Page 96

His eyes widen. “What if pictures surface?”

I shake my head firmly. “No. That won’t happen. Whatever that was just now, nothing’s going to happen to you.” If I say it often enough, it’s bound to come true, right?

“Fuck. Derek.”

My stomach acid rises into my throat. Is that what he’s thinking about? “If anything happens, Carly will sort it all out. You were in the offices of the social media agency you hired, goofing around with an employee.” The words are like barbed wire in my throat.

He nods. “Yeah. Could work. It’s worked before.”

Yeah, I’d be swept under the rug like Joaquin. I shake my head. “Everything’s going to be fine. You’ll see. Tomorrow will pass without a single headline. Everything’s fine.”

He gestures toward the exit. “I’m leaving now. Can you . . . ?”

Of course I should have expected him to say that, but it hurts that he doesn’t even want to drive me home. “No problem, I’ll take the main exit.”

“Good.” His shoulders slump. “Shit. It’s not good. It’s terrible. I’m terrible. I can’t help it. I want you.” He runs his hand over his mouth.

There’s no point in making things hard for him. “Baby, I’ll text you. Don’t worry. Everything’s okay between us. Drive safely, get some sleep, and we’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

“Thanks. Parker . . . it . . . ”

“Go.” I don’t wait; I get out of the car. Without turning around, I walk the few steps to the elevator, which opens its doors immediately when I call it. With a slight nod, I wave at Evan, who is starting his car.

Everything would be alright.

Noises sound more threatening in an empty building than they really are. I’m convinced there’s a simple explanation.

But no matter how often I tell myself this, I sleep poorly.

As promised, I text Evan to let him know I made it home safely.

I keep checking my social media to make sure that no pictures of us are popping up.

Everything remains quiet. Around three o’clock, I fall into a restless sleep in which I dream that the whole of Times Square is plastered with insults directed at Evan and me. He loses his spot on the Monarchs, has to move in with me, and hates the simple life. His mother wants nothing more to do with him and all because I couldn’t keep my hands off his beard.

I open the chat with Evan. The message I sent him is still unread. Hopefully he’s asleep and isn’t ignoring me.

Chapter 23 – Parker

When I finally wake up, I’m relieved. At least I’m not tormented by nightmares while I’m awake.

I immediately reach for my phone. Nothing extraordinary.

Only headlines as usual: The Monarchs are through to the next round of the playoffs after a tough battle against the Wildcard team. Even though Sid and Evan supposedly fight over Valentina in the locker room every day. Depending on the platform, my friend is portrayed either as the lustful seductress or the naïve little fool who lets herself be passed around from one hockey player to the next. Business as usual I guess.

My job is to manage Valentina’s image. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do today.

I check to see if Evan has finally read my message, but the chat still only shows one check mark. Okay. When he turns his phone back on, he’ll see that everything’s fine and get in touch.

Even though my limbs heavy as lead, I get ready and make my way to the office. There’s no better distraction than work.

As I enter our floor, Ricky smiles at me from the reception desk, deep in a phone conversation.

I’m early. Only a few people are here so far. Exhausted, I sink into my chair and rest my head on the desk.

This is exhausting. All I want is to be with the man I love. Is it such a big deal that we have to hide like criminals negotiating a deal?

A few minutes later, Simon knocks on my open door. Just what I needed. “Good, you’re already here. Into my office.”