Page 4 of Her Beastly Billionaire Rock Star
“Evaluated?” Malakai looked from Octavia to Charlotte to Bella. “What does that mean?”
Octavia eyed him. “Evaluated means just what it says. For anyone to believe you’ve checked yourself into rehab, you’ll need to actually do it and then be evaluated by a doctor at the rehab facility.”
Bella nodded. “And I can’t babysit you this time. I can’t stay in California. Axel needs me in Dallas to watch Kody while he’s dealing with the contractors.”
Scrubbing his face with his hands, Malakai groaned. This was all too much. The ground under his feet undulated like it was getting ready to swallow him. His shoulders rounded a little more with the weight being stacked on them. “Okay, but only if she agrees. I can pretend, but I can’t pretend for both of us.”
“She will,” Octavia said, eyeing Charlotte.
“Funny, you don’t sound like your assistant. Unless it comes from her lips, it’s a hardnofrom me.” Malakai glanced at Octavia then trained his gaze on Charlotte.
“I’ll do it.” Charlotte’s gaze darted to Octavia and back to Malakai. “I mean, I can do it. I’m on board.”
He held her gaze a moment. “How old are you?”
She blinked and tilted her head. “I’m twenty-six. Why?”
Did she drink from the fountain of youth daily? “Really?”
A smile lifted her lips. “Yes, really.”
Octavia cleared her throat, and Charlotte tucked her chin against her chest.
Something about this idea smelled all kinds of wrong. Maybe that’s how he’d handle this whole charade. A little sleuthing to bury his problems couldn’t hurt. “Great. When do we start?”
Chapter 2
Charlotte Gooding couldn’t believe the number of reporters gathered in front of the rehab facility Malakai had checked into two weeks ago. It was outpatient with two weeks spent in the facility to jumpstart the program, but with his history, Octavia wanted to make sure everyone knew he was seriously seeking treatment. This was the first act in his redemption arc, as Octavia liked to call it.
At least the windows in the limo were tinted dark enough that none of them could see in. The last thing Charlotte wanted was her picture on gossip sites. It was going to take the full twelve remaining weeks of rehab to figure out how she was going to handle red carpet walks.
Octavia had fed a rumor to one of her contacts that he would be there, and now the place was surrounded by paparazzi and local news crews. Everyone looking for their piece of the man with the haunted brown eyes.
“Charlotte,” Octavia said, pulling her dark sunglass down a fraction. “Remember what we talked about. You keep your mouth shut, and so will I.”
“Have I ever said anything?” Charlotte snapped.
“Tone, dear stepsister, or your poor father will suddenly find he’s without the funds to stay at that nice retirement home.” Octavia pulled off her sunglasses.
Folding her hands in her lap, Charlotte pinched her lips together. Getting into an argument was pointless. “I remember,” she said softly.
“Good. Housekeeping done.” Octavia pointed her face toward the window. “You’re free to do or feel however you want when you’re behind closed doors. When you’re in public, however, you’ll be the doting, happy nurse-turned-girlfriend. Any hiccups on your part, and you know what will happen.”
“I know. We talked about it, remember?” Charlotte shifted and looked out the window as the limo pulled into the treatment facility that would be overseeing Malakai’s treatment.
“With you away from the office, I want to make sure we’re crystal clear about your responsibilities. I want to know everything he does and tells you so I can do my job. No secrets between us—and there’s no doubt he has some. You know how much I hate surprises, and we don’t want his secrets ruining all our hard work.”
“Yes, I know.” Charlotte fought the urge to roll her eyes. Not that she thought Malakai would divulge any secrets to her, but she had no intention of sharing them if he did.
“This whole image fix rests on you and your ability to pull it off.” Octavia leaned forward, her elbows balanced on her bare knees. “I spoke with the label. If Malakai doesn’t come away from this looking like a superhero, he’s done.”
Charlotte jerked her head up, staring at Octavia. “What?”
A slight smile lifted her stepsister’s lips. “That’s right. So, not only does his image depend on you, his entire career centers on you and your performance.”
“Malakai has to be on board too.”
On the surface, he was intimidating. Incredibly tall with two full sleeves of tattoos wrapping his huge muscled arms, along with more earrings than she could count. He even had two barbells in his right eyebrow. With her zero ability to handle pain, just the thought of that many needles touching Charlotte’s skin made her queasy. It seemed he’d done anything and everything as a way to warn people against getting too close.
