Chapter 63

I’m cradling a bottle of tequila that Knox had stashed in his condo, which he’d thoughtfully brought along to the talk. We’re currently tucked away behind a black curtain, a thin veil separating us from the audience that’s gathered to hear me speak.

Knox’s agent and manager are buzzing around me, their lips moving in a flurry of words and advice. But honestly, I’m not absorbing a single syllable. I’m a bundle of nerves, and all I can think about is taking a shot of this tequila. Right now.

I feel a comforting hand on my back, rubbing soothing circles just like that time in my bathroom back in Cali. The memory of trying not to vomit while listening to Andy and Kyle’s amorous escapades makes me shake my head. I glance up at Knox.

He murmurs something to his team, and they nod before leaving us alone. He guides me over to a secluded corner, hoists me onto a table, and uncaps the bottle for me.

Gratefully, I take a generous swig, the liquid burning a fiery trail down my throat.

“Ugh, that’s better! I’ll pay you back for the bottle,” I manage to gasp out, coughing a little.

It’s early morning, and here I am, downing shots of tequila before I’m due to step onto a stage and field questions from a sea of strangers. Oh, the glamorous life I lead.

“Don’t worry about it, baby doll. Just breathe. You go on in twenty. You can only have two, believe me. You’re a lightweight, and if you have any more, I’ll have to carry you out. Plus, you might spill some secrets you’d rather keep. Trust me, I’ve been there,” he says, his eyes glazing over with some distant memory. I can’t help but laugh nervously at him, my fingers fidgeting with my hair.

I’m perched on the table, clad in a red skirt and an icy grey sleeveless top with thin straps. My feet are encased in nude high heels that are pretty high, but surprisingly comfortable.

Knox steps closer, and I shuffle around on the table. His thumbs trail up my skirt a bit, and he tugs it down. His touch sends a jolt of heat through my skin.

“Need to pull this down a little. I don’t want every guy in here and out there checking you out. Keep those legs closed or crossed out there... But you look gorgeous, baby doll.”

His words make me blush. I’m not used to him being so candid. This is new. I give him a tight, embarrassed smile, and he grins back at me.

I lift the bottle to my lips once more, taking my last swig before capping it and setting it down on the table. I tilt my head back and exhale deeply, standing up to adjust my skirt. Suddenly, I feel a hand on my ass.

“Here, let me get that for you.” I swat his hand away, shooting him a pointed look. He just grins cheekily back at me.

“Carter, stop that! You’re not helping!” I laugh softly at him. I can’t keep a straight face around him. His smile is infectious. Just then, his agent calls us over. It’s time to get mic’d up.

A young girl is standing there, completely starstruck by Knox. Her supervisor snaps her out of her trance, and she apologizes before proceeding to attach the mic to me, clipping it to the back of my skirt.

The actual microphone is clipped onto my right strap, positioned close to my mouth. She taps it, and I can hear the sound through her earpiece.

“So this is where you’ll mainly speak into, but there are microphones out on the front of the stage as well. There’s a bottle of water beside your seat, which will be the one closest to us. We strongly advise against cursing as it’s live. If there’s time, they might allow the audience to ask questions—”

“What? All three of them?” I joke sarcastically. She giggles, realizing I’d said it out loud. I give her an awkward smile.

“Well, you’ll be glad to know this event is completely sold out. Plus, there have been requests to open the doors at the back and allow people to sit in the aisles. So there will be a lot more than three people...” she winks and walks over to the side to discuss something with another woman holding a clipboard.

Knox grabs my hand and pulls me back to our secluded corner. Let the panic set in, I tell myself.

“Don’t panic, baby doll. You’ve got this. All those people are here to see you succeed, me included. You’re going to be great. I know you will be,” he says, stroking my arms to calm me down.

“Knox, a whole auditorium? I’m about to crap my pants... I can’t do this, I can’t... I’m going to screw up and it’s going to be live... everyone will see... ugh, I’m going to fuc—”

His lips cut off my rambling, pulling me closer to his warm body. I instinctively lean into him, kissing him back.

