Page 33 of Her Billion Dollar Groom

Thinking like that just makes me want to protect her more. Not that she needs my protection - God knows Eliza can look after herself. I’m not even that good at protecting her. I’m too timid.

But sometimes I get the feeling that she could do with someone to rely on, someone who will be there to hold her hand, evenwhen she’s dealing with the most annoying people on earth. That’s how I feel when she’s beside me. Like I can rely on her.

This morning, each company did a small presentation explaining what they’re all about. Eliza helped me write my speech. It wouldn’t have been very good otherwise.

I suppose that’s another pro to sort-of-dating a pop singer. She has this amazing way with words. It’s like she always knows what to say for maximum engagement and impact. She tells me it’s all about having confidence, but there’s something more to it with her.

It’s like whenever she speaks, she makes it impossible for you to take your eyes off her. She captivates. She enchants.

When she sits next to me at lunch, I feel everyone’s eyes on us. Watching. Judging.

I know everyone’s acting like this event is casual, but it’s no secret that we’re all still trying to impress each other. It’s the two-faced lying that I can’t stand. Why are we all pretending that this weekend of networking is something so wonderful and amazing to be a part of? It’s not possible that all of them are enjoying this stupid event as much as they’re pretending to.

Okay, so maybe not everyone hates it as much as I do, but there’s no way they can all actually like each other and know what to say every time they open their mouths. It’s like everyone else has this magic ability to get everything so right all the time.

None of these people ever seem to make messy mistakes.

I hate that about them. If it is magic, I definitely missed out on that spell.

I pile my plate full of tiny cheeses and crackers and do my best to ignore the fact that this is going badly, as usual.

Everyone’s been buzzing with the way that Handshake has grown over the last month, but that’s only down to Eliza. Without her, we’d still be limping along like we were. She’s breathed a life into my company that I couldn’t imagine it having before.

It makes me nervous to think about what’s going to happen when we break up. If everyone sides with her, like they usually do, then Handshake is going to sink.

I shake my head to try and clear my thoughts. They’re not helping with my confidence. They’re bringing back that tension Eliza was trying so hard to banish.

Eliza clearly notices that I’m unhappy. “Babe, what’s up? Has something happened?”

“No, no,” I say, trying to smile. Then, through gritted teeth, I add, “I just don’t want to be here.”

“I know, babe. But we are here. And we’re not walking away with nothing.” I open my mouth, and she stares hard at me. “Don’t argue. Let me help you, okay?”

“Okay.” I sigh.

“In this room, who do you most want to make a deal with?”

I frown hard as I contemplate that. Eliza has already worked miracles with people in advertising, and we haven’t even been here a full twenty-four hours.

“It would be great to make a partnership,” I say, thinking aloud. “To get another company on board with what we’re trying to do,someone who already has a user base that we could merge or share, someone who’s not exactly similar to us, but whose goals align.”

“Well, okay.” She nods, scanning the room like a radar dish. “Who in this room screams Handshake’s next favorite people?”

I take stock of the room with her, my eyes darting back and forth, my frown not lifting.

“Bright Green,” I say, finally. “That’s the CEO there.” I point to a balding man in a blue suit. “We tried to get a deal with them a couple of years ago, but they basically laughed us out of the room because we weren’t cool or big enough for them.”

“Come on then,” she says, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet, ignoring my stammering complaints. Together, we skip over to Mr. Fisher. Well, Eliza skips. I drag my heels.

“Mr. Fisher, isn’t it?” asks Eliza politely, clearing her throat to get his attention.

I blink in surprise. How does she know his name? We were given a little introductory leaflet about all the companies that were coming, but even I haven’t looked through it all. Did she memorize everyone’s face in the room already?

“It’s Eliza, isn’t it?” He drawls her name, looking her up and down greedily. “I’m quite out of touch with modern music, but my daughter really loves you.”

“I’ll sign something for you if you want,” Eliza says with a grin, turning that sickeningly sweet smile up to maximum.

Fisher falls for it without stopping to think for a second about what she’s doing to him. “Would you? She would love that. That would mean a lot.”

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