Page 88 of Beauty & Chaos

Is he for real? Conversation after conversation comes flooding back. I’m seething.

He’s Terrance!

He’s Leo Taylor’s son?

Why lie? Why are his records so carefully hidden?

Is he dangerous?

Jesus, I went away with a man who has a secret identity. The son of the man I’m publicly accusing of sexual assault.

I slept with him!

Fuck, I can’t think straight. My brain is going to dark and worrying places.

I being to shake.

“Get away from me. I don’t know who you are or what you think you are doing, but the game is up.”

I stomp off, pulling my phone out as I search for my Uber app. Where the fuck is that goddamn—

Travis grabs my arm and spins me around.

“Brook, please.”

“Get your hands off me or I will sue your fucking ass for every cent you have.”

He gives me areallylook but releases me.

“Fine. I get it, you need to cool off.”

“Jesus can you be more condescending?”

I find the app, punch my finger onto the glass and order a six-person luxury vehicle because that’s the best I can do right now.

My hands are shaking.

Fury is pouring through me.

I don’t care about the story.

I will, but right now I’m so damn angry with myself for not listening to that little voice. For believing a man who clearly orchestrated a meeting with me at Midnight’s Bar and pushed his way into my life.

Of course, I was going to find him attractive. He’s sexy and wealthy and successful. Any day of the week he could have any woman he wanted.

The sex club.

Jesus fucking Christ.

Is this some sordid family shit?

All this time I thought it was a mutual attraction and that there might be something real brewing. When he sat across the table from me, the candle flickering between us, that he’d done this because I was special.

When he sent me flowers, it was because, little by little, he was hoping to weaken my no-dating rule, and maybe his own, and this would maybe possibly lead to something else.

That taking me fucking Switzerland wasn’t something he did because it was chump-change for the motherfucking billionaire but because he was trying to impress me.

That he wanted to spend a weekend with me, hiking through the gorgeous hills and sitting by the lake licking that dumb ice cream.