Page 156 of The Morally Grey Billionaires Boxset

Abby

"Not for real, of course. He claims it’s a fake relationship.

We spread the word that I’m his fiancée, and make sure the media picks it up.

That way, it shows he’s reforming, shows he’s ready to settle down.

Also, it explains his possessive behavior.

" The words pour out of me as I talk to Solene on the phone.

There’s silence, then she clears her throat. "So, your brother asked Cade to take care of you, and he decided the best way was to offer you a role on his team. Then, because he needed your help in salvaging his reputation, he asked you to marry him.”

"Only he didn’t. It’s all a sham," I explain.

"Hmm."

I pout. "What does that 'hmm' mean?"

"It means, when two people pretend there’s nothing to it, there’s always something to it.” A secret smile curves her lips.

I shake my head. “There’s nothing between Cade and me—"

“Yet.” She searches my features. “It doesn’t mean he may not feel that way in the future.”

I shake my hair back from my face. “Oh, that’s not going to happen. Cade is too focused on his career. He enjoys his freedom too much. To him, I’m only an employee, and conveniently there, so he can use me to salvage his reputation.”

“Hmm.” She narrows her gaze on me. “Are you sure about that? The way he looks at you might suggest otherwise.”

I scoff. “You must be mistaking the loathing in his eyes for something else.”

“I’m not sure I’d call it that,” she coughs out.

“You forget, I knew him when he was a teenager. If he felt anything for me, he’d have mentioned it to me then.”

“Or not.” She tilts her head. “It can be difficult for teenage boys to share what they’re feeling.” She laughs. “Not that it changes once they grow up. But you’d think they’d know their minds better, although I’m not holding my breath on that… But you know what I mean, right?"

I nod, then shuffle my feet. "It’s more complicated than that.”

“Meaning?” She looks at me expectantly.

I shift my weight from foot to foot, “I know for a fact that he does hate me.”

“Eh?” She blinks, “What do you mean?”

“I... I caused him to be expelled from school.”

“You did?”

I nod, “He and Knight my brother were best friends, and both were my seniors in High School. I had a crush on Cade, but of course, he never noticed me. I think I was pissed at him, enough that when the rest of his team asked me to help them smear his reputation, I didn’t think twice.

I called him for help, and he came right away.

They framed him for vandalism. He lost his scholarship and got kicked out.

Knight encouraged him to finish school somewhere else, and he did, but as soon as he graduated, he joined a gang. ”

“OMG,” Solene gasps out.

“That’s not all.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “He got caught up in a gang war, ended up in the hospital, and Knight had to pull strings to make sure he didn’t go to prison. It’s thanks to Knight, he finally managed to start playing Club Cricket, and the rest ... Well, you know the rest.”

She shakes her head, “Jesus, that’s quite a story.”

I hunch my shoulders. “And it’s all my fault.”

“Hold on, you can’t go blaming yourself for what happened. You were just a kid—”

“Someone who called her brother’s best friend for help, and then when he turned up, promptly betrayed him.”

“We all make mistakes when we’re younger,” she says softly.

I hang my head. “Only mine resulted in Cade’s future imploding.”

“You couldn’t know that.”

“Doesn’t change what happened,” I point out.

“And yet, he agreed to help your brother by agreeing to take care of you.”

“Probably because it gave him the perfect opportunity to make my life miserable.”

“Probably.” She twists her lips. “Or… He wants to use this opportunity to get close to you.”

I scoff. “You’re mistaken. He’s made it clear I’m his employee, and nothing more.

" I break eye contact and look away. I’m not telling her the entire truth, but well, I can hardly tell her that we already fucked.

Or that I was a virgin, and he was my first. I can’t even admit it to myself.

And I’m afraid I’ll lose it if I try to tell her that he said I broke his heart, and my betrayal killed any affection he may have held for me.

"Oh." Her lips turn down. "I’m so sorry about that."

