Page 40 of Love is Fake

“Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies,” I say instead. It earns me a chuckle from Lennox.

Lennox shakes his head at me, suddenly going preternaturally still as if he’s let something slip. “You always did keep everyone on their toes, even the teachers.”

I frown up at him. “Always?” I scoff. “For the whole week you’ve known me?”

“It hasn’t been just a week. We had a class together at school.”

I stop walking, blinking up at him. “You remember that?” He has made it seem as if the only thing he remembers about me is the nickname his bully of a girlfriend gave me.

Lennox gently tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Those green eyes are kinda hard to forget,” he shrugs. “I used to wonder what you’d look like without the glasses. Now I know.”

“The joy of contacts,” I mumble, caught off-guard by what Lennox has just admitted.

We’re almost at the valet counter now, but my mind is overflowing with questions I need answered. To complete the snafu, my new least-favorite person on the planet makes an unwelcome comeback.

“There you are,” Roger The Pervert appears out of nowhere as if he’s been lying in wait for me this whole time. It would have been funny if the situation weren’t so damn creepy. “You aren’t leaving without me, are you?” He plants a hand possessively on my arm and before I have time to react, it’s wrenched away.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Lennox is in front of me in an instant, shoving the other man in the chest hard enough to have him stumbling backwards. He’s only saved from falling over by a large plant pot, pushing him upright.

“No need to get upset, Lennox. Izzy and I are old friends.” He winks grossly at me, slurring his words so much it’s hard to understand him. He’s way more thandrunk, he barreled right past that exit and opting forcompletely tankedinstead. Roger sways unsteadily in front of Lennox who looks like he’s about to go postal. “Once you’re done with her,” Roger The Pervert points to me, in case we weren’t sure who he was talking about, “send her over to me. I’ll pay a pretty penny for an ass like that.”

Seriously, this man really needs to stop talking.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Lennox takes a murderous step towards the older man, his fingers flexing like he wants to pull his head from his rotund body.

“He’s drunk, Nox, just let it go.” I put my hand on his arm, trying to calm him down, but he doesn’t even seem to register my words.

“She’s not for sale, and you’re going to fucking apologize right now.”

“I’m – I’m sorry, Lennox,” Roger holds his hands up, his red, booze-tinted face suddenly turning pale.

“Not to me, asshole. To her.”

Roger looks at me in confusion, apparently still not getting the message I’m not someone you pay by the hour. But his belated sense of self-preservation has him saying the words. “I’m sorry?”

Lennox takes another threatening step forward. “Say it like you fucking mean it, or I swear to God!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, okay?” Roger holds his hands up in a surrender, looking appropriately terrified, as if the penny has finally dropped.

“If you keep making a scene, Nox, I swear I willnotforgive you,” I warn him, noticing the way some curious heads are already starting to turn towards us. I’m mindful of the fact that anything Lennox does is front page tabloid fodder.

He doesn’t even look at me, he’s still staring the other man down. If this were a cartoon there’d be actual steam coming out of his ears.

I grab hold of Lennox’s hand, trying to pull him along, but it’s like trying to move a damn mountain. “Can we just get out of here, Nox? Please?”

Desperately, I tug on his hand again and something in my voice has him following me. I’m not naïve enough to think I’d be able to move him if he wasn’t willing.

Lennox stops by the valet guy. “Get security to escort that asshole back to his damn room. Alone.” His tone doesn’t leave any room for negotiation and the kid nods at him, hurriedly, picking up the internal resort phone presumably to do exactly that.

Lennox doesn’t speak until we’re in the car and then I wish he hadn’t. The anger in his voice is barely contained.

“You wanna tell me what the fuck that was all about?”

I think about telling him it isn’t any of his business, but I don’t want to get into an argument with him when he’s all but vibrating with rage.

“When you were having your meeting, he cornered me and seemed to think I was the kind of company you pay for,” and doesn’t that sound smart? “It was nothing – Jack saw I was in need of a wingman and helped out. I totally forgot about it until he ambushed us,” I lie, trying to play it down, anything that’ll calm him.

“Jack, fucking Jack!” Lennox growls. There’s so much tension in his body, I don’t call him out on his outburst. He looks as if any little thing might just send him over the edge and I have no intention of being on the receiving end of a Lennox-style explosion.

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