Page 45 of Make the Play

“That’s because itisinsane.”

I drag a hand down my face. “Charlie, this is myjob. I need to handle this flawlessly. There are rules, and I need to follow them, because if I get fired over this—”

“Okay, but real talk.” She props her chin in her hand. “Have you considered the fact that he’s in love with you?”

All brain activity pauses.

“Come again?”

Charlie shrugs. “I mean, Chase has been in love with you for years, so this is just the universe helping him out.”

I am actively malfunctioning. “What are you eventalkingabout?!”

Her expression is almost too casual. “He’s obsessed with you.”

I lean forward, hissing, “He’s obsessed with being anirritant.”

“Is he?”

“Charlie, he’s the human equivalent of pulling a girl’s pigtails.”

Her brows lift. “Right. And you’re the human equivalent ofpretending you don’t like it.”

The words knock something loose inside my chest because Idon’tlike it. I don’t.

It’sinfuriating.

I straighten, preparing to stand and leave this traitorous conversation.

Charlie sips her decaf, flapping her hand at me. “Okay, okay, serious question.”

“What?”

“Do you think you can fake date Chase Walton and not fall for him?”

My stomach lurches, and not for the obvious reason. It’s the way she says it.

Not “can you fake date him without it being a PR nightmare?” or “can you survive this without losing your job?” Not even “can you pretend to be in love with him without ripping your hair out?”

No. She went straight for the jugular.

Fall for him. Like it’s a real possibility, something that could actually happen.

A sharp, involuntary laugh leaves my mouth. “Charlie.” I shake my head. “Don’t be fucking absurd.”

She doesn’t blink. “I’m just saying.”

“Well,stopsaying.” I cross my arms. “This isn’t some rom-com. We’re not in a fake-dating-leads-to-real-feelings scenario. We’re in a PR-mandated nightmare that I need to survive with my career intact. That’s it.”

Charlie hums again, way too knowingly.

I glare and stand. “Good talk, Charlie. Thanks so much for your support.”

She chuckles and gestures down at her bump. “You can’t be angry at me, not while I’m like this.”

“Says who?”

“Jake Brooks.”

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