Page 3 of Silent Verity

Jesse

My phone began vibrating on the kitchen counter just as I took my cup of noodles out of the microwave. Sighing in annoyance at the sight of Delia’s name on the screen, I set my noodles down, then picked up my phone. For a moment, I contemplated ignoring it and letting her harass one of the other guys because I just wasn’t in the mood for her oh-so-pleasant personality. If she was calling, it was for one of two reasons.

One, she needed us to work, or two, we’d done something to piss her off. Usually, she called because we’d somehow pissed her off.

Delia was a major bitch. A damn good manager, but a bitch, nonetheless. I practically hated her fucking guts.

Deciding to ignore her call, I set my phone back down. When the call ended, she called right back.

Mother fuck.

Growling, I snatched up the device again and swiped to answer her call, lifting the device to my ear. “What?” I muttered, tucking my phone between my ear and shoulder so I could grab my noodles and soda and head to the island in the middle of the kitchen.

“You six are the most rude, ungrateful children I have ever worked with,” she muttered, completely disregarding that all of us were at least twenty now. Dalton was twenty-one and the oldest out of all of us. Tor’s birthday would be coming up soon though, making him twenty-one as well.

“What do you want, Delia?” I sighed, sliding onto the bar stool after setting my noodles and soda down.

“You and Dalton need to be at a photoshoot tomorrow,” she told me. My gut tightened, and I stared at my noodles just as my appetite slowly began to diminish. “Fans are beginning to ship the two of you together, and after some discussion with Giselle and Richard, we believe we should play on that.”

My chest fucking split wide the fuck open.

This couldn’t be happening.

“I’m not comfortable with that,” I told her, hating how strangled my voice sounded. But Delia was so out-of-touch with emotions, I didn’t think she even picked up on how distraught I sounded.

“I don’t care what you’re comfortable with, Jesse,” she snapped at me. My heart was racing in my chest, and I was sure I was going to be sick. “This is your job. You agreed when you signed that damn contract, kid. You’ll do as I tell you. I expect both you and Dalton at the address I’m sending you now at nine sharp in the morning. Do not make a fool of me by showing up late, do I make myself clear?”

With that, she hung up. I dropped my phone to the countertop and sighed, not even hungry anymore. But I knew I needed to eat. I hadn’t eaten since sometime the day before, and the lack of food was making me feel like shit. More so than I usually did, anyway.

I was halfway through with my noodles when Dalton appeared in the kitchen. My heart flipped in my chest, and my belly swooped at the sight of him. His hair—one side platinum blonde and the other side pitch-black—was messy on his head like he’d run his fingers through it numerous times. Dark eyes found mine, and a small smile tilted his full lips. Dressed in a netted crop top that left his abs revealed and dark, low-slung jeans, he had my mouth fucking watering.

Christ. It wasn’t fair that he was so fucking hot.

“Hey,” he said. He moved to the fridge, leaning down to grab a soda. He cracked it open as he gently kicked the fridge door shut. “Delia call you?”

“Yeah,” I said, focusing back on my noodles so I wouldn’t drool all over the counter. Was he trying to torture me? “Doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice.” I didn’t want him thinking I was agreeing to this. Didn’t want to drive an even bigger wedge between us.

“I think it’ll be fine,” Dalton said, not sounding affected at all. My gut clenched, and the noodles I’d managed to eat threatened to rebel. Did he have to make it so fucking obvious that he saw nothing in me but a friend? Christ, my appetite was diminishing again.

“Fans are going to see us as a couple,” I warned him.

He shrugged. “Tor and Salem faked a relationship and absolutely hated each other’s guts behind closed doors. It’ll be easy.”

It’ll be easy.

It would not be easy. I was already fucking splintering.

Before I could think up a response, my phone started vibrating again. Growling under my breath, thinking it was Delia again, I picked up my phone, only for my face to pale.

Mom.

My appetite was officially gone, and I was pretty sure I was going to throw up everything I’d just fucking eaten. Swallowing thickly and already feeling the downward spiral coming on, I looked up at Dalton. His brows furrowed, and concern glimmered in his eyes. He took a step toward me, abandoning his soda on the counter, but I shook my head at him.

If he touched me, I was going to crumble.

“Can you clean this up for me?” I rasped, moving off the bar stool and heading for the kitchen exit. “I need to take this.”

“Jesse, don’t fucking answer that,” Dalton pleaded, but I ignored him, my thumb already swiping across the screen to answer my mom’s call.

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