He pulls away slightly, whispering against my lips, “You’ve got this, baby doll.” I keep my eyes closed, letting his words sink in. I can do this, I can do this, I chant to myself as my name echoes around us.

I open my eyes to see his crystal blue orbs staring down at me. I run my hand up his chest, reaching the back of his head and pulling him down to meet my lips once more.

I kiss him tenderly, stroking his hair gently before pulling away with a smile on my face.

“Thank you,” I whisper back to him. We walk over to the side of the stage. I’m so nervous, I’m shaking. But I’m also so scared.

~Don’t trip, Alex.~ I mentally chide myself.

“Thank you all for joining us today. We’re also live streaming, so thank you to everyone tuning in to watch this. Our guest today has been recognized as one of the top female STEM promoters, often without even realizing it. Because of her, we’ve seen a surge in girls taking science subjects and applying to science and engineering industries and college courses. Not only that, but there’s been a significant increase in women taking on leadership roles, becoming CEOs and top lawyers in their firms. She’s had a profound impact on women in the industry worldwide. Please welcome Alex Thompson.”

Knox gives me a gentle nudge, and I step out onto the podium, greeted by a blinding spotlight and a thunderous applause from the audience. I look out at the sea of faces gathered here to see me. ~Just me.~ I remind myself to keep walking.

I make my way over to the tall brunette woman standing in a navy blue pantsuit. She’s holding cards in one hand and extending the other for me to shake. The flashes from cameras are blinding, and the cheering hasn’t subsided yet.

She smiles at me and whispers, “Thank you for coming and doing this. It means a lot to young girls.” I reply, “I wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this. Thank you for having me.”

She gestures for me to take a seat, and I do. I smile out at the audience and give a small wave, as if they can hear my silent thanks. As I open a bottle of water and take a sip, she begins the talk.

“We’re thrilled to have such a strong female role model here with us, discussing the STEM programs for young girls. For those of you who don’t know, Alex is currently studying for a master’s in Mechanical Engineering, but also holds master’s degrees in Mathematics and Software Engineering and coding. How did you manage to study all of this in such a short space of time?” She asks, taking a sip of her own water.

I smile at her. “Well, I was born with a photographic memory, so I suppose that helps—” The audience laughs, and I continue, “But I’ve always had an interest in learning something new. I’ve always been drawn to science and engineering because there are always new developments and discoveries every day. To see improvements happening in the world and to know that just by adding to your knowledge, you could contribute to these advancements.”

“And have you always known you wanted to go down this road?” She continues the conversation. This isn’t as daunting as I thought it would be.

“When I was seven, I knew I wanted to do something related to science. But when I was twelve, I was introduced to engineering. My granddad showed me cars, and I was fascinated by how a small metal key turns in a keyhole to start an entire engine. From then on, I knew I wanted to study engineering. My granddad showed me the inside of a car, and I studied it down to the finest detail. I memorized every single part of a car and started reading books about design, circuits, and so on. I could literally build you a car right now with the given parts—” The audience laughs again.

“Your grandfather must have been a big influence in your decisions.”

“Yes, he was a huge part of my life. He passed away three years ago, but everything I do now is because of his influence. He owned multiple mechanic shops in Savannah, and my grandma had boutiques. I used to always go to the boutique with my sister Sam. I loved it, but I always begged my granddad to take me with my brothers and their friends to the mechanic shop. One day he did, and I haven’t looked back since.”

“What was the moment you decided you wanted to study Engineering?” I laugh at the memory of when I decided I wanted to be an engineer. I was with Knox and my brothers and left them completely speechless.

“I was in the shop with my three brothers and their friends, and my granddad put a car part in front of us and told us to take it apart and put it back together. He did that all the time with my brothers and the Carter boys, but it was my first time doing it and my third day in the shop. My brothers all thought there was no way I could do it. My granddad sat in the corner fixing another part but keeping an eye on us. I did it in less than thirty minutes. I took it apart, cleaned it, and put it back together. I got a packet of Bonbons as my treat for doing it correctly. Then I started reading about bike parts and airplanes and so on until I remembered everything I could about them. But that was the moment I knew I would study Engineering. Plus, I was always good at math. I studied complex mathematics from a very young age, so yeah…” People gasp in awe at this. I have to remember that not everyone thinks the way I do.

