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She nods. “He’s on tour with a famous rock band. He’s not well off like we are, his mother is a junkie and his father isn’t in his life.” She grabs her shoes and puts them on, then she goes to the rack and picks up a pink ball and sets it on the rail before she faces me.
I don’t think this guy is going to stick around. She’s too young to have a baby, and I’m not going to scowl at her for being a teenager. I was fucking when I was her age. Having kids isn’t something you can do on a whim.
“You didn’t try to trap him on purpose?”
Her eyes narrow and she shoots daggers at me, then she rolls her eyes.
“Why the hell would you ask me some shit like that?”
It was stupid for me to ask her that, I know that, but you never know. And I needed to know if she trapped him on purpose with a baby so he won’t go anywhere. “I know, I had to ask. You need to put him on child support.”
“No, I believe he’s going to help.”
“He’s seventeen, Lacey. Take his word like a grain of salt. Make it a business transaction, just in case he decides to leave or you decide to leave him, that way your child will be taken care of. Men in the music business don’t get married or stay with their girls for long.”
“Dad can’t stand Blue. He thinks the only reason he’s with me is because of our last name.”
That is something me and Tommy were on the same page about. People only want us in their lives because we have so much power. I hope it’s not true in Blue’s case because if he is, I’m going to go out of my way to destroy his life.
“Do you miss Harper?” Her words are barely a whisper.
The thought of Harper makes my chest cave in. For years, I couldn’t speak about her without getting so angry.
I swallow thickly. “Every single day.”
A lump forms in the back of my throat, and as time goes by it doesn’t ease the ache in my chest. Thanks to Gemma, I’ll never see her again. I need to change the subject and clear my head.
“If you need anything, let me know. Kids’ stuff, whatever. I’ll look out for you.”
She nods and leans over to give me a hug. Her sweet perfume invades my nostrils.
“Thank you for having my back,” she says. “You’re the best brother ever.”
Her words melt my cold heart.
Poppy
Ipush back from my desk and grab a copy of a document that Jasper wanted me to print out, then I waltz into his office and set them down. He leans back in his chair, the phone glued to his ear. His eyes trail to my face, down my cream blouse and dark pencil skirt, to my ankle boots. He sinks his teeth into his lower pillow-soft lip. Images of him bending me over the desk flash in my mind, and I shake my head. His words from the other night crash through my mind like a tidal wave.You, I got you.So the only reason why he convinced me that I deserved more was because he wanted me. He wanted me all to himself. His words made me feel wanted and desired in an odd way. He wanted me, and now we’re nothing more than a business transaction, but I plan to prove him wrong, that people can care for each other without benefiting from it.
I gently place the paperwork on his desk, then proceed back to mine. Throughout the day, I send emails to different departments and reread the PTO policy before sending it to the HR department. Jasper is a lot worse than I thought he was. He’s not an asshole to me but his employees face his wrath. He suspended a guy without pay for speaking when he was speaking. Talk about being dramatic. My job isn’t bad so far, but I don’t see myself doing this for too long. It’s one of those types of jobs where you do the same stuff day in and day out. It’s nothing to look forward to either, but the pay is phenomenal.
A blonde woman with a slender frame walks into the office. Her pantsuit hugs her body, and her heels click against the floor as she makes it to the desk.
“You’re Poppy,” she says with a smile slapped across her face.
I’m leery of her. Why is she here, to see my boyfriend?Fakeboyfriend. Soon-to-be fiancé, then husband.
Jealousy claws its way through my chest. Why do I even care? It’s not like we’re actually dating, and I don’t have feelings for him in a romantic way.
“I am. How may I help you?” I ask.
“I’m here for Jasper Barrett.”
“And you are?”
Jasper opens the glass door and greets her with a smile. I don’t like the way he smiles at her, as if she’s his favorite person to see. “Aurora, step into my office.”
He closes the door behind them, and I try to not turn my head. We agreed that we wouldn’t be sleeping with anyone else, and she looks like one of those women that has been photographed with him on the internet. I know our relationship is fake, I get it. But to secretly flaunt her in front of me after we were in a restaurant on a pretend date to put the image out there that we’re together is fucked up. It brings back old memories of Link lying to me about so-called female friends he was secretly sleeping with. But Jasper said he wasn’t going to sleep around when we’re married, but he didn’t say we couldn’t sleep with anyone elsebeforethe wedding. I don’t know whether I should trust him or not.
