Run, Girl (If You Can)-Chapter 236: She Changed Him
Posted on March 12, 2025 · 1 mins read
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Graydon Meyer enjoyed seeing people's true colors, especially when they usually hid behind a façade. Watching a supposedly refined socialite like Lacy Knighton chuck her phone across the room in anger was a genuine pleasure.

"That's quite a temper you have," he said curiously. "Why are you angrier about this woman than his actual fiancée?"

"She changed him," she hissed. "That woman ruined Aaron!"

Ruined? On the contrary. The old Aaron had been nothing but his father's puppet. This new Aaron was far more interesting. In a strange way, they were like allies.

He had no intention of helping this spoiled woman get what she wanted. Aaron deserved better than a wolf in designer sheep's clothing like Lacy. His true goal in approaching her was to ascertain what she knew.

She had been disappointing. She knew almost nothing about the man she claimed to love firsthand, relying instead on gossip and secondhand accounts from Alistair Hale.

Although…this new development alone might justify bringing her onboard: Keeley Hall. Graydon hadn't known about her before, and he thought he knew all the major players in Aaron's life.

Alistair and Roslyn Hale, Cameron Singleton, Aiden Quinn, the other dummy shareholders, Bethany Carlisle, and Lacy Knighton, the perpetual thorn in his side—he needed to add this new girl to the list.

Where did she fit in if Aaron had a fiancée? Lacy seemed to think they were genuinely in love. Was Keeley Hall merely a friend?

As Lacy continued her rant, he tuned out and decided to explore their relationship on Facebook. Since he wasn't friends with either of them, the information was limited; he could only see photos they'd been tagged in.

Another photo caught his eye. Aaron was standing among a group of people eating cake, including Aiden and Keeley. Aiden had his arm around Aaron, and Keeley was happily eating her cake. They all seemed quite chummy.

How did Keeley know Aiden? She appeared close to Cameron's bride, so it made sense she'd know him.

Aaron only had a couple dozen Facebook friends—the fact that they shared several had to mean something. Graydon was tempted to send a friend request, but knew it would be refused. Aaron didn't know he existed.

Lacy claimed Keeley had ruined Aaron…wasn't the timing of his distancing himself from his family and high society too coincidental? What if—and it was a big if—he'd left for her?

Her Facebook profile was unremarkable, typical of a woman in her twenties. She seemed average, though quite pretty when she smiled.

Assuming Aaron began plotting to oust Alistair Hale from the company because of Keeley, that left the question of Bethany Carlisle's role. Was she a pawn like his other "friends"? Did they have an agreement to feign an engagement to appease Alistair?

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According to his source on the board, Aaron was awarded an additional 10% of his father's shares for getting engaged to a socialite. If he'd known about Alistair's plan beforehand, a fake engagement would have been shrewd.

It would also potentially protect a woman he was interested in who wasn't part of high society. A woman, for example, like Keeley Hall?

Everyone who regularly spent time with Aaron described him as a taciturn, expressionless man. But the almost-smile in that photo with Keeley was unmistakably soft. This was getting interesting.

That is, if his hypotheses were correct. All of this was conjecture based on hearsay and a few Facebook photos. It was still worth investigating.

Graydon wanted more information about this woman. If she had truly captivated the great Aaron Hale, she'd just become the most interesting person in the world.

Keeley lay sprawled on her giant couch/bed hybrid in her pajamas, eating Goldfish crackers at 6:27 PM. She was tired from inputting and quadruple-checking data all day; her brain felt numb.

Molly and Dinah, her dogs, sniffed at the Goldfish whenever she dropped one. She was too tired for even basic hand-eye coordination.

She thought she heard her name called and paused her movie. Aaron must have just arrived home.

"I'm in the TV room!" she yelled, too lazy to move.

He appeared in the doorway a moment later, raising an eyebrow. "Someone looks comfortable. How long have you been there?"

"Only about ten minutes."

"You can turn anything into a nest surprisingly quickly."

She stuck her tongue out before dramatically covering her face with her arm. "I'm exhausted, okay? My brain is completely fried. You're on your own for dinner."

Aaron glanced at the television curiously. "What are you watching?"

"The first Harry Potter movie. I'm only ten minutes in; I could rewind it if you want to watch too," she offered. He'd mentioned an interest in watching them sometime.

He smiled, loosening his tie. "Thanks, I'll take you up on that. Let me change and get some food first. You want anything?"

She held up her snack bag.

Five minutes later, he rejoined her in his pajamas with reheated leftovers. Seeing her questioning look, he shrugged.

"You looked comfortable. I wanted to be comfortable too."

Keeley pressed play, hearing the familiar opening music as she reached for more crackers. It was hard to believe that the Aaron she knew was sitting here now, in his pajamas before sunset, watching a popular movie with her. He really had changed.

(The final advertisement paragraph was removed.)


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