Mythe: A Fairy Tale (44 page)

Richard’s words were uncharacteristically bitter, raising a storm of questions for Manda. What exactly had happened to drive such a wedge between Richard and his older brother? It was completely at odds with the closeness of the rest of the family. Whatever it was, Richard certainly didn’t want to talk about it. Manda determined right then not to mention William again, at least not until Richard decided to confide in her about him. For now, a change of subject seemed in order.

“So, what are you reading?” she asked, indicating the book he’d set aside. He picked it up and handed it to her with a smile.

“Robert Jordan…again.”

Manda laughed with delight as she took the worn copy of the book from him. “One of my all time favorites! Who’s your favorite character? Or do I even have to ask?”

“You could probably guess,” he chuckled. “Perrin is my favorite, for obvious reasons. Who’s yours?”

“Matt, definitely. People always underestimate him, but he’s so much more than he appears. He’s more…” She never finished her thought because Josh returned unexpectedly at that moment, startling her when he slammed the door behind himself.

His brother’s abrupt return alarmed Richard. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?” he demanded. His body tensed and his arm tightened protectively around Manda.

“Relax. It’s more of an inconvenience than a problem,” Josh answered apologetically. “There are just a few dozen photographers and reporters camped out in front of the hotel waiting for you and Manda. Hotel management won’t let them on the property, but they’re filling the sidewalk. I couldn’t get ten feet before they were all over me, yelling questions about you two. I think our days of roaming freely are over.”

“And so it begins,” Manda joked, but it came out more nervous than amused. If they drew this kind of attention here in Vail, winter playground for the world’s richest and most famous, then what was waiting for her at home?

Chapter 30

B
y unanimous decision, Richard, Josh, and Manda cut their vacation short, returning to Denver that afternoon. With some encouragement from Manda, David and Stacey decided to stay and finish their holiday. As Josh so eloquently put it, no roving bands of paparazzi would be tormenting them.

Manda’s first encounter with the press was brief but intense. Richard arranged for his car to be brought around to the rear service entrance of the hotel, hoping to avoid the mob that awaited them outside the front doors. Two bellmen had their baggage loaded and were waiting for them with open car doors when Richard and Josh hustled Manda out the back door.

Manda was sure they had escaped free and clear right up until the moment when a camera was shoved through the half-closed passenger door and she was blinded by its strobing flash. With complete disregard for the photographer’s equipment or appendages, Richard forced the door closed. The photographer managed to escape with his fingers, but only just. He had to yank his now dented camera free when the car door slammed on it, wedging it between the door and the doorframe. A few more photographers snapped away through the car windows as Josh and Richard took their places in the car and Richard pulled out into the street.

One of the more persistent photographers stood in front of the vehicle, refusing to give ground until he realized that Richard didn’t intend to stop. He dived out of the way at the last second, landing in a heap on the curb. That close call drew a gasp from Manda. Without taking his eyes from the road, Richard found her hand and squeezed it.

“Don’t worry. I’ve never run one over yet.”

“Yeah, the suckers move too fast, darn it,” Josh lamented humorously. “Be prepared, M. You’re on their radar now. The honeymoon is over.”

The next day, Josh’s words were proven true with a vengeance. When Manda logged onto her computer to check the weather the following morning, the news feed on her homepage featured a picture of Richard and her, accompanied by the headline “Who is Richard Raines’ Secret Ski Sweetheart?” The linked story displayed several more photos of the two of them as they left the hotel. Her name was notably absent from the story, and Manda took some comfort from that until she checked her e-mail. Even with no mention of her name, it seemed that enough people had recognized her face to fill her inbox to capacity. She recognized a few of the senders as people with whom she’d gone to high school or college. She puzzled over how they had gotten her e-mail address—none of them had been friends—until she remembered that the information had been included in the student directories, and she’d kept the same personal e-mail address since high school. Well, she supposed she’d have to do something about that, but it would have to wait. She just didn’t feel up to dealing with it at the moment. With an irritated stab at the power button, she turned off her computer without bothering to log off then peaked out her front window, half expecting to find an army of reporters camped out in her front yard. Thankfully, the only person she saw was her neighbor pulling out of his driveway.

Richard dispatched Mark to pick Manda up late in the morning. He would have picked her up himself, or even just had her drive in, but he didn’t want to lead any reporters back to her house or let them get her license plate number. They would figure out who she was and where she lived soon enough. She had to run the gauntlet of photographers when they arrived at the hotel, however. Richard rushed out to meet the car when Mark pulled up in front of the hotel doors, wrapping one arm protectively around Manda’s waist and forcing his way through the press of people with the other. Manda was breathless by the time they attained the hotel lobby, and her eyes were still wide and startled when they reached Josh and Richard’s suite. Mikey and Josh were waiting for them around the table.

Josh chuckled when he saw Manda’s expression. “Your adoring fans a bit overwhelming?” he asked. “Don’t worry. It’ll die down. They have a short attention span.”

“Let’s hope,” Richard said darkly as he pulled out a chair for Manda and then turned to the side table for a cup of coffee.

“It’s an inconvenience,” Mikey said evenly, “but Josh is right. They’ll get bored with you when they figure out what dull lives you lead.” He winked at Manda as he took a sip of his own coffee. “It’s just that right now you’re big news. You’re a mystery—nobody knows anything about you. Once the novelty wears off, it’ll settle down. Look how quickly it died down around here for Richard and Josh. For the first several weeks they couldn’t even leave the hotel, but after that everyone lost interest. They became old news.”

“Hey!” Josh protested in feigned outrage. “I think I feel insulted.”

