Alpha Billionaire Series

KAYLA

Jessie had a smug expression on her face and Mom looked horrified as I entered the kitchen.

“Kayla, I think you need to sit down,” Mom could barely contain her anger, she was shaking.

I rubbed sleep from my eyes and looked between them with confusion. What had Jessie told her?

“What's wrong?”

“Oh Kayla, I'm 50 sorry. Is this why you never wanted to talk about Nick Sadler? Did he assault you?” Jessie's voice oozed wit! fake concern as she pushed her phone toward me.

I couldn't be seeing what I was looking at. I grabbed her phone.

“How the hell did you get this picture?” I glared at her. Had it been her all this time?

She plucked the phone from my hand and swiped to show me the gossip website it was on. “It's all over entertainment news this morning”

“What exactly were you doing in LA?" Mom asked.

Isank into a chair at the kitchen table and buried my hard in my arms. Tears didn't come, but I fought to breathe, and it felt alot like sobbing. I had given them all the money I had. Everything that I had been paid, everything from my savings accoun And it hadn't been enough, it hadn't stopped them.

I gulped air, I needed to think, I... I. I didn't know what to do.

“I can't believe this is happening. I'm so glad I was here with Aunt Michelle when it was on the news."

“It was on the news?” I asked.

“Yeah, the news feed on my phone. Unless it's a slow world news day I don't think this will be picked up by the local news. It's a good thing no one knows who you are. At least not by name. A few of the reports identified you as the woman who had been showing up with Nick Sadler at red carpet events.”

Iwas numb.

Sound around me got muffled and I couldn't see very well. Mom kept asking questions I couldn't answer. Jessie kept making statements full of thoughtful moral righteousness, that were nothing more than empty sayings from motivational posters.

I wanted to crawl back into my room, but not the one here, the one in California where Nick could wrap his arms around me and make this all go away.

“I was in California because if I didn't, those pictures would have been released. And I tried to make that not happen, but I failed. Just like I fail at everything," I started crying. I had let myself down, I had let my mom down. I had failed everyone I cared about.

“Kayla, was that man blackmailing you?” Jessie asked the stupidest question.

“Kayla? Is that true?”

Ishook my head.

“You should totally sue him for defamation of character. Gabe knows a lawyer Jessie continued.

She babbled on about raking Nick over the coals and taking him for everything he was worth. She heard a rumor that he was actually some kind of trust-fund kid, and from a super wealthy family.

“Kayla, you could set us all up for life. No one would ever have to work again."

I glared at her. Why was she out to get Nick? The blackmailer had been so intent that I involved him.

Ishook my head slowly. “No."

Mom headed across the kitchen and picked up the house phone. “Connie, from the auxiliary guild, her husband is a lawyer. I think we should speak with him about what our options really are."

slowly, as if my bones and muscles forgot how to function, I crossed the kitchen and took the phone from her. I hung it up. “We do not need a lawyer. No one is suing Nick. He was not responsible for any of this."

“But he tore your dress and exposed you.”

How did Jessie know that? It wasn't in the pictures, at least not the one I had seen. I closed my eyes and realized I was being a dummy. She could look at the images and interpolate a series of events that led up to that exact situation.

“No. That's not... No. And he wasn't threatening me with the photos. Maybe talking to a lawyer isn't such a bad idea, but not while we are in shock and panicking” I didn't want Mom or Jessie involved in this mess any more than they already were. It wasn't their mess, it was mine.

“Look, I'll figure something out. I'll handle it"

“The way you handled this?” Mom gestured at the picture, still up on Jessie's phone. “I don't think so young lady. Clearly you can't be trusted.’

“Can't be trusted? I went to a party and got knocked into by crazy people. The one person who tried to help me only made it worse. And someone who wasn't supposed to be taking pictures did. I was in LA because I needed to earn more money than could working at the mall. I was presented an opportunity and I took it. Okay? That's what happened, and as soon as I no longer was able to pay off whoever took the pictures, this is what happened. None of it is my fault, but it's still all my responsibility. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at the photographer. I'm sure they made a pretty penny from selling those shots. I know I paid them more than enough.”

“You could still sue Nick Sadler to recoup the money you paid” Jessie started.

“Would you shut up about suing Nick? That's not going to happen. What the hell is your obsession with him?”Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

Jessie sneered at me. “I just don't understand why he was talking to you to begin with?"

I'snorted.

“You were at the same party, Jessie. Did you even recognize him? Apparently, no one realized it was him in that costume. I recognized him. Me, and I didn't even know who he was until we were getting ready for the party when your friend went on and on about how hot he was."

Ishook my head. “He talked to me because I treated him like a human and not an object.”

I'turned and left. I was done with her; I was done with everything. I went into my room and crawled back under the covers. I didn’t text Amber, and I didn’t say anything when Mom knocked on my door later.

“Jessie is all packed up and headed to the airport. Kayla, do you want to come out and say goodbye?”

I didn't answer. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I didn't want to say anything to Jessie. I didn't like her, and something in my gu told me she wasn't to be trusted.

I pulled my blankets up higher around my head and rolled over. My door squeaked as Mom opened it to look in.

“It looks like she is sound asleep. 'm sure she would have wanted to say goodbye. This morning's news has been hard on us all” I heard Mom say.

“You let her know." Jessie's voice trailed off as they walked away from my room.

Islept on and off all day. At some point Mom brought in a tray with soup and ginger ale and left it on my bedside table. It was cold by the time I woke up and tried to eat. I put the tray in the hall. I know it wasn't room service, but I really didn't want the smell to bother me. I drank the soda and tried to go back to sleep.

I wasn't going to find solutions to my problems in my sleep, but I also didn't want to face Mom and all of her constant questions. In sleep, Nick still loved me, and those pictures had never been taken. In my sleep I didn’t have to deal with my life.

I don't know how much more time passed before Mom was knocking on my door again. “Kayla, you can't hide in your room forever. You are going to have to deal with the consequences of your actions.”

But that was the whole problem, I was dealing with the consequences of someone else's actions. I hadn't done anything other than trust some tape to hold my costume up.

“Kayla. Kayla talk to me."

Why should I talk to her when she didn't believe anything I had to say? But she was right, I couldn't hide from my problems. And that included her.

With a groan I climbed out of bed. I opened the door with a sigh. Mom stood with all of her judgment clear on her face. I was a problem child who she could not trust. This was obviously just another burden for her. What would she do with me?

“I called Connie, and she said her husband would be willing to speak with you about your situation.”

I really wish she hadn't done that.

“Thanks,” I said.

“You didn't eat your soup. Are you hungry?”

“It was cold when I woke up.”

Our conversation was stilted, something that happened between strangers. I think that's what we were. It didn't matter that had lived in this house with my mother my entire life, except for three months. We didn't know each other. She had no interest in who I was, just who she thought I should be.

And it didn't matter if I knew who she really was or not. She was my mom, that was all that should matter.

“Come down to the kitchen and I'll heat it back up for you. We can talk—"

“I don’t want to talk about it, Mom.”

“Jessie had some good ideas before she left.” Mom stepped away from the door as if she expected me to follow.

I didn’t move. “I don't care about anything Jessie has to say. I'm not going to talk about it, and I'm not going to come down tc the kitchen if you do”

She pursed her lips together and started to narrow her eyes. I was standing up for myself, and that was something Mom did not like. I was expected to be obedient.

The doorbell rang. We both looked down the hall toward the front door. Without a word Mom turned to answer the door, anc I closed the door to my room and climbed back into bed.