“KARLEE RANDALL, YOUR PARTNER will be Xavier Montgomery.” The professor’s voice flatly announced the assignment before moving further down her list.
Karlee stared at the woman blankly for a moment. Xavier Montgomery? Glancing around and looking for any sign of who that name might belong to, she caught the attention of a guy with dark hair and dark eyes. He was already staring right at her, assuming her reputation preceded her as usual, if only by name recognition. Pursing his lips, Xavier raised his index finger in a careless, but casual “hi” for acknowledgement. She smiled quickly before returning her attention to the professor who finished her list of partners with more instruction on the term projects and the rubrics for grading.
Finally, the direction, “You may start working with your partners for the remainder of class time…”
Karlee started to grab her laptop and stuff it into the bag beside her leg as she glanced up, scanning for Xavier only to find him doing the same thing. Lifting his head up, his face gazed at hers, silently asking the same unspoken question as she. Who approaches whom? Ceasing her packing when she saw him slide from his seat and lift his backpack to his shoulder, Karlee watched him stride towards her. Half the class got up and shuffled around as they found new places to sit.
Xavier was red hot. How many times was that description used for any guy she ever met? Karlee customarily loathed that adjective after hearing countless women, girls, magazines, and the media in general use it to refer to her stepdad/rock star, Rob Williams. Karlee tried to avoid it. But this guy was pretty hot and very interesting to look at. In a good way. Average height, thin, but not too skinny. Dark jeans, casual t-shirt tucked in, black belt, stylish but casual. A cool easiness that bordered on haphazard and hipster. His dark hair was shaggy and reminded her of Rob’s in the way it flipped around his forehead and cheek. He had deep cheekbones that sculpted his wide face, making him quite striking, if not traditionally handsome. And a darkly intense look.
Pretty interesting to find in a general, second year geology survey class at the local community college of the relatively small town. Not exactly swanky, or chic, or edgy in the way of anything interesting, was it?
“Karlee?” She hated it when people said the obvious as a conversation starter. Duh. Of course, she was Karlee, which was the only reason why he was standing beside her desk. How totally obvious when it came to things to say.
“Xavier.” Again, not a question.
Nodding, he slipped into the seat recently vacated beside her. His gaze remained fastened on her as he set his backpack down. She tilted her head. Should she say the obvious? Or pretend that he didn’t already know she was Karlee Randall who came with a bodyguard that was stationed outside?
Giving her a tepid smile in response to her statement, Xavier watched her closely. She wasn’t prone to casual friendliness. The propensity of Rob’s fans to hunt him down by getting to know her had long ago hardened her to new introductions. She wasn’t so presumptuous or testy to just point blank ask him, “Do you know who I am?” even if that’s what she thought and wished she could avoid altogether.
Might as well get it out of the way early on. Plenty of people acted giddy, fake, stupid, silly, annoying, overly friendly, overly nice, and more than forward with her. Then there were those who simply came out and started gushing over how much they loved Rob and Zenith and their music, yadda, yadda, yadda… Karlee was weary from all the endless, nauseating compliments that were repeated to her.
A few diehard fans actually memorized the entire biographies of the band members and deliberately drew her into their lives like a prop. Karlee was considered another “fun-fact” about Rob Williams and Zenith.
The teacher passed out the project rubric and instruction sheet. Karlee leaned forward and took two copies before tossing one to Xavier.
His gaze skittered over her, then over the sheet the professor distributed. He cleared his throat and twitched around in his seat. Good God, he was either suddenly paralyzed by his nerves or star struck. Not by her, of course, but her delicate association to fame. “Well…” Clearing his throat, Xavier began, “Um… so, I live in town and maybe we could meet there to start planning. Or no, maybe the library is a better place. I mean, since I’m a stranger and all to you, I guess the library is probably a more comfortable location for us to meet.”
She gave him a dull stare. Not a glare, and definitely not a welcoming smile. Xavier shifted even more visibly under her stare. Was he nervous? Because of her connections? Always the usual, because of her stepdad.
