Page 56 of Long Story Short

‘What happened then?’ I asked, wanting to put off telling Liv about what had happened with me, Jake and Davis.

‘The hotel called security and he was escorted out!’

‘God,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘How embarrassing for him.’

‘I know, right? He won’t have anything to lord over Jake now after this. It’shisreputation in tatters now!’ Liv grinned. ‘Couldn’t have happened to a nicer man, right?’ She frowned. ‘Are you okay, Freya? You aren’t yourself today.’

I sighed, unable to put it off any longer. ‘Me and Jake… Whatever it was between us, it’s all over now. And it could be why Davis Mulberry had such a meltdown. The three of us had a row at the party. It was horrible, Liv. And now I have to have a meeting with Hayley and Jake at his publisher’s tomorrow and pretend I haven’t seen the man naked!’ I cried out, causing a couple of people at neighbouring tables to look over at me in shock. ‘Oops,’ I said, ducking my head.

‘Don’t worry about them,’ Liv said. ‘Are you okay? How can it be over? I saw the way Jake looked at you. Hang on, what happened with Davis then? Did he do something to break you guys up?’

I gave Liv the blow-by-blow account of what happened at the party. ‘I wish I could just blame Davis but Jake clearly never trusted me. He thought I was using him to help my career. And that I think he’s just like his father. Maybe I didn’t trust that he wanted anything serious with me. So, I guess maybe I didn’t trust him either.’ I shook my head. ‘I need to focus on my career now. I need to get through this meeting at the publishing company, and hopefully, then Hayley will promote me. And I can forget all about Jake Richards!’

‘Oh, Freya,’ Liv said with sympathy. ‘I’m sorry it didn’t work out.’

‘You told me to be careful, and you were right,’ I said dully.

‘Are you sure you and Jake can’t talk and?—’

‘No,’ I cut in firmly. ‘I’m done humiliating myself with that man. He doesn’t want a relationship with me. It was just a fling. I need to move on, Liv. But how can I get through this meeting?’

‘You can get through it,’ Liv reassured me even though she looked concerned. ‘You need to treat Jake like he is still what he was to you before New York. Just Hayley’s biggest client. And you need to show her how much you deserve that promotion.’

I nodded along with her pep talk and hoped I could pull it off.

‘You were amazing in New York. I mean, you’ve saved Jake’s career! That was down to you. You got him to be honest, and everyone reacted really well to it. He did that because of you. Just channel the same energy.’

I gave her a weak smile. New York had been a success on the professional front. I needed to remember that, and try to forget the failure on the personal front. I drained the rest of my coffee and felt a little bit more awake. ‘You’re right. Thanks, Liv. If what happened with Jake taught me anything, it’s that I should have been more professional, and less like myself. Being myself might have saved his reputation but it had made me risk my heart on someone who hadn’t been worth that risk.’

‘What do you mean?’ Liv asked with a frown.

‘I’ll do everything Hayley wants, be who she wants me to be, and leave the old “wears her heart on her sleeve” Freya behind. I’m going to turn over a completely new leaf. I will be a complete boss bitch like Hayley. The old Freya is dead.’

‘Hang on…’

‘I follow my heart too much; I always have. It’s time to follow my head instead.’

Liv didn’t look convinced but I ignored her negativity. I knew what I had to do. I jumped up. ‘I need to go shopping and buy a new outfit for tomorrow’s meeting. Wish me luck!’

‘But, Freya…’

I was already walking away from her. ‘I’ll call you and tell you how it went,’ I told her over my shoulder.

She sighed but called out to wish me luck and with a parting wave, I walked out of Starbucks and left her there, determined to make tomorrow’s meeting go the best it possibly could.

38

‘Now, Jake’s publishers will definitely want to play hard ball with us so we need to make sure they know how successful the romance conference was for him,’ Hayley said to me the next day as we talked through the meeting we were about to have at Jake’s publisher’s office.

I sat in the chair on the other side of her desk as I had done so many times in the months I’d worked here but this time, I was trying to act like an agent like her, and not like her assistant. When I had walked in wearing my new outfit, she had done a double take and given me a smile, which I took to be a big compliment. I had chosen a black suit – straight-leg trousers and a blazer with a white blouse underneath – and I wore black court shoes with a heel. I was trying to channel Hayley’s power suits and the outfit definitely made me look older and more professional. I felt smart, if a little uncomfortable and unsure if the outfit was flattering on me.

But I told myself that didn’t matter. I didn’t need to look good, just capable. Like I could be a powerhouse agent just like Hayley was.

‘We need to big up how much readers loved him being honest about his personal life, and how they are now clamouring for his next book,’ Hayley continued. ‘Sharing what happened with his father was gold dust. I’ve had so many requests for interviews so lots of publicity opportunities are there for the taking with a new book. His publishers will love that. And I might even pitch a non-fiction book idea to them. Maybe something about not making the same mistakes as your parents in marriage and relationships.’

I looked up in surprise. ‘Would Jake want to write a book like that?’ I asked, thinking that with how reticent he’d been to even talk about his father, I couldn’t imagine he’d want to write a book about it. And what would his poor mum think?

Hayley frowned. ‘I haven’t talked to him about it. But he wants his career back on track, and we want to make money… This is a real opportunity; we have to seize it.’

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