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Chapter 18
Gabriel
Imight wear a path in the carpet of my office floor if I keep pacing, but I cannot stop. My mind is on edge, and my body isn’t cooperating, so the best thing to do is keep walking.
I am also wondering why Harper hasn’t come around since she said two days ago that she needed time to think.
Of course, she would need some time. I mean, I asked her to get engaged. Of course, I clarified after the initial shock passed that it was a ploy to distract the media so the reporter and everyone involved would stop digging into my life, but I understand an engagement is a serious thing nonetheless.
“Did I scare her off?” I wonder aloud.
For a brief moment, I imagine Harper walking in and handing over her resignation letter.
“I don’t know why you would ask me to do such a thing after all I’ve done for this project. It is your problem to solve, not mine,” she would rage.
Or would she? God, I’m going to lose it.
The second I hear the doorknob I turn my head around.
There is no smile on Harper’s face when she walks in, and she goes to sit down before I can say anything. I swallow hard and sit down.
“I thought about what you said long and hard,” she begins, “and if you can tell from the bags under my eyes, I haven’t slept much.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you sleepless nights,” I say softly.
She shakes her head. “It’s fine. I tend to obsess over things, which keeps me awake more often than I’d like. There is logic in what you suggest because it would mean your ex is no longer in the picture, and if there’s something new, they can feast on, what is the point of digging into your life?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
Then she sighs. “The main reason I don’t want to do this is the attention that is bound to come my way. I grew up with attention doled on me because my parents were socialites, so I know what that feels like. I didn’t like it, and I decided that when I was old enough, I would leave.”
“I didn’t leave until last year,” she continues, “and it is only a fifteen-minute drive from my parent’s house because my mother would not hear of it—when I told her that I wanted to move to another city. I crave privacy, Gabriel, more than you know.”
The other shoe has dropped. I did hold out a little hope that she was going to agree, but I fully understand her not wanting this. It is also my problem, and the fact that Harper has a large investment in the project shouldn’t be a reason to ask her to do this.
“I’ll find a way,” I say, “to fix it. In the meantime, we will need to slow down some parts of production and scrutinize everyone working on it. It’s easy for things to get out when one person decides they don’t care about the NDA as long as they get paid.”
Harper lifts a finger. “I wasn’t done, though.”
“Oh?”
She places her hands on the desk and leans forward. I get the fleeting urge to kiss her.
“Despite the obvious downside of a fake engagement, not adding the issue of your fans-”
I cut in. “My fans?”
“Don’t act like you don’t have them,” she doesn’t allow me to act ignorant, “and I know they’ll come after me. Those aside, this project is my baby, and I am fiercely protective of the things I work on. So, Gabriel Everhart, I agree to get fake engaged to you.”
At first, I wonder if I hear it right. Then Harper’s words echo in my head, and I realize I did hear her correctly. My lips stretch into a splitting grin as I reach across the desk to take her hands. She jerks away before I can touch them.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she tells me in a bossy voice. “There’s a lot to be done if we are going to sell this idea of yours. Since I am partially against the idea, I’ll leave you to handle the details. You let me know when the arrangements are complete.”
I have mixed feelings when she stands up, so I do the same and go to meet her. “You don’t hate me, do you?”
“Why would I hate you?”
I shrug. “I don’t know…I’m thrusting you into the limelight you ran away from.”
