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I can’t help but watch as her eyes start moving over the document, growing wider and wider the further down the page she gets. Worry has me leaning forward in my chair.
“An NDA? For what?” she asks slowly. Her nose scrunches in distaste.
Dougie copies my stance, bracing his elbows on his thighs as he watches her inquisitively. “Yes. We can’t take any risks here, and what we’re going to ask of you could very well be just as bad as what your father has done if word gets out.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“Should we?” I ask, fighting back a wince when she flinches.
“No. I guess not. What am I signing an NDA for?”
Dougie taps his fingers on his thighs, looking more nervous than I was expecting. “We’ve gone over this with the PR management team, and we’re certain this is both the quickest and most reliable way to help fix the damage Roy has caused. Of course, you’re welcome to say no. Please just think about it before making your decision.”
“Dougie, just come out with it,” she sighs.
I nod in agreement. My stomach is in knots so tight a goddamn Boy Scout couldn’t untie them.
“We want you to enter into a fake relationship. If Roy Heights’ daughter is seen out with Maddox, it will bring doubt to some of his claims. Especially the one about you breaking his heart all those years ago.”
He drops the bomb, and I burst out of my seat, my head shaking in bewilderment. I laugh, but the situation is anything but funny.
“No. Not happening.”
Everyone looks at me, but it’s Braxton’s gaze that I focus on. Pain and rejection swirl in those blue eyes, and I push back the guilt that seeing those emotions on her makes me feel. I look at Dougie next.
“I should have been consulted about this. You shouldnothave blindsided me here,” I snap, shoving an angry hand through my hair.
“I’ll do anything you need me to,” Braxton murmurs.
I spin on her, my cheeks beating with the anger I’m trying to fight off. “No fucking way. I don’t want your help.”
Her eyes narrow slightly. “You don’t have to want it. It looks like you need it.”
“Yeah, because of your asshole of a father.”
She drops her eyes to the floor, and her shoulders slouch. “I know. That’s why I’m agreeing to help.”
“We can find another way.”Can we?
Dougie rises from his chair and inserts himself between us, facing my direction. The scowl on his face is one of pure frustration. “Knock it off. You don’t need to like the idea, but it’s the best one we’ve got. Don’t take it out on her.”
“Do you have a pen? I’ll sign this today, and then you all need to leave. I want to go home,” Braxton says.
Dougie cocks a brow as if to ask if I’ve gotten myself under control, and I dip my chin in confirmation. After staring at me for a few more seconds, he turns to Braxton and pulls a pen from the pocket of his black slacks.
In a blur, we watch as she signs the papers and hands them back to us, never once showing even a hint of regret. Her ability to be so accepting of this concerns me, but I keep my mouth shut.
This is my mess, and I’m grown enough to know when to pick my battles. Right now, I’m choosing to put my faith in the one person who doesn’t deserve it.
I’m terrified.
8
BRAXTON
Maddox hates me.He hasn’t bothered to pretend otherwise—not like I can blame him. I messed up, and time hasn’t healed his wounds any more than it’s healed mine.
Blindsided doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt reading through the NDA Dougie handed me earlier. I’ve never seen such detail in a document before. This fake relationship has to seem anything but, and I don’t know how to do that. Years ago, without a doubt. But now? With Maddox curling his lip at me every time I speak? It’s going to be impossible.
