Page 16 of King of Wands

Of course he regretted it. Why on earth would he want to kiss me? After a week of working and then taking second place in Austria he had his head back on straight and realized wanting to kiss me was ridiculous for many reasons, the most glaring of which was that we worked together.

The other incredibly obvious reason was that in a few weeks I’d go back to my university basement and he’d become even more famous and successful. What he thought he saw in me, I had no idea, but clearly he’d come to his senses.

“Is there a right choice here?” He looked back and forth.

“No,” Richard said. “There is no ‘right’ choice. Simply a matter of preference. It isyourhelmet.”

King shrugged, still not looking at me. “Which one do you think is best, Isabel?”

My name rolling off his tongue made my skin vibrate. No really, it did. It was like he cast a spell each time he said my name and the result was some sort of physical response I had no control over. Today it was vibrating skin cells.

“This design is more traditional.” I pointed to the one on the right. The white helmet had a perfectly symmetrical lion across the top and down the back. The lion wore a gold crown. Across the top in sweeping letters were the wordsKing of Wands.“It will be familiar and comfortable, visually speaking.”

His eyes slid to the left and lingered on the other design. His body language suggested he preferred this design. I found this incredibly satisfying because it was my favorite as well. “And this one?”

“It will stand out. No one else wears a helmet design like this and the presentation of the images will naturally become a conversation piece.” The base color of the helmet was black instead of white. On one side was a red lion that looked like it was leaping forward, mouth open and fangs out. In this version the crown was made of fire. On the opposite side of the helmet were red slash marks like a lion would make with its claws. And down the center in a line were the wordsKing of Wandswritten in red blocky letters. It was a sexy helmet, visually that is. “I think it really incorporates the elements of your nickname and personality. The fire, the lion, the crown. In this case I think it will be worth it to buck the system.”

“Buck the system,” he chuckled. “I don’t know about that, but I do think we have to go with this design. There’s no question.” He pushed the papers away and sat back. “What else?”

I quickly ran through the social media strategy and showed him Jess’s images. He seemed pleased, not that I could tell with the cold indifference and lack of visual contact. I didn’t know it was possible to miss something you barely had, but apparently it was because I missed being closer to him, missed his warmth and smile. And okay, yeah, I missed the fantasy that one day we’d kiss.

“There’s one more thing,” Richard said, stopping King from fleeing the room—and me.

King groaned, dropping back into the chair. “What?”

Richard glanced at me, then back at King, seemingly coming to a decision of some kind. “You have no social life.”

King’s eyebrows jumped. “So?”

Richard looked at me again. “So it means you have no presence. No good headlines or bad. No stories or rumors. Nophotographs.People like to follow the adventures of celebrities. They want to root for them or hate them. They want you to date and get into trouble.”

There were three things I noticed. One, Richard kept looking at me. Why? No clue. Two, King went stiff as a board. Like a deer caught in headlights. Three, the tension in the room went from a one to a fifteen.

“No.”

Richard cocked his head to the side. “I’m not telling you to get in trouble or even date. I’masking.Nicely. For you to go out and be seen. Tonight for example. Go to the party.”

King worked his jaw. I felt an awful lot like I’d just walked into a room and eavesdropped on a conversation I knew nothing about because King was clearly upset by this idea and Richard seemed to know why.

“For how long?” King ground out.

“One hour minimum. Two would be preferable.”

His fist tightened. “Isabel has to go with me then.”

I shot upright, my spine straightening like a whip. It kind of hurt, actually. “I’m sorry, what?” The man who wouldn’t look at me was now demanding I be his...his...I didn’t know what.

“I won’t go alone.” Hestilldidn’t look at me. “It has to be Isabel. I trust her.”

My mouth must have been hanging open because Richard gave me a sideways glance. “Aren’t you going anyway? It’s Marcy’s party.”

I nodded dumbly because I was dumb. My brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders, to use a car term. “Uh, yeah. I think so. Jess is supposed to be picking me up a dress.”

“Perfect. You can keep an eye on King, make sure he doesn’t bolt early, and there’s a snowball’s chance in hell King will act like a human instead of a robot.”

King scowled. “I don’t act like a robot.”

“Yes, you do.” Richard scowled right back. “But you’re usually—today notwithstanding—semi-human around Isa. Besides, she’s in charge of your new public image. Having her on hand will work out well.”

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