by Emily Bishop
Her expression turned to stone, and her arms crossed defensively over her chest. “What is your problem, Barrett? My place isn’t up to your standards?”
I’d never heard Demi’s voice so cold. So detached. It pushed me over the edge. She was pissed at me? That was fucking rich. As she, apparently, wasn’t.
“My standards?” I spat out at her. “Let me tell you what my fucking standards are, Demi. People being honest with me, to start with.”
“What?” Confusion played on her features.
“You told me you had money. You lied to me. A woman with money doesn’t live in a hovel like this.” Rage boiled in my stomach, and a peal of sarcastic laughter ripped from my chest when it hit me. “That’s why you were working in the diner. It wasn’t some kind of exercise in humility or some shit. You were working there because you actually needed to work for a living.”
Chapter 22
Demi
I pinched myself. It had to be a dream, Barrett standing red-faced in the middle of my apartment, spewing furious hatred at me for lying to him. I’d been pleasantly surprised when he arrived early, especially since I was just about to text him my address before I heard the knock on the door. My surprise, however, quickly turned to shock at his reaction.
Barrett was ranting at me, not giving me the chance to get a word in edgewise. The guard that I’d kept in place around people for so long, but hadn’t had up with him, slid into place. At first, I’d thought maybe he was worried about my neighborhood for my safety. But this wasn’t that.
He was judging me and calling me a liar to boot. A cold, disbelieving laugh echoed around the room when he brought up the diner.
“Enough.” My voice was low, but he heard me. Those eyes, the ones I could stare into for hours and get lost in, were icy and hard when they met mine. “Yes, I worked at the diner because I needed the money.”
Barrett scoffed and shook his head, his eyes like lasers on mine. “That’s what I thought.”
He started going for the door, but I stepped in his way. His shoulders locked but he stood still.
“I never told you otherwise, Barrett. I didn’t lie to you.”
“You call this not lying?” He motioned around my apartment again. “You made me believe that you had money. That you weren’t only after my money.”
“I’m not!” I was shaking like a leaf, but I couldn’t give up. I had to make him understand. “It’s never been about your money, Barrett. I mean, yeah, I took the modeling job to help my parents with their medical bills. But us, what’s happening between us, that has nothing to do with money.”
There. That explained things. I expected him to open his arms to me and to defrost. To have some empathy when he pieced together the situation. Instead, he only got more closed off.
“You betrayed me, Demi,” he thundered, his posture hard as a rock as his teeth ground together.
“What? How is wanting to help my parents betraying you?” I was genuinely confused at this point. His reaction made no sense.
“I trusted you. I let you in. And all this time, you were doing nothing but playing the long con.” His tone made shudders run through my body, like someone had dumped a bucket of ice over my head.
“The what?” I breathed.
Things were starting to make sense somewhere in the back of my mind, but I couldn’t figure it out just yet. Not when he was looking at me like I was Hitler wrapped up in Stalin cheering for a terrorist.
“What did you think, huh? Did you think you could trick me into marrying you? That I would give you access to the money to revive you family’s fortunes?” His voice was dangerously low as he glowered at me. “Surprise, Demi. That was never going to fucking happen. I refuse to be played by gold diggers like you.”
I couldn’t have been more shocked if he’d slapped me. No, not even that. If he’d punched me. “What?”
“You heard me. Your little plan failed. Did you really think you would get away with it?” His brows knitted together, and his fists clenched at his sides, veins protruding from his hands and forearms. “Do you really think I’m that fucking stupid?”
“No, of course not, I—”
“You’re what?” he taunted. “What could you possibly say that you think will mess with my head? I caught up to your little game, and I’m not getting sucked back in by any more lies.”
“I’m not lying!” I protested, reaching for his hands. If he would just let me touch him, if he would just calm down, I could explain things to him. We could work through it, then he could explain to me why he was as angry as a hornet who’d been stung himself.
Barrett, however, would have none of it. He stepped out of my reach, a look of disgust on his face. “Don’t touch me, Demi. Never touch me again. I was a fool to let you do it in the first place.”
“Barrett, if you’ll just sit, I can—”
“No, don’t you get it? You’re done making a fool of me. I mean, is your father even in hospital?” My heart froze at his words, that he would even think that after everything we’d shared. “Or was that a part of your plan to trick me?”
“Are you seriously asking me that right now?”
He couldn’t be. Not after everything, yet he nodded.
“Yes, I’m seriously asking you that. Did you think the whole making me sympathize with you thing was going to draw me in deeper? That it would make me want to protect you or care for you or something?”
“No, I would never—”
“You know, I don’t want to hear it, actually. I’m sure you’ve got a thousand explanations planned, and a lie for every question I could ask.” He sneered at me. “You know what? I was right when I said you were something different. I was just wrong about the context. You’re the most beautiful and most treacherous gold digger I’ve ever fucking met. You’ve really perfected the game.”
Then, he stepped around me and stormed out, refusing to listen to one single word I had to say.
He barreled through my door, practically running away from me. He didn’t look back as he made for his black SUV parked in front of my building. Rushing after him, I called out his name but he ignored me.
Barrett yanked open the door, and I heard him firing off a command to the driver seated next to him. “Go, just fucking go. Get me the hell away from her.”
