Chapter 21: Chapter 21

KATE

I woke up sweaty, hair stuck to my neck and my body tangled up in Tyler’s. I pushed up on my elbows, finally finding the opportunity to check out all the artwork on his body without interruptions.

A large skull, with waves of colorful smoke around it and crossed hockey sticks in each eye socket, covered the whole left side of his chest. The details were immaculate, and the tattoo seemed to be more than just a random picture.

He’d live and breathe hockey till the day he died; hockey made him who he was. It didn’t matter how much it suffocated him at times, it would always be a part of who he was.

I knew my doubts surrounding our relationship bothered Tyler. He’d walked away from me without a word more than once when I tried to voice them.

But when I thought of things such as hockey being his life, I didn’t want him to risk any of that for me. We both enjoyed being together a lot. I was quite sure I was falling in love with him.

I felt stupid though. He was a kid, a young, extraordinarily talented hockey player. Even if I fell completely head over heels in love with him, he wouldn’t reciprocate that.

I wasn’t looking for anything serious, yet my feelings for him were serious. One of us was bound to end up getting hurt, and I was pretty sure it was going to be me.

But at that moment, I just wanted to relish the fact that we were wrapped up in each other’s arms and deal with the rest of the bullshit later.

Tyler moved beneath me, butterflies flapping through my stomach. His eyes opened hastily and a million-dollar smile came alive.

“Morning babe,” he muttered, pushing me on my back and hiding his face in my breasts.

“Good morning to you too.”

He moaned, moving his head back and forth. “Let’s stay in bed all day.”

“Yeah, about that…”

He sat up, raising an eyebrow. “Let me guess, you’re working.”

“It is Monday,” I answered. “But no, I’m not going in today.”

“I have to be in the gym for a bit, but that’s it for me.”

I squeezed my arms around him, kissing his neck and moving up to the scar on his cheek to begin my attempt to bribe him. “I’m hoping you’ll help me with something today.”

“Anything.”

I laughed at his confidence, knowing he would definitely not want to help with what I was about to ask of him.

“Piper needs you and Ben to help her move into my building this afternoon.”

His lips pressed against my forehead. “Tell her to hire movers.”

“I tried. She wants you boys, all sweaty and hero-like for her.”

He groaned again. “Will you be there?” I nodded, shooting my most charming, pleading smile. “Then okay. I’ll help. I suppose I can skip the gym.”

We left his bedroom so he could make us some coffee. I looked at all of his furniture and the pictures he’d put up on his walls. All of them were of his parents and brothers. He obviously had close relationships with them.

“You finally unpacked.”

He laughed from inside his kitchen. “No,” he yelled back. “My meddling mom did it the other day.”

“At least your mom loves you,” I joked, but we both knew it was true. My mom hated me and had proven that by beating up my face. Luckily, my bruises had healed and were only visible from up close.

I left Tyler’s building out of the back service door, sneaking into the parking garage. The air was frigid, and all I had on was my leather jacket from the night before.

It felt like the walk of shame, since I was wearing the same clothes. Except I had ~no~ shame. A few minutes later, Tyler ran up to me. He put his arms around me and said, “It’s freezing. Get in the car.”

“Okay.” I shivered, and we climbed into his warm Mercedes. He had used the auto-start feature, so the heat had been on for a few minutes. “We can’t pull up to my building in your car. And you can’t be seen if there are reporters.”

Tyler nodded, and we formed a plan.

Fifteen minutes later, we drove past my building. Piper stood out in the cold, with three people holding cameras surrounding her.

She made eye contact as the Mercedes passed and lightly shook her head, a movement only I would notice. “Keep driving.”

And he did. His windows were tinted black, such that no one was able to see inside the car. A few minutes later, Tyler’s phone rang, and he answered it on speakerphone. “What’s up?”

“Piper needs you to get Kate inside her building. She says to be a ghost, whatever the fuck that means,” Ben said.

Tyler looked at me, confused. “Will do. What’s going on outside?”

Murmurs came from Ben’s end of the line. His voice lowered a few notches as he answered, “Not sure. Piper’s dealing with whatever it is.

“She said she’ll just hire movers, but she does need to talk to Kate about whatever is going on so get her inside.”

He hung up the phone, and Tyler circled the blocks of the Upper West Side until we tried to figure out how to get me into my apartment. An idea struck me, and I dialed a phone number.