“Wow! That’s amazing! What were you like in school?” I start to laugh to myself.

“Well... I was probably the annoying kid that taught the teachers as well as my classmates. I honestly hardly studied, which I don’t recommend doing. I read something and I would remember it word for word. But I was the top student in the school. Knox was second, and I knew it always bugged him. I skipped grades and was put into the same grade as my older brother Kyle. He hated it at first, but it grew on him after a while. I was always the smart one. I had to tutor some of his friends a lot of the time. When I was first in school, I used to get so annoyed because I didn’t understand why people weren’t thinking the same way I was or as quickly as I was…”

“So Knox Carter is smart as well as good at football?” I nod at her, laughing.

“You could put it like that, yeah, but I can assure you he does not need another ego boost.” I turn to look at him off stage and see he’s trying to frown, but the smile on his face is too big to suppress.

“But he was never a stupid guy. If he wasn’t playing football, I would say he would have gotten an academic scholarship. He has a master’s in business and finance, so he’s smart enough.”

“Like I said, he needs to shrink that ego of his,” I quipped, eliciting a wave of laughter from the audience. The rest of the talk proceeded in a similar vein, with few questions about my personal life.

As we neared the end of the talk, I decided to open the floor to the audience. The lights came up, and I was taken aback by the sheer number of people in the room. “Wow! I didn’t realize how many people were here,” I murmured, laughing to myself.

The sight of so many eyes on me reignited my nerves. After a few moments, a microphone was passed along a line of people until it stopped. A girl stood up with it in her hand.

“Have you ever been bullied?” she asked, her voice small. She was a petite girl with glasses that seemed to take up half her face. Despite her lack of confidence, she was strikingly pretty. I smiled at her and nodded.

“Yes, I have been bullied. In school and at home. In school by your typical mean girl and at home by a man I had to call my dad. What’s your name?”

“Kate.”

“Kate, that’s a pretty name. I was bullied in school not because I was smart, but because I was related to certain people who were friends with certain people—namely, football players.

I could always tell when a girl was befriending me just to get closer to my brothers and their friends. But one girl, in particular, made it really hard for me to go to school. My own family doesn’t even know about any of this.

But I think it’s important to say. The fact that she would bring you down emotionally meant she was threatened by you. It took me a long time to figure it out.

But at the end of the day, she’s still chasing after the same type of guys and will likely end up as the next trophy wife. Meanwhile, I’m here, selling out an event, promoting STEM, being watched by over four million viewers.

I’m making my own impact in the world and getting recognized for it. At the end of the day, the nerds make the difference in the future, not the mean girls who stamp all over people out of fear.

Trust me, Kate, it gets better when you’re older. When you can buy a Chanel and Hermes bag with your own money, design your own house with a walk-in wardrobe, have any car you want in the world, and be happy in your own shoes.

The tough times in high school make you thick-skinned, and it makes it all worth it at the end of the long road.” As soon as I finished, a thunderous applause erupted from the audience, and I couldn’t help but smile at them.

“Plus, one day you might end up being her boss,” I added, making her laugh.

A few more questions were asked until a final one of, “Is it you in Knox Carter’s Instagram photo?” I leaned back in my seat, considering the question. I could tell the truth, but it would create a media circus if I did.

“No, it’s not me. We don’t even know if it’s him in the photo. He doesn’t talk about it. But he’s good with the camera if it is him,” I concluded, effectively ending the talk as time was up.

The lie was smooth and convincing enough that nobody challenged me further.

“Seeing as our time here is up, I would like to thank you all for coming out and taking the opportunity to listen to all the promoters in this conference, especially Alex.

But I would like to thank Alex for coming from Savannah to sit with us today and to share what she has shared. I hope it inspires a lot of girls to know that it’s alright to want to study STEM courses.”

I received a standing ovation and a round of applause. I thanked everyone for coming out and taking the time to see me, assuring them that STEM for girls can be cool too.

The cameras started flashing immediately when I stood up, catching me off guard for a second. I gave them one last wave and walked off stage to be greeted by a beaming Knox with his team behind him.