The door slammed shut as the tires of the SUV spun in the driver’s haste to do exactly as Barrett had told him to.
Standing in the middle of the street, I gaped after his fast-retreating car, feeling as if a piece of my heart was being ripped from my chest with every inch of distance that he put between us. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the events of the last few minutes.
What the hell just happened?
My mind was in a haze as I walked back to my apartment, making sure to lock the security gate and door behind me on autopilot. Barrett was gone, and something told me that he wasn’t coming back. He wasn’t going to get halfway back to his life and then turn around to let me explain.
The man I was irrevocably and completely in love with had stormed out of my life without so much as one single look back, taking my heart with him. Devastating loss bled from every fiber of my being as the reality of my situation started sinking in.
Bone-crushing grief swept through me so acutely that I collapsed onto my couch as I realized that he was gone. The memory of the searing pain in his eyes before he stormed out did me in. Sobs wracked my body as I replayed my memories of him.
The surprise in his eyes when he’d first looked into mine that day at the diner. His cocky confidence when he made me the offer that I didn’t want, and the way he hadn’t taken no for an answer.
The first time I’d realized there was more to him that night at dinner when he started talking about Nancie. His gentle encouragement at my first shoot, molding me into the cover page model that I’d become. The way he’d calmed down from my touch over dinner with Scott, and all the sweet moments with Nancie.
I refused to let myself think of the times we’d b
een intimate, but my mind went there anyway. Not only to the sensations he’d caused in my body, but the way he’d looked at me while he’d been doing it. The way he way he made me feel worshiped and adored, like he’d never seen anyone more beautiful, despite the fact that he was surrounded by perfection.
It was all too much for me. I cried until the sun had long since set, until even my neighborhood became quiet. It wasn’t until passing headlights lit up my tiny living room that I realized I hadn’t even bothered to turn on any lights.
I didn’t bother to, either. Navigating my apartment in the dark wasn’t hard. My bed was calling to me, though I had no doubt that I wouldn’t be getting a single wink of sleep. Not with the gaping hole of excruciating pain in my chest that burned all the way to my soul.
Chapter 23
Barrett
Well, I had to give it to her. The chick had balls bigger than most of the guys I knew. I honestly hadn’t been expecting her to show up for the shoot after our showdown a couple of days before but there she was, walking into the private park we’d reserved for the shoot. She held her head high and her shoulders back, like she had nothing to be ashamed about.
Seeing her sent shock waves through my entire being. She was so goddamn beautiful. A part of me wanted to run to her, to kiss her until her mouth, set in a grim line as she headed for the wardrobe tent, couldn’t remember doing anything but smiling. That same part of me wanted to wrap my arms around her, hold her tight, and kiss away the frown marring her beautiful features. It wanted to comfort her, to find out why she was so pale, and what had brought on the dark circles under her eyes.
But I knew better now. The shattered pieces of my heart clamoring around uselessly in my chest couldn’t take being so close to her. It was still hard for me to believe that less than a week ago, she was the one responsible for making my heart beat faster with every look and every brush of her soft hands.
I was even planning on telling her that I loved her the night that I’d discovered her lies. It wasn’t a conscious plan, but I realized as Norris and I sped away that it would have been the night.
The feeling was right there inside me. The farther I got from Demi, the tighter a vice grip squeezed my stupid heart, until the pressure was so painful it felt like I was having a heart attack by the time we got back to my house.
For days afterward, I hadn’t been able to function properly. I was deeply thankful that I had Katy to cook, otherwise Nancie and I would have gone hungry. It took everything I had in me to drag my gullible ass through the shower every morning. I had gotten played for a fool, and I’d never even seen it coming.
And now, staring at the woman who’d played me, I couldn’t fucking believe how close I’d let her come. She slipped through the walls I’d carefully constructed around my heart, moved past the guards I’d stationed there for years, and made her way right into my immaculately kept life without me even realizing it.
It had taken me way too long to see the game she was playing, so there was no way for me to stop her from getting that close to me. A week ago, I wouldn’t have believed she was even capable of such deception. I had fallen that hard for her.
Demi glanced at me from across the park, and for a second, I thought I saw my own pain reflected in her eyes. But it was probably just the fact that she’d been found out that bothered her. People like her didn’t give a shit about the feelings of the people they used as a means to an end. I’d seen it time after time, with friend after friend who’d gotten sucked in.
There was no way I was letting her see how badly she had ripped me apart. I couldn’t. But hiding it meant I either had to leave the shoot or tell Demi to leave it. I wasn’t the kind of man to do that to her, despite everything she had done to me.
Everything was running smoothly at the shoot today, as things seemed to since Demi had come on board, but I checked in with Stefan before I left anyway.
“You all good here? I gotta go.”
Stefan’s dark eyes swept over mine, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. “Go, Barrett. I do not know what happened, but no good man deserves the anguish in your eyes.”
God, is it that obvious?
I shook my head at myself, dragging a hand through my hair. “It’s nothing. Call me if you need anything.”
“The same goes for you, my friend,” he told me. Then he smacked a loud kiss on each of my cheeks and dropped his hand from my shoulder.
As soon as Stefan floated back to where the shoot was being set up, I darted to the gate that would lead me out of the park. Demi caught my eye