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He pressed his palm into the counter, and his head hung. “I hear you, but I can’t do this anymore. I won’t do it to myself, and more importantly, I won’t do it to Amara.”
I sat up and pulled my legs underneath me, leaning my elbow on the back of the couch and resting my head on my fist.
“Yeah, I guess. When?” He sighed.
I got up and closed the distance between us, sliding my arms around his waist and resting my cheek on his back, trying to be there for him. He put his arm over mine and squeezed my hand.
“Fine. We’ll talk later this week.” He hung up and took a deep breath. “Fuck.”
“What’d he say?” True turned in my arms and wrapped his arms around me.
He rested his cheek on top of my head and took a deep breath. “I told him I want out, that I don’t want to see Lexi anymore. He said that it’s too soon. That we just put it out there and that the focus groups he’s been running have shown good progress. That my name has been trending and that if I ended it now, it would mean that everything we’ve done so far would be for nothing.” He stepped back and scrubbed his hands down his face. “Goddamnit!”
He started pacing. “I don’t want to do this anymore. What can I even do? I always felt better about this whole thing because I knew I could end it when I wanted to. Now I feel like I’m trapped, and I don’t know how to get out of it.”
“How much longer does Harrison want you to stick it out?”
He twisted the ring in his nose. “Fuck, at least a few more weeks.”
“Okay, well, that’s better than eleven more, right?”
He growled. “I guess. But no, because even seeing Lexi one more time is too much. I wanted to punch her the last time I saw her, and I wouldneverhit a woman.Ever.”
I softened my voice. “I know. I know she’s the worst, but I’m not going anywhere. We can get through this.”
True stopped pacing and pulled me back into his arms. “I’m so sorry I agreed to this in the first place. It gave me a bad vibe from the beginning, but I trusted Harrison.” His tone was biting, and his anger was palpable.
“I know, and honestly, I still think he had your career’s best interests at heart. I just don’t think he thought Lexi would be the way she is.”
True stiffened. “He represents her just like he does me. He should know her and how she’d act.”
“Maybe he thought she’d react differently. Let’s be honest here, you’re pretty irresistible. Maybe he didn’t see it coming because he doesn’t see you like I do. She wants you, and I can’t really blame her.”
A small smile tugged at the side of his mouth. “Irresistible, huh?”
He reached down under my thighs and lifted me until my legs wrapped around his waist. I squealed and giggled. “What are you doing?”
“You can’t resist me as you just pointed out, and I need a distraction from wanting to kill my publicist.”
“So?”
“So I’m taking you to bed and burying myself so deep inside you I forget everything else in the world except you and me.” He took off toward the bedroom, and I held on for the ride of my life.
I gritted my teeth, and my jaw ached from all the clenching I'd done this past week. The phone pressed to my ear cracked ominously as my grip tightened. "Harrison, I feel like you're not listening to me. Lexi's not hearing me, and neither are you. She's been blowing up my phone all week. The other day when you insisted I meet her for coffee? She spent the entire time trying to sit in my lap."
"You've almost made it through one more week. We're releasing your first single next week. You've got interviews and morning TV shows and live performances scheduled. Just go to the premiere with her this week, and then next week, we'll schedule one appearance, and then you'll be done. You're almost there, mate. Don't throw it all away now."
"You keep saying that, but every time I'm around her, it gets worse and worse. She's not just bad when I meet up with her. She's texting me all the damn time. Last night, she texted me at two a.m. to see if I wanted to come over and, I quote,take care of her.I'm done with this bullshit."
I was beyond frustrated by this entire situation and the way Harrison was handling it. I knew he was only trying to make me successful. It was his job. But I thought we were better friends and maybe that was the problem. I'd always been decent at keeping professional and personal relationships separate until Harrison and Montana. Maybe it was time that shit changed.
I ran my hand through my hair as he spoke. "Two more events, mate. I never took you for a quitter."
"Oh, what the fuck ever, Harrison. I thought you had my back. I thought we were friends. Maybe I was wrong."
He paused. "Wearefriends. You aren't thinking clearly right now, and I'm trying to help. You said this was your dream. You've been talking about it for years. This whole Lexi arrangement seems like a small price to pay to make your dream come true."
"Maybe my dreams have shifted. Lying to my fans and the public for a little more success doesn't feel like a small price to pay. It feels like a fucking blood sacrifice, and I'm not so willing to make it anymore. I'll go tonight because I already committed to it, but that's it. I'm out. No more Lexi. Plan out your statement or whatever it is you have to do but hear me now. I. Am. Done."
