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I’m breathless as he drags me across the driveway and inside. My arm aches from his hold on me, but I’m not about to tell him that. I doubt he’d care, anyway.
He marches me down the hallway, his gait brisk. He doesn’t stop when I trip over my feet, instead forcing me to regain my footing and catch up. We reach my room and he stops, his hard gaze falling on me. For the first time, I’m terrified about what he might do to me. He’s angry, not that I blame him. He thinks I’ve betrayed him, and I guess I have.
“Inside,” he orders. I nod and step inside the room, my heart lurching as he pulls the door shut. I listen to the sound of the lock sliding into place.
“Please,” I say, pressing my body against the door. “Let me explain.”
“You don’t need to explain anything. Let me figure out your punishment so we can move on,” he says gruffly. My punishment? Move on? What does that even mean? Surely he’s not just going to let me go, knowing I’ve been snooping around his life, looking for something to expose. His loud footsteps move away from the door. I slide down and rest my head in my hands.
What the hell am I going to do now?
I spend most of the day lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. My laptop, my phone—everything I could possibly use to contact the outside world—are gone. I’ve run through a thousand different scenarios as to how this is going to end, and none of them are appealing. What I’m most upset about is losing his trust. I know why I began here, but things have moved so far beyond that now. Finding a story is the last thing on my mind. But how can I make him see that?
I laugh bitterly. How do I know he even wanted me like that in the first place?
A knock on the door makes me jump. I race over and open it to find Marina standing there with a tray. My stomach grumbles. I take the tray and place it on my dresser.
“I need to speak to Jaxon,” I say.
Marina stares at me with a blank expression.
“Mr. Murphy has expressed his desire not to see you until he requests you. Besides,” she adds, “he’s busy with one of the other girls at the moment.”
I feel dizzy. I’m sure I see a glint in her eye as she closes the door, locking it before walking away. He’s with another girl. The thought makes me sick, yet I can’t get the image out of my head. Whatever he’s doing to her he should be doing to me.
I walk back over to my bed and lie down. My appetite is gone and my mood has plummeted. Angry at Jaxon and myself, I roll over and stare at the wall. How am I going to get his trust back?
It’s simple. You’re not.
As much as I want to ignore the voice in my head, I know it’s right. He’s not the type of guy to give second chances. He’s had so much happen in his life that people lying to him and letting him down is expected.
Somewhere between thinking about Jaxon and reviewing my life, I fall asleep. I wake as the sun is going down, with a feeling that I’m being watched. I sit up with a start, shocked to see Jaxon sitting in the corner of my room. One leg crossed over the other, he stares at me with an expression I struggle to read. It’s not one of anger, nor does he appear upset. He almost looks amused.
Which can only mean one thing. My heart begins to pound. I take a breath and stare him in the eye as I swing my legs over the side of the bed.
“Some would find it creepy, you sneaking in here to stare at me while I sleep,” I mumble. His lips twitch into a shadow of a smile and then, as quickly as it was there, it’s gone.
“You didn’t eat your dinner.”
“And apparently you filled up on dessert,” I mutter. Shit. The last thing I wanted him to see was how much his being with another girl affected me.
His smile reappears, but this time he makes no attempt to hide it. He stands, straightening his suit jacket. I glare at him as he moves across the room toward me. I hate how he makes me feel, because right now all I want him to do is throw me down on this bed and fuck the life out of me.
“I’ve decided on your punishment.” He pauses long enough to wet his lips. “Though I wouldn’t really call this a punishment, Charlotte. I like you. Probably more than I should, and I’m sure that’s going to come back and hurt me.”
He stands in front of me, his legs shoulder width apart, demanding my attention. “Why should I trust you, Charlotte? Explain to me why, against all my better judgment, I want to give you a second chance.” He laughs like the idea is ridiculous, but all I hear is second chance. My heart races as I try to gather my thoughts.
“Because why I started here and why I want to stay are for two very different reasons,” I say quietly.
“Here is the deal,” he cuts
in, his voice hard. “You do something for me and I do something for you.”
I’m confused, and I’m sure it shows on my face. Embarrassment fills me as I try to process his words. I thought in a weird, roundabout way he was telling me he likes me, but now I’m not sure. Maybe once that trust is broken it can never be repaired.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my voice shaking.
“Exactly what I said,” he says in a flat tone. “You help me ruin Ryan and I’ll give you your story. Simple as that. I get what I’ve wanted for a long, long time, and you get the ‘big break’ in your career.”
