Page 2 of Arrogant Playboy

“I got lucky.”

“Did you swap numbers or anything?” Ava asks.

I shake my head. “No, it was a one-night stand.”

“But if you had fun?” Georgia asks.

“Yes, but in the cold light of day, I’m not sure if I’d be the same woman as I was under the influence of tequila.”

“Tequila will do that.” Ava smirks.

“Have you guys heard from Emily?”

“Yes. The girl is in Ibiza, in love with her boss, and is painting again,” Ava answers.

She’s what? Painting.

Georgia shakes her head. “How did she go from hating him to falling in love with him?”

“I think they grew closer after what happened in Monaco,” Ava explains.

Emily was asked to accompany her boss to this art gala in Monte Carlo. An incident where her boss’s ex-friend, who his wife ran away with, attacked her. We were so scared for her because it’s not the first time something like this has happened, and it took Emily a long time to heal from that trauma. We’ve been worried that it might set her back, but I guess we now all know the reason why she has been able to cope.Her boss.

“She’s painting?” I ask. Emily stopped painting when she started dating her ex. He deemed it a hobby, not a career, and put her down, so much so that she just gave up but she’s so talented. We all knew Toby wasn’t the right person for her, but she was in love and couldn’t see it.

“She sounded happy, happier than she has been in years,” Ava says. This is fantastic, Toby sucked the confidence from her.

“You don’t think it’s too soon?” Georgia asks.

“Toby and Emily were done a long time ago, way before they broke up. If he didn’t get that transfer to New York, there’s no way Emily would have left. He would have kept cheating on her and she’d be none the wiser. He would have eventually proposed, and she would have thought it was the best thing in the world, but there’s no way Toby would have stopped having his cake once he married. So even though Emily’s heart was broken because of his betrayal, I think it was for the best. She would never have gone to France if that idiot hadn’t deemed her not good enough for him. Now she is hooking up with a hot French guy who happens to be one of her favorite artists. Even if this is a summer fling, the confident, art-loving Emily we used to know is back.”

The four of us have known each other since kindergarten, growing up in a small fishing village on the coast. We all knew that the village was too small for the lives we all wanted to live.So, we worked our asses off to save and get into the college of our dreams in London, and we did it. I’m an interior designer, Ava works in PR, Georgia in social media, and Emily, unfortunately couldn’t get anywhere with her Art History degree, but maybe now things are looking up for her.

“Did you get that text message from Louis’ brother asking about us coming over and surprising her?” Georgia says.

“Yes, we need to work out what weekend we are all free,” I add.

“As if I’m saying no to a weekend in France. Maybe I can nab myself a hot artist.” She giggles.

“Maybe we all can,” Georgia says as we all fall into fits of laughter.

2

ROSIE

“Rosie, are you free for a moment?” Ivy Starr, my boss and the owner of Starr Designs asks, popping her head into my office. Ivy Starr is goals. She's beautiful, smart, funny, and sweet. She lives in the most dream-like home in Chelsea and has a billionaire fiancé on her arm. She’s won countless interior design awards. I want my life to be like that, in the future.

“Yeah, sure.” I save my work and head over to her office, closing the door behind me and taking a seat.I hope I’m not in trouble.

“No need to look worried. I wanted to see how your afternoon was looking and if you had any meetings with clients,” she asks.

“Nothing today.”

Ivy smiles. “Perfect. I have to go down to the DuPont Gallery to pick out some art for the Ayad Belgravia project and I thought you’d like to choose it.”

What? No. I stare at her in shock. “I would love that, thank you.”

“I see all the hard work you’ve been putting in around the office. The early mornings and the late nights. Just remember,work-life balance though.” She points at me with a smile. I nod. “The glowing reviews we’ve been receiving from your clients are impressive. And I want to say that I’m so proud of you and your team.”

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