Page 61 of The Renter

She lowers the covers, revealing only one eye. I laugh. She’s too fucking cute. “You two should meet and hash it out,” I suggest, trying to sound supportive yet feeling uneasy about their connection.

“I don’t owe him that. I don’t owe him anything.”

“I would like for you to be cordial with him. I see a lot of him. Plus, you could do some great PR stuff for Cryptoball.”

“You think I should work with him?” she asks with a laugh, and I feel her pulling away.

“We both want you to do this project. Cryptoball is fighting an uphill battle right now, so as an investor in the company, I know now is the time for more PR.”

She rolls her eyes, her resistance to the idea growing.

“He called me this morning, apologizing for letting his emotions get the best of him last night. I think he was afraid he shat where he ate,” I say, trying to keep this conversation as light as possible. “We were talking about you and your business.There’s this investment conference coming up, and we thought you could be helpful.”

“Coffee. I don’t have the brain power to digest what you just said.”

Getting up from the bed, I make my way to the kitchen. “I negotiated and accepted the offer,” I say before grinding the beans. “Five thousand dollars plus all expenses paid to join us next week,” I yell from the kitchen. “I’ll be interviewing Declan on stage, and we want some help crafting the story arc of the interview.”

She doesn’t reply. I walk back into our room to look at her. “I don’t know,” she says softly. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“It will be amazing visibility for you and your business. The people that attend this conference are the people you want to know.”

“I don’t know, Adam,” she says with more force.

“Trust me, Peanut. The conference will be good. You’ll make some new memories so that every time you see him, you don’t think about the worst time in your life.”

As I say these words, I can sense the hesitation, the unease that lingers from the encounter with Declan. The emotions run deeper than I thought.

“You don’t trust me on this?” She sighs. “I get it, Peanut. I do. Let’s hope this conference is the beginning of a fresh start.”

I wish I could ignore the tension that exists between Dani and Declan. I’m not blind to it. Doubt gnaws at me. The thought of her heart not being wholly mine causes my blood to boil.

“The conference could be the perfect opportunity to collaborate on a professional level. It’ll answer all my questions about your chemistry too.”

Dani looks at me, her eyes revealing a storm of emotions. “Chemistry! What are you talking about?”

“I’d like to see you two work together.” I slide back into bed with her. “It will put my lingering doubts to rest.”

47

Istew in silence, anger simmering beneath the surface. How could Adam question my feelings for him, especially now that we’re official? What have I done to lose his trust? It’s not like Declan had me pinned up against a wall—like the last time we were at that party. I haven’t done anything to deserve this.

Taking a deep breath, I attempt to calm all the emotions raging within me. “Adam, there’s nothing between Declan and me. I’m with you.”

Adam looks at me, his face relaxing a little. “If there isn’t anything there, then you shouldn’t have any issue working with him.”

“Ah!” I scream, throwing a pillow at the wall, frustrated by this conversation, especially before coffee. “Who do you think you are to negotiate and accept an offer on my behalf?” I snap. “I didn’t realize I had a business partner.”

“Really,” he says, so arrogantly. “You’re mad at me for getting you five thousand dollars for a couple days of work?”

Adam reaches out, trying to hold my hand, but I pull away. I need space, time to process whatever the fuck this whole conversation has been.

The coffee machine beeps, saving me. “I’ll get it,” he says. Lingering in the doorway, Adam pauses. “It will be good for you to do this. I get that I don’t fully understand what happened between you both, but you need to make some new memories so you aren’t so triggered every time you see him.”

Silence hangs between us, filled with unspoken words. Adam leaves for the kitchen. In his absence, all I want to do is scream. Coffees in hand, Adam joins me back in our room, sitting silently next to me. I take a sip.

“Fine,” I huff. “I’ll do this project, but after that, I’m never doing another project for him and you are never negotiating deals on my behalf.”

“I can live with that,” Adam says, squeezing my knee.