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Elena appraised me. “Okay, Jenny. I’ll let him know.”
I straightened my shoulders. “Thank you.”
She hustled from the conference room, high heels clicking on the hardwood floors. And I was left alone with my thoughts, which circled one thing and one thing only: Cole Bryson.
You’re returning to Fifty Liberty, whether you like it or not.
The motherfucker played hardball, all right.
But so could I.
COLE
I grippedthe handle of my coffee mug. What my lawyer was saying made my blood boil.
“She requestedwhat?” I asked him.
The attorney cleared his throat. “She said yes, tentatively, but she requested stipulations. She wants space from you.” He coughed. “She wants her own place.”
“Who the fuck does she think she is?” I roared.
He didn’t say anything. He knew better.
“Tell her,fine,” I snarled. “She can have her goddamned stipulations.”
“Yes, sir,” my lawyer said meekly.
“Tell her I just made a cash offer on the unit below me at Fifty Liberty. Tell her it’s all hers—and she starts Monday.” My voice was rising. “One more thing. Tell her this is strictly a business arrangement. It’s just for show. For our best friends. I won’t be utilizing the full range of her services becauseI don’t fucking want to.”
I hung up and then threw my coffee mug across the room. It hit the wall and shattered, landing right next to the shards of the fruit bowl. What thefuckwas up with Jenny?
First, she tells me she loves me, and then she leaves me.
Then we’re both in the fucking wedding party.
ThenI offer her a million dollars to come back. Did I get a thank you for that very fucking generous offer?No.She said she wouldn’t accept it.
So I had to play hardball. I got what I wanted, but at what cost?A million dollars and a big fuck you.And astipulationthat she wanted her own fuckingspace.
Thanks, Jenny. I am so glad I fell in love with you.
She had me fooled. All along, I’d believed that my escort had been authentic. I’d thought Jenny was the real thing. But now, she was just another transaction. She had a gorgeous face, a hot body, and all she cared about was my money. She was just like everyone else I’d ever dated. I couldn’t believe it.
Maybe my father was right after all. Maybe I had no idea what I was doing.
I headed to the balcony and stared out at the harbor. Jenny was coming back to me. I should be relieved, but instead, my insides were raging. She’dturnedon me. Nothing was worse than trusting someone and then having them show their real face, the one they’d been hiding all along.
Most of the people I encountered were only out for themselves, which is why I never got too close to anyone and why I’d avoided romantic relationships in the past. If people only showed you their good side to get what they wanted, what was the point? I didn’t need to stick around to see their true colors. It was a waste of my time.
I didn’t think Jenny was like that.
I was actually a little sick about what would happen next. That meant I wasnervous, which did not fucking compute at all.
When James asked me to be his best man, I seized the opportunity. I asked him to arrange events that would force Jenny and me together. Then, once my hangover had abated a bit, I took it one step further. I had my lawyers draft Jennyan offer with punitive language, guaranteeing that she had no choice but to return to me.
When that wasn’t enough, I sank even lower. I called her and threatened to expose her best friend. Would I have actually done that? No. James wasmybest friend. I would never hurt him. But did Jenny need to know that? No. No, she did not.
I just needed to get her back. Once I had her, I could see if what we had was real or if I’d imagined the whole thing. She’d asked for her “stipulation” about having separate spaces, which was fineby me. I wasn’t sure what she was playing at, but it didn’t matter.