Chapter 14: Chapter 14

SHAY

~SUNDAY, JULY 24~

It had been a week since they’d returned from Tulum. A week since they’d announced their relationship to her father, officially blurring the lines between a working relationship and a more intimate one with her family.

Telling her father was tougher than she’d expected. Although he took it rather well, Hank Haze was a family man, so he took Ethan out and had a serious conversation with him, probably the same conversation he gave her ex.

At first, her father had been surprised, then she saw the look on his face, the mixed emotions he felt toward their relationship. It took some assuring, but ultimately her father supported whoever she chose to date.

Since they’d been back, Ethan had spent most of his time working—they’d only managed to spend one hour together in the entire week—and Shay had been busy preparing for the launch.

She’d been finalizing details and working on her social media with the marketing team from NaturesEX to launch the product together.

On the day of the launch party, Shay arrived three hours early to ensure everything was running smoothly.

Everything was color-coded to bronze, gold, and brown, and the guests would be wearing black. The tall tables were all set up, and the items were all kept in a case.

Shay was looking forward to tonight, but she was even more eager to be in Ethan’s arms.

“How are you feeling?” Dario asked when he arrived, handsome in his all-black outfit.

“Nervous,” she admitted, looking around, trying to spot any familiar faces. She was looking forward to her family’s arrival, and Ethan’s of course.

“Everyone will like it,” Dario said soothingly.

She nodded her head and forced a nervous smile onto her face.

Going around the room, she mingled with the guests who had already arrived, talking to a few people. She was still in her custom long black coat and was itching to remove it to reveal what was underneath.

“Do you want to make it official?” a voice whispered in her ear, and feeling the familiar butterflies in her belly, Shay grinned from ear to ear as she turned around to greet her boyfriend.

“You made it,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.

“Of course! I’m here to be your arm candy for the night,” he joked before giving Dario a curt nod. Dario and Ethan hadn’t really been getting along. They were cordial to each other, but it was obvious they hated each other.

“How do you feel about making it official?” he asked again.

She nodded, giving him the go-ahead. They’d discussed this a lot throughout the week, and although they’d rather keep their relationship private, they knew that it was probably easier for them to just rip off the Band-Aid.

She turned to Dario and handed him her phone. “D, I’d trust you with my life, so please take care of my image.” He was going to handle her social media, posting content on her behalf, since couldn’t do it on her own.

“Of course,” he quickly replied before walking off.

She turned to smile at Ethan, and when he offered his hand, she took it.

Walking across the room hand in hand, she led him to the live-streaming section. She tapped her feet nervously as she waited for her turn, and Maddy, noticing her impatience, began to wrap up the interview with one of the guests.

Ethan’s hand traveled down Shay’s back, stopping just above the curve of her butt.

“I missed you,” she whispered.

He smirked. “Can I come over later?”

Nodding her head eagerly, she bit her lower lip and gave him a coy look.

“And now, we have our star of the night, Shay Haze!” Maddy announced.

Giving Ethan a look, Shay pulled him along with her to stand in front of the black sheet and harsh lights.

“Hey, everyone!” Shay greeted the camera as she blew kisses into it.

“Now, who do we have here?” Maddy asked, eyeing Ethan like a piece of candy.

Shay knew Ethan was good-looking, so it was no surprise when women would gawk at him or even flirt. In Tulum, one of the hotel staff had even asked him out, which he rejected instantly.

Still, it was something she’d have to get used to. Women were attracted to his looks ~and~ his bank account.

“I know some of you know who he is, but for those of you who don’t, this is Ethan Ramsay,” Shay said excitedly. Needing to keep the bubbly energy up, she gave a big smile.

In a flash, his hand snaked around her waist while the other cupped her cheek, and he planted a passionate kiss on her lips. Which stunned her a little, but she kissed him back, loving the feelings he gave her.

“Oh my god!” she heard someone squeal, which instantly snapped her back to reality. She pulled away from Ethan as she blushed.

“So, Ethan and I are dating,” she announced, looking at him lovingly. He returned the look.

This was the first time she’d revealed a relationship to the public. She knew that she was already under scrutiny, and that by making this announcement, she was basically inviting more people into her life.

However, Ethan gave her the comfort she needed, and he wanted the relationship to go public. It was his first time being this open about a relationship as well.

Ethan had promised her that no matter what happened, he would have her back. And she believed every word he said. There was just something about him that made her trust him.

