Chapter 10

Mary

 

A business meeting. That’s the only reason Chris was coming over. That’s what I kept telling myself at least while I shaved my legs and blow dryed my hair. I tried to look cute yet casual in my leggings and low cut top that gave a slight peek-a-boo to my black lacy bra, staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

What the hell was I doing?

If I slept with my publicist and things going went south, then I’d be just another fallen celebrity and get the slut label. The girl who can’t hold a relationship but keeps fooling around.

Though I could give Chris an NDA or some other contract. Then if he tried spouting some unsavory things, I could just slap him with a lawsuit. I should have done that with Eddie, looking back.

But I couldn’t keep doing that. I couldn’t let my past mistakes control me, and I needed to move on.

“The fake boyfriend is on his way up,” Brian said, knocking me out of my trance.

I had moved from the bathroom to the living room and was sitting on the couch, staring blankly at my phone.

I’d scrolled through so many social media apps and so many other things so many times in my life that I didn’t know how I’d survive without the thing glued to me.

But now I wasn’t even paying attention to the words on the screen. My mind focused on a pair of whiskey-colored eyes and a smile. Both belonging to the guy who was supposed to be my fake boyfriend.

“Okay,” I said quickly, opening up some random app, so I didn’t look like I was just staring at my background.

The door buzzed, Brian sulking to accept the request for a visitor. I should have just kept my head down and been uninterested, but instead, I found myself completely turning toward the door. I couldn’t help the huge grin that crossed my face when Chris crossed the threshold.

For a brief second, I thought I saw the same look cross his face. That joy of seeing someone you couldn’t stop thinking about it.

But as quickly as it appeared, Chris cleared his throat, his face stoic again as he walked toward the couch.

“Hey, Mary, good to see you again.” He leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on my temple before taking the seat next to me on the couch, still leaving over a foot between us.

I frowned. I didn’t want chaste. I didn’t want space.

Even if it would just be meaningless in the end, I wanted him. Though, with a guy who would feed a homeless man in the park and take phone calls from his mom, I had a feeling that nothing was meaningless with Chris.

“So, should we get started? I printed out some items I thought we could look over and develop a strategy,” Chris said, leaning over and opening his leather bag on the coffee table.

“Why don’t we have dinner first?” I blurted, without thinking what I was saying, just knew that I wanted more casual time with Chris before it was spreadsheets and graphs or whatever else he had in his bag.

“I mean, I’m starving. Are you hungry? What about you, Brian?” I looked up, trying to get some backup from my bodyguard, who stood there with his hands crossed over his chest, staring down at us like two rotten little kids.

“Yeah. I can always eat. Want me to see if Lance can pick up Chinese?”

“Does that sound good to you, Chris?” I asked, blinking slowly, hoping he wouldn’t just turn it down and go to business.

Chris nodded. “Yeah. I could always eat.”

“And maybe have a glass of wine with me? What goes well with Chinese food? I think I have a bottle or two of Riesling chilling in the fridge.” I shot up, rushing toward the fridge. Maybe alcohol would calm my nerves that I had no idea where they were coming from.

“I’m not much of a wine guy,” Chris said, following me slowly to the kitchen.

I thought maybe he’d stay sitting down, but instead, I found my hands shaking and I practically threw the glass bottle on the counter so I wouldn’t drop it. Luckily, it didn’t break on the marble of the island either.

“I think Brian knows where the hard stuff is. Or he can run to the bodega for some beer if you’d prefer. Can we order that online for delivery too?” I asked, looking at Brian.

Chris laughed, his warm hand falling on mine and I found myself staring into his endless brown eyes. “Are you nervous to have me in your apartment right now, Mary?”

“No. Why would you say that?” I asked, trying to be nonchalant. Hell, I met the president and Meryl Streep and didn’t get this choked up.

This wasn’t me. This wasn’t me at all. I was a damn actress, and if I had nerves, I had to suck it up and put back on the bitch face. It was why those damn Teen Scene awards always gave me “Biggest Bitch” or “Most Venomous Villain” awards.

“You just seem tense. That’s all. Was it something I said at the park, because, shit, if I offended you, you know it’s all in good-natured ribbing,” Chris said, running his hands through his short hair.

“Please. I’m just hangry and need a drink,” I said, rolling my eyes for good measure before looking across the living room to Brian, typing away on his phone. “Did you make sure to order from that organic Chinese place that doesn’t use gluten in their egg rolls?”

“Yeah, yeah. Lance is about to go pick up the order now,” Brian said, waving his hand.

“Then I guess we should have a drink and talk business. Maybe you have something more than pie charts and graphs about how to do this PR stuff,” I waved my hand before grabbing the electric bottle opener.

“Well, for starters, I’d say you should stop acting like such a hot and cold bitch all the time.”

My eyes widened as I dropped the bottle opener and stared at him. “What the hell did you just say to me?”

Brian raised a quizzical eyebrow, and I nodded, telling him I was okay before I took a few steps closer, closing the distance between Chris and I. “I don’t know what shit you’re trying to pull, but this is me. Like it or not. You signed on to be my publicist and my fake boyfriend. We’re in this together. If I fail then obviously you fail too.”

He smirked as if I didn’t just threaten his job but said something humorous. “Sweetheart, I could throw numbers at you and talk social media or whatever else all day long. We could sit, have some wine and talk about what you want in your career and what I want. But we both know, right now, all we want to do is rip each other’s clothes off, and I’m perfectly okay with that too.”

My breath caught in my throat and then traveled all the way down beneath my panties. This guy was far too cocky for his own good, and as much as I wouldn’t mind getting between the sheets with him, the better part of myself told me this was professional only. “Why don’t you open the wine and pour us each a glass then I’ll look at your damn spreadsheets or whatever else, fake boyfriend? Maybe we can even take a selfie or whatever you Instagram models do while we’re doing it.”

Chris nodded, taking the wine opener, but not before his fingers pressed against mine, sending another jolt straight to my belly button. If these little touches were going to continue, I was going to have to change my panties soon.

“Sounds fine to me, fake girlfriend. Get your face on for some selfies.”