Page 50 of Counterfeit Connection

“You’d better with full details.”

Kat hangs up as quickly as she flew in. “She came in rather hot, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, she will do that now and again. She said something about our pictures being everywhere. At least, I think that’s what my ear heard after the initial air horn presentation.”

It’s almost as if Griffin expected it, he reaches for his phone from the side table next to him. “I’m surprised it took this long, to be honest.”

“Does your personal life tend to cause such a frenzy so quickly?”

“You’d be shocked how fast it happens. Social media has made privacy nearly impossible.” He flips his phone around and shows me an article posted by theDaily Mail.The photo is of our first kiss, after we had dinner, and the headline reads ‘Real Estate Mogul and Perpetual Rake Taken?’

“Perpetual rake? What are we, in the 1800s?” I take his phone and open the link to read the article out loud. “One of London’s most eligible bachelors may finally be locked down. Sorry, ladies. Griffin Shaw, of Orion Worldwide Investments, son of CEO Lachlan Shaw, has seemingly fallen for an American lawyer while on a trip to the States. Who is this blonde who has her hooks in one of the UK’s very own? We’ll have that information to you as soon as we at theDaily Maildiscover it.”

“Her hooks?” he sighs. “How are the comments? You know what, actually, I don’t want to know. Don’t look at the comments.”

“Why not?” I ask before scrolling down, and he snatches the phone from my hands before I can read any. “Hey!”

“Promise me you won’t read them.”

“Wow. Okay. I promise, but you need to tell me why.”

Griffin turns me slowly in his lap to face him. His eyes tell me a story before his words do. “The spotlight, no matter how bright it shines, can be a cruel place. People you’ve never met can, and will, make assumptions about you based on most anything. Every person has a past. Mine could be taken as unsavory, if youget my meaning. You could be placed as guilty by association. I don’t want that for you, but I’m saying it could happen.”

“Are you warning me that they will go digging into my past and will exploit whatever they think they find in any way they see fit to sell their line of bullshit?”

Griffin smirks. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“Luckily, my parents raised us to have pretty thick skin. My family and true friends know me. The rest of them can suck it.” I wink.

“It’s understandable if you see or hear something that upsets you, and it’s all right to feel whatever you need to feel, but their words and opinions are bullshit.”

“I know that, Griffin.” I take his face in my hands. “I know what I agreed to when I said I’d do this for you. I’m willing to risk their vicious mockery if it means you get to take over something that is rightfully yours.”

He doesn’t reply. He just searches my eyes for a moment then closes the small distance that separates us, sealing a kiss on my lips.

I hear my own voice in my head telling him he will get what is rightfully his, but it makes my stomach drop because when that day finally comes, it will mean our time together is over.

Chapter 16

Griffin

For the last few years, weekends were my end. I dreaded them coming for one of a few reasons. It would mean my driving purpose of work was done for two long days, it would mean I would be traveling back toward the lion’s den, or it would mean I would delve into any number of things to occupy my time between deals. The last two weekends have been filled with laughter, intelligent conversation, witty banter, and some of the best intimacy I think I’ve ever experienced. This Monday means back to the paperwork and the countdown until I can see Kaitlyn again.

Leaving her last night was difficult, to say the least. We chose to have a quiet nightcap and dessert near her apartment. I noticed an extension of the British press following our everystep. I sensed them right away. Luckily, Kaitlyn never saw them. I could enjoy her uninhibited persona without her feeling like any eyes were on her but mine.

I read until my eyes allowed me to sleep around midnight, but they sprung open from a dream at five thirty in the morning. It started as a rewind of our gala night, then it ended in a fight of epic proportions with my father. He was calling her any number of vile names, and I instantly had to come to her defense. The “C” word roared from his mouth, and the heat that erupted in my core was what I feel was the catalyst to end that nightmare.

“What the fuck is your issue this morning? Is it the lack of real coffee or the possible lack of sex that’s made you right cranky?” Tobias pokes.

“I didn’t sleep well. Nightmare,” I say plainly as I open up my laptop.

“Considering you weren’t in your hotel room all weekend, and you were barely responding to my texts, I have to assume you were properly preoccupied,” he says. “And I do have the internet, mate. I can see your little plan is working swimmingly, so why the long face?”

“I just said I had a nightmare, so I didn’t sleep well.” I open up my laptop. “And yes, I was very occupied all weekend. Kaitlyn and I spent some time together, tightening up our overall plan, and ironing out some details that needed smoothing.”

“Your father emailed me this morning,” Tobias says as casually as he can manage. “He asked me what I knew about this lassie on your arm. His words.”

“What did you say?”

---