Unwanted Heat

Kenzie

This week is turning out like nothing I could have expected. I’ve had to take some time off from the bakery because the press has been hanging out there, trying to talk to me. It started the day after the article came out questioning whether or not Nicholas and I are still together. The first day the press was manageable; Hunter was able to keep them out of the bakery but by the second day the number of press there had doubled. Even after Hunter requested additional security from Carter they were barely managing. Even worse, the reporters were keeping away some of the regular customers.

“Kenzie, dear can I see you for a moment?” Ginny asks just as I’m about to take my break.

“Of course Ginny.”

“Look Kenzie… I don’t know how to say this…”

“What’s wrong Ginny? Is everything okay with your daughter?”

“Oh goodness…. yes, thankfully everyone is fine,” she takes a deep breath before continuing and in my gut I know this isn’t good news. “Kenzie, I want you to know how happy I am for you. You deserve the best life has to offer, especially after… everything. I’m so glad that you finally let someone in, someone who can make you happy. I haven’t seen you smile this much in all the times I’ve known you. I’m really happy for you.”

“Thank you, Ginny,” I can’t help but give my reply with caution. I feel a big but coming on.

“The thing is… the press…”

“I know. I’m so sorry that they won’t leave; I don’t know how to keep them away.”

“Unfortunately, Kenzie, I’m sure you’ve noticed that the press is keeping our business away. If it were up to me I would just ride this out and wait for them to leave. Unfortunately, this isn’t only about me. The sale was finalized just the other day so I have to think about the new owners. While they aren’t aware of what is going on yet, I’m sure once our numbers start coming in for this week, they will question the drop in sales. What I’m trying to say is… I think it might be best if you took some time off-” “Are you… firing me?” I gulp even saying the words.

“NO! Of course not. No matter what happens, you will always have a job here as long as I have a say in the matter. I’m just suggesting that perhaps you need to take some time off until this all dies down. Maybe just a few days until they move onto a different story? I’m really happy that you found someone who loves you, really I am. I just wish the press would stop following you around and reporting your every move.”

“I know, I feel the same way but unfortunately the press seems to love reporting Nicholas’s every move.”

“I wish I didn’t have to ask this of you, but-”

“No, it’s fine. I understand, really.”

“Hopefully in a few days this interest in you will evaporate and you can come back without the press.”

I never expected this whole thing with Nicholas to impact my job at the bakery. I never thought the press would hound me the way they have been this week. I guess up until now I’ve been lucky; the press has left me alone. After the article earlier this week highlighting the fact that Nicholas and I haven’t made a public appearance together in a few weeks, the press just started hounding me nonstop. More articles have been written this week, actually reporting what each of us do every day. Tonight Nicholas and I are going out for a business dinner and I’m sure there will be press attending. Tomorrow I’m going shopping with Cara; Hunter has already let me know that we will be bringing additional security with us since there will be two of us and only one of him.

The one thing I don’t understand is why the press gives a shit about what Nicholas does in his personal life. I gave up reading most of the articles, and just skim the headlines now. Some of them hint the reason Nicholas is pictured with so many women is because he is actually gay and hasn’t come out yet. That one doesn’t make sense to me at all since there are so many pictures of Nicholas with his ex. Does the press think that was all for show or that he discovered his sexual preference after her? Some articles suggest he is hiding something that causes women to run away when they find it out. For the life of me I can’t figure out what they think Nicholas is hiding. They act like he is a horrible monster in private, when just the opposite is true.

Knock knock

Shit! I was so lost in my thoughts I hadn’t realized the time.

“Would you mind coming in for a minute? I just need two more minutes-I’m running a little late.”

“Of course, take your time Kenzie.”

With Nicholas in the living room, I quickly dart into the bedroom to put on my strappy sandals. Tonight I’m wearing a simple black fitted dress that has a few large red roses on it. I have a red wrap that will cover my bare shoulders in case it gets chilly tonight. I’m not sure what tonight’s dinner is about, but the dress seems like the perfect mix between business and casual.

“Sorry about that, I’m ready now.”

“You look very nice,” Nicholas puts his hand on my back as he leads me out of the apartment.

“I heard the press was bothering you this week,” Nicholas says once we are seated in the SUV.

“They seem to have really come at me full force this week,” I admit. “I was really surprised that they followed me to work.”

“I know,” he sighs and runs his hands through his hair. “I wish this wasn’t my life, but unfortunately this comes with the territory I suppose.

Are they still bothering you at work?”

“No… but that’s probably because I’m not working right now.”

“What? What happened?”

“Ginny suggested I take some time off until things calm down. Unfortunately it was impacting business: regular customers who have come in daily for years stopped because the reporters were asking them questions about me.”

“Oh, Kenzie. I’m so sorry. I’ll fix this-”

“There’s nothing you can do, Nicholas. Once the press dies down, Ginny has assured me that I will still have a job, so I just need to wait it out. I’m sure they will stop once they realize they aren’t getting anything from me.”

“I’ll start having a weekly check deposited into your bank account

-”

“You’ll WHAT?!?!”

“For your lost wages, I’ll cover them of course.”

“Um, no you won’t.”

“Kenzie. You’re not working because of me; it’s only fair that I cover your lost wages.”Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“No.”

“No?”

“No. You have given me a place to stay completely rent free; I will not allow you to give me money every week too.”

“But-”

“No. Thanks to this arrangement I already have good amount of money saved-”

“But that was so you can go back to school-”

“And I will. I have minimal expenses and probably won’t even need to tap into my account.”

“I just don’t understand why you won’t let me do this. If it wasn’t for me you would still be working at the bakery.”

“Yes, that’s true. But if it wasn’t for you I would be living in a shitty apartment right now that is raided by the police every other week. Where I have to step over people who are drunk or high just to get into my building and where the electricity was routinely turned off by the owner. I prefer staying here over that.”

“Kenzie… you really are like no one I’ve ever met,” he sighs heavily but I’m not sure if it’s in frustration or anger.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I say although I’m not sure if that’s how he meant it.

“You should.”

“So tell me what tonight is about. Bridget just said it was a business dinner.”

“It’s a celebratory dinner; we just closed a deal with this company and Alex thought it would good to take them out to celebrate. We signed with the company under the disguise that we hope to be able to help them avoid bankruptcy.”

“But?”

“Bankruptcy is inevitable; they can’t keep going as they have been and no amount of change will fix that. What will fix it though, is merging it with a larger company that is what we’re going to recommend in two months after we’ve had a second look at the books.”

“Why not just tell them up front that you intend to recommend they merge with another company?”

“Because then they wouldn’t have agreed to sign with us if we told them the plan ahead of time.”

“And you wanted to sign the company?”

“It made good financial sense; the company I want them to merge with is also under PFS and is in a position to offer this company’s employees higher pay and better benefits. It will also make both owners a significant amount of money long term.”

“Why didn’t they do that to begin with? It sounds like they could have walked away with more money in their pockets.”

“Most people don’t see that as an option. They were reluctant to even sell but unfortunately once we built the trust with them and we demonstrate that in a matter of months the banks will begin foreclosing on their buildings, they began to consider our recommendation.”

“Sir, ma’am, just to warn you I believe we were followed when we left the condo,” Carter alerts us.

“Reporters?” Nicholas asks.

“I believe so.”

“Unfuckingbelievable! All this over a fucking dinner,” Nicholas shakes his head.

“Think of this way, maybe it will be the confirmation the press needs to know we are still together.”

“Maybe.”