As the interview went on, they kept most details about their relationship private. She wanted to maintain the focus on the brand, rather than on her dating life.

And Ethan had enough information about the brand to even chime in and talk about it, which showed that they were in unison.

Once the interview was over, Shay went around the room introducing herself to people and catching up with a few familiar faces. Her nerves were washed away with him by her side.

Spotting her family in the distance, she approached her father and Billie, who were both visibly excited for her. They congratulated her on her collaboration.

Making her goals a reality was something she was proud her family could witness.

“Welcome everyone!” Lin said into the microphone, and everyone turned their attention to the stage.

“Thank you all for making it today. We are extremely grateful for your presence as we celebrate our new collaboration. As many of you know, we usually collaborate with celebrities, and stay away from Instagram influencers…”

As Lin went on, she moved her hands dramatically, as if to elaborate in great detail. “For the most part, we wanted to work with Shay because of who she is. We’ve seen her hustle and overcome a difficult situation.

“And we’ve also seen how true she is to herself. When she approached us for a collaboration, it was a unanimous decision. So please welcome, Shay Haze, the owner of Shy Wear.”

The crowd clapped and cheered—in her honor! She grinned as Ethan escorted her to the side of the stage before helping her step up.

As she walked across the stage under the bright lights, she noticed how packed the room was and was filled with joy. Lin passed her the mike before stepping away.

Looking around, Shay smiled, then stepping to the side a little, stood in front of the cloth.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so nervous.” She chuckled, and the room chuckled along with her. “Honestly, I’m just so thankful—I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect turnout,” she said as she looked around at everyone in black attire.

“I never really thought this would be my career path. I was premed, then an accident happened that changed the course of my entire life. I’ve done everything since then to turn my life around.

“Collaborating with NaturesEX was one of the things I wanted to do.” She took in a deep breath, then pulled on the black cloth, revealing a 3D box.

Undoing her coat, Shay let it fall from her shoulders and hang just from her arms, revealing her collaboration.

“I believe in sustainable living, especially with what our world has become. Collaborating with NaturesEX has brought my dreams to a reality.

“Shy Wear’s sustainable clothing reuses scrap materials from branded clothing lines, and now we’re proud to announce our new collection…

“Shy Wear x NaturesEX sustainable lingerie!”

Thunderous applause filled the room. They sounded just as excited as she was!

“All our lingerie comes in twenty-four different shades of skin tone, and with fall coming, we’ve even included in a robe that keeps you warm and feels sexy at the same time.”

She paused to look around at the men in the room. “For men, we have two boxer designs and a hunky robe.” She smiled. “And, for the first one hundred orders, we’re giving out a limited edition bag for free.”

On cue, the models came out from behind her, modeling lingerie as the 3D box played a different picture.

“Plus, with every purchase, we’ll donate ten percent to a fund we’ve created to help the wrongly incarcerated. We’re working with a panel of lawyers that has agreed to foot half the bill.

“And for those that we’ve helped free, we will hire them to work with us in our warehouse so that they’re able to get back on their feet.”

She paused to take a breath. “There will be an allocation of another ten percent to fund a campaign to raise awareness for mental illness. And we’ll be working together with NaturesEX for our next collaboration as well.

“But for now, thank you for coming and enjoy your night!” Shay finished by draping the coat over her body once again. She was glad—the cold aircon against her skin was getting too be too much.

Shay handed the mike over to Lin so she could go change into her dress, and as soon as she reached the side of the stage, Ethan’s hand was already extended to her.

Taking it without a second thought, she led him to the changing room she’d requested so she could have place to go if she needed time away from the crowd.

Dragging him to the back, she shut the door behind him and dropped her coat. Filled with adrenaline, Shay smashed her lips into his. She needed him, needed to feel close to him.

His hands instantly found her body, lifting her up as he gave in to the kisses, not once questioning or fighting back.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she gripped his hair roughly as their tongues battled for dominance. As she moaned against his lips, she could feel them curling into a smirk.

“Can we go back to your place now?” he whispered against her mouth as she felt something hard poking her inner thigh.

Pulling away a little, she stared at him as she bit her lower lip. “I have a bit more to do, talking to a few people, but then we can leave.”

He groaned and threw his head back.

“You know I’m still not going to sleep with you, right?” she asked.

“Yeah, but you make me feel things I’ve never felt with anyone else,” he confessed.

She felt her heart skip a beat—she understood exactly what he meant.