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“You’ll at least attend church, right?” Her aunt’s voice was stern.
“Just like always.”
“Okay, I’ll drop it...for now. Good night, beautiful one.”
“Back at you, Auntie.”
* * *
“What? We just got through dealing with the EPA,” Keylan proclaimed.
“I realize that, son,” Victoria replied, her irritation coming through loud and clear. “However, OSHA will soon be sending someone to investigate claims of worksite violations, and the IRS is moving up our annual audit.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Travis snarled.
“Be that as it may, we need to be prepared for another onset of bad press heading our way—and we don’t need any more,” she declared, leveling her attention on her son.
“What?” Keylan replied.
“You know what, Mr. Headline Grabber.” Victoria reached for her wineglass and took a sip.
“It’s not Keylan’s fault that the press likes to pick on him.” Elizabeth defended him.
Victoria looked at her sister and scrunched up her face.
“Thank you, Aunt Elizabeth.” Keylan smiled and winked at her while Travis rolled his eyes at the exchange.
“Oh, please, sis, stop coddling the boy—excuse me, the man.” Victoria turned her attention back to her son. “Don’t give the press anything else to write about. Between your suspension and now these new claims, we have enough to deal with.”
“What?” Elizabeth frowned and placed both hands over her heart. “Keylan, you were suspended?”
“Yes. Me and this other player were both playing pretty aggressively all night when we collided in the air when we were both going for the rebound. I landed pretty hard on top of him.”
“Well, accidents happen.” Elizabeth frowned.
“I know, Aunt Elizabeth, but according to the league, they thought I purposely came down hard on him.”
“It was a BS charge, too,” Travis offered.
“Thanks, cousin.”
“Victoria...” Elizabeth glared at her sister.
Keylan knew his aunt would expect his mother to fix his situation. She thought her sister could do anything and, usually, she could. However, not even the great Victoria Kingsley could make this go away.
“Don’t ‘Victoria’ me—talk to your favorite nephew.”
Keylan smiled, because no matter how much she loved all her nephews or how hard she tried to deny it, he knew his aunt had taken a special liking to him. “Don’t worry about it, Aunt Elizabeth. It’s only three games after I’m released to play again and eighty hours of community service. Everything will be fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Now, back to the subject at hand. I need everyone on their best behavior,” Victoria stated.
“That includes you, too, son.” Elizabeth smirked.
“Mom, you know I stay as far away from the media as I can get.”
“Yes, you do, but that won’t stop them from coming for you, so just be alert and stay careful.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Travis said.
“Keylan, darling, I’m going to be helping out at the office a little more, so I need for you to pick up the slack at the foundation. You’re going to be there anyway. Might as well make yourself useful.” Victoria’s eyes lased in on her sister.
“Well, I—”
“You what, son?” Her eyes bored into him. “Elizabeth’s right. You will be spending a great deal of time at our foundation, and I’m sure you have a few ideas about how we can expand the services we provide. Aren’t you the one always telling us we should do this and that to make the foundation better? Well, now’s your chance. Be the change you seek. Anyway, you’ll have Mia there to help you.”
“I’m sure she’ll be very helpful,” he declared sarcastically, trying to ignore the instant and relentless attraction he was feeling toward her.
Chapter 6 (#uf3978852-afe2-546c-b4e5-dc8ad14ec10a)
Mia pulled her gray Range Rover Sport, a splurge she’d allowed herself to take with her last holiday bonus, into her assigned parking spot of the Kingsley Foundation building. Parked in the executive space was a black Porsche; Mia knew who it had to belong to and her heart skipped several beats.
“Oh, no...”
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Colby asked, frowning.
“Nothing, honey. Get your backpack. You don’t want to be late.”
“I’m not late. I’m going to see Keylan.”
I know. Mia exited the car and helped Colby out. She ran her hand through his curly hair to clear his eyes. “You need a haircut.”
“No, Mommy.”
“Yes, son. Now tuck in your shirt.”
Colby tucked his white foundation shirt into his dark khaki shorts, put on his backpack and, with his head down, made his way up the walkway toward the door. “Slow down, Colby, and watch where you’re going.”
Ignoring his mother, Colby opened the front door and took off down the hall, heading to his class. Mia walked through the door in time to see Colby run directly into Keylan, who caught him before he hit the ground. “Whoa, slow down, little man, and watch where you’re going. Men, big and small, always walk with their heads held high. It commands respect and it shows confidence,” Keylan educated his young new friend.
“Colby, baby,” Mia called out, running to her son’s side. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mommy.” His voice was stern and his chin rose. Mia knew how much he hated being treated like a baby.
Mia looked up at Keylan and offered him a half smile. “Sorry about that. He’s a little excited to get here today. You have to watch where you’re going, Colby. We talked about this,” she scolded.
“What’s confidence, Mommy?” Mia cut her eyes to Keylan before dropping them back to her son.
“It means you believe in yourself, in what you can do,” she explained.
“I’m confidence I can play with Keylan today,” he declared with a big smile.
Keylan grinned. “Yes, I will, but after school.”
“No, play now.” Colby stomped his foot and fisted his hands at his sides. Mia knew a full-blown tantrum would soon follow. It was something she rarely experienced and it was usually done in private.
