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“Hi,” she says in a sugary-sweet way that lets me know I’m not going to enjoy this conversation.
“Great job. Your show was amazing,” I tell her, hoping a compliment will win her over. No such luck.
“I know” is all she says in return.
I’m not sure what’s going on. I look around to see that the guys have left the room. Fuck. What am I going to do?
“Are you looking for Derek?” she asks. “I sent them all to the merchandise table. I wanted them to approve some new designs. So they went with my manager out there.”
I simply nod and wait for the other shoe to drop.
“I see the way you look at him,” she tells me, jutting her breasts in my direction.
“I’m not sure who—”
“You know exactly who I’m talking about. I saw him on your stories. My people alerted me to it, so I checked you out.” The way she says my people makes my stomach turn. She takes her fame very seriously and uses every bit of leverage that brings to her advantage.
“It was a reel actually.” I don’t know why I correct her, but I do.
She simply laughs. “Yes, well, I saw you there. I saw they came for you in the comments. Derek of course, being the gentleman that he is, stuck up for you. So, I decided to see who you were.” She watches me like she’s waiting for just the right moment to strike.
I don’t know when that will be. But fuck, I’m not looking forward to it. She looks like she could make a meal out of terrorizing me and then go back to her adoring fans with a smile on her face, all the while cleaning her claws.
I finally get up the courage to speak. “I’m not sure what you want from me.”
She snickers like the idea that she would want something from me is ridiculous. It kind of is because she has everything. “I don’t want anything from you. Well, not really.” She pauses. “It’s really quite simple. I know you won’t go away, and I get that. You’re Ace’s twin sister. I’ll be seeing you at Crave events and parties. And you should be there. Your brother is a great guy. I almost struck this deal with him, but Derek was all too eager, so I went with him.”
Hearing her say that about Derek makes my stomach twist. I’m suddenly not hungry. But I don’t dare move to put my plate down.
She continues. “But you need to remember that he’s with me. You can fantasize about him all you want. You can stare at him from across the room, you can hate on me, but he’s mine. For. As. Long. As. I. Say.” She punctuates each word with a pointing of her perfectly manicured black fingernail.
I want to deny it all, but I don’t.
The nastiness continues. “Sure, he may fuck you. He does that, dear. He picks random women all over the world and has his way with them. It’s just what he does.”
My mouth opens to defend him, but I snap it shut.
She lets out a malicious giggle. “Oh, you didn’t know? You thought you just might be special? Well, you’re not. Derek needs someone like me. Someone who can help his career and not hold it back. After I’m done with him, Crave will be huge. And you want that, right? For your brother? So do us all a favor and stay away from Derek.
“Take your moony eyes somewhere else and leave him the fuck alone. Or I will come back and put you in your place. My fans will put you in your place and you will not have that little fitness site to fall back on. Are you understanding me here, baby?” She uses Derek’s nickname for me in the cruelest way. “I will ruin you.”
“Got it,” I croak out.
“Good. Glad we’ve come to an understanding,” she says with a playful laugh. And then she has the gall to lean in and hug me. “Now that we have that out of the way, enjoy the party.”
With that, she walks away. On shaky legs, I make my way back to Emma.
“You okay? That didn’t look friendly.”
“I’m fine,” I tell her. I lower myself into a chair, place my food onto the table beside me, and concentrate on breathing in and out. I can’t believe what just happened. The things she said can’t be right. But in the back of my mind, I know they are.
“Hey, earth to Audrey,” Emma is saying. “You good?”
“Oh yeah,” I tell her. “I’m good.”
Derek might be just playing with me, and that’s fine. Because I can play with him too. I can get what I need from him and move on, just like he can with me. He can have Serena because from the sounds of it, they’re cut from the same cloth.
Aiden comes over, so they must all be back. Sure enough, I look over and Derek is back on Serena’s arm. He raises his drink to me. I just smile and look away. I can feel his eyes on me, but I don’t ever look back over. Instead, I focus on Aiden.
