GRIND
Lacy from Texas: Holy fuck! You are like on a yacht with BRADLEY RAINSHAW. WTF. When did you two fall in love?
Claire: Can’t wait to see you in Paris. A little birdy told me you were getting some much needed r&r. I seriously want you to know that I think that whole idea is seriously FAB. You deserve it. I knew you would always be my sister. Wink.
Lacy from Texas: OMG, were y’all like in love your whole life and that’s why you moved away? Why didn’t you tell me?
Mom: How did your defense go? I would like to send a plane for you for Thursday to pick you up and meet Claire and I in Paris for the gala. I know you normally do not like to attend these things but I think as a family unit, we need to be there for Bradley now more than ever.
Emily: Like there’s a girl that looks just like you that’s kissing Bradley. I’m assuming it IS you.
Professor Lancaster: Hi Kate. I just would like to make sure you received the panel’s e-mail. There is no need to reply. Thank You.
Lacy from Texas: Is his like cock as big as they say it is? I promise I won’t confirm with like USweekly or anything. Lucky bitch! Do you know how epic this makes you?
Mom: Sweetie, I…well, I just want you to know that I know about the yacht. And Maldives. And I’m okay with it. I really am. Should I send the plane for you somewhere else then? Or, will you be coming back with Bradley?
* * *
“Oh my god. I could throw up. Is your phone about the same thing my phone messages are about?”
His face was frozen, too frozen. He actually looked like someone pushed pause on a DVR. Hello? Speak! How do you feel about this?
“Bradley?”
His lip finally twitched and his aqua eyes darkened to deep pools of water. “I’ll be right back. Stay in here.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. This was bad. My stomach was in my throat as I tapped the e-mail with my thumb, scrolling for the familiar e-mail of my professors.
The subject matter: We know.
Kate,
We regret to inform you that we will not be able to supervise your studies next year. Partying it up on a yacht isn’t the academic behavior we expect from our serious students—especially in their most important academia week of their soon-to-be career. And no, we don’t believe everything we see in the press. After reviewing the recorded Skype session, our suspicions were confirmed that you indeed were on the yacht. The rocking was undeniably there. Perhaps you should attend your graduate studies in the states where the students are more lax.
Bradley
* * *
My mind was racing a million miles a second. How dare that bastard go to the press?
It felt like the longest walk down to the captain’s pit but alas I was there and he had Bob Marley playing as if nothing was wrong. As if nothing had actually just transpired. As if he was on freaking Gilligan’s Island.
“You!” I growled as I took his white crisp collar in my fist.
“Wha…what did I do, Mr. Rainshaw?” His hands flew off the wheel and in the air. Panic flooded in his wrinkly eyes, eyes that had seen the sea many days of his life.
“What did you do? You broke our non-disclosure agreement. Selling our photos?”
“What? I…” he ran a free hand through his thinning hair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Mr. Rainshaw. I barely own a computer. I don’t even know what websites I would send something to?”
“People magazine? USweekly? TMZ?”
“I haven’t owned a television in nearly three decades. I just took a picture of that full moon last night.”
I searched his eyes. I could normally call BS in a heartbeat. His tanned face filled with horror, and his fear conveyed that he might be telling the truth.
“Let me see your phone.”
“I…uh…well…okay…um.…”
The man had an iPhone but didn’t have a lock on his phone. He had the bare minimum apps. I went to his photos and they were filled with nature and sea pictures. A few of him shirtless and smiling when he caught a fish.
“How do you know it’s not that chef you brought?”
“Because he’s been with my family for years. He’s seen so much shit, I knew I could trust him.”
“Well, honestly, Mr. Rainshaw. I didn’t do what you think I did.”
I sighed as I scrolled out of his collections and saw the little cloud in the middle: Shared.
I scrolled through the album.
“Who are these people?”
“Those are just…just my family.”
“And they see every picture I guess that you take since you’re sharing an album?”
“They are? I didn’t…I mean, I didn’t know that,” he commented with the inflection rising like a question.
“What do you mean you didn’t know that?”
“I was just in over the holidays and my sister did something with my phone. I don’t understand how the cloud works. I had no idea what it even meant. All I know is I see pictures of her and my niece and nephew and now I guess like you said they see pics of me.”
“Niece and nephew?”
“Yes, they’re 16 and 18.”
I glared out at the angry waves. They matched the heat I felt inside. I wanted to lay one on him but something about his primitive nature was a clear indication to me he didn’t know what the heck all this digital stuff was.
“She got that for me for Christmas. Honest, I never go home. The sea is my home. I prefer to be out here on the waves in a simple pair of shorts, no shirt and bare feet. I know every creature and speaking of cloud, I know every type of cloud in the sky there is. But on the phone, well, I don’t get these type of things. But she insisted I have one. Full moons are my favorite. Last night’s moon was a majestic one and since my birthday’s in February, I felt it was like it was God’s sign to me of what was to come.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. This guy was really long-winded. He must miss talking to people.
“Do you at least know how to text?”
“I mean…yeeeeeeah?” Again he answered the statement as a question.
All of his texts from the last few days were left unopened. The little blue circle to the left of the names was indication of that. But Jessica’s text grabbed my attention with the first two lines. I swiped at it first and fast.
There it was. Bingo. Jessica’s text said it all.
Jessica: Oh my GAWD, Uncle Rick! That’s like…that’s like…. Bradley Rainshaw on your boat! Kissing his former stepsister! Did you know that!? Are they your private clients for the week? OMG please send me more pics! Take more pics!
I turned the phone around and showed him the text.
“I uh…I mean, I guess that’s you and…shit, she’s your step sister?”
I grumbled and sighed.
“Former. Not anymore. Thank yo
u. I’m…I’m sorry for startling you and crumpling your shirt. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Well, I didn’t. You scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled to him and left his chambers. The rain was hard against my skin. Most people hate the rain but I found it refreshing. I shook my head and peered out at the sea and the droplets that formed against the waves, trying to take a moment to gather my thoughts and focus on how to deal with this very delicate situation.
And I don’t know why but laughter came to my throat. Bent-over, gut-wrenching laughter about the whole thing. I laughed like a crazy man until finally I came to my senses. The whole thing really was perfect. There would be no tiptoeing around about us being a couple. They did us a favor. Not a single thing would be needed from us. Maybe this PR could be spun in a good way. Because together we were a team; we were much better together than apart and I needed her. I needed Kate by my side.
Kate.
It wouldn’t be so funny to Kate.
She probably was seconds from having a panic attack, if she already didn’t have one
Chapter 24
BRADLEY
* * *
One minute later…
There she was. Fulfilling my suspicion, bent over hyperventilating.
“Baby, breathe! Breathe! It’s going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not. No, it’s not. You don’t understand. You don’t understand!” she shouted.
“Do you have a Xanax? Something? Anything?”
“I just took it and a glass of champagne.”
“Come here. It’s going to be okay. Look, now we don’t have to tell people.”
“Bradley.” Her eyes were filled with buckets of tears and her face was so puffy already from crying so hard. I felt horrible. I wanted to shelter her from all pain and only bring her pleasure and happiness.
“Lo…lo….lo…look…look…look!” She cried out between hiccups and short breaths.