Page 64 of Off Her Game

A yes didn’t mean she’d call Noah tonight, though. Noah’s business card lay on her bedside table. She returned to the bed, sat, and stared at the card, inches out of reach.Don’t touch it.

She yanked her hand away from the card when she realized she’d started reaching. Too late to call him tonight.

She sat and cradled her head. She had to negotiate with NJ Legacy to do her game. This was no longer about getting free, which probably wasn’t possible. Her sister might get hurt if she didn’t do this. She slammed her fist into her pillow.

If she allowed NJ Legacy to produce her game, she’d make sure she was with her creation every step of the way. No peon programmer was allowed to muck up her ideas.

She fingered her phone. Calling Noah wouldn’t only be about the game. He’d make her feel less alone in this mess. Even if he didn’t want to deal with her on a girlfriend level, her gut still trusted him.

She unlocked her phone. Her finger hovered over the green call button beneath Noah’s number. One short call. She’d make sure it stayed on the phone. No visiting.

He answered on the second ring. “Hello? Tori?”

“Hi.” Her stomach flip-flopped as the deep baritone of his voice washed over her. God, it was good to hear another human. She wanted to tell him about the text from Symphis and the Stadium tonight, but remembered how much he didn’t want her as his problem.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m not dead, if that’s what you mean. Beyond that, I’m handling things.”Not well, though.She cleared the raspiness from her throat. “I didn’t sleep with you to get you to like the game. I didn’t want anything to do with you guys producing the game because everyone’s going to assume the online trolls are right that I’m a slutty whore. Whatever the future holds, you and I…it’s not happening again just because you buy my game.”

“We should talk face to face. Come to my place. Or, no, don’t come alone at this time of night. I’ll send my driver to pick you up.”

“Hell, no. I don’t want to see you again in a one-on-one setting. You stay there. I stay here. I’ll see whomever I’m supposed to meet about the game tomorrow morning. Keep your distance from me. We’ll make us become as professional as possible. Officially, we broke up…are broken up, right?”

“That sounds smart. We have a dramatic breakup before we officially sign paperwork to renegotiate your contract to produce your game. That makes it believable and you did nothing to, uh, sway me.”

“God, you really are a misogynistic asshole, aren’t you?”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m trying to help. What is this about? I thought we really liked each other. Why’d you leave the other night without saying anything?” He sounded so earnest and heartbroken. Her chest clenched.

No heart hurting. No feelings could get involved with all this. “We don’t have anything else to talk about. Let this be my confirmation I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Tori, I want to see you. I need to make sure you’re okay after…tonight. Your date and other things. Seeing you with that guy tonight… I didn’t like it. Please, let me come over.”

“No.” She ended the call.