Page 32 of Token

Her cell phone began vibrating. Kennedy instinctively glanced down at her handbag, placing her hand over the tan leather as if that would stop it.

She lifted her gaze to find the blonde she’d previously rebuked glaring at her and then speaking to the woman beside her in a faux whisper meant for others to hear. “I don’t believe it. I think she’s a plant.”

Kennedy refused to dignify her accusation with a response. But what was becoming tragically clear was that she and her well-meaning self had made things worse for Nate.

The irony? It didn’t escape her.

As if seeing the writing scrawled on the wall where someone had hastily writtenKennedy fucked up, Nate called the press conference to a blessed close. “That’ll be all for now. I want to thank everyone for coming, and I will personally keep the public apprised of the results of the investigation.”

Kennedy released a long breath. It was over, and not a minute too soon. Now she needed to haul her butt to the pharmacist and get something for the foot-in-mouth disease she’d obviously contracted.

She turned to the man who had encouraged—no, goaded—her to defend Nate, only to find the spot beside her empty, Jack nowhere in sight. When he’d slipped away, she didn’t have a clue.

The sound of chairs scraping on the shiny tiled floors combined with the buzz of conversation as the attendees prepared to leave. Not an insignificant lot of them kept looking her way. And she knew what they were thinking.

She smiled when she saw Aurora hastening toward her.

“Wow. Can I just say wow,” she said breathlessly upon reaching Kennedy’s side. “We’ll have to talk about it later because I gotta run. See you back at the office.” Then she was gone, as fast as her white Jimmy Choos could take her toward the exit.

“’Bye,” Kennedy called out to her retreating back.

Suddenly she felt a hand grip her elbow, firmly. Startled, she turned to find a grim-faced Nate peering down at her.

“You—” his voice was clipped “—are coming with me.”

That’s what I get for taking questions for the sake of transparency.

The presser hadn’t gone as planned, and Nate had the slender arm of the cause of its derailment firmly in his grasp as he led her to the covered parking lot at the rear of the building. To his surprise, she offered no resistance. Instead, she was full of apologies.

“I know. I made a mess of things. I’m sorry. But honestly, some of those questions—” She concluded her statement with a frustrated growl.

“They’re reporters. That’s what they do. You’re not supposed to take the bait.” The automatic glass doors before them slid open. He immediately slowed his pace once it became clear that she could barely keep up with his long strides.

As if only just realizing where they were, she furrowed her brow and asked, “Where are we going?”

He released her arm and placed his hand on the small of her back, steering her to where his car was parked in the first row. “For a walk in the park,” he answered wryly.

“Funny. But seriously, where are you taking me? I have an appointment uptown in an hour and a half.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get there on time. And in comfort. Where’re you headed to?” He opened the passenger door for her.

She rambled off the address and made a move to get in the car, before pausing, glancing inside and then back up at him. “Are you at least going to feed me? I skipped lunch to make your press conference.”

Nate’s mouth hitched at the corner. “Anything you want. Now get in before people think you’re being kidnapped.” They probably already thought that. As soon as he’d stepped off the stage, he’d made a beeline to her, oblivious to how it might appear to onlookers. After he’d literally spirited her away, he could only imagine the number of eyebrows it would raise and the kind of coverage it might garner. None in his favor.

“Are you serious? They think we’re partners in crime, not kidnapper and kidnappee,” she said with a snort.

While she buckled in, he closed the door and made his way to the driver side and slid behind the wheel. He’d driven out of the parking lot before anyone spoke again.

“I meant what I said. I’mreallysorry.” She truly sounded contrite. “And you’re right. I shouldn’t have taken the bait. We live in a world of sound bites and clickbait headlines. I should have kept that in mind before I opened my mouth.”

“For someone who didn’t want to get involved, you sure picked the highest cliff on the Eastern Seaboard to take that dive.” She’d ignored her own warning. She’d said this was what would happen, and it looked like she’d been right.

“I know, right? But in my own defense, their questions werewayover the line.”

Of course, she was right. He may have initially been irritated with her when it became clear that, by the end, a good number of those in attendance believed her appearance and fervent defense of him weren’t exactly on the up-and-up. But it was impossible to stay mad at her for long. His irritation had lasted the length of the walk to his car. Her heart had been in the right place, even if her sense of situational awareness needed work. Add that to the list of things he admired about her, her unyielding sense of fair play.

“But you know what they think now, don’t you?” He stopped the car at the stoplight.

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