Run, Girl (If You Can)

"Am I doing alright?" Aiden whispered as he clung to Aaron's arm. He wasn't cut out for playing coquettish. This was by far the most uncomfortable thing he had ever done.

"Surprisingly, yes."

Wow. Nice to know his boss had so much faith in him.

"Thanks," he said sarcastically. It sounded so weird hearing himself speak in his false female voice.

Aaron suddenly grew ten times colder. Aiden shivered; he must have caught sight of Lacy. He wasn't sure if it was the woman he hated or if he didn't like being schemed against as a matter of principle.

Obviously he didn't want to marry her because he was in love with Keeley but the way he talked about her…there seemed to be a deep grudge. What could she have possibly done to warrant the wrath of the scariest person Aiden knew?

She chatted with her friends looking perfectly at ease, unaware that the man she loved was plotting her downfall right now. He almost felt sorry for the woman. Aiden had spent a fair amount of time investigating the Knighton family over the years at his boss' request so he knew there was bad blood but wasn't sure why.

Brann Knighton was a bit of a shady dude—he was currently being watched for insider trading after all—but his family wasn't anything special. His wife Pearl spent her days either shopping or socializing.

His daughter Lacy was much the same though she definitely was in need of an attitude adjustment. She was spoiled rotten and it showed. Was that really enough reason to want to destroy someone though?

Aaron seemed to know something about this family that he wouldn't share. Aiden was curious about it but his job was to follow the boss' orders, not question them.

Searching for adequate reasons to destroy the Knightons was Aaron's business. At the very least, Brann had criminal tendencies and was cheating the stock market. Maybe his daughter had criminal tendencies of her own.

"Aiden."

Aaron's voice snapped him out of his reverie. He was staring at him expectantly. "Did you hear what I said?"

"No, sorry. I was spacing out."

He sighed. If Aiden didn't know any better, he would say his boss actually looked stressed out. "When they call Lacy up to the stage saying they have a big announcement to make you have to follow my lead no matter what. Understood?"

"Sure thing, boss."

"Don't call me that here."

Who was the one who just called him by his real name? Hypocrite! Although, to be fair, it was highly likely Aaron tried calling him Bethany several times and he wasn't responding so he had to resort to something that would get his attention.

Aiden's eyes scanned the party. It was a classy joint; he never would have come to a place like this on his own. The decorations probably cost more than several months' worth of rent on his apartment.

Everyone here was super shallow though. Was this what Aaron had to deal with on a regular basis? No wonder he was always so bored with everything. These sorts of stale conversations would get old really quick.

"I'm going to go hit the refreshment table, alright? I've always wanted to try escargot," Aiden announced and tried to slip away.

Aaron stopped him by grabbing his upper arm. "I don't know when the announcement will be and the plan won't work unless you're next to me. I'll go with you."

He felt a bit trapped. Why exactly did he have to stay glued to Aaron's side? Was he that afraid that Aiden would screw things up for him? All these years and he still didn't fully trust him.

Aiden felt slightly hurt until he remembered that Aaron was a man of ice and steel; his emotions were different than most people's. Having any degree of his trust at all was an honor. After all, hadn't he said specifically that he needed someone he trusted for this over-the-top favor?

The escargot's texture was a bit weird—it reminded him of the one and only time he ate oysters. He hadn't liked those much.

"These aren't all they're cracked up to be," he said disappointedly. "At least I can say I've tried them now."

"I don't like them much either," Aaron admitted. "I pretended I did once because Keeley was so disgusted at the thought of eating snails that I was embarrassed and felt the need to defend the practice."

Aiden did a double take. Did his boss just willingly share personal information with him?

All this time he had been forced to piece things together bit by tiny bit based on the tasks he was given. Now he was offering up something about the woman he loved for free. Weird.

"You get embarrassed?"

He scowled. "Everyone gets embarrassed, Bethany."

The subtle reminder of his own current embarrassing situation sobered him instantly. Still, this was a new insight into the ever deepening mystery that was Aaron Hale.

"Did you ever tell her you don't actually like it?"

"No." Aaron paused. "It doesn't matter now. She isn't exactly on friendly terms with me these days."

Ah. So his suspicion that Keeley ditched him was right. Things had been going relatively well; what made her change her mind? He didn't dare ask.

"I'm sorry," he said lamely.

He truly was. Aaron's life completely revolved around that girl for some reason. He was a hobby-less workaholic unless catering to Keeley counted as a hobby. Even just catching a glimpse of her made him happy.

What kind of history could they possibly have together that would make warm and friendly Keeley act so rudely to him while he, the Ice King, melted in her presence?

There was a decent chance this mystery was an unsolvable one. Aiden pushed it out of his mind and focused on the food. He hadn't ever tried caviar either. It was much saltier than he expected.

Needing a drink, he went to get himself some water but Aaron beat him to the punch and held out a glass for him. That was borderline creepy. "Dude?"

"I have to look like a good date; people are watching," he said gruffly, looking just as uncomfortable as Aiden felt.

