Page 64 of Crashing Into Me
“I’ll help,” she offered, walking into the kitchen.
She ran her hands along the smooth granite top as she approached Kayden.Tonight would definitely be the night they rekindled their relationship,she thought. She grabbed two ofthe glasses and winked at Kayden, then went back into the living room, putting way too much twist in her hips. Paula turned to Kayden as she rolled her eyes and smirked at him. Taylor took two glasses into the living room and set them on the coffee table.
Kayden carried his glass in, followed by Paula, into the living room as well. Kayden and Paula sat on opposite couches and smiled as everyone talked and sipped champagne.It was finally time to wipe the stupid smiles off all their faces,he thought. He knew Taylor and Paula were itching to get things started, and so was he.
He couldn’t wait to lie down next to the beautiful woman waiting for him upstairs. It had already been far too long as it was, and he was getting anxious knowing she was just a floor above waiting on his cue. He nodded slightly to Paula, and she stood tapping her finger on her champagne flute.
“If I could have your attention for a moment, please,” she said.
Everyone turned to her, smiling faces, waiting for her word.
“I just want to say again how proud I am of my baby brother. You’ve come so far,” Paula stated, turning to him and raising her glass.
“He certainly has,” Maureen replied, her face beaming with admiration.
He raised his glass to his mother, and Kim scooted closer to him on the couch.
“I wanted to give you all a gift,” Paula continued, turning to them all.
Maureen, Heathcliff, and Kim all looked surprised and excited, and Kim beamed her smile even brighter. She and Maureen exchanged giddy looks.
“What’s the gift for?” Maureen asked, curious with wonder.
I’m finally receiving the family I’ve been fighting for,she thought to herself and took another sip of the crisp bubbly drink.
“It’s really for Kayden and all he has been through the last few years. Especially the last month.” Paula picked up the remote and pointed it at the TV.
It flickered onto a white screen.
“It’s a presentation!” Kim exclaimed.
“Oh no, not family photos,” Maureen replied, smiling in anticipation.
“Not quite,” Paula replied and hit play.
She sat down on the couch next to Taylor as the screen began to count down. Three. Two. One. And there it was. Maureen, Kim, and Lana. Her blackmail of Lana and everything it entailed. As the video played, everyone became uncomfortable. The smile on Maureen’s face was wiped away in an instant, and Heathcliff couldn’t stop clearing his throat.
Kim’s face was already beet red, and it looked like she might pass out from embarrassment. Kayden turned to his mother, her face crimson. Every syllable and awful word she spoke to Lana was blasting back out at her, like shards from a mirror explosion. Paula had edited the video so that there was no mistaking what was said and to whom.
Kim was looking around the room, her face already full of tears, unsure of what to do. When the video clips ended, Maureen was frozen, staring at the screen, the vein in her forehead prominent. Kayden stood in front of them all.
“Kayden—” Maureen started, and he put his hand up, stopping her.
“Mother, I don’t want to hear another word from you.” He said calmly.
Maureen nodded and started crying. This was it, foiled by her own children. Kayden reached over to Paula, and she handed him a stack of papers.
“An injunction for your claim on Capshaw Realty and your use of adding the entity as a part of blackmail.”
He dropped it in her lap. Her head was still, but her eyes looked down at the package. Kayden reached for Taylor, and he handed him another stack of papers.
“A summons for court for the defamation of character on Lana, as well as faking Rachel’s death!” His voice grew louder in the last part.
Maureen looked up at him, still in perpetual horror. She didn’t know what to say or do. For the first time, she couldn’t argue or talk herself out of the things she’d done. It was presented to her full frontal, and she didn’t like what she saw at all. Finally, Kayden grabbed a newspaper off the mantle and threw it at Kim.
“A retraction of the engagement and the follow-up story about the illicit way you went about chasing a man who didn’t want you. This will be published in tomorrow’s Page Six!”
Kim couldn’t believe her eyes. There was a picture of her crying with the caption “Desperate and NOT a housewife.” Kim stood up, shaking uncontrollably, and Kayden smiled.
