“What? Without introducing my special guest? That’d be a shame, wouldn’t you say?” I ask the crowd, and then I simply point straight ahead. Just like Moses in front of the red sea, I stand there as the crowd parts in front of me, and only one person remains still as that happens.
Right in the middle of the convention floor, she’s wearing an elegant black dress, one that makes her look more like the owner of the whole convention than an unemployed PA. Her hair cascades smoothly down her shoulders, and the serenity on her face contrasts the anxiety I saw there weeks ago.
“Ladies, let me you introduce you to the most amazing woman I’ve ever met,” I start to say as Cara walks up to the stage. “Her name’s Cara, and she’s the reason Sienna is here today.”
“No!” Sienna shrieks, stomping to one side of the stage and grabbing the arm of one of the security guards posted there. “Stop her! She can’t be here!”
The guy, wearing all black and a I’m not your friend expression, starts walking toward Cara but I just stand in front of her. “Not so fast, friend. If I were you, I’d sit this one out,” I tell him, lowering my voice in such a way that he knows exactly what I mean. He stares into my eyes for a long second, gauging just how far I might go, and then he simply nods and walks back to his position.
That’s right, I might be just a model ... but I’m the kind of model that knows
how to use his fucking fists.
“You’re not supposed to be here! You were banned!” Sienna tells Cara as she walks up to the stage, her elegance and poise making me feel more proud of her than anything in my life.
“Yes, I’m banned, Sienna,” Cara says, her voice smooth and controlled. “But that’s about to change,” she continues, smiling as she looks at the stairs leading up to the stage.
“That’s right, Sienna. Things are about to change,” Mason says as he walks up.
Chapter 26
Cara
Just a few weeks ago, I was nothing but a simple personal assistant no one cared about. No one knew my name, no one cared who I was. And now here I am, under the stage lights at the Romance Guild convention, thousands of eyeballs trained on me. Whatever happens today, all these people will know the name Cara.
In a way, I should thank Sienna for that.
“What a lovely day,” Mason whistles as he climbs up onto the stage, looking around as if he was just taking his bearings. His gaze lingers on Sienna for a long while, and I notice the corner of his lips lifting as he smirks at her. Mason has an ego the size of the world, so I guess it’s only logical he’s the one facing Sienna head-on.
“Get out, get out,” Sienna repeats over and over again like a broken record, her words completely devoid of any meaning. She knows we’ve got her trapped and, just like scared prey, she’s entering a panic.
“No, I don’t think I’m ready to leave just yet,” Parker tells her with a smug grin. “I’d like to hear what Mason has to say,” he then says into the mic. “Wouldn’t you like to hear it as well?” He asks the whole crowd, and the enthusiastic screams make Sienna turn so pale I’m surprised she’s still standing. All her blood seems to have drained out, and her eyes are bulging so much that she looks like a caricature of herself.
“See? Everyone’s interested in what I have,” Mason tells her, taking one step toward her. She shrinks in place, her mouth possessed by a wild snarl. Mason places one hand into his pocket, and she stumbles back, almost as if she’s expecting me to pull a gun on her.
Of course, Mason doesn’t do that; he does something much worse.
“Remember this, Sienna?” he asks her, holding the USB drive right in front of her. It's cold metal glints under the stage lights, and Sienna’s lips part to let out a sigh of pure desperation. She looks so sickly I’d say she’s going to faint any second now.
“GIVE ME THAT!” She screams out like a banshee, jumping toward Mason with both her arms stretched out, her fingers turned into claws. Without taking the grin off his face, Mason simply sidesteps her, keeping the drive at bay.
“Oh, so you do remember it,” he laughs. He glances at Parker and, as if the two were sharing a telepathic link, Parker throws him his mic and Mason grabs it mid-air. “Hello everyone,” Mason greets the whole crowd, and you can almost see the confusion on their faces. They have no idea what’s happening, and some of them have already started to realize this isn’t part of the show. But they’re all human and, as such, they simply can’t help but to stay and stare at the carnage.
“I know I’m crashing this party, but I think you’re all gonna love what’s inside this flash drive,” he continues, raising his arm up in the air and showing everyone the small metal stick in his fingers. “You see,” he points toward me, and the two of us exchange a quick glance, “as some of you might know, Cara in here was accused of being the pirate mastermind behind the Naughty Angel leak. Of course, that’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard in my fucking life. In this drive I’ve got proof that Sienna was the one behind the leak, and that the whole thing was a setup.”
“LIES!” Sienna shrieks.
“Shut it,” Mason casually tells her, and his tone is so relaxed that she actually obeys him, surprise taking over her. Right now, she’s the only one losing her cool on stage, and that in front of the whole romance industry. Even if we stopped here, her reputation has already started to suffer. You can’t have a meltdown on stage and expect to leave the situation unscathed.
“I’ve got an exchange of emails between Sienna Sinners and Pure Smut for You, arranging the sale of pirated copies of Naughty Angel’s entire book catalog. She has been planning this for quite a while, and she wanted to pin on it on her personal assistant.”
The crowd quiets down then, and confusion starts to turn into disbelief. Most of the people looking up at the stage and romance readers, and they all love Naughty Angel and its book. Fans don’t take a betrayal like Sienna’s lightly.
“That’s bullshit!” She hisses, moving so fast that even Mason doesn’t have the time to react. She steals the mic from his hands, and looks down at the crowd with fire in her eyes. “Don’t believe these lies! These emails are all fabrications!”
“Fabrications, huh?” Derek asks her casually, stepping out from the crowd and climbing up the stage. Now my three men are here with me, and we’re ready to deliver the smackdown of a lifetime.
I almost feel sorry for her. A bad haircut and a public shaming? That’s tough.