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Having heard from Knox that Eric’s attempt to heal Khloé came to nothing, Harper had immediately called her, offering for Khloé to take the day off. Raini and Devon—who’d also called her—thought she should stay at the penthouse and rest. Khloé didn’t think “rest” would really help much. The infection didn’t work as viral infections did. Plus, she needed to distract herself from all the bullshit, so she fully intended to go to work.
Hearing the intercom system beep, Khloé headed to the entry-way and pressed the audio button. “Hello?”
“Good morning, Miss Wallis,” said the hotel’s receptionist. “You have a visitor.”
“A visitor?” echoed Khloé.
“Well, technically two. A woman wishes to speak with you. She introduced herself as Raini. She has a young boy with her.”
Khloé straightened. A boy? Raini could have brought Asher along, but surely not without an escort. “They have no one else with them?”
“No.”
“How old is the kid?”
“About four or five.”
Suspiciousness pricked at her. Keenan said that Thea could use glamor. Could she be posing as Raini, hoping that Khloé would allow her inside? Possibly. It wouldn’t take much digging to learn details about Khloé such as who her friends were and where she worked.
Not prepared to take any chances, Khloé said, “I’ll be right down.” If it was Raini, she’d invite her up. If it was Thea, well, Khloé would tell her to fuck right off. It might even be fun. If nothing else, it would be a nice distraction.
She slipped on her shoes and took the elevator down to the first floor. Raini was waiting there, her hand clenched tightly around the strap of her purse. Only it wasn’t Raini. Because Raini didn’t slouch, wear conservative clothing, or own that boring jacket.
Did Thea really think Khloé so easily fooled? It would seem so. How silly. Khloé’s inner demon sniffed in affront.
Raini’s mimic forced a smile. “Hey, girl. Can I come up?”
Hey, girl? Ugh. Stepping out of the elevator, Khloé scanned the large reception area and spotted a boy sitting on one of the sofas playing on his tablet. Keeping her voice low, she said, “I’m guessing that’s your kiddo over there, and I’m guessing you’re Thea.”
Surprise flickered across the female’s face.
“I know all about you. And no, we can’t go somewhere and talk in private, if that’s what you’re hoping. I don’t know what you want, but I’d rather you got this over with fast.” Her inner demon pushed close to the surface, intent on watching the other woman very carefully. It didn’t like her. Didn’t like that she’d hurt Keenan.
Thea forced a smile and said, “Girl, have you been drinking? Who is this ‘Thea’ person?”
Lord deliver me. “Look, I ain’t gonna lie, I see the appeal in playing head games with people. It’s the best time-passer ever. I’d normally play along with it just to see how far you’d take the act, but I’m not in the mood right now. So we’ll have to content ourselves with you getting down to the nitty fucking gritty and telling me why you’re polluting my air.”
Thea drew in a breath, dropped the vapid smile, and inclined her head. “Very well. I heard that you and Keenan are allegedly a … couple now.”
She’d said “couple’ like it was a dirty word. “You went through the trouble of finding me just to tell me that?”
“Someone mentioned they thought you were staying here and I, well, I need to ask you something. And I need the truth. Are you and Keenan really a couple? Or is he secretly pretending to be in a relationship so that no one will guess I’m around?”
“It wouldn’t be a secret if I denied or confirmed it, would it?” And it was more fun to keep the woman in the dark.
Thea briefly closed her eyes. “Please just tell me.”
“Why?”
“Because I planned to try to fix things with him, but I never go after men who are spoken for. If he has moved on, I’ll back off.”
Khloé’s demon hissed. The bitch wanted him back, huh? Well, too fucking bad. “In your shoes, I’d quite simply just back off anyway, since he wants nothing to do with you.”
“He’s just mad at me. And rightly so.” Thea curled her hair behind her ear. “Keenan doesn’t forgive easily. I knew it would take time to win back his trust and earn a place in his life. But he’s worth the wait and effort, so I would have been as patient as he needed me to be. If he’s with someone else and he’s happy, though, I’ll step aside. So, please just answer my question. Are you and him together?”
Khloé eyed her closely, seeing right through all the bullshit. “You wouldn’t truly step aside. You’re here to size up who you see as a possible opponent.” Khloé took a step toward her. “You think I can’t sense that? You think I don’t know how hard it is for you to keep up this noble act when what you really want to do is warn me away from Keenan?”