Richard set a cup of tea in front of Manda and took his place at the table beside her. “But it’s too much right now. We’ve got to figure out how to manage it.” He was edgy and unsettled, with the same tense cast to his features that she’d seen when he’d been gone after Christmas and she’d watched him on television. “I think we should lay low for a while and not be seen together too much.”

Manda didn’t like the sound of that one bit. “Is that necessary?” she interrupted.

Richard twined his fingers through hers on the table and smiled reassuringly, though there was still a shadow in his eyes. “Don’t misunderstand. This won’t keep me away, but don’t forget that I have certain skills that will let me come and go from your house without ever being seen.”

Manda was surprised by this mention of his shapeshifting ability in front of Mikey, and her eyes flew immediately to the brothers’ friend and manager. He met her alarmed glance with a smile.

“Don’t worry. I know all about their special gift.”

Manda supposed it made sense that someone who worked so closely with Richard and Josh on a daily basis would know their secret, but she was still vaguely disappointed that she was the last to arrive at this particular party—and then she in turn felt silly for feeling that way. She mentally chided herself for her foolishness and concentrated on the problem before her. She was uncertain how to react to this media blitz. Knowing her own tendency to let the unknown overwhelm her—her overactive imagination meant that her dread of things was usually worse than the reality—she’d refused to think about how she would deal with this inevitability in advance. Now that she could no longer avoid it, she tried to take her cue from those around her who had experience dealing with such problems, but she was getting mixed signals. Josh and Mikey seemed to view it as an annoyance—something to be minimized but nothing that should merit undue concern. Richard, on the other hand, seemed much more distressed by the recent turn of events. He was genuinely worried about the situation, and while Manda’s natural inclination was to trust Richard’s judgment, in this instance she couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps he was overreacting. After all, Josh and Mikey seemed very casual about the whole thing. Manda did have other resources though—resources with expertise in just this area.

“I think we should talk to Curt and Jen about this,” Manda offered thoughtfully. “They might have some good advice about how to handle it.”

“I was going to suggest that myself,” Mikey approved. “Why don’t you see if you can set up a meeting for all of us to discuss it?”

When no one else objected, Manda called Curt to see what she could arrange. As it turned out, he was expecting her call.

“Jen and I were just discussing the problem this morning. It will no doubt start impacting the office, and it would be best if we’re ready to deal with it. Can everyone make it for lunch today? I’ll have something brought in.”

At noon they convened in the same conference room where the first meeting with Richard and Josh had taken place, but this time the mountains in the west were blanketed in white and Mikey replaced David at the table. In his usual brisk fashion, Curt got right down to business. He was of an opinion more akin to Mikey’s than Richard’s. Because of her unprecedented relationship with Richard, Manda was a novelty, and as such there was a demand for pictures and information about her. As long as such commodities were scarce, they would be valuable and, as Curt put it, “every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a camera would be following her around.” The surest way to rid them of the paparazzi was to devalue their work by flooding the market. Rather than trying not to be seen
together, they should make themselves very available to the media—give interviews; hire their own photographer, a very good one, and give the pictures to the press.

“Why pay the hyenas for their scraps when the lion is giving you the best meat for free?” Curt explained with a colorful analogy that Manda found secretly and amusingly appropriate. By making themselves available to the media, Curt further explained, they would gain a certain amount of control over what was reported.

Manda could see the logic of Curt’s advice. Josh and Mikey agreed as well. Even Richard, though obviously unenthusiastic, admitted that his reasoning was sound. With everyone in agreement that this was the proper course of action, Jen chimed in for the first time.

“I didn’t want to say anything before because I didn’t want you to feel like I’m trying to exploit your relationship. As your friend, I want you to do what’s best for you, Manda. I hope you understand that what I’m suggesting is just that…a suggestion. You can take it or leave it. I haven’t even mentioned it to Curt yet.”

“What already?” Manda demanded in exasperation, interrupting Jen’s litany of disclaimers. She gave her coworker a smile to take any sting out of her words.

“Well, I was thinking that if you’re going to be talking to the media anyway, we could put all the attention to good use,” Jen explained. “People will want to know how you met, and that will open up the door to talk about the foundation. Every time one of you is interviewed, photographed, or even mentioned is an opportunity to put the Raines Foundation out there.”

Manda arched her eyebrows consideringly and then nodded. “I like it. If I’ve got to do this, at least it’ll do some good in the process.”

Richard frowned but didn’t comment. He merely sat quietly beside Manda and held her hand reassuringly as Curt, Jen, and Mikey laid out the game plan for managing Manda’s new-found celebrity. Curt would arrange for interviews for both Manda and Richard, both together and individually, with a few hand-picked and trusted reporters. Jen would find a suitable photographer to retain, and arrange invitations to some high-profile local events. While they were on the subject of events, Mikey reminded them that the Hollywood awards season was just beginning and suggested that Richard and Josh attend for a change, with Manda as Richard’s guest of course. Manda was a little intimidated by this suggestion but kept her fears to herself.

Curt coached Manda on how to manage reporters and photographers on the street. “Never cooperate with the ones who are behaving badly. Ignore them and pick out one who’s being polite and respectful…if there are any. Reward good behavior with a few answered questions or pose for a photographer.” He went on to warn Manda about possible safety concerns.

Richard moved his chair closer to Manda’s and tightened his grip on her hand. “I’ll make sure she’s safe. You don’t need to worry about that.”

Curt suppressed a smile and continued with his instruction. It was well into the afternoon when their meeting finally wound down. They’d covered everything from what not to throw away in her garbage at home to how to bring up the foundation as much as possible without sounding like a broken record. When it was over, Manda was tense and exhausted. Richard’s reassuring hand in hers had become her lifeline, and she clung to it with a death grip.