Page 33 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince

CHAPTER NINE

Dean

The ringing of my phonewouldn't stop. This was the third call in a row. After letting the first two go to voicemail I decided to answer in case there was an emergency.

“Dean Prince.”

“Hello sexy,” Simone’s voice purred from the other end.

Disgusted, I made a mental note to hire a secretary to field my calls.

“Cat got your tongue? Or are you just excited to hear from me?”

I pushed down the anger that threatened to boil up. “What do you want, Simone?”

“Is that any way to speak to an old friend? I’m disappointed in you, Dean.”

“Simone—” My voice turned hard. I didn’t have the time to play guessing games with her.

“Oh, Dean, darlin’, come on. It’s been forever since we last talked.”

“Two weeks, Simone.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn’t have the patience for her today. Or ever.

“Oh baby, that long without talking to youfeelslike forever. Have you given any more thought to what I said?”

“Getting back together with you?” She couldn’t be serious.

“Mm-hm, you know I’ve missed you. We were good together. Surely, you remember that.”

I gripped the arm of my chair. “I remember you telling people we broke up and hinted I’d been abusive towards you. People don’t get over lies like that regardless of how good their relationship was before that.”

“Oh, come on, Dean. I told you that wasn’t my fault. I didn’t realize what I was saying, and by the time I did, it was too late.”

I stood up from my seat, too riled to stay motionless. “Too late? Even if I believed that at any point, you could’ve told the world that our relationship was never what you had insinuated.”

Her frustrated sigh was audible through the phone. I’m guessing she thought I’d fall at her feet even after telling her no in Paris. “Dean, I got swept up in things. Studios were offering me contracts and interviews. I didn’t know what else to do.”

I walked over to the window and stared out unseeing. “And what’s changed? You said you’d clear the record now, after seven years. Wouldn’t the manager who coerced you have something to say about that?”

“Not really.” I pictured her shrugging on the other end. “I’ve just signed on with someone else. Someone who has my best interests at heart.”

“Uh-huh.” I knew Simone, and there was something she wasn’t saying.

“Dean, I’m flying back to the States from Paris in a few days. I already talked to your dad, and I know what I did is causing problems for you. I want to fix it.” She pleaded with me.

The temporary sincerity in her voice made me pause. Was she telling the truth? Did she regret what she’d done? Maybe I should see her and hear what she had to say. But seven years was a long time to suddenly decide to fix the problems from our past.

I must have hesitated too long since she jumped back into our conversation. “I even thought if you wanted, I could call a friend or two from the major newspapers to catch our reunion. And I can tell the world right then that it wasn’t true.”

“So you want to have the press there when we meet?” I shook my head even though she couldn’t see it. A reporter or two typically turned into far more with Simone. And her idea of having them there to witness our reconciliation made me wonder if there was another reason for her sudden decision to play nice with me.

Toward the end of our relationship, she'd been falling out of favor within the entertainment industry. From the little she'd shared with me, she was concerned her career wasn't going to take off. When our relationship ended, she suddenly became America's sweetheart.

Now I was starting to believe the rumors flying around in the tabloids were correct. Perhaps Simone's true colors were shining through, and other actors were refusing to work with her.