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“What the hell?” I gasp in shock. “What do you think this will be?”
Megan’s eyes damn near pop out of her head. “Shit, maybe it wasn’t just drunken talk after all. Maybe he really does want you to work for him as his fiancée.”
My heart thunders angrily against my rib cage as my trembling fingers reach out to grip the phone. I know I need to answer, I really should, just in case, but I’m flooded with anxiety.
“H… hello?” I answer, stammering awkwardly.
“Hey, Zoe. I think we should meet up to discuss things. You know, from the plan last night?”
I swallow hard, nodding to Megan because thisishim wanting to have me on his arm. As nervous as this makes me, there’s no denying the little glimmer of thrill sparkling in the pit of my stomach. Iwantto see him because being around him makes me feel good.
“Oh right, sure. You want to meet… where?” I sound like an idiot. I know it, but I can’t stop.
“At the Artisan Coffee Shop, it’s on Bedford Avenue near where I live. Is that close to you?”
Oh!Remy looked more like a Manhattan man last night, I’m surprised to hear that he’s practically my neighbor. Although I imagine he’s in one of those luxury penthouse suite type of apartments. That’s going to put me on edge all the time, just knowing that he’s nearby.
“Yes, that’s not far from me. I can meet you there, Remy. Whenever you like.”
“Thirty minutes? Does that work for you? Are you close enough for that?”
I glance at the clock. I can make it, as long as I dress quick. I won’t be able to fancy myself up or anything, teenage me would be horrified, but I’ll do what I can. I agree before I hang up the phone and stare at Megan in shock. I guess this is happening after all.
“Get some clothes on then!” Megan declares with a little laugh. “You have to go. This could be one hell of an opportunity for you. You need to make it right.”
I do as she commands, dressing in the way that Megan indicates for me to, then before I know it, I’m out the door and on the way to this coffee shop. It might not be a date with Remy, but aside fromthatnight, I don’t think I’ve ever been alone with him before. How will I react? How the hell am I going to cope? I don’t know what will happen next.
There he is. Remy is here before me, sitting patiently at one of the tables for me to join him. It takes everything that I have to push myself through those doors to join him.
I expect a smile as he lifts up his eyes to seek me out, but that isn’t what I get. He seems more stoic and unimpressed. Grumpy, maybe. I try to grin back anyway, just in case it’s awkward for him to be around me after what happened in the past.
“Hi, Remy. Good to see you.” I take a seat opposite him. “What a night, don’t you think?”
Instead of engaging in chit-chat with me, Remy dives right into business. “So, I think we need to talk about our work together and how this will look.”
I’m taken aback. He’s completely different when he’s sober. I don’t know how to adjust to this version of Remy. “Er, right, so what did you have in mind?”
He slides me a piece of paper that looks like a contract. I run my eyes over it quickly, wishing I wasn’t quite as hungover as I am. This is all a little challenging for me. But Idoknow what I’m looking at as I see the pay part of the contract.
“What’s this?” I demand. “This isn’t a real payment, is it? My time is worth more than this.”
Remy continues to scowl. “Well, this is beneficial for you as well, isn’t it? You’re going to get exposure and it will boost your career, so do you really need more than this?”
The payment is insulting. I wouldn’t care if it wasn’t so hurtful. I rise to my feet, scraping back my chair, as I glare at Remy for being such an asshole. “I don’t act for exposure. No one does.”
Remy lets out a little laugh which only infuriates me more. Who the hell is this man sitting in front of me? I know I never really knew him when I was younger, but this doesn’t seem like the guy I had a crush on at all. He clearly doesn’t value me and what I do, which truly upsets me.
I’ve had to face this sort of misogynistic behavior before, and I always hate it. But getting it from Remy digs deep and hits me in a way that it normally doesn’t.
“Okay, okay, well if you don’t think the exposure will be enough then I can up the pay.” He holds up his hands in a surrendering gesture, but that doesn’t make me feel any better. “We don’t need to get all weird about things. We can have a discussion.”
I’m not sitting down. Not until he changes that number to something that feels much more suitable for me. Something that shows respect.
“Look, it won’t be for a long time,” Remy continues. “I don’t need you to be my fiancée forever, and I will make sure that I can get us a lot of press. If you want, I’ll also see what doors I can open for you. I will make this worth your while, I swear to you.”
Again, my head and heart battles it out. I hate the idea of making the wrong decision, especially when I don’t know how to open those doors myself. This really could be the opportunity that I need. I might not be too keen on this version of Remy, because it seems like he’s cold and distant, but if I think about my career, then this really could be the best thing for me.
“Fine, I’ll listen to you.” I sink back down into my seat. I even let Remy order me a coffee. “But I don’t want to be disrespected, Remy. Because I know my worth. I’ve been through a lot of shit in my time, and I don’t want to have more.”