That made sense. He could accept that. Still, he didn't want to do anything like this again. Ever.

Aiden was still having his way with the various hors d'oeuvres when the announcement was made by Brann Knighton.

"Thank you everyone for coming to celebrate my beautiful daughter's 25th birthday. We have something special to announce tonight in just a few moments if Lacy could make her way to the stage."

"It's time," Aaron said grimly before dragging Aiden away from the food and standing him up right in the middle of the crowd.

He didn't even have time to finish his glass of water. The saltiness was killing him!

Aaron took a deep breath, a brief look of disgust and regret crossing his face, before he pulled something out of his jacket pocket and got down on one knee.

"I wanted to do this in a more romantic setting but I can't wait any longer. Bethany Carlisle, will you marry me?"

The gigantic diamond on the ring sparkled under the venue's soft lighting and Aiden was about to scream. 'Aaron! You didn't say anything about pretending to get engaged!'

What was he supposed to do? Everyone's eyes were on them. He had promised that he would go along with whatever his boss said but this was too much. However, he knew if he backed down in this crucial moment that Aaron might actually kill him.

"Yes!" he forced out, trying to sound excited.

Aaron slid the ring on his finger once he said the magic word. It actually fit; he must have planned this far in advance and found out Aiden's size. This was so wrong!

He kept a smile plastered on his face but on the inside he was seething. That scoundrel! How could he propose to someone else at the birthday party of the woman who liked him? That was a new low.

The crowd was clearly just as confused and shocked as Aiden was so it took a minute for them to get their bearings enough to begin cheering and congratulating the 'happy couple.'

In the distance, he saw Lacy's mother restraining her. Murderous rage was written all over her face. Aaron noticed too and he actually smiled! It wasn't a happy smile though; it was quite bone-chilling.

Aaron's arm was stiffly around his shoulders right now as other people crowded in on them asking questions. After what he put Aiden through tonight, he owed him a proper explanation for all this. He would definitely get one.

===

Aiden cursed as they headed back to the car after the worst two hours of his life. "What was that?! This was not a part of our deal!"

Aaron shrugged. "I didn't want to propose to the likes of you either but I had to do it before the announcement or I would never get rid of that parasite."

He deflated slightly. Lacy had run off crying after her mother stopped her from marching off and throwing a fit in front of everyone and the announcement was forgotten in the chaos. Some birthday she had.

"Man, that wasn't cool. I get that you hate her but did you have to ruin her birthday like that?"

The ever-present ice crystals surrounding his boss turned into a blizzard. "Did Lacy have to ruin Keeley's birthday by drugging her just because we ate lunch together in high school?"

His jaw dropped. Say what?! That prissy little shopaholic was capable of something like that? Just because they ate lunch together…Wasn't that too petty?

"She seriously did that?"

"You can ask Keeley if you don't believe me," Aaron said frostily. "She ended up in the hospital. If I hadn't found her in time…"

"Why?"

Aaron actually got heated for once. "Because she's a bloody psychopath, that's why! Anybody associated with me gets a taste of her wrath. She's both possessive and completely delusional. I've never liked her at all."

A lot of puzzle pieces clicked into place. Aaron's paranoia. His hatred of the Knightons. Why he didn't let a single trace of Keeley make it into the office. She had been in danger because of him before and he didn't want it to happen again.

Was this why she seemed to hate him so much sometimes? Did she know that Lacy drugged her because of Aaron? Or…had she done more than just that?

"Is that why you couldn't just pretend to get engaged to an actual person you know?"

"It's part of it. I also can't betray Keeley like that."

Betray Keeley? His theory that they dated before only solidified. If Lacy did something so terrible to her just because they hung out at lunch, how much worse would it have been if they had been in a relationship?

"And I don't count as a betrayal because I'm a guy," he surmised.

Aaron nodded. "Right. She can't come after you either because your alternate persona doesn't actually exist. I'm going to tell everyone you're away in Europe and make it a very long engagement before eventually breaking it off when everyone loses interest and moves onto the next bit of gossip. You'll never have to dress up again."

Aiden didn't trust his words after the stunt he just pulled. "Never? Really? Because if this woman is as psycho as you say she is do you really think she'll back down for an absentee fiancée?"

"That's why we have to destroy her."

The scariest part of that sentence was how calmly it was said. Aaron could have been talking about where they should go for lunch.

He gulped. "Destroy her?"

"Yes. Her, both of our corrupt fathers, her lackey Max Lynch, and the person whose involvement I haven't discovered yet."

A mystery person…this must be why Aaron kept having him check on who was hanging around Lacy. But how did he know of this person's existence if he didn't know who it was? None of this made any sense.

And Max? That idiot who followed Lacy around like a puppy? What on earth did he do?

"What does Max have to do with this?"

"He was her accomplice."

This was giving Aiden a headache. He always knew his boss tried to be one step ahead of his enemies but he never fully understood why until this moment. There were a surprising number of people out to get him. And, more specifically, Keeley.

Aaron would do anything for her. Getting revenge for his girl was the one bit of sense in this insanity.