Page 53 of Breaking Point
Perhaps she can fix my broken soul.
“Earth to Grayson!” Lucy calls out, rounding the large white cloud sofa.
“Why her?” I ask.
Lucy stops in her path. “No one would believe a sudden relationship with anyone in your circle or someone well known. They’d know it’s a PR relationship. Your new assistant, however, who isn’t known online or in the media…that is believable.”
Something like disappointment blooms in my chest.
I thought she could feel the crackle of energy that fills the room as my and Bella’s gazes collide.
My eyes slide to the clock on the oven. She’s only been gone for fourteen minutes but all I can think about is when she’s going to walk back through my door tomorrow morning.
“No one pressure her,” I declare, a tinge of panic in my voice. “I don’t want to lose her.”
What is it about the woman with the smattered freckles that has my heart skipping beats at the thought of seeing her tomorrow?
Chapter 14
Bella
WHITEBOARD NOTE
Thank you forseeingme
“He didwhat?” Layla exclaims, dropping the small box in her hands.
“Layla!” I scold, rushing to pick it up. Relief crashes through me once I see it doesn’t contain fragile items. Gently placing it right side up, Layla remains staring at me, dumbfounded.
“When was this?” she asks, her voice an octave higher than normal.
I move around her still frame and toward my mom’s house. “Last week.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me this, I don’t know, as soon as it happened?”
I shrug, averting my eyes as I move through the house to my old childhood bedroom. It’s the bare bones of my old teenage room, minus the evidence of my obsession with One Direction. “No, not particularly.”
“Well, what did you say?”
“No, of course.”
“Of course?” She scoffs. “And why would that be anof coursereaction?”
After placing the small boxes in my arms on the bed, I turn to my best friend, peering past her shoulder because I can’t lie to her while looking her in the eye. It seems lying is my new thing, because I also lied to Grayson.
“Because I’m his assistant, not his fake girlfriend.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean against the wall. “The idea feels dirty…like I’m being used.”
Layla’s brows rise. She’s quiet for a moment before she cocks her head. Her hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, the red strands swishing over her shoulder as she stares at me. “You’re lying.”
I snort as I turn away, making myself busy. “No, I’m not.”
“Oh my god, you are. What’s the real reason you said no?”
Spinning on my heel, I rush out of the bedroom, heading for the small moving truck filled with the contents of my life. I chose to put my furniture in a storage unit so it’s just the boxes for now.
“No other reason, Layla. I’m sure if someone propositioned you to be a pretend girlfriend you would also feel like a piece of meat being bought.”
Her small feet pad after me. “How did he react when you turned him down?”
