Page 21 of Bachelor

“What do you mean?”

“I want to catch his attention, of course. You probably won’t understand this, being as high bred as you are, but Rhys and I are cut from the same cloth. Working class folk with working class parents. You think I’m going to snag a guy like Christian Brockford while I’m here? I’d be the luckiest girl in the world if that were the case.”

I couldn’t believe her. My mind went numb with shock and a heavy dose of confusion as she went on and on.

“I tried to tell Rhys that, but he just said goodnight and walked away. I want to get to know him more, Whitney. You guys are close, so maybe you can help me out. Don’t you meet once a week or so to talk about your position?”

“No-No we don’t. My schedule is packed, so everything is done over email—”

“Well, that’s going to have to change. I’ll talk to him about it, okay? Plus, it’ll give me a reason to try to pin him down. Once that happens, you can put in a good word for me, okay?”

“W—”

“Bye now!” She turned abruptly, setting her empty wine glass down on one of the display columns for a sculpture worth thousands of dollars, maybe more.

“What the hell was that about?” Tyler walked over to me. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“Too much wine,” I mumbled but drank another mouthful.

“What did she say to you?” Jessica asked as she approached.

Stunned, I answered, “She wants my help setting her up with Rhys, I think.”

I didn’t hear what Jessica and Tyler said next. I just stared at the door where Cassandra had just left, and felt my heartrate start to peak.

Over my dead body would I help set her up with Rhys, even though I had no claim to him whatsoever. He still felt like he was mine.

That was the worst about it, the part that hurt the most.

“Well, I think we can call it a night now, what do you say?” Jessica said, laying her hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “I’m ready to go home.”

Chapter Eight

Rhys

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