Everything was an absolute zoo as soon as we got out of the car. People were screaming, dancing, all dressed up, not dressed up at all, everything and anything you could possibly imagine was happening.
I kept making sure I knew where Kiegan was. After all, if I lost him in this crowd, I knew there was no chance I’d see him again. I spotted him out of the corner of my eye, signing autographs and posing for selfies with a bunch of girls. That familiar pang of jealousy ran through me, and I forced it aside. It was stupid. Why was I being so jealous about this?
I had to admit though, the boxing match was pretty damn good. This job had a few perks that I was definitely going to enjoy.
Chapter Twelve
The next few weeks went by in a blur. Kiegan’s reality TV show completely and totally took off. It was like overnight he went from being the heir to one of America’s most famous families to a celebrity in his own right. He went on Fallon, he was on The Daily Show, he was on Conan; he even appeared as a guest star in an episode of Arrow, which I was especially proud of myself for having managed to organize.
Meanwhile, my life was going better than I expected. Leanne turned out to be a lot of fun, and we quickly became friends, which was good since we had to co-ordinate with each other quite a bit. She was serious, but we were kindred spirits deep down, both loving an organized folder and preferring a trip to the aquarium rather than the pub.
I watched my bank account balance grow and grow, and every time Kiegan decided to be an asshole for no reason, or put me down in front of groups of people, I turned to my phone and opened my bank account to look at my new balance. It was all going to be worth it.
Or so I told myself. Deep down I could feel the anger growing, like a smouldering fire that hasn’t quite gone out yet, that grows a little every time a small breeze stokes it. I tried to quell the flames, but I couldn’t do it completely. I knew one day it was going to become an inferno, as much as I tried to stop it from happening.
That day came on my birthday. December 7th. Of course I hadn’t expected Kiegan to remember it was my birthday. I wasn’t sure if he had ever known when my birthday was. But it came, and I was no longer a teenager. I was a woman in my 20s.
I woke up in a suite in one of the ritziest hotels in Miami. Man, I’m never going to be able to go back to that apartment, I thought to myself as I turned off my alarm and stretched in the giant king bed. My 20s are going to be awesome.
I got up and ordered room service, left a tip on the table, then went into the bathroom to have a shower. When I got back a streaming tray with pancakes, scrambled eggs and sourdough toast was waiting for me, along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, and a jar of pure maple syrup.
Glancing at the clock, I knew I had a little over an hour before I had to meet Kiegan and the crew to head out to where the next episode of Kiegan Versus the World was being filmed. I knew this was going to be a big episode. Usually when Kiegan was filming I stayed at the hotel and organized his things, doing my job. But today, I decided I wanted to watch. This stunt sounded amazing. Kiegan and some guy who played college football were going to fly up in a helicopter over the water, with a cargo net set up under the helicopters, going from one side of the doors to the other. The goal was to cross under the helicopter via the cargo nets without falling off and falling over 100 feet into the water below.
I had to give it to Kiegan, he didn’t seem to have any fears at all. That much was true.
Taking my breakfast out onto the balcony, I soaked in the sun and the gorgeous view of the ocean. Even though it was December, it was still over sixty five degrees out, and I was definitely going to take full advantage of being warm on my birthday for once in my life.
“Happy birthday to me,” I mumbled to myself, toasting myself with my orange juice, and wondering what the year to come was going to bring. Little did I know.
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