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I shrug and look out the window. The city is rushing by, and we’re headed to Derek’s, which I guess I’m happy about. “I just never imagined this could impact Beachbody, and now the CEO wants to talk to me. I have no idea what that’s about. I’m just worried.”
“Dale’s people are going to talk to Tina today. He’ll smooth things over. He’s good at that. He can be a jackass most of the time, but this is why we keep him around. Have a little faith, baby.”
I smile. I want to believe him. I just hope he’s right.
When we arrive at his house, I go upstairs and lie down to take a nap. A few hours later, I’m woken up by the sounds of banging around in the kitchen. I lazily make my way toward the noise and find him plating some noodles. On the table is a salad and bread.
“How long was I out?” I ask when I join him in the kitchen.
“About two hours,” he tells me, coming over and kissing me on the forehead. I notice his grimace. His lip is more swollen than I remember it being.
“Did you ice any of that?” I ask him, gesturing toward his face.
“Um, a little bit. It’s just sore. Should clear up in a few days.”
“He got you good.” I stand there awkwardly. I can see the plates on the table, but he hasn’t said anything about sitting down. “Smells good.”
“Thanks,” he says, and he smiles sheepishly. “I thought you could use a home-cooked meal. Wanna sit and eat? Or did you want to wait a bit?”
“No, let’s eat. It smells delicious.” I sit down at the table and breathe in the cheesy goodness of what he’s prepared. I can smell the garlic from the sauce.
“It’s alfredo,” he says as he watches me smell it.
My stomach grumbles at the smells coming from the plate in front of me. It’s been a long time since I’ve had Alfredo sauce and. Normally, I stick to proteins and veggies, but I don’t want to tell him that. Instead, I dive in, moaning as soon as the cheesy garlic goodness hits my mouth.
“This is amazing. How did I not know that you could cook like this?” I ask. It surprises me. During all the time we spent at the beach house, either I cooked, or we ate takeout. And then there were those times in the beginning when he wasn’t there. I never knew where he went. I want to ask, but I have other pressing questions.
“Don’t let this fool you. I’m not some gourmet cook. I can make a few things—this being one of them.” He gestures with his fork and takes a bite. I smile as I watch a noodle smack his chin. His tongue comes out to lick the mess off.
I lick my lips at the motion and shift in my seat. Everything this man does turns me on. I can’t help it.
“How are you doing?” he asks. “With everything that’s happening, how are you really doing?”
I sigh and put my fork down. “I’m really worried about my job, to be honest. Well, and yours. But beyond that, I think that Aiden will calm down.”
“He just needs some time. We really caught him off guard, and then with the way the media is treating you and me, that’s enough to piss him off.”
“Have you heard from Serena?” I ask. His eyes widen at the mention of her name—mouth opening and closing but he speaks no words. “One of us had to mention her.”
He smirks and shrugs. “I’d prefer to never mention her name again. But I know that won’t happen because I made a deal with the literal devil. I haven’t actually heard from her, and I don’t expect that I will. Dale said he would contact her agent today. Tomorrow, I’ll give her a call and apologize for blowing this up. But she’s getting to play the victim, so there isn’t any real damage to her image that I know of.”
I nod, thankful for that at least. But I imagine she won’t be too thrilled with Derek breaking up their fake romance so quickly. She seemed to be enjoying it, and I think a part of her had hoped that he would be with her for real. That won’t be happening now. I think back to when she told me that he wouldn’t go for someone like me. The fact that we were caught kissing, and the photo is unmistakably me can’t be sitting well with her. I smirk at the thought.
“What?” he asks, studying me.
“I was just thinking that Serena can’t be too pleased that you were caught kissing me in the photo. She said you would never go for someone like me. And she said she would ruin me if something happened between the two of us.”
Derek slams his fork down. “She said what?” He shakes his head. “She’s fucking unbelievable. I will not let her ruin you; I promise you that. Plus, Dale said his people would help too. I’ll release the email that shows that her people requested this arrangement to repair her image, if I have to. She was becoming so fucking difficult, and people were starting to see the real her. She was losing fans. I was the carrot that brought them back. Trust me, Audrey,” he says with so much force, it scares me a bit. “I will ruin her if she does anything to you.”
I simply nod, not knowing what to say to that. I wonder if he actually can or if the record label and his manager would allow for that to happen. She’s the clear victim in all of this now. It’s not something that can easily be turned on her. And her people will work to protect her too.
I’m so lost in my thoughts and eating that I almost forget that I had something I wanted to talk to Derek about. “Tell me about the relationship that you ruined on the road. The one that Aiden spoke about in the office.”
Derek sighs. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“I understand that you might not, but I do. I want to know what’s happening there. Please,” I beg. “I think I have the right to know, because it sounded like Aiden was worried that something like this could happen to me. I’d like to avoid that, please. Aiden said you were seeing someone, but all that went out the window when you what got around some girls backstage?”
“Thanks for the recap,” Derek snarks.
