Keanu slides his arm around my waist. “Modeling is in our past. This is our future.”
Keanu officially retired from modeling at the end of last year, and I have one more campaign to finish for Miranda Fanning, and then, I’m done. I’m not renewing my contract when it expires in August, because I don’t have time anymore, and it feels like the right moment to put that part of my life behind me. We are crazy busy with this project and college, and while I will always remember my modeling days fondly, I’m honestly not sad to be saying goodbye. Neither of us is.
In the aftermath of the shooting and the subsequent arrests of several men involved in sex trafficking, including Hudson and Senator Allen, the level of attention directed my way was too much.
The FBI discovered a partial print belonging to Freddie in Clive Lawrence’s penthouse and has ruled the director’s death a murder. They think Freddie was tipped off about the FBI surveillance and he panicked. Fled Ohio and came looking for Lawrence. Afraid Clive would spill his guts to save his own ass, he took him out before he could speak one word. And then he went into hiding until he decided it was time to silence me too.
I owe my life to Keven. If he hadn’t shown up when he did, I think Freddie would have finished the job. Thankfully, my brother-in-law was exonerated after an FBI internal investigation into Freddie’s death.
A shudder passes over me, and I’m not sorry I’ve taken a step back. Stepping out of the limelight meant the media grew bored of me, and I’ve reclaimed a semblance of normalcy.
I will have to prepare myself for the trial when the scrutiny will become intense again. But that’s still a couple months away, and with the support of my husband, my family, and my therapists, I’ll get through it.
It’s good to finally see justice prevail.
“What’s that place over there?” Elena asks, drawing me out of my mind. She points to a cluster of buildings off to the other side of the drawing.
I place my hand on my husband’s chest. “That is where Keanu is building his business empire.”
He looks at me in amusement. “I’m setting up my own label when I graduate,” he tells Elena. “And it made sense to segregate part of this site to build my premises. I don’t want to be far from Selena, and I was keen to set up outside the city, so two birds, one stone.”
“It’s completely separate,” I reassure her. “They will have their own entrance and own facilities.
“You have thought of everything, and it’s incredibly inspirational.”
“Thank you.” I wrap my arm around Keanu’s stomach. “It’s been a labor of love for all the family, and we had many great minds working on this plan with us.”
“Well, I think it’s a wonderful project, and I think my boss is going to be extremely happy when I update her. If you are still interested in exploring cross support and cross-promotional initiatives, Polaris will be too.”
“We’re definitely interested,” I say.
“Great.” She smiles. “I think I have enough for the article with what you have shown me here today and the information you emailed to me. I’ll write it up and send it to you to approve before we publish it.”
“That’s perfect. Thank you for coming out to see it.”
“Pleasure’s all mine, Selena.” She shakes all our hands, and Keanu walks her back to her car.
“Thank you so much for bringing our vision to life,” I tell my brother-in-law, giving him a big hug as he rolls up the drawing.
“Thanks for giving me such an awesome first project. And my boss is going gaga over this project. It’s the type of exposure that will launch an already growing firm into the stratosphere, so it’s a win-win.”
“You leaving?” Keanu asks, lounging against the open doorway.
“Yep. Need to get home to my babies.” He flashes us a grin.
“How’s the wild child?” Keanu asks as we lock up.
“As wild as ever,” Kal replies. “But, man, you should see him with Hayley. He is so gentle with his little sister. We were worried he might get jealous, but he adores her.”
“Hard not to,” I admit, holding Keanu’s hand. “She’s a little angel.”
“Oh, oh.” Kal nudges Keanu in the ribs. “Sounds like someone wants a baby.”
I laugh. “I love kids, and I can’t wait to have them, but this project and Keanu’s new business are our babies right now. We won’t be having kids for a while yet.”
“We’re taking bets on who’ll be next,” Kal admits when we reach our cars.
Keanu rolls his eyes. “Why am I not surprised.”
