Page 61 of Enemies with my Bestie’s Brother
“A few weeks after she started working for me.”
I don’t actually know if that’s completely correct, since the timeline is a bit blurry to me, but as long as the answer is good enough for Penny, that’s all that matters. She nods as she does the mental math.
“And Whitney was scared to tell me?” she asks, her face dropping in sadness.
“She kept saying that she was worried you’d hate her for not telling you the truth sooner. But, if you want my honest opinion, I think that she didn’t want to commit to anything before her plan was fully fleshed out,” I say bitterly, glaring out at the skyline before me.
I wish I could tell which building out there had Penny’s and my penthouses in it, so I could glare at the one containing the person I’m mad at.
“What do you mean by ‘her plan?’” Penny asks, narrowing her eyes at me.
“Her plan to use us for fame and money. I know that you wanted to see the best in her — trust me, I did too. But she’s a liar, Penny. She was just using the opportunity to remodel my penthouse to further her business and build her reputation.”
Penny begins shaking her head as her face scrunches in confusion.
“Grayson, that doesn’t make sense. She was seriously against remodeling your apartment. I practically had to get on my knees and beg her to do it.”
“That was part of her trick, Penny. I know that it’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth. Think about it. Whitney knows that you won’t take no for an answer. And I would have never found out the truth if that journalist hadn’t shown up on the wrong day.”
Penny looks at me, her eyes widening.
“Wait, what journalist?”
“This journalist for Home and Design Magazine. She showed up, asking for Whitney to do a special showcase on the penthouse that she’s remodeling. All of that ‘I don’t want to take advantage’ was clearly a sham to get us to trust her.”
“Grayson, you absolute idiot,” Penny says, groaning.
She grips my shoulders and shakes me.
“Quit it, what are you doing?” I shrug her hands off me.
“I sent the journalist from Home and Design. It was supposed to be a surprise for Whitney after all of her hard work. I was going to tell her at the party tonight. I can’t believe that stupid journalist showed up on the wrong day.”
Realization dawns on me as I think about all of the horrible things I said to Whitney earlier. Penny storms off toward the stairwell door.
“Where are you going?”
“To fix an idiot’s mess.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Whitney
Ijustneedtoget home. I’m ripping clothes off hangers with as much aggression as I can muster while tears fall from my eyes. I want to say that I can’t believe Grayson thinks all of those horrible things about me, but the truth is, I’ve always thought deep down that he did. He waited for one thing to happen and exploded, accusing me of doing all the horrible things he was scared I was capable of.
I don’t even know how that reporter from Home and Design found out I was decorating his penthouse. It’s not like I told anyone but my mom, and I doubt she would have called them. There’s no more clothes left in the closet, so I turn to look at the huge pile of clothes that have accumulated on my bed. How did I ever manage to fit this many clothes in my suitcase? I grab a shirt and start diligently rolling it as tight as I can, a trick that I learned from my dad. He told me that he learned it in the army, and that it was the most efficient way to pack clothes.
Relief spreads through me as I remember that I didn’t let Grayson meet my family when we were back in Keene. At the time, I felt bad, and was worried that I was making the wrong decision. Now, it’s obvious that I made the right choice.
After rolling a few dozen shirts, I sink down to the ground and let everything go, quiet sobs racking my body as tears rush down my cheeks. I can’t believe that I’ve let this happen to me again, allowing my heart to be broken. Except it’s even worse now, because I actually do love Grayson, and I never really loved Jared.
Hurt pulses through me as I realize that all of those nights I spent with Grayson, he was harboring these secret feelings of hatred toward me. I wonder if he ever actually loved me like he said he did. I just don’t understand where all the animosity came from. He didn’t even let me explain. He didn’t even care that it was an accident that I kissed Preston.
That was the weirdest part for me, his complete lack of concern for the fact that I locked lips with his twin brother. I mean, yes, it was an accident. But most people would have flipped out regardless. Not Grayson, though. What he cared about was a journalist showing up on his doorstep.
I know that he has this thing about women using him, and that he’s especially sensitive to it because so many women have used him before, but you’d think after all of these months, he would realize that I’m different.
My ears prick up as I hear the front door close.
