one of Lydia’s numbers.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I close my eyes and wish this away. Please, please let this be a bad dream.
Alas, when I open up, Inez is still sitting on my uncomfortable sofa, and Talent Ridge knows my real name.
Wishes don’t typically come true for me.
I take the seat next to Inez and let her hold my hand. Settling back into the cushions, I stare at the ceiling and say, “I can’t be the only person named Lydia in this godforsaken city.”
“Doubtful. Lydia is a name so beautiful, plenty of people share it with you,” Inez agrees.
Turning my gaze toward her, I ask, “What did he say?”
Inez sits straight and lifts her eyebrows in excitement. Her eyes light up, and she squeezes my hand. “I took the opportunity to apologize for the miscommunication that resulted in this disaster. He was upset, of course, and he now knows it was Phillip Vogel and a woman who no longer works with us who set him up on a date he never asked for.”
“Naomi won’t be back?”
“Letting girls go can be tricky, but she’ll never work for me or anyone I know again. I’ve had a bad feeling about her for a long time,” Inez says, diverting her eyes away from me. “He took our account into consideration and seemed to understand. Talent Ridge has a bit of a temper, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Talent’s temperament remains at the forefront of my mind, but how angry he was when I told him his time with me was purchased wasn’t what chased me out of his office.
Embarrassment isn’t an emotion I’m used to experiencing, but I became immersed in it after his rejection. Something inside of me changed when I stepped foot in his presence, and I let it carry me away like a ship on the sea. For the short time we were together, it didn’t feel like a transaction. I stupidly succumbed to wishful thinking, as if he’d ever be interested in me like the other rich girls he dates. His anger makes sense now that I know the truth. We were both blindsided, but that doesn’t make the humiliation hurt any less.
“He wants to see you again.”
My heart simultaneously swells and stops beating. I laugh, surprised by how foreign it sounds in this space. The muscles in my face aren’t used to flexing in such a way, and I cover my mouth with my free hand to touch what it feels like. My lips stretch into a curve, dotted by shallow dimples and creases. Laughter’s warm and soothing, lowering my stress level from excruciating to less than excruciating.
Inez rolls her eyes, but the grimace on her lips isn’t genuine. She squeezes my hand gently, rubbing her thumb back and forth over my fingers until the unfamiliar melody slows. My laugh is more hysterical than joyous, but it feels okay. I don’t hate it.
“Why would he want to see me again, Inez? Does he want another go at crushing me?”
“Maybe he wants to apologize.”
“He doesn’t owe me anything.”
Inez clenches my hand once more before standing. “Or maybe we didn’t blow Ridge & Sons like we thought we had. I sent you for a reason. You’re the best, and you always deliver.”
“That’s me. Employee of the month.”
She scoffs, waving me away as she makes her way toward the door to leave. It’s her way of saying, you mean more to me than that and you know it. “I’d like you to see him again, Lydia, if only to correct Naomi’s mistake. Hush doesn’t need this stain on our reputation. Clean up this mess so we can move on or move forward. I’ll figure out another way.”
Figure out another way for what? I ask myself.
She doesn’t leave room for argument, so I don’t bother with theatrics and internalize my protest—the most me thing I’ve done in days. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see Talent again, anyway. Confrontation is better left avoided, but a face-to-face conversation might be what it takes to get him out of my head.
Boy trouble—if a psychotic one-sided fascination is considered boy trouble—is something I’ve never experienced. How did a quick fuck amount to this? I don’t know, but I want my damn life back.
I was taken by surprise when Inez sent the address to the location where I’m to meet Talent. Nearly a week has passed since she showed up at my apartment unannounced with the news that he wants