AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not even if you paid me for it.”
“You’re such an asshole.”
“But I’m your favorite asshole—strike that,” she adds, and I hear the grimace in her words while I crack up.
“Well, I have to go pick him up.”
“Man, I wish I could be a fly on that wall.”
“Yeah, I’m hoping I get to bust out my moves tonight.”
“You always did your best seducing on the dance floor.”
“That I did, wish me luck, stupid.”
“Good luck, dumbass.”
FOUR
Tristan
I turn leftand right in front of the mirror to make sure everything is as it should be with my look.
I’m wearing a classic tuxedo, but all white. I tamed my curls with ruthless gel so not a single strand moves, and I put on the tiniest bit of brown eyeliner to make my eyes pop and some lip gloss to make my lips look juicy. I needed the confidence boost, and looking at my reflection, I must say I look as good as I want to feel.
Mr. Cra—Harrison, he told me to call him Harrison—sent a tailor to my apartment and told me to ask for anything I might want or need. After my floundering at our meeting earlier, I want to make up for it by giving Harrison something to gawk at and drool over. Right now, is the last time I can allow myself to not smile for the rest of the night.
When you feel like someone is hitting on you but making fun of you at the same time… that’s not a feeling you forget quickly. I was definitely off my game in Harrison’s office. I never expected him to be attracted to me, let alone tell me with the most serious expression ever. I want to feel like my usual confident self again tonight, it’s game time, and I need to show Harrison I can pull this off.
In any case, the deal was struck, a contract for three months, with the option to extend it, was signed. The rest of the day I learned all I could from an even deeper Google dive about who Harrison Crawford is.
I left the extravagant home of my new fake boyfriend while giving my sister the cold shoulder. She tried to talk it out with me in the car, she dared to ask why I was mad, but I tuned her out and lost myself in my texts as soon as my phone turned back on.
Harrison’s driver took us back to the office, and I didn’t even go inside. I hailed a cab and went straight home, I wasn’t in the mood to explain to Zoe exactly why what she did was shitty. Even though itwillbe beneficial for us, even if it is a brilliant idea, she had no right doing it without speaking about it with me in private first. I know it’s a great opportunity to get JPR some big clients, and I genuinely think we can get Harrison what he wants—to get his board off his back and to prove a point.
And yes, I know I was the only option we could’ve possibly come up with for this to work, and since I’m perpetually single, it’s not like I have a relationship that’ll be put in jeopardy by this fake one.
That doesn’t mean Zoe had the right to offer me up like a toy Harrison can play with. And he was playing with me in his office, I know that without a doubt because I’ve replayed the interaction over fifty times in my head.
Harrison isn’t what I was expecting him to be. At all. He seemed so carefree in his office. So full of life and mirth. It doesn’t fit into the mold I’d made for him in my head. He seems to really want to stick it to whoever told him he has to appear to be more of a family man or they’ll vote to remove him as CEO of his own damn company.
He mentioned right before we left his home that some of the board members of Crawford Inc. will be at the gala we’re attending, and I expect all eyes to be on us.
My phone vibrates with a text from Harrison, he’s waiting at my building’s garage. He insisted on coming to Brooklyn only to drive back to Manhattan even after I offered to get myself to his home. I understand perfectly well we have to arrive together, that wasn’t the issue, but he only waved his hand at me dismissively and told me to get used to him picking me up and to not argue about it.
It seems another thing Harrison loves besides keeping me on my toes, is getting his way.
I shake my head and tell myself that doesn’t make him even more attractive in my eyes.
I waste no time going down. I walk quickly to the black Escalade and try out smile number one—indulgent smile—on him. If it happens to throw him off his game a bit, then it would only be a bonus.
Instead of falling over from shock, he smirks at me, “That’s a good one.” Dammit.
“So you can tell it's fake?”
“Only because I know it is.”
“That’s okay then.” I let my cheeks relax. I’m not a person who smiles a lot—some would say I have resting bitch face—so I’ve got to put extra effort into smiling. It’s science.
