AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’d applied for the role of a junior editor. I knew I wouldn’t get it, but I thought it would be good training to apply. I got invited for the interview, and I was ecstatic.”
Brandon’s gaze is indecipherable. I have no idea if he remembers or not.
And so, I keep talking.
“You were on the interview panel. I was confused as to why you would bother with interviewing applicants for a low-level position but was glad to meet you. Until you bluntly told me to come back with my resume ‘if I ever amounted to something in media.’”
Bitterness pools in my throat as I spit out the words, but the moment I say them, I return to feeling drained. There’s more to the story, like how I’d run out blinded with tears, certain I’d never be a successful journalist. Or how I spent the next month moping. And how I’d felt embarrassed and worthless.
When I look at Brandon’s face, I see the regret in his eyes.
“Georgina,” he says.
I raise a hand, surprised that it’s not even trembling. “No,” I say quickly. “Reliving the memory was bad enough. I don’t want to have to hear your apology. Not now, anyway.”
He gives a small, curt nod. His eyes are probing, searching, asking a single question.
What do you want, then?
My breath catches in my throat as my feeling of detachment is overridden by a stronger, more intense feeling.
I know what I want. It’s what I wanted back at Andrea’s wedding, and it’s what I want now.
To have sex with him.
CHAPTER9
BRAN
“No new articles about us today,” Theo says as he lowers himself into the leather chair in my office and props his legs on my desk, his eyes glued to his phone, where theEnchantémagazine website tab is open. “I think your plan is working.”
I ignore my brother. The last thing I want to talk about now is Gigi.
Because, as it is, I’ve spent more time thinking about her than I should.
“Looks like your second date gave her a change of heart,” Theo continues. “Well done, brother.” He puts the phone down, looking at me with an intentionally lingering, uncomfortable smile.
I tear my eyes away from my iMac and return his gaze, keeping my face a blank mask. “What?”
“Tell me, what did you say to bring about this sudden change of heart?” he asks. “Charming women and bending them to your will is your specialty, but I can’t imagine Georgina folding that easy.”
I would rather slam my head into a wall than truthfully answer his question. “It doesn’t matter what I said or didnotsay. Georgina is off your ass, and you don’t need to spend a couple of millions on a magazine no one cares about. A thank you would be nice.”
Theo raises his hand in surrender. “Thanks, brother, for almost throwing off my whole election campaign and finding a way to unscrew it before it was too late,” he says, his eyes bright with humor. He leans over the desk, his gaze fixed on me. “Now, what did you say to her?”
I glare at Theo, feeling a surge of anger coursing through my veins. It used to be so much easier to tolerate his twisted sense of humor when he was the only one who could push my buttons. But now, with Gigi in the picture, he has to share that spot with her.
And right now, talking or even thinking about her threatens to drive me insane.
She is all I’ve been thinking about in the last couple of days. As hard as I try, it is impossible to not think of our last date. I remember her cheeks turning crimson when I told her how beautiful she looked, how she’d brushed it off with a simple thank you.She must’ve thought I was trying to flatter my way into her heart and keep her from writing more articles.
Which is exactly what I was doing.
I didn't anticipate my own chest fluttering when she smiled at me. Her smile hasn't faded from my memory one bit.
I feel like a ridiculous teenager.
I'll give Gigi this: she knows how to hold a grudge. I never would've guessed that her reason for antagonizing Theo was something I had said six years ago.
