my eyes. “Of course, I’d be agreeing to it this time. There’d be no cruel surprises. But I just...yeah. Advice?”
She pauses long enough to weigh my greed against my beat-up heart. What are best friends for?
“You really want my two cents, Paige? I say, go for it.”
I open my eyes and blink.
That was...not what I expected.
“For real? I’m kind of surprised you’d support it.”
“It’s a win-win. If it doesn’t work out, well, then you’ll have a nice fat cushion to find a new job. And you know I’m not here to push you into anything you’re not ready for, but this might be a good way to forget all about that little prick. It was years ago, Paige. You can’t keep beating yourself up, and the dating app duds aren’t doing you many favors.”
True.
She falls silent, and I roll the idea over, wondering if she’s right.
“Well...”
“Try to have some fun with it, okay? I know you can pull a rich guy’s tail just as well as I do. I don’t care what the agreement says, you’re not letting him walk all over you, right?”
“Never!” I throw back.
She giggles. “That’s the spirit. Look, I don’t think you’ll regret it, and if you do you, well, blame me.”
“Crap, you’re right. I gotta go. I need to give him a 'challenge accepted.'”
“Good luck, lady,” she tells me. “Get paid. I want to see you hawking your art out of your own studio like a badass in a year,” she says.
“We’ll see,” I throw back, eating my own smile. “Later!”
Sabrina’s a mind reader. She knows exactly what I want and she also reminds me that this could actually work.
A few months in thrall to Ward Brandt could open doors that seemed chained shut for the next decade.
One point five million dollars means I’m free from Warden’s BS and anyone else’s.
I can slay on my own terms.
I can call my own shots.
I can even find a normal man to ring me one fine day—if normal dudes still exist.
God.
I’m also not in peril. I’m confident I won’t get bulldozed by the bosshole, so I channel that grit into the fun flirty facade I’ve been keeping up all night when I grab my phone and text back.
When and where, mister?
His reply comes instantaneously. My property in Highland Park. Should I send Reese, or do you want to drive? Fair warning, it’s not the easiest place to find for good reason.
I roll my eyes.
Of course the office beast has his very own modern Gothic castle tucked behind a wall of manicured trees, a medieval gate, and hugging prime Lake Michigan shore. The cliché forms in my mind so vividly it hurts.
When you’re his kinda rich and hilariously anti-social, you get to brood in style.
For a second, I wonder if he wants to lock me up in luxury and toss away the key.
I’d accuse him of playing the part of a jerkwad fiancé too well, but he’s a protector at heart. That night we met, he made sure I had food, water, and pain pills before he left.
I was a complete stranger at the time.
He’s not out to hurt people. Not deliberately.
“Stupid chivalrous Wardhole,” I mutter with a small laugh, then punch at my phone.
Yeah, send Reese. I’ll be there ASAP.
Twenty minutes later, my chest is a stone as I slide into the Lincoln’s back seat.
“Lucky lady! He never invites anyone to his Highland Park place,” Reese says as she greets me. “Any hint why you’re having clandestine meetings with our fearless leader at his Batcave?”
“Umm—” That’s a good question, and one I’m not sure I can answer.
Wardhole, you should have given her a reason instead of leaving me to lie.
“Big project! It’s the Winthrope deal, you know, and Wardhole that he is, he wants a late-night strategy jam.” Can she hear me clearly through clenched teeth?
Reese laughs. “What? The Highland Park place is supposed to be like, his personal retreat. He never mixes business there. The penthouse downtown is where he crashes during the week and entertains folks from the office.”
Her eyes flash me a skeptical look in the mirror.
“Oh, I don’t know then. Won’t it be fun finding out?” I say.
Dear Lord. I’m going to have to get better at lying to pull this fake engagement off.
“Right-o. If it’s classified, you could’ve just said so,” Reese says with a wink.
I throw back an awkward smile, inwardly licking my wounds.
Yeah, make that I’m going to have to get a lot better at fibbing, and fast.