Rob wasn’t like any stepdad Karlee ever knew before. Covered in tattoos with shaggy hair and piercings everywhere, Rob dressed for the role he played. It could be called in style nowadays, but back in the early 2000s, in the small town where they grew up? Oh hell no. Rob was well-known for shocking the local country folk and suburbanites.
Her mom, Rebecca, was the opposite of Rob in appearance. A thick mane of red hair, freckled skin, she struggled to stay as thin as she preferred, but basically, Rebecca was completely ordinary and just Mom to Karlee. While Rob was a completely normal dad. It used to crack her up when she would see a stadium filled with his fans stomping and yelling, screaming themselves stupid for Rob.
Rob was so far from the personality his devoted fans bowed down to in crazy, screaming praise. Rob was funny and sweet as he tried to please Karlee and her sisters and mom and he often worried that he didn’t do enough.
When he toured in the summer, Karlee and her family often visited him without missing school. She was barely three when Rob entered her life. Rob loved her as much as her own mom and dad did. She always believed she was raised by three parents and considered herself more than lucky.
For Karlee, Rob was a rock. He filled more of her everyday life than her own dad could. Her biological dad was currently on a permanent road trip with his new wife. They were trying to enjoy their retirement. That was totally fine with Karlee. Why? Because she still had Rob. Always. Even though she didn’t call him dad, he was the best dad to her.
The funny thing about Rebecca and Rob was how they dealt with his fame. They all but shunned it. Karlee enjoyed an average, normal upbringing, despite Rob’s band, fame, and abundance of wealth.
To the point of she attended the local community college because they didn’t approve of her lazy approach to school. They outright refused to pay for her education at a university when she graduated from high school. Never particularly ambitious or productive, her tendency to blow off any classes that bored her made her less responsible toward her work. Rob insisted that she attend a community college to prove she was motivated if she chose to pursue higher education.
She could apply for financial aid and take out some loans, but that was a lot more work than she wanted to undertake. Attending a university in SoCal appealed to her not only for the sunshine, but also for the opportunity to capitalize on Rob’s success. But Rob didn’t buy it. She had to earn the money herself. That seemed like so much more work than she was willing to put in.
So here she was, Rob’s stepdaughter, enrolled at the local community college. No leaving home or renting an apartment in the city to be closer to it. She had to commute the forty-five minutes one way from their home to classes every day.
In all honesty, Karlee didn’t really mind that much. Her sheer unwillingness to move out by accepting their “punishment” of enrolling at community college wasn’t a death sentence. She liked living at home and their ordinary circumstances despite her efforts to pretend otherwise. She faked her annoyance that they didn’t spend more of their money or live like other famous people did.
So she was extremely suspicious when her newly assigned partner behaved as though he didn’t know exactly who the hell she was.
“Are we? Strangers, I mean?”
Xavier was well aware that Karlee grew up with her famous stepdad in a small town. He expected she’d been used as a vehicle for Rob long before he entered the picture. That was why his plan was so carefully orchestrated. He didn’t seem to have any designs on Karlee, even if he did. He hoped she wouldn’t scrutinize his intentions as closely as she might otherwise. He believed he could persuade her to trust him if he could get her talking. Get her to express something personal. Read her body language. But so far? Damn. She was a pretty cool customer. He didn’t expect that.
Her face was neutral and she didn’t smile when their gazes met or he got near her. She didn’t start up any ordinary small talk. She didn’t acknowledge him with any glimpse of personal feeling. Interesting. She had her guard up but it didn’t seem too defensive, like she had a chip on her shoulder. It wasn’t an angry grudge either.
Surprising Xavier, Karlee was more than interesting, which only made his task that much more compelling. He expected to meet a spoiled brat and a bitch. Yeah, that’s really all he pictured. Why? Well, why not? What kind of exposure to anyone famous did he have? None. Zero. Zilch. Except for what he saw on TV and social media. They were more like cartoons than celebrities to him. So he expected his first semi-celebrity to be more of a caricature.
