Kian

“Okay.” Susan cleared her throat from the back of the room. She clapped for everyone’s attention. “All eyes on me. Right here.”

When people quieted, she signaled to someone. “Can you shut the door?”

She turned back to us. “Okay. Here’s the game plan. We’ve gone over it before, but we’re doing it again. Kian Maston is going to be arriving in the next hour. I want all the teams set up and ready to go. As soon as his team walks through those doors, you’ve got cameras on him. Your recorders are primed and rolling. Pencils are at the ready. You get my drift. We’re not here for an exposure or a hatchet job. We are going to tell Kian’s story with respect. He’s loved by a nation, and we’re going to capitalize on that love. Everyone is going to be watching us and asking why we got the story they wanted. We got it because we’re a damn good paper. We’re going to prove that to the nation. We’re going to make psychopaths cry. I’m fucking Barbara Walters today. Erica?” She snapped her fingers in my roommate’s direction.

“Yes?”

“You’re Meredith Vieira. You got it? Are you channeling her?”

Erica’s jaw set in a firm line. Her eyes were determined, and her nostrils flared. “I’m ready. I woke up with my Meredith hat on this morning. We are going to do an amazing job.”

“Damn straight.”

Susan kept going, calling on each individual, getting every single one prepped and ready.

I was amazed. If she called on me, I would be too stunned to respond. This wasn’t the Susan that I’d met as Tara’s best friend, who hated me, or who wanted to keep tabs on my friendship with Jake. This was a leader. She had charisma. She stood there with confidence, and a buzz was filling the room. It was contagious. Everyone wanted to do their best work, even Erica, who hated Susan but didn’t hate her on this day. Every other day, yes, but not this day.

They were a team that day.

I almost wanted to be a part of their team, but then I remembered this was the media, and my sanity returned.

Someone tapped me on the elbow, and I looked to see a hotel employee.

He leaned close as Susan was still calling on people. “Are you Joslyn Keen?”

“Yeah.”

He handed an envelope to me. “I was asked to give this to you.”

After I took it, he left, scurrying away with his shoulders hunched forward. I frowned at him and then looked down. The envelope was the hotel’s stationery.

Erica leaned over. “What was that about?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Moving away, I went to a corner before I opened it. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Erica, but I was standing in a room of media. I ripped open the envelope, and I was thankful there were no prying eyes. A key card was inside along with a note.

I reserved this room for the day. No one knows about it. It’s intended to be used if I need a hideout from people, but you can use it, too. This day might be hard for you. They always are for me.

Room 914

—K

The doors to the conference room burst open at that moment. A heavyset man rushed inside, closing them behind him. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving up and down. Everyone quieted, waiting for him.

He said, “They’re here.”

Kian had arrived.

The room went nuts but in a controlled sort of way. They were already doing their jobs, but a quiet, intense concentration permeated the room. They were nervous.

Erica found me in the crowd. Her eyes were lit up and dilated. She clutched on to my hand, the same one that held Kian’s note, and she squeezed. “Are you ready? It’s happening. And, holy shit,”—she moved closer, lowering her voice—“he is really freaking hot. Cripes. He’s gorgeous on TV and in the pictures, you know, but it’s another thing in person.” She pulled her collar out and pretended to fan herself. “And I’m going to be alone in a room with him soon. Well,”—she nudged my elbow—“you and I will be in that room with him.”

“And camera people, right? And sound people and people for lighting? Right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Erica craned her neck as a crowd had formed around Kian by the door. “Them, too.”

Suddenly, everyone paused. The doors opened again, and it was surreal. A blanket of stillness settled over everyone, even to some server in the corner, who was sneaking a handroll from the buffet table.

Kian walked in.

Everyone in the room all seemed to be holding their breaths, just watching him.

He looked refreshing, to be honest. He was relaxed and confident. A group went to him, and I could only see the top of his head. There were a few people with him, and I tensed, trying to see if he had followed through. I couldn’t see his sister.