Chapter 2 This Ride’s My Treat
The guy in charge stepped up, dipping his head in a quick bow. “Dr. Bennett, your chariot awaits.”
“What’s with the army?” Kaia asked, eyeing the crowd.
There wasn’t just a ton of them—they were all strapped with identical, heavy-duty weapons.
“Dr. Bennett, you’re basically a national icon,” the leader said with a grin. “Can’t let a single scratch ruin the masterpiece. If you didn’t hate big scenes, we’d have rolled up with ten times this crew.”
The man, Harry Patterson, stood tall, his gold epaulets with blue trim catching the light.
He looked every bit the badass commander.
“You’re full of it,” Kaia said, rolling her eyes. “It’s just a quick trip to the lab. I’m not gonna get lost in the parking lot. And let’s be real—with my moves, anyone dumb enough to try me would be eating dirt in seconds.”
“No cap, I’m dead serious!” Harry’s voice crackled with excitement, his eyes practically glowing with hero-worship vibes. “Your research? It’s got the whole world’s attention.
“If this thing pops off, it’s gonna change the game for humanity. Your safety, your real identity? That’s top-secret stuff we’d die to protect.”
Kaia quirked a brow, clearly over the hype. “Where’s Joel at?”
“Mr. Graham’s off kicking butt at some global martial arts thing. I’ve got your back for now.”
“Cool, let’s bounce.” Kaia didn’t dig deeper and slid into the car.
Back at the Bennett family estate, the butler caught the commotion and hustled outside. He froze, jaw dropping, as Kaia was whisked into a jeep by a pack of camo-clad soldiers.
“Oh, crap! Mrs. Bennett! We’ve got a problem!” he yelled, sprinting back inside. “Miss Kaia Bennett just got nabbed by a swarm of cops!”
“What’s going on?” Ruth’s stomach dropped like a rock.
“No idea! Just saw a bunch of cops roll up, surround her, and shove her into a car!”
Ruth bolted out of the villa, Andrea and Louis hot on her tail.
By the time they hit the driveway, the choppers were dots in the sky, and the jeeps were just a trail of dust.
“What—what the hell was that?” Ruth stammered, clutching her chest, her face white as a sheet.
“Did Kaia do something illegal?” Andrea threw out, wide-eyed.
“What kind of crime gets that kind of firepower?” Louis muttered, brow furrowed.
‘Murder? A string of murders? Or something totally unhinged?’ They were stumped.
*****
Two days later, the top lab in Shanghai exploded with cheers and clapping.
“Hell yeah! A whole year of grinding, and we finally nailed it!”
“All thanks to Dr. Bennett. Without her running the show, we’d still be nowhere with this new carbon nanomaterial!”
“No kidding! Once this stuff hits the streets, it’s gonna supercharge every industry out there. Total win for the nation!”
“No kidding! Once this stuff hits the streets, it’s gonna supercharge every industry out there. Total win for the nation!”
The room was electric, with big-shot professors acting like kids at a candy store, high-fiving and practically breakdancing.
Meanwhile, Kaia, the star of the show, just chilled in the corner, sipping coffee like it was no big deal.
One of the older professors sidled up to her. “Dr. Bennett, just got a call from the National Research Institute. They wanna know when you’re free for a press conference.”
“Eh, whenever works,” Kaia said with a lazy shrug.
The professor hesitated, not wanting to step on toes. “So, I can handle the details?”
“Yup.” Kaia’s reply was cool as ice.
Relieved, the professor pressed on. “One more thing—this project’s got everyone’s eyes, even the international research crews are blowing up our inbox.
“They’re begging for you to show up in person and own that press conference.”
He held his breath, knowing Kaia liked to keep things low-key.
She paused for a beat, then said, “Alright, I’m in.”
‘Score!’ The professor let out a mental cheer, wiping imaginary sweat off his forehead.
He’d been dreading her saying no—nobody wanted to deal with the bigwigs breathing down their necks.
“Cool, I’ll get everything ready,” he said.
“Go for it,” Kaia said with a casual wave, enjoying her coffee.
Bzzt. Her phone buzzed. Caller ID: Mr. Moreno.
Kaia tapped to answer, but before she could speak, an excited voice blared through. “Kaia, kid! Heard you ditched that Jiang guy? Congrats, girl!”
Kaia smirked. ‘Called it.’
She stayed quiet, waiting for him to get to the point.
“Listen, Kaia, you remember our deal, right?” Keaton Moreno said. “If you’re single, you give my grandson a chance. Well, you’re free now, so it’s time to make good on that promise.”
Kaia raised an eyebrow. “Fine, I’ll bite. But what about your grandson? He’s Morganburg’s hottest bachelor, with women throwing themselves at him left and right. You sure he’s down for this?”
“He’ll be down, trust me. Oh, and to keep your identity hush-hush, I told him to pick you up by the supermarket near the institute. He’s probably there already. I gave him your number, so he’ll text when he shows.”
Ding. A text popped up: [I’m here.]
Keaton caught the sound through the phone. “That’s him! Get moving, girl, he’s waiting to scoop you up!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kaia said, unfazed. She tossed a quick wave to the still-hyped professor and headed out of the institute.
Right outside, a slick black Maybach screamed money.
“That car… looks familiar,” she muttered.
Three years back, some big-shot overseas tycoon had gifted her one—only a handful exist, impossible to buy.
She’d saved his dad’s life, and he’d shipped it over as thanks. Not big on driving, she’d passed it to Keaton for his birthday.
As she pieced it together, the driver’s window rolled down, revealing a chiseled, handsome face.
“You Kaia?” that man asked.
“Yup.” She nodded, sizing him up.
The guy sported a loud floral shirt, collar open, rocking a weird-ass necklace. Total player vibes.
‘This is Mr. Moreno’s grandson? Didn’t see that coming,’ she thought.
“Hot damn, you’re a looker!” the guy said with a grin, then turned to the backseat. “Tobias, you hit the jackpot, man. Mr. Moreno knows how to pick ’em.”
Kaia froze. ‘Whoops, wrong dude.’
As she reached for the door, a deep, icy voice came from the back. “Whoever she is, I don’t give a damn.”
Kaia kept her face blank and slid into the backseat. That was when she got a good look at Keaton’s real grandson—and for a split second, her breath caught.
She was barely twenty but had traveled the globe, seen more hot guys than she could count.
Few ever made her pause, but this one? He was something else.
Still, she flicked her gaze away quick. Like the guy had said, “I don’t give a damn.”
Not to mention, the dude next to her was glued to his laptop, typing away like his life depended on it. Not a single glance her way. Yeah, he was definitely here under duress.
“Hey, Miss Bennett, realized I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Russell Fosher, Tobias’s best bro,” the driver said, tossing her a grin.
“Hey,” Kaia replied, polite but short.
“No offense, but word is you’re twenty and still in high school?” Russell asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yup,” she said, nodding once.
“SAT’s coming up, right? You feeling good about it? ‘Cause if you’re sweating it, I could hook you up. My grandpa’s a big-shot professor at Morganburg University…”
Russell kept yammering, but Kaia just stuck to her one-word “yups.”
‘Jeez, she’s got that same closed-off vibe as Tobias,’ he thought. ‘Talk about a tough crowd.’
Bored of the one-sided chat, he let it drop.
Then, out of the blue, Kaia piped up. “This car—it was Mr. Moreno’s, wasn’t it?”
Russell’s eyes widened. “Yeah! How’d you guess?”
Kaia shrugged, all chill. “Simple. I’m the one who gave it to him.”
At that, Tobias Moreno’s head snapped up from his laptop, his eyes darting to the girl beside him.