“Colby—”
Keylan raised his hand to stop Mia’s intervention, knelt and held Colby’s gaze. “No,” he replied with a little more bass in his voice. “I said we’ll play after school. School first and, if you’re good...” Keylan gave a half smile as if he was prompting Colby.
Colby sighed, dropped his little shoulders and relaxed his hands. “I get to play with Keylan.”
“That’s right.” His voice had returned to its normal octave. Keylan ran his hand through Colby’s hair. “You need a haircut, little man.”
“Keylan can cut it.” Colby’s eyebrows stood at attention.
“Sure—”
Mia cleared her throat. “Time to get to class, son.”
Keylan stood. “See you later, man.”
“Bye, Keylan,” Colby called as he made his way down the hall toward his teacher, who was waving and greeting him with a friendly smile.
“Bye, son,” Mia whispered, suddenly feeling like a third wheel.
“I am—”
“I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t try to discipline my son.” Mia moved past Keylan and walked toward her office. The nerve of him.
“Good morning,” Sandra greeted, her eyes scanning Mia’s outfit: a Michael Kors camouflage short-sleeved scoop-necked dress and platform heels. “Where are you going?”
“Morning,” Mia replied, ignoring her question, walking into her office with Keylan on her heels.
Keylan crossed the office threshold and closed the door behind him. “Excuse me.”
Mia set her things on her desk and turned to face Keylan, her hands placed firmly on her hips. “You heard me. I’m perfectly capable of handling my son’s inappropriate behavior. I don’t need your help.”
Keylan slowly walked toward Mia. She couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked in his blue suit and she wanted to kick herself. “I wasn’t disciplining Colby. Discipline indicates some form of punishment has been imposed. What I did was simply educate him on a few facts about our male species and remind Colby of our deal, which allowed him to self-correct.”
Mia wrapped her arms around her waist and raised her chin slightly. “I could’ve handled it.” She knew she was overreacting but Colby’s growing infatuation with Keylan annoyed her.
“I’m sure you could have,” he said. The corners of his mouth rose slightly.
“What are you doing here so early?”
“My aunt Elizabeth asked me to cover a few things here for her, since I’ll be hanging out at the office for a few weeks.”
Lucky me. “Cover things like what, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Not at all. There are a couple of meetings she’d like me to take and I have a few ideas regarding some new programs and activities we’d like to explore.”
“New activities?”
There was a knock on the door and it opened slowly. “Good morning,” a soft voice called out.
Mia dropped her arms and took a step forward. “Miss Elizabeth, good morning.”
“Good morning, Mia, darling,” she replied, pulling her into a hug.
“Aunt Elizabeth, you’re early.” Keylan hugged his aunt and kissed her on the cheek. “You look lovely.”
Elizabeth looked down at her gray, pleated, short-sleeved Calvin Klein dress and smiled. “Thank you. Your mother insisted that I dress a little more conservative when I come into the office. But—” she pointed to her gray-and-hot-pink shoes with bows on the heels “—she can’t control everything.” She laughed.
Mia smiled and Keylan laughed. “She certainly tries. Good for you, Auntie.”
“Can I get you anything to drink? Tea perhaps?” Mia offered.
Elizabeth took a seat in one of the chairs facing Mia’s desk. Mia sat in the one next to hers while Keylan stood beside the desk, his hands in his pockets.
“No, I’ve had my fill. I just wanted to bring you up to date on a decision we’ve made.”
Mia’s eyes cut to Keylan’s. “Yes, your nephew was just bringing me up to speed on things.”
“With our company coming under siege by the government, my sister needs me to play a more active role. I do own half the company.” She crossed her legs at her ankles and gripped her crystal-encrusted handbag. “I know it’s hard to believe, but my sister has a few weaknesses that I help strengthen.”
“My mother weak? Not possible,” Keylan mocked.
“I must agree. Your sister’s the most intimidating person I’ve ever met,” Mia confessed.
Elizabeth laughed. “Our husbands, who were brothers, were intimidating. My sister is just about as weak as I am strong,” she admitted.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t believe that. You’re one of the strongest people I know,” Mia declared while Keylan nodded in agreement.
“Thank you, my dear, but we all have our weaknesses or weak moments. The key is finding someone who’s there for us in those moments.” Mia’s and Keylan’s eyes collided. “With the death of our husbands, we became that for each other... That’s enough of that. I’ve asked Keylan to step in for me here so I can help Victoria. I’m leaving you in good hands.”
Mia angled her body more toward Elizabeth. “With all due respect, Miss Elizabeth, and no offense—” She looked up briefly at Keylan, who was slowly shaking his head. “What does he know about the daily operations of the foundation?”
The corners of Keylan’s mouth turned up as he leaned back against Mia’s desk, then slowly removed his hands from his pockets and raised them. “I assure you, Mia, my hands are quite capable.”
Elizabeth swatted Keylan’s hand. “Stop teasing Mia. My dear, I assure you my nephew is more than capable of running this place. After all, this foundation was his idea.” Elizabeth rose from her seat. “Now I’m going to go say hello to everyone before I head out. Walk with me, Keylan.”
His idea?
“Of course.” Keylan offered her his arm.
“Have a good day, my dear, and kiss that beautiful son of yours.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mia stood and watched as the Kingsleys took their exit. She walked around her desk, plopped down in her chair and kicked off her shoes. Crossing her arms on her desk, she dropped her head down.
