Wicked Grind (Stark World #1)(88)

I slow my pace, cold dread building inside me.

"Should I even ask?" Wyatt says.

"It's not good." Stark pushes off the car and walks to Wyatt.

"Considering you don't exactly get involved with the day-to-day operations of the center, I assumed as much. Tell me fast," he says. "If it's bad, you might as well get it over with."

"Should I leave you alone?" I ask them.

"No." Wyatt takes my hand. "You're with me."

"She needs to stay anyway," Damien says. "I'm sorry, Kelsey."

The dread in my stomach forms into a hard knot. Because there's no reason for a man like Damien Stark to know my name. Not unless I somehow ended up on his radar. And I shouldn't. Because my photos are supposed to be anonymous. No one's supposed to know except me and Wyatt and JP.



       
         
       
        

But they do. I can see it in their eyes. Stark and Siobhan.

"What happened?" I demand.

"Leah," Siobhan says, exhaling slowly. She passes me a digital tablet displaying a collage of social media posts. I'm too shocked to really focus. But I see enough. One of Wyatt's images of me with my face blurred out. And it's side by side with photos of me teaching dance and playing Red Rover at a kindergarten picnic.

"What are these?" I whisper, as beside me I feel Wyatt getting stiffer and stiffer with rage.

"Rumors," Damien says. "She started a rumor campaign, apparently with the blessing of Roger Jensen. It seems he told her that she'd be getting you a ton of free publicity."

I clap my hand over my mouth, fighting a sudden urge to be sick.

"She told us everything," Siobhan said. "JP saw the post on Instagram and realized she must have taken it from the office one day when they were going to dinner. She got close to him on purpose. Presumably, she clued in that Kelsey is your primary girl."

"That little bitch," Wyatt says.

"She's been fired. I have Charles on damage control. My lawyer," he adds, looking at me.

"But it's out there already," I say, passing Stark my phone. "People know."

A combination of anger and frustration wash over his face. "Damn that girl." He passes the phone back to me. "I'm so sorry. But please know that if you do lose your job, the center will cover your salary until you find a new one."

"That's nice of you," I say, "but no." I hug myself in defense against the cold that has seeped into my bones. The icy chill from the cloud of doom that I've known was out there since the beginning.

"Kelsey," Siobhan begins, "you really should-"

"No," I repeat, my voice low. "I knew this would happen. It's my fault as much as Leah's." I turn to Wyatt. "I pushed the envelope. I did all the things my dad warned me about. And see?" I demand, my words bitter and hard. "See what happened?"

"It didn't," he says. "Leah's idiocy is all on her. It has nothing to do with you."

He holds my hands tight. "This will be okay."

"But it won't."

"We can still do the show. And if you are fired, you can audition for shows. You can teach older kids. You can choreograph music videos. This can be a beginning, not an end."

"I'm sorry," I say to all three of them as tears stream down my face. Then I meet Wyatt's eyes. "I'm so sorry." 

"Kelsey, please. You make the show. Your beauty. Your sensuality. Baby, I need you. Griffin needs you. And if you've already lost the job there's no reason not to do the show."

But none of that matters. Not now. Not when the weight of every lecture my father ever gave me is crashing down on me. "I'm sorry," I say before I turn to walk away. "But I really just can't."





28


Wyatt was numb.

He'd been numb for almost twenty-four hours, and he was starting to fear it was going to be a permanent state.

For hours, he'd been sitting on his rooftop deck, staring out at the Pacific, and trying to make sense of it. So far, he hadn't managed.

On the contrary, he flat out couldn't believe it. None of it. Not that she'd walked. Not that he'd let her. Not that Leah-the-bitch had spread those damn photos all over the Internet.

He could sue, of course. She'd stolen the physical photo of Kelsey. And he might, just because the bitch deserved it. But honestly, he couldn't work up the energy. Because what good would it do?

It couldn't get Kelsey back.

Couldn't reshape the show back to the way he wanted it to be. For that he needed Kelsey. But she'd made it perfectly clear she was out.