Karlee was calm, quiet, unresponsive, but not rude or even centered on herself so far in their interactions. So Xavier wondered how to proceed. How to go about charming Karlee? Not by playing dumb. She had a thick, impenetrable wall she’d constructed around herself. He wouldn’t be the first to try and breach it obviously. Seeking the route that no one else had used, and the only route that might be successful, Xavier tried to be as close to honest and genuine as he could.
Knowing the kind of security Rob had to have, Xavier spent hours trying to devise a way to get close to Rob and his people. He expected an extensive and exhaustive background check, but there was no reason Xavier couldn’t pass. He hadn’t done anything. No one knew he could sing and there was no failed history of trying to record it. No evidence as to why he could be putting himself into Rob’s sphere.
Hell. What could be better than actually liking Rob’s stepdaughter? It made it all that much easier and credible. His compatibility with her could become an advantage and he wasn’t against liking her, as long as he kept his end goal in the forefront. Singing in a band. Fame. Fortune. A life far from any potential his past could offer.
Karlee was cute with her long red hair. She had a heart-shaped face with delicate, brown brows arched over blue eyes. She wasn’t classically gorgeous, and at first glance, seemed a little plain, but the longer Xavier studied her, the more he found her face arresting.
She maintained a neutral expression. During class, after class, around campus. He figured out her schedule and sat on a bench in the commons every morning at ten o’clock when she passed him to go to her calculus class. He tried to gain anything he could from his observations in his effort to get a hint of how to approach this girl.
She wasn’t a giggler and she didn’t smile very often. She didn’t interact with other students, except minimally. Not prone to lowering her head as if she were shy or embarrassed around others, she just didn’t seem that interested or impressed by other people. Xavier tried to imagine what she was exposed to: fame, money and celebrities seemed a given. If she weren’t a diva, or spoiled and bitchy, then perhaps she was jaded for most of her life. Pursuing her education at a local community college campus might be an act of rebellion or insurgence.
What the fuck was she doing here? Xavier couldn’t figure that out. Why not enroll at some ivy league school in LA or New York? Rob must have had contacts there. Why here? A place where Xavier could follow her? He legitimately got in and could afford to move across the state to attend classes here.
His careless, lanky style usually attracted many types of girls. He thought he could manage to carve a path to Karlee’s heart, maybe as a friend, but preferably as a boyfriend. His stomach roiled in knots as he considered his approach. He wasn’t a pervert, a stalker or an asshole. He just needed something from her because of her connection. He didn’t know how else to get it. Walk up and ask for it? Sure. He’d never be allowed to approach Rob.
Xavier liked Karlee’s appearance. She didn’t simper or flirt or fling her hair all around. She didn’t seem flighty or clueless either. He hoped it would be a win for both sides. He liked the girl he planned to use to reach her stepdad.
But first he had to play it perfectly.
As her last sentence simmered between them, a tiny tilt of his mouth lifted up his lips. Glancing swiftly at her and then away, he replied, “Well, I’m obviously a stranger to you. But no, you’re no stranger to me. I am well aware that you are the Karlee Randall, Rob Williams’ daughter.” He shrugged and gave her a practiced peek-a-boo glance. “Everyone in this room knows that, so it’s not anything unusual.”
“Yeah? So… are you a fan?”
He turned himself fully towards her, and his gaze descended from her forehead to her neck. He stopped staring before his eyes landed on her chest. That would have been creepy. Giving a little shrug, he said, “I’m sorry, but I just don’t know you well enough to answer if I’m a fan of yours or not.”
Her forehead wrinkled as she tilted her head and stared at him for a long thirty seconds. Lord. She could hold her composure without cracking a trace of expression or feeling. He feared he could have just blown the whole thing and turned her off. Perhaps she lacked the gifts of a good personality and sense of humor. Maybe she failed to get his dry sarcasm and thought he was serious? Well, crap. If that were the case, he was already way beyond blowing it.
