Page 3 of The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée

She gapes at me. “Why do you put up with him? Tabitha, you have a massive waiting list. Guys dying foryou specificallyto be their stylist.”

I shrug.

“Is it possible you’re a masochist?” she asks. “I think you are.”

Rex’s red-headed right-hand man, Clark, slips out the door just then. “Hey, Tabitha!”

“Hiya, Clark!” I say.

Clark’s eyes fall to the brace on my wrist. Quickly I cross my arms, hoping he didn’t really notice. I don’t want Rex to know why I’m taking time off. I introduce Clark to Amanda and explain she’s taking my clients temporarily. Clark winces at the closed door. “Possibly not the best day for a change.”

“Gulp,” I say brightly. “It can’t be helped. If he’s upset, I’ll amaze him with my favorite Stefano-faking-his-own-death storyline fromDays of Our Lives,” I joke.

Clark snorts. “Somebody has a death wish.” With that he heads off.

“Rex O’Rourke likes to hear about soap operas?” Amanda asks.

“Oh my god, no, he hates to hear about soap operas,” I say, rolling my sleeve over my injured wrist. “Few things agitate him more. Rex hates anything that is pleasurable or relaxing. When you give him a scalp massage, you have to pretend that it’s the only way his hair follicles will lie naturally. That’s what I told him—if he doesn’t let me do it, the haircut won’t lie right.”

“Why not just skip the head massage?” she asks. “I mean, if he hates it…”

“Just because,” I say.

Because of all the people in the world, he needs it the most. The man literally has no pleasure in his life.

As if on cue, Rex yells at somebody—every other word is a number; that’s Rex’s thing when he’s yelling. My phone pings that it’s ten after.

“Go time,” I say.

Amanda swallows with seeming difficulty. I knock on Rex’s door.

A grumble from inside. “What?”

“Haircut.”

A grunt.

“That means ‘come on in.’” I grab my Hello Kitty shoulder bag and lead Amanda into his grand office where every surface is cold and flat and the view of the harbor is breathtaking.

And at the center of it is Rex in all his glowering glory.

His beauty stops my heart for a second, like it always does. His gray eyes glitter, and his skin glows with annoyance, and even the shiny parts of his hair seem to brighten with aggravation.

“What is this?” he grunts, meaning,why is a strange woman with you?

“This is Amanda Barnes. She’s taking over my clients for the next six weeks.”

Amanda smiles uncertainly. “Nice to meet you, Mr. O’Rourke.”

“Six weeks? Where the hell areyougoing?”

“Vacation.” I motion for Amanda to start setting up the mobile station. She opens the case, pulls out the tarp, and unfolds the collapsible stool.

I can feel Rex’s gaze on me.

“Amanda’s amazing,” I say. “And don’t worry, your front office did the whole background check on her, and everything’s okay. No trails of dead bodies or lamps made of human skin.” You have to have a background check before you get within a hundred feet of Rex’s office.

“Is okay with my front office the same as okay with me?” he says.

---