” I say, settling into the chair and stretching out. A nap in the sun right now would be perfect.
“Well, it’s good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”
It’s a choice I didn’t expect to have to make. “Um, how about the good news?”
“Okay, the board of directors took a practice vote, and I picked up a couple more years.”
“Hooray! So, what’s the bad news?”
“There’s an impromptu meeting tonight. The rest of the board has figured out that Liam is here, and they want a virtual meeting. It’s a chance to sway another board member or two, and it could mean the difference between success and failure.”
I turn to Chase. “Wow, these people really are out to get you, aren’t they?”
I know about Chase’s reputation in passing. He’s the billionaire playboy who refuses to settle down. I guess I can’t blame the board for being suspicious. Then I remember I’m supposed to be helping. “What the hell do they expect to see or hear in a virtual meeting that’s going to change their mind?”
“There are several main concerns that they brought up. One is the fact that we’re such a new couple.”
I sigh. “Okay. What can we do?”
He considers it. “What if we lean into it and don’t get defensive about being a newer couple? We should play it cool.”
The more I think about it, the better the idea is. “That’s a great idea. It’s turning a perceived weakness into a strength. There’s no reason two people can’t get legitimately engaged right away even though it happens to happen right in the