But a half smile appeared on her lips, and a little sound escaped. “Not yet, huh? Haven’t you seen all the Karlee fan gear?”
She did have a sense of humor! He even detected a hint of flirting in her tone. Not enough to suggest he be fake or smarmy or sexy in his response. “Damn. How could I have missed that? I’ll have to take another look. Yeah. I’m a fan of Zenith’s. I mean, it would be weird if I weren’t. I can’t imagine how anyone who heard them play wouldn’t become a fan. They are… legends. Classical legends.”
An amused smile escaped her. “Yes, they are. But some people don’t appreciate them. Being famous totally sucks. You’d be shocked by all the trolls, grifters, stalkers, crazies and psychos it draws.”
“Like that obsessed fan who tried to shoot him a few years back?”
“Yeah, that was spectacularly the worst.”
He flinched. “I can’t imagine what the dude was thinking. Didn’t someone get hurt?”
“Yeah, one of the bodyguards. Now, he’s my brother-in-law. And taking a bullet for Rob was such crap. Psychotic fans who spend their time following Rob’s schedule and routine are so creepy. I can’t begin to understand what their problem is.”
Xavier had enough grace and self-awareness to flinch at her statement. Fuck. He hated being lumped in as one of those, although he wasn’t psychotic. His conscience and morals were definitely being tested by doing this, and using Karlee to get to Rob was no more than a means to an end for him.
But fuck! He had a great voice and he could sing. The real thing. How could he draw an audience in tiny, unknown Montesano, Washington?
“It must be a mind-fuck being so closely related to it.”
Again, Karlee eyed him up and down before giving him a small nod. “Yeah, it can be much worse than a mind-fuck sometimes.”
He nodded. “So… anyway, this term project looks like a huge time suck. Do you want to meet up at the library to start? Or…?”
“My house?” she supplied, lifting her eyebrows suggestively.
There it was. His first chance. But also a silent showdown. He was sure of it. He smiled uneasily as he replied, “I… I know Rob lives pretty far out of Arlington and I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, but I have to work and I won’t get a free night for a while to make the commute. So it’s either the library or my place off Fifth Street.”
Xavier planned to play a long game here. Developing a friendship, drawing her interest, making her like him and hopefully, finally trust him. He wasn’t deliberately using or abusing her. By gradually cultivating a relationship, he hoped to effortlessly reveal his natural singing ability before sitting back and letting Karlee connect the dots to hook him up with Rob. It had to be entirely her instigation when she made her appeal to Rob. Xavier had to look completely innocent, like he just happened upon them.
So far, Xavier liked his new potential connection to Rob, as embodied by Karlee. He almost dared to get pumped that this was the plan manifesting right before his eyes. The path he sought. It just might work.
Not like he had any alternative. No plan B. No other feasible plan, period. What the fuck could he do with General Ed classes from an ordinary community college? Wind up in debt. Working at some dumbass job. He felt guilty for working Karlee over a little bit. But she had so much more than he did to fall back on. If her grades or her plans failed, she had a multi-million-dollar back-up plan to catch her. She had both family and money. Unlimited access to incredible privileges and opportunities. Yes, what he planned to do was shady, and wrong even, but there was no safety net for him.
“Yeah. Okay. That’s fair. I’ll come to you. I travel with a bodyguard so I don’t have to worry about my personal safety with you. You might have to worry, but not me.” She smiled for the first time.
Something weird rattled his insides. His heart pumped faster. Her even, small, white teeth and the dimple he spotted on her chin gave her heart-shaped face a mischievous but warm expression, totally transforming her from ordinary to lovely. He blinked his eyes in astonishment. How could he entertain such thoughts about her?
Shaking his head, he admitted with total honesty, “I’ve never known someone who had their own bodyguard.”
“No? I get that a lot.”
“I honestly can’t imagine it. Does someone follow you all the time?”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t that drive you crazy?”
