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‘Don’t call me fu—’
The line goes dead. He cut me off to stop me swearing. I quickly turn up the radio.
‘You heard it here first, folks, Izzy Coulthard and Brooks Adams are going head-to-head. Boy, I think this is going to be good. Will you let us stay up to date with your progress, Izzy?’
‘I. I don’t know. But. Ah. I guess.’
What in God’s name have I done?
11
IZZY
‘You have got to be kidding me!’ My voice is shrill, painful even to my own ears.
The fact that I’m sitting next to Brooks in Kerry’s office is bad enough. Now she’s saying I have to live with him for two weeks to make this thing work. It will be good for PR and we need to keep an eye on each other, she argues. She’s lost her mind. Live with that gorilla?
Argh, why didn’t I just tell them I couldn’t extend my trip? Or say my grandmother died? Or that my dog ate my gym kit?
Kerry turns her laptop on the conference room table so the screen faces Brooks, Madge – his PR manager – and me.
‘See for yourself. Your blog hits skyrocketed. You had more comments on your blogging war than you’ve had in the previous year.’
Brooks sniggers and I swear my palm is twitching to slap his face. But Kerry is right. My presales were low. In the last couple of days, preorders, YouTube views, interactions on socials, and new visitors to the blog are all up. Today, my release seems to be going reasonably well. I’m climbing the Amazon charts, at least.
Madge leans in to speak to Brooks, but she’s still loud enough that I catch her words. ‘Your membership requests are up too, Brooks. If you are going to franchise, this could be good for you.’
He rubs a hand across his short beard. I’ve never found beards attractive but on Brooks, not only does it work, but it makes me want to test the theory about beards and sensations. Ahem, you know the one. I like his rugged look. Tats, beard, muscles. It’s so far from the suited, pompous Londoners I’m used to, the type my parents want me to marry. I like the way one prominent vein shows in his biceps, whether he’s flexing or not. I wonder whether he’s so ripped, the veins of his pelvis will show me a trail down to his… I shudder involuntarily. This is Brooks Adams I’m focusing on here. Scum of the earth. Well, except that one thing in the bookstore. No! No buts.
I blink three times in quick succession, realizing Brooks is watching me stare at him.Sugar.
‘Look, it sounds like this could be good for both of us,’ he says, surprising me. ‘I’ll do it. But the defamatory blog posts have got to stop. It’s childish and pitiful.’
I feel my jaw drop. Now I’m childish and pitiful?
‘And to be clear, just in case there was any insinuation that staying with me means staying in my apartment, you are absolutelynotstaying at my place for two weeks.’
That does sound better. Kerry had made it sound like she wanted us to be living in the same accommodation but, frankly… ‘I don’t like you. Nor do I want to be staying anywhere near you!’
‘Yeah, ditto baby.’ He shifts his focus, to address Kerry. ‘There’s a place on the same floor in my block, two doors down the hall from my apartment. It’s available for short-term rental. Maybe you can fix that.’
I hold up a finger as a sound of pure contempt leaves my mouth. ‘First, never call me baby. Secondly, I don’t want to be even two—’
‘Done,’ Kerry says, cutting me off. ‘I’ll make it happen.’
Grrrrrrr.If I could make someone feel intense pain with my mind, both Brooks and Kerry would be feeling it right now. Though I have to admit, it is the lesser of two very evil evils. ‘Fine. Thanks, Kerry.’
With my inner grizzly growling, I hold up three fingers to Brooks. ‘Third, each of us has to follow these plans to the letter. No cheating in between. Part of my plan is detoxifying your body, so don’t go putting any beer or trashy protein in there. And you have to do the exercises I give you. None of that grunting, meathead, weight-lifting crap.’
He stands up and shakes his head like a headmaster might at a pupil. ‘The same goes for you, Coulthard. If I give you steak, you’ll eat steak. If I tell you to lift weights, you’ll lift weights. And you can’t go fitting in dance sessions and messing up my plan.’
I stand and mirror his hostile posture. ‘Fine.’
‘Fine.’
As we stare at each other, I notice for the first time the flecks of gold around his green eyes. They’re like a fine chain holding a bright emerald. I’ve never seen irises quite like them before. He holds my stare until his eyes slip down to my mouth. The move makes me suddenly need to wet my lips with my tongue.
I have to tell myself that gorgeous eyes, rugged and muscular or not, I am looking at Brooks ‘Big Head’ Adams.
