Chapter 13 - The Dinner Date

When they arrived in front of a hotel, Kelsey was astounded by the beautiful place. It looked like a palace from the outside she just couldn't wait to see the interior design. Because she was in a trance, she didn't notice that Mason made his way around the car and opened the door for her.

She gratefully smiled at him and uttered a quick 'thank you'. "Shall we?" Mason asked offering his arm to her. She looked at his toned arm before she decided to loop her arm around his and they entered the grand hotel.

Kelsey was right, it was incredibly beautiful inside. The ceiling was high with chandeliers on them and there were expensive looking couches that looked brand new as if no one had sat on them yet. The lighting wasn't as bright as she expected. In fact, it was dimly lit but gave the room a majestic aura. Then she saw bell carts with luggage on them being pushed by porters. That made her wonder then, why were they in a hotel? She started becoming curious and nervous at the same time.

"Good evening, Sir, Ma'am." The lady greeted behind the reception table as they approached it. It looked like she was terrified and intimidated by Mason. Kelsey wondered why everyone find him frightening. Maybe it was because of his cold-sounded voice or his serious looks.

"Reservations for Mason King." Mason said as the lady quickly typed his name on the computer.

"Please follow me, right this way, sir." She announced as Kelsey and Mason followed behind her. The lady led them to a hallway that never seemed to end. But a couple more turns and they finally saw a two-way-door and they entered as the lady held the door open for them. Kelsey muttered a quick 'thanks' and Mason led her to a table.

They were at a restaurant in a hotel. The place was marvelous. There were chandeliers on the ceiling, the lighting was the same as the hallway but a little darker, the tables were set with fascinating table clothes and comfy looking chairs. If Kelsey ever came here on a daily basis, she would probably looked like she was the waitress instead of the customer. But since she was wearing a beautiful dress, she didn't feel that she was totally out of place.

Mason pulled out a chair for her and tucked her in. Then he sat next to her looking at his watch. "Mason, why are we here?" She finally had the courage to asked him.

"We are meeting with a friend of mine." He nonchalantly answered.

"A friend? Who?" She questioned and she started getting nervous. She could feel her palms sweating and her heart beating faster.

"A journalist." He replied as he kept looking at his watch then on the door. Kelsey wasn't quite satisfied with his answer. 'Why do we need to meet up with a journalist?' She wondered. "Make sure that you go over our story very well. Don't forget any details." He added and Kelsey was completely confused.

"What do you mean?" She bewilderingly asked.

Mason sighed impatiently and stared at her. "What I mean is you have to remember the story of how we fell in love." He slowly said and once the words settled in her mind, it finally sank in Kelsey's head. "This journalist will reveal our story to everyone. How we met each other, how we fell in love, and how we are getting married in a few months." He furthered explain and Kelsey slowly nodded in understanding.

"You could have warned me we were doing this tonight. You should have at least gave me a heads up." She told him.

"You should always be ready, Kelsey. I hired you for a reason." He said whispering the last part and Kelsey felt her stomach dropped. She thought that they were actually going on a date tonight. She thought that maybe he wanted to know her better. Now, it all came crashing down on her that at the end of the day, she was still bought and paid.

Not very long, a man wearing a tux came by and greeted Mason. He looked handsome but not as good-looking as Mason. They shook each other's hands and Mason introduced Kelsey to him. "Jonathan, I want you to meet Kelsey Parker." He said as Jonathan stretched out his hand for Kelsey to shake. She took his hand in hers and smiled at him as he stared t her suspiciously.

When they finally sat down, a waiter came by and took their orders. "So, what do you need me for, Mason. You only call me if you need something. Was is it?" Jonathan asked him bluntly and Mason wasn't surprise how straight forward he was.

"I need you to publish a story." He answered.

"What kind of story?"

"A story that goes ''." Mason described as if he was imagining it on a headline. Jonathan's eyes bulged out of their sockets and took a sip of his drink. He looked between Mason and Kelsey. Kelsey was nervous and she was playing with her fork on the table.

"You're getting married?" Jonathan unbelievably asked with squinted eyes.

"That's right." He replied right away. "Why do you think I brought my fiancée here tonight?" He said motioning to Kelsey. Her head whipped towards Mason's direction and glanced at him anxiously.

"Fiancée?" He skeptically repeated. "Wasn't it only a couple of weeks ago that you were caught in a bar with another girl? Weren't you the front page of that tabloid?"

Mason was ticked-off by his words. He knew exactly that Jonathan would get suspicious on him. But he was willing to do anything just to get the word out there that he was getting married. "I'll pay you." He announced.

"How much money are we talking about?"

"My offer is ten thousand dollars." Mason responded causing Kelsey to choke on her drink. She furiously coughed and Mason awkwardly patted her back.

"I'm fine." She said. She couldn't believe that Mason was just throwing money here and there. $10,000 was a huge amount of money. Why would he spend it on something so stupid?

"Make it twenty and I'll make it sound as realistic as possible." Jonathan offered and Mason didn't hesitate to answer.

"Deal." He said shaking Jonathan's hand as a sign of sealing the deal. Kelsey's stared agape and looked between the two insane men sitting next to her.