"What? Why?" I half-laugh. "It’s nothing new. I know I’m not all that spectacular to look at, and he can have his pick of the supermodels and actresses he hangs out with."

"That’s not true. You’re beautiful, and you’re more genuine than all of them. Cade’s a fool if he can’t see that," she says softly.

"Thanks." I swallow down the ball of emotion in my throat. I never managed to make friends at university, preferring to keep my head buried in my books. In retrospect, it was probably because I felt so self-conscious about my weight. The few acquaintances I did have faded away once we graduated.

I’m so thankful to have Solene as a friend, but she’s so far away.

If I hadn’t met Zara and started working at her agency, I’d have never met Isla, and then Amelie, and found a support network.

Discovering Zara’s Cade’s sister came as a shock at the V you’re a PR professional."

I lower my hand. "I’ve never been on this side of the coverage. Now, I know how my clients feel when their personal life is splashed all over the tabloids."

"Have you tried to talk to him? Like, really talk to him?"

I glance away, then back at her. "Every time I try to have a conversation, it ends with him behaving like an asshole, and that should piss me off…"

"But it doesn’t?"

I shake my head. "Clearly, I need therapy, if I find his being mean to me a turn-on."

"Don’t mock your kink," she chides.

I redden. “Don’t forget, I didn’t hear from him for eight months. Eight whole months. That’s no joke."

"But he’s back now."

I tilt my head.

"And he wants you to work for him and pretend to be married to him.”

"I asked him to be exclusive," I burst out.

She blinks. "What did he say to that?"

"He didn’t seem happy about it."

"But he didn’t say no?"

"He didn’t say yes either," I point out.

"Hmm." She rises from her bed and places the phone on a chair as she pulls yoga pants and a hoodie over her sleep shirt and shorts. Then, she walks through the hallway and into an adjoining kitchen.

"Where are you, anyway?"

"Vegas. I’m here for a performance."

"Hold on, if you’re in Vegas, you’re eight hours behind me, and it’s late here, so how come you were waking up when I called?"

"Went to sleep late last night after rehearsals."

"You’re performing tonight, aren’t you?"

"At the MGM Grand." She fills up the coffee maker with water and switches it on.

"You nervous?"

"Why should I be? It’s only 20,000 people in the audience, after all."

I stare, then burst out laughing. "Jesus, how do you handle the pressure?"

"By puking before I go on stage."

"Oh, my god, seriously?"

"Unfortunately, yes. But once I puke, I’m fine. And then I’m on stage and I forget everything—all my troubles, my love life, or lack thereof, everything." She glances into the distance. "There’s only me and the audience. It’s heaven."

"Gosh, I envy the fact that you have a talent."

"You do, too." She looks at me. "You have a way of making your clients confide in you so you can design the best PR plan. That’s a talent I haven’t seen too many people have."

Maybe, that’s why Cade confided in me, too? "Thanks," I murmur.

"Only stating what I’ve observed." She smiles. "So, what are you going to do?"

I begin to pace. "I can’t go through with this fake marriage thing. I can’t."

"So, tell him."

"You think he’ll listen to me?"

"So, you’re going to let him walk all over you, is that it?"

I stop, then scowl at her. "What are you trying to say?"

"Draw the line. Show him he can’t take you for granted. No matter what your kink is—"

I open my mouth, but she raises her hand.

"No matter how the two of you are when you’re intimate, you need to show him that you know your mind, that you can stand up for yourself.

It’s the only way he’s going to respect you, you know?

" Her forehead furrows. "Besides, maybe you already have the upper hand? "

"Eh?" I frown.

"He’s the one who proposed you fake marry him. He needs this more than you."

"So, you mean to say I can use the situation to my advantage?"

Her features brighten. "Now you’re talking. Own the circumstances. He’s given his word to your brother that he’ll watch over you—"

"—so he says," I scoff.

"So, use the situation to your advantage. Can you do that?"