Page 26 of Counterfeit Connection

“Actually, she’s my girlfriend, Father, and you’d do well to never speak about her that way again.”

The laugh coming through the other end of the phone is enough to make me want to leap through the line and slap it out of his mouth. “Do you even know what that word means?”

“I absolutely do. In fact, I’m able to treat women infinitely better, in spite of the model I’ve been provided.”

“Well, well. I hope she’s never privy to your temper.”

“She could never do anything to deserve it. Now if you’re quite finished, I’d like to leave this call.”

“Let’s hope this one sticks. If not, you know the consequences. Good night, Griffin.”

The grip around my phone is so tight I’m surprised it doesn’t crack into a million pieces. My right hand slides over my mouth as I breathe deeply in and out, knowing I have more than a little explaining to do.

“Griffin, are you okay?”

I inhale sharply and open my eyes to find Kaitlyn now standing one pace closer to me than she was before.

“I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

“It’s okay, um… that sounded intense and a little confusing, if I’m honest.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “You have a girlfriend?”

I look up at her and shake my head. “No, no, I don’t have a girlfriend, but I need to explain what just happened, and I should start by apologizing again. It’s incredibly complicated, but in the heat of the moment, I told my father you were my girlfriend.”

She blinks a few times, but doesn’t say anything, not at first, but then she opens her mouth, like she’s trying to formulate a thought. “I… what? I don’t understand. Why would you say that?”

“Please, will you sit? Like I said, it’s a lot to explain.”

“No, I want to stand. I’m going to stand.”

I sigh heavily and sit back in my chair. “If you insist.” I ponder for a moment, wondering where in the hell to start this story… so I start at the beginning. “My brother was always my father’s favorite. There’s no denying it, and honestly, I didn’t give a shit for the longest time. Joseph was the older, more stable son, who wanted nothing more than to take up the mantle for my father’s company whenever the time came. I was fine with that. Then Joseph died and everything was flipped on its head. Suddenly, I’m the only Shaw who can step in, but it comes with stipulations set in place by my father. One of which is I have to be in a stable, long-term relationship before I can take his place. He’s beenon my case about it every chance he gets… and then tonight, remember the photos that were snapped by the paps outside the club? They ended up online because social media spreads information faster than nans in a sewing circle.”

My word vomit stream of consciousness finally takes a pause. I don’t know how to finish. I don’t know what she’s thinking. I don’t know her well enough to know what she’s thinking. What the hell am I doing?

The look of panic and strife on my face at least has allowed her to not run and offer me a bit of what I can only assume is pity. “Come sit on the couch with me.” Her delicate fingers wrap around my wrist, giving it a gentle tug. Her message is easy to comply with.

I follow her where she sits facing me. “Kaitlyn…”

“I’m going to put my powers of deduction to work.” The free spirit from even five minutes ago is gone. The attorney is sitting firmly at the helm. “This trip to America was to get away from these demands. Your father seems to be able to quickly and efficiently push your buttons, so in a moment of panic, and from what I could gather a very unfair assessment of me, you defended me by plopping me square in the middle. More or less?”

“That’s about… exactly right.”

She pulls all of her hair over one shoulder and drops her face into her hands. “Okay, all right.”

“Kaitlyn, again, I’m sorry for pulling you into this. That was completely unacceptable and wrong of me—”

She sits up suddenly and holds her hand up, stopping me. “You were defending me and getting your dad off your case in one swoop. Stop apologizing for that.”

“I really need you to tell me what you’re thinking right now. Christ.” I am now the one standing and pacing the room. “Now I have to find a way to sell a break up to him.”

“Don’t…”

“Don’t what, Kaitlyn?”

“Don’t tell him you broke up with me. Are his stipulations in a contract somewhere? Is it written down where I could read them?”

“I could have my assistant email it to me, why?”

“Because I want to see what I’m getting myself into.”

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