Page 13 of Faking the Shot
Kaden raises a skeptical eyebrow, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Temporary?”
“Yes, temporary,” Jacob confirms, as if he’s explaining how gravity works. “We’re talking a season. A year tops of dating her. Long enough to shift the narrative. After that, you’re free to go back to your usual bachelor routine, but within limits.”
“Fantastic,” Kaden mutters, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, his gaze locking onto mine. “Since it sounds like you’re so good at thisPR stuff and apparently have a knack for ‘cleaning up my image,’ I’ve got an idea.”
I narrow my eyes at him, already bracing for whatever ridiculous thing he’s about to say. “Oh, do tell.”
“I choose you,” he says, his tone casual, like this is some low-stakes suggestion. “I want to date you. You’ll be the one reforming me in front of everyone.”
The words land like a bomb.
I blink, certain I misheard him. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” He leans back now, folding his arms across his broad chest like this is the most logical decision in the world. “You’re the PR expert. It’s sound like if anyone can sell the world on me being a changed man, it’s you. Plus, you won’t let me screw this up.”
My mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out. Meanwhile, Jacob is absolutely thrilled by the development, clapping his hands together like Kaden just handed him the PR win of the century.
“I agree,” Kimmy, who’s been quiet the whole time, suddenly chimes in.
“Oh, Kimmy, I didn’t see you there,” Kaden’s jaw twitches.“I should’ve known you were involved in this dumpster fire.”
“Now that’s thinking outside the box,” Jacob says, ignoring the animosity toward Kimmy. Or maybe redirecting it. “Val, this could work.”
I whip my head toward him. “This is not my job. My job is behind the scenes—media strategy, crisis management. I can write a great press release. I’m not getting dragged into some fake relationship with Mr. Hockey Hothead over here.”
“Not fake,” Kaden says, that infuriating smirk of his making a full comeback. “It’s temporary. And strategic, right? You said so yourself.”
“Are you out of your mind?” I snap.
He shrugs, casual as ever. “Probably. But I’m also out of options, and apparently, you’re my best shot.”
I glance around the room, silently begging for someone else to step in and shut this down, but nope. Not Jacob, not Kimmy, not Gloria, not a single member of the PR team has the decency to intervene.
Fucking fantastic.
I take a deep breath, gripping the edge of the table like it’s the only thing tethering me to sanity. “Let me get this straight. You want me to date you? Publicly? As part of some grand image makeover?”
Before Kaden can answer, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I fish it out and glance at the screen, a text from Kimmy that feels like the final nail in the coffin:
Take this on and fix his image, or you’re out of a job.
Great. Just fucking great.
Kaden nods once, his expression alarmingly serious. “Exactly.”
I stare at him, waiting for the punchline. A grin, a sarcastic laugh—anything to tell me this is a joke. But no, he just sits there, looking like he genuinely believes this is a viable plan.
“This is a terrible idea,” I say, shaking my head like that’ll knock some sense into him.
“It’s the only one we’ve got. Believe me, I’m not that thrilled that you’ll be the one pretending to be with him,” Jacob cuts in. “And Kaden’s right—if anyone can pull this off, it’s you, Val. However, you better be nice to her or I’ll bury your ass and you won’t be able to play anywhere—not even in the North Pole, get it?”
Kaden nods. “Got it.”
“As Valentina mentioned earlier,” Kimmy adds, her tone far too upbeat for my liking, “this can’t just be about a random event or a few photo ops. It has to feel like a life-changing moment.You two need to start dating soon, but you’ll need to gear up toward a proposal.”
“A proposal?” I shriek, thrusting my hand in the air and wiggling my bare ring finger. “Look at this. It’s perfectly happy without a fucking ring. I don’t need to get married.”
Not again. Not even in a pretend world. I’m happy as a single person. Just me.