“David?” I asked. “It’s Kate Martin.”

“Are you trying to get in?” my doorman asked, sounding frustrated.

“Yes, I am. Is there a back entrance?”

“We can try the delivery door out back. I’ll meet you over there. Definitely drive up if you can; they’re looking for you like a hawk.”

Ben also met us out back, and Tyler handed him the keys to park the car far away. Tyler and I rushed to the delivery door, as David held the door open.

“Head upstairs now.”

Tyler and I ran to the service elevator and pressed a random floor number. We got off on the twentieth floor, stepping out in search of the residential elevators.

Reaching a corner, I leaned against a wall. For reasons I couldn’t understand, I began laughing. I laughed so hard, my stomach was beginning to hurt.

Tyler pressed his hands against the wall, one on each side of my head, before lowering his head to laugh with me.

Neither of us knew what was so funny, but we were in that moment together. Just the two of us without any interference.

He moved his hand, wrapping it around my neck, then rubbed his thumb along my jawbone. I stopped laughing when I saw the look in his eyes—the look of need.

I scrunched his T-shirt in my hands, drawing him even closer. Our faces crushed together, emitting lightning bolts of lust.

We pulled away at the sound of the elevator chiming. We ran through the halls hand in hand like kids. Jumping into a residential lift, I pressed my key for PH2.

He didn’t let go of my hand as we rode up in silence. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, and holy hell, that man looked gorgeous in his dark jeans and white T-shirt, with a black Blades sweatshirt zipped over it. ~Mmmm.~

The doors opened to my foyer, and I pulled him in behind me. I walked us straight to the kitchen, looking for one of my dad’s million remotes. I rummaged through them, finally finding the one I needed.

I pressed on the little door icon on the touchscreen display, and the French doors leading to the butler pantry slid open. I pulled him in with me and pressed the key. The pantry lowered us, doubling as a hidden elevator.

“What the fuck,” Tyler whispered, more to himself than to me.

“This will take us to a wine cellar, oddly enough. It also acts as a safe house.” Tyler just stared at me as we exited the secret pantry.

My dad’s wine cellar was massive, and it held food, all kinds of alcohol, water, flashlights, first aid—basically everything you would need in an emergency.

I had accidentally discovered that room while playing with his remotes. I hadn’t known about its existence myself until a couple of weeks ago. The number of gold bars I’d found had stunned me.

Tyler walked around slowly, looking at everything stored in the room. I crept up behind him and jumped onto his back. He leaned his head backward and smiled.

“I figured we could pick out some liquor,” I whispered. “I think I’m going to need it.”

“You’ve got plenty to choose from,” he replied, gesturing around the room. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

After we returned upstairs, a bottle of whiskey in hand, I pulled out my phone to text my best friend and trusted assistant.

Kate

I’m inside.

In no more than ten minutes, she and Ben came barreling through my foyer. I handed out the four tumblers of whiskey I had ready. “So what the fuck is going on?” Tyler asked in a clipped voice.

Piper looked at me. “Your interview with Sports Times went viral.”

“What? Why?” I asked.

“The world is obsessed with you right now. I’ve been fielding calls from reporters all day. You’ve had six talk show requests in less than twenty-four hours.”

I shook my head, still confused. “Why though?”

“Because you kind of just shot to success. You came in out of nowhere to run Martin Financial and then stood up for women’s equality. Not to mention your shutting down of that idiot reporter on live television.”

Ben rubbed his hand on Piper’s back; she seemed quite worked up. Not that I could blame her, she’d been going crazy dealing with ~my~ problems.

“Honestly though,” she began again, “I don’t think that’s what it’s truly about. I think a lot of this has to do with the pictures that have surfaced of you two.” She pointed to Tyler and me.

“And really, Kate, you’re fucking hot. And crazy young. I think that’s why the fascination with you.”

Tyler’s arm stayed around me. As he kissed the side of my head, he said, “I mean, you are really hot.”

“Oh, stop it,” I told him. “You’re not helping.”

Piper picked up her phone and started giggling. “You’re fucking trending, Kate.”

I stared at her. “I’m not sure I even know what that means.”

“You’re trending on the Internet. Millions are talking about you ~right now~. You’ve been hashtagged.”

Tyler and Ben started laughing loudly. “No shit,” Ben said. “What is it?”

