A Convenient Scandal with the Hockey Heir

I hate my life. That’s the only thing on my mind as I rush past the disturbing scene of my roommate, Emma tangled up with a guy on our couch , her loud moans filling the air. It’s been like this for the past seven months, exactly around the time that my scholarship cheques stopped coming in and I was forced to confess to Emma that I wouldn’t be able to pay the rent for a while. I begged her to cover for me for the next few months while I sorted out my finances and she had been kind enough to agree. But of course, nothing came without a price. I’m now forced to put up with things like this and even worse, I can’t say a word of disapproval. Not when I still don’t have money to foot my half of the bills. My phone blares as I rush out of the building and my heart skips a beat when I see the caller ID. It’s her again. “Hi, mum” “You know damn well there is nothing to be so cheery about. It’s the 25th today, where the hell is my cheque for the month?” “I don’t get paid till the 28th” “I don’t give a damn!!! I put you up for this scholarship, Mackenzie. And now you live big in college and forget about your mother?” I sigh in exhaustion and rub my eyes. We’ve had this conversation every month since I stopped receiving my allowances. I’ve secretly had to take two jobs just to be able to keep up with her monthly cheque and she doesn’t even know it. “That’s not how it is” “My money better be in by tomorrow, Mackenzie. It better” She hangs up before I can even get one more word out. With a sigh, I pocket my phone and hail a cab. “f**k my life” I mutter under my breath as I get in. “Excuse me, ma’am?” “Sorry. That wasn’t for you. This address please” I hand him the invite that had been sent to my mail days ago. He glances back at me with an impressed smile. “Upper Westmont. You stay there? Your folks must be rich rich” I don’t know what he’s talking about or why he seems so impressed. “No. I’m attending an event” “Even the events hosted there are super exclusive. You must know some influential people huh” I’m not comfortable with his questions anymore so I plug in my earphones and stare out the window for the rest of the trip. Three days ago, I came back from class to a mail from Ackerman Holdings, addressed to me and inviting me for a dinner event specifically dedicated to their scholarship awardees. For the first time in months, I felt true excitement. When my cheques got discontinued, I had sent tons of emails and made a bunch of phone calls but never received an adequate reply. This invite was the first gesture from them in months and I jumped at the opportunity. This is the closest I’ll ever be to getting answers and I fully intend to do that tonight. I drop off at the gates of a towering mansion on a side of the city that I have never been before. Now that I’m here, I can see exactly why the cab driver had been impressed earlier. Upper Westmont is paradise on earth, an exclusive slice of luxury reserved for the richest of the rich. “Excuse me. Are you lost?” Someone asks from behind. I jolt around to see a stone faced man who looks like he could be security. “Oh” I scramble around in my purse for the invite and hand it over to him. “I actually received an invitation for an event here tonight” He eyes the piece of paper suspiciously and then steps away to make a call. After a while, he gestures for the gates to be opened and nods in my direction. “You can head in. Mr. Ackerman is waiting” I guess the party has already started. The thought of walking into a room already full of people makes me suddenly conscious of the cheap, satin dress I had chosen for the night. It’s my best dress. I hope the lights are dim. I hope the entrance is at the back of the room. I’m led into the looming mansion at the end of the driveaway and as I approach, the first thing I notice is that the surroundings are a little too quiet. Or is this how rich people do parties? The main doors swing open and I finally step in…then come to a dead stop. Something is off. Two things actually. First, this is no party. There are barely 8 people in the room and they all look like they are dressed for work. Second, there is a camera crew tucked into the corners and they have their cameras pointed directly at me. There must be some mistake. I must have stepped into the wrong room. “I’m so sorry” I whisper urgently. I’ve just turned around to leave when a voice calls from behind. “Mackenzie Frey?” The lady is a petite blonde with sharp features dressed in a classy three-piece suit. Her eyes rake over my appearance and I can swear that I see the corners of her mouth turn down in disdain. “Follow me” She orders curtly and turns around. I really have no other choice but to follow. She leads me towards the middle of the room where a two-person dinner setup is already in place. She pulls out the second seat and gestures. “Take a seat” “I’m not sure what is going on” “Please take a seat, Miss Frey. I’ll explain in a minute” I reluctantly sit down and almost immediately, a makeup crew closes in. I sit there transfixed as a half of them touch up my face and another half work my hair. When the blonde lady approaches me again, I finally muster the courage to speak. “I think there’s been a mix up somewhere. I’m here for a dinner event organized by Ackerman Holdings for their scholarship awardees” “This is the dinner event. You are having an exclusive dinner with Mr. Ackerman” “I wasn’t informed about this” “Well you know now” She hands me a script. “These are the answers you’ll be providing to the questions you’ll be asked. You cannot deviate from the script, Miss Frey” I skim through the text and the more I read, the more bewildered I am. In the script, I’m a very satisfied scholarship awardee who can’t be more grateful for the blessing of Ackerman Holdings. I’m to talk about how my college experience has been seamless and how the monthly allowance has kept me afloat and affluent enough to comfortably afford all my needs. “This…this is not true” I whisper. “Excuse me?” “It’s not true. I haven’t received any cheques in month and I’m so deep in misery that I scrapped every penny on me to come here today in the hopes of receiving answers. This is not what I came here for” Her jaw tightens in disapproval. “Well, we can discuss that later. For now, just do as you are told. Stick to the script” “No” Despite my heart threatening to burst out of my chest, I stand my ground. If I don’t speak up now, I’m never going to get another opportunity to, I just feel it. “I’d like to discuss it now before any other thing” “What you are going to do is sit back down and read your lines” A cold voice orders from behind. “Or…you can leave. And the moment you walk out that door, you’ll be leaving all affiliations with Ackerman Holdings behind” I turn to the source of the voice and if I wasn’t so irritated, I would have taken a full minute to admire the man standing before me. He looks familiar but I can’t quite put a finger on it. “Who are you to speak to me like that?” The man walks forward, hands casually thrust into the pockets of his well tailored pants. With a soft sigh, he extends his hand. “Jace Ackerman, CEO of Ackerman Holdings. And your date for dinner”