3. Snake Girl

3

SNAKE GIRL

Maeve

How stupid am I? I can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe I nearly ruined his night, and for what?

For nothing.

I shut the door to a stall. I don’t have to pee, but I need to get myself together before I go back in there. I yank off some toilet paper and daub under my eyes as Angelina’s words replay in my mind.

They received an influx of portfolios at the last minute, so they won’t be making their decision yet.

But I submitted mine early, so that means it wasn’t good enough to make it to the final round. If it were, they wouldn’t care about the last-minute submissions.

Story of my adult life. I can’t catch a break. Maybe the universe is trying to give me a sign— give up painting. Toss the towel in on making art. No one makes a living as an artist anyway. You’re not special.

That’s certainly the message I get from my aunt Vivian, though hers is coated in honey and laced with a little vested interest. She says things like, “Oh, sweetie, it’s too hard to make it as an artist. Just work with me instead.”

I try to shut out both voices with a few deep breaths as the main door to the ladies’ room swings open. The clock is ticking. Wallow time is over. But shoes click, and a voice carries.

“I’m so ready. Daddy upped the limit on my card, so I got an advance to bid on Asher,” a soprano voice says gleefully.

Hand on the latch, I tip my head closer, straining to catch every word.

“And when people think I’m dating him, I’ll get soooo many new followers for the brand,” she adds. “I’ve laid all the groundwork by wearing his jersey in videos. One date, and it’ll be catnip for clicks.”

My skin crawls, and I gasp silently, but I don’t move.

The other woman’s voice is softer, almost cautious. “It sounds like a great plan, but…are you sure this is the best way to go about it? What if it backfires?”

“Backfire? No way. He’s dating someone new every few months. It’ll be easy to pull off.”

“People might see through it,” the careful one says.

“Ever heard of Photoshop? I’ll take so many pics of us, change my outfits in them, and then I can just dole them out like we’re totally a thing. The timing will be perf. People believe what you tell them.”

My temperature shoots through the roof as I peer through the slat, glimpsing jet-black hair and a spray tan.

Her. The one launching a new beauty line. And she’s planning to use Asher to do it.

I burn, then I break, fumbling with the latch as I push open the door to give her a piece of my mind. “Are you for real?” I bite out. But the liar-to-be is already scurrying out of the restroom, ready to spin fables about my friend.

I beeline for the ballroom, debating tactics on the way and not sure confronting her will do a thing. Instead, I try to devise a more clever solution to her kind of trickery. It’s not like I can dramatically shout, Stop, thief! from the doorway. She’d laugh it off and call me crazy. I could race backstage and tell Everly, but what could she do? Disqualify a bidder on account of me overhearing a ladies’ room convo?

I certainly can’t outbid an heiress and her daddy’s money. I’m…nobody.

Pissed off and penniless, I join my brother, slumping into the cushioned chair with a harrumph .

“In the nick of time,” Beckett says, then eyes me suspiciously, arching a brow. “Are you wearing Asher’s vest?”

“Vests are totally in, babe,” Reina tells him, like it’s the moment for a gentle fashion correction. “And you look hot,” she tells me.

“Thank you.” But I don’t care about me right now. I care about Snake Girl with the credit card. “Listen to this.”

I spill everything I overheard.

Reina’s nose twitches, and then she nods to my new nemesis a row over. “That’s Miranda Blush. Her dad owns a shipping business. I heard she claimed her new beauty line is cruelty-free, but a research lab discovered it’s not.”

“It’s cruelty-full? Ugh, I hate her even more,” I seethe.

“How do you know all this?” Beckett asks his wife, eyebrows raised in amazement.

“I like knowing things. It’s an Akiyama thing,” she says, using her maiden name, which she kept because she wanted to keep her Japanese heritage alive .

“And you’re damn good at it,” he agrees. He hums thoughtfully like he’s weighing all this intel. Beckett’s more measured than I am. I got all the impulsive genes, and he got the strategic ones. Maybe that’s why he owns a small chain of gyms, and I climb ladders that rip my dress. But a moment later, his eyes narrow, and he says darkly, “No one fucks with my guy.”

Reina squeezes his arm. “Protective Beckett is in the house. But what are you going to do?”

Before Beckett can answer, Everly’s voice echoes bright and loud as she strides on stage with the mic.

“Thank you so much for coming back with full wallets and big hearts. Let’s have a round of applause for Erin and her intros,” she says to the buzzing audience. The color commentator started the auction. Now it’s the team publicist’s turn to finish the night. Everly looks sleek and stylish in a blue dress and black heels with her signature blonde ponytail. “We are so excited that all the money raised this evening will go to San Francisco-based non-profits, including animal rescues, food drives, housing initiatives, and efforts to combat homelessness, as well as our ongoing support for local libraries. So get ready, Sea Dogs fans! Now is your chance to win a date with a hockey star. I’ll tell you a little more about what each date package with each guy looks like.”

As she dives into the details, I huddle with my brother and his wife again. Reina whispers a warning, “It’s going to be bad if Miranda claims she’s dating Asher.”

“She might make up all sorts of things about him for her own purposes,” I second.

Asher’s on the brink of launching a new charity he’s been building over the last year with my brother—they’re calling it Total Teamwork. Asher’s reputation matters to him. He’s earned it with focus and dedication throughout his entire career. He’s known as one of the most accessible, friendly, outgoing guys on the team for a reason—that’s who he legit is. He’s the guy who has his teammates’ backs and who cares about his city in a deep and real way.

On the eve of the Total Teamwork debut, it’d be a terrible stain on Asher’s rep if he was embroiled in a messy lie of a fake romance with someone who’s only using him for clout—especially since that someone has a dubious history of her own. With animals, no less!

“I can already see the posts spinning out of control before we have a chance to stop them,” I say.

“It could be a real mess,” Beckett agrees. He lets out a long, annoyed breath as Everly talks up date packages that include concerts, cooking classes with gourmet chefs, and an art and culture day touring the best museums and galleries in San Francisco.

I picture Snake Girl gallivanting around the city with my friend, then tossing photos online, claiming they’re together. Then Asher would have to say they’re not together, and she would no doubt throw some sort of online fit.

Frustration boils up inside me. I have to do something. There are still a few more minutes for me to pull Everly aside somehow. Tell her what I heard. Ask her to refuse Snake Girl’s bid, maybe.

It could work. Stranger things have happened.

“Next up, we have a date with the formidable and fun Alexei Volkov,” Everly says, as Beckett whispers something to Reina only. “Who’s ready to take a shot at an unforgettable evening? The bidding begins at twenty thousand dollars.”

When the first paddle lifts, I don’t wait another second. “I’m going to find someone backstage. Maybe Everly’s assistant,” I tell Beckett, pushing up in my chair, ready to jet off, to fly past my friend Leighton, who’s freelancing here tonight, snapping pictures of the event for the team.

Setting a hand on my shoulder, he keeps me in place. “No, you’re not.”

“Why not? We can’t let this happen. How else can I stop it?” I implore him.

If I can go hunting in libraries for cell service for me , I will damn well finagle my way backstage for my friend.

But as a pair of women vie for Alexei, a clever smile spreads across my brother’s face. He strokes his chin, looking like he’s got the world at his fingertips. “The money does go to a good cause. These are all causes that I support, anyway. My accountant said it was time to make a charitable donation.”

“But you’re launching your own charity,” I point out.

“Yeah, and I like these causes too.”

I connect the dots and breathe the biggest sigh of relief, wrapping an arm around him. “I knew you’d come through and do it.”

But he shakes his head, his smile turning downright wicked. “I’m not going to outbid her,” he says. “You are.”