“I’ve had one for so long that I can’t remember not having one. It’s just normal for me.”
The class was shuffling to leave as the period came to an end. Automatically, Xavier started packing his stuff into the backpack before rising to his feet. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and Karlee did the same before following him.
“How do you trust them with whatever you’re saying or doing? Not that you’re doing anything wrong or whatever, but having someone always there, listening and watching… I don’t know…”
“Hazard of being a member of my family, I guess. There’s literally no choice. Being left alone is scary. Zenith’s fans can be overly vigorous. Intense. Loyal and obsessive, to be honest. In their earnest devotion, they can get aggressive, towards even me. They try to touch me because I’m a virtual connection to Rob, and they get off from that.”
“That’s crazy balls.”
“Yes. But fame and any proximity to it do crazy stuff to normal people.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Just from being alive in this century. Not that I would know firsthand, of course. Not like you.” His sympathetic glance at her wasn’t fake. “It must be so difficult to deal with that. I mean, knowing who to trust must be nearly impossible. How can you root out an authentic friend from a fame-seeker?”
Her face remained impassive as she gave a small nod. “Fame-seekers. I like that, it describes them well. It’s not just hard, it’s practically impossible. Unless, of course, a teacher partners us… then I guess having a third party with authority and neutrality might make it different.”
Hence, the reason Xavier paid a dude far smarter than he was to hack into the teacher’s computer and rearrange the partnering sheet. There was a slim chance of getting caught, but the professor read his name and Karlee’s without any hesitation.
A twinge of regret sliced through him. Karlee guessed he wasn’t a fame-seeker, or a groper, or a stalker by default of the professor. Who would be that damn paranoid? At least, she wasn’t quite so jaded. But if she ever found out, damn! Xavier expected she would be pretty pissed. Hopefully, she didn’t need to find out. They’d do their work together, and whatever happened would eventually just break up naturally without Karlee ever knowing how he arranged it all to start.
Xavier was ambitious, opportunistic, egotistical, and an ass, but not a monster. He wasn’t purposely trying to hurt Karlee, if he succeeded past this first meeting. And their class project. He’d waited a year-and-a-half for this chance. He’d made it his business to know all of her classes and enrolled in any that offered group projects. All he needed was a starting point to legitimately catapult himself into her life.
He was in this for the long game. And right off the bat, his first step of the plan worked.
Damn. Following his plan wasn’t for the weak of heart.
Let’s face it, you had to be a bastard. Good thing he learned from the best.
“You said you had to work. Where is that, may I ask?”
“Beanies.” That was the local coffee shop. Easy. Brainless. Polishing the image, he tried to portray of a struggling student out on his own. Which wasn’t too hard because he was. He just didn’t care about the student part.
“Do you want to meet up afterwards? Select which project we want to do? Get organized?”
“Sure, if you don’t mind the late hour. It’ll be after nine o’clock.”
She shrugged. “That’s fine.”
“Can I text you my address? Or do you keep your phone number totally private?”
“I keep it private.” They stopped now and faced one another before they separated. Her European Literature class was clear across campus. He already knew. “But yeah, you can text me.” They quickly exchanged contacts and Xavier was thrilled. He felt like he just embarked on a voyage across the world. The first part of his plan was finally manifesting. After all this time, prep, and worry, trying to imagine meeting the Randall family and Rob. How to convince Karlee he was not using her. How to get access to Rob.
He squeezed his phone as she turned with a little wave and started walking away. Finally, he got it. Access.
Behind her trailed a woman in her thirties. The bodyguard? Yeah. The telltale bulge of a gun and her intensity when glancing all around were good indicators. She acted as if walking across the dinky campus was akin to a thriller sequence from a movie. Xavier was preoccupied, thankfully, and it made it all the more genuine if he were actually attracted to Karlee, which he was. Her tight ass sashayed in her jeans as she walked away. An average college student. Karlee was also the key to unlocking his most exciting and extraordinary future.