Piper turned her phone, then Ben passed it to me and Tyler.

~#KateFuckingMartin #TheHotBoss #Don’tFuckWithKate~

“Oh my God,” I whispered. The rest of them continued laughing while I stared into space.

“So are reporters just going to camp out in front of my building to talk to me? Take pictures? I don’t get it.”

“Babe,” she said, “It means that your private life is becoming public. And you need to be careful.” She moved her eyes to shoot a pointed look at Tyler.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked. “I’ll always protect her. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Every time he spoke protectively of me, my feelings for him grew stronger. How could they not? He was wonderful, more wonderful than I’d ever imagined he could be.

The mood in the room seemed to lighten after his comment. Somehow he made Piper and me feel safe.

We made some jokes and decided to put a movie on. Outside, it began snowing. It was the first snowfall of the year, setting a romantic afternoon mood.

Ben called in some for Thai food, and Tyler started a fire in the living room fireplace for us.

“Are you spending Christmas with Nicolette this year?” Piper asked. “You know, since she’s not insane anymore.”

I laughed, gulping down my Pad Thai. “Actually, she’s vacationing in St. Bart’s with some girlfriends. She left this morning.”

“Still making irresponsible money decisions?”

I shook my head, excited I could finally stick up for my sister. “It was my Christmas present to her.”

Tyler squeezed my hand, maybe still feeling awkward when Nicolette came up in conversation.

Ben chimed in. “What’s the deal with your sister, anyway?” I narrated her story to them. An hour later, I was finally done. It was not an easy story.

They all told me it wasn’t a good idea to trust her; however, I felt she deserved the benefit of the doubt. I had to go with my instincts.

“So you’ll spend Christmas with me and my crazy parents?” Piper asked.

“I think I’ll just stay home. I don’t mind being by myself. I may visit Bill and Tessa for a bit.”

She hated my answer. As did Tyler.

“Spend it with me.” His eyes looked fierce; he didn’t want to take no for an answer.

“Really. I’ve been alone for many holidays. I’ll be okay, guys.”

That would be the first Christmas without my dad alive, and the only memories I had of the holiday were with him.

He did work a lot, and in my adult years when I was in France, we were rarely able to spend it together. I was never invited to spend Christmas with my mom and Nicolette, so I truly did know how to be alone without bitterness.

I’d stay in pajamas all day and watch romance movies. Usually ones with a Christmas theme that would make me cry. I would let myself cry for hours and eat a lot of crap food.

Every Christmas morning, I opened the gifts I was sent from my uncles, my father, and the one I religiously bought myself each year.

This year was different though. Uncle John, who never married, had been texting me obsessively over the past few days due to all the media attention.

Of course, he invited me to be with him on Christmas, but Dad had told me all about his tradition. He’d pick one of his weekday sluts, as dad called them, and ravish them for the day before sending them on their way.

People were drawn to money, and if someone had it, they’d be able to find suitors anywhere. It was oddly impressive, but weird to think about your uncle in that way, especially because he had been so fatherly to me all my life.

I didn’t want thoughts of Christmas to drown me, so I moved my attention back to the three people sitting in front of me.

Ben and Piper were engaged in a heated conversation about who the best Blades player was. I found it hysterical because Piper knew nothing about hockey.

Ben was making a consistent case for how Tyler was the best, while Tyler and Piper disagreed.

“Ben,” I warned. “She’s just trying to rile you up.”

He turned, looking at Piper’s pretty face. “Really?”

“I don’t know a damn thing about hockey,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t even like it.”

Tyler gasped. “You don’t like hockey but you’re best friends with Kate?”

Piper looked at him like he was an idiot. “Maybe you stupid ass men need to have everything in common, but we women don’t.”

I stood up from the couch, making my way into the kitchen. They continued arguing among themselves in my living room. They were ridiculous. I picked up the bottle of whiskey, knowing everyone could use a refill.

I heard Piper call out, “You should be nice to me, you know. I’ve been rooting for you since day one. Ask Kate.” Tyler and Ben laughed at her, making me grin.

My life felt so normal at that moment. My best friend, boyfriend, and Ben were all sitting together, acting like the twenty-somethings we were.

It was nice to take a breather from the busy lives we each lived. The morning may have started hectic, but now that night had fallen, it was relaxed and fun.

Relaxed and fun never lasted though. That wasn’t real life.