Page 9 of Royal

I thought I’d found true love once. A long-ass time ago. Grayson had meant the world to me, and I would’ve given him the world in return. But he’d betrayed me, and that kind of betrayal had hurt more than I’d been able to process at the time.

We’d cut off all contact after that.

What hurt most? I still didn’t know his reason for doing it.

Maybe I’d never know.

***

“Come on, baby,” Beth said, placing her hand on my chest. “I’ve been dying to know what you taste like.”

I tried to move past her, but she moved with me, blocking the way out. After we went off the air, I’d gone to my dressing room to get my things, and she had followed me inside.

“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested?” I snapped as I lost all patience.

Ever since she’d started working at the station, she’d done nothing but hit on me. More than just hit on me, though, she’d sexually harassed me. The few people I told about it—other than my friends—had laughed, thinking it was ridiculous that a six-foot guy like me could be harassed by a five-foot-nothing blonde.

“Beth is hitting on you?”one of the guys had said.“And you’re complaining? Give me a fucking break. I’d swap places with you in a heartbeat.”

Beth was also banging the director, so she basically had free reign to do as she pleased.

“Beth. Move.”

She glided a hand down her neck and dipped her fingers into her cleavage, pouting. “Ah. Don’t be like that, Royal.”

“Move,” I repeated.

“But I wore my sexy bra and thong today.” She moved her blouse aside to reveal a Cheetah print bra. “Just for you.”

I gripped her arms and moved her out of the way before grabbing the door handle and leaving the room. She screamed after me.

“How dare you put your hands on me!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

A few guys from the camera crew and one of the writers looked at us.

I did my best to ignore her.

“I’m going to file harassment charges,” she continued. “You left bruises on me!”

Nope. I couldn’t ignore her anymore.

I flipped around in the small hallway and glared at her. “Quit being so damn dramatic, Beth. I didn’t hurt you.”

Shit. There she goes with the waterworks.

Beth started crying, putting on a show for everyone watching. “I know you’re the one who’s been sending me the white flowers! All I wanted was for you to be a man and ask me out.”

“What?” I gave her a blank stare. “I didn’t send you flowers.”

It’d been a long day, and I didn’t want to deal with any more of her shit. She made my work life hell, and if it didn’t end soon, I’d have no choice but to find another job. My love for what I did was the only reason I hadn’t already quit, but I didn’t know how much more I could take.

Before she could say anything else, I stormed out of the studio. My SUV was parked near the exit door, so I didn’t have to walk far. It was just past eleven on a Friday night, and even though I was mentally drained, I wasn’t ready to go home and be alone.

So, I called the one person who’d be down for anything.

“Hey, bitch,” Brysen answered on the third ring.

“Who you calling a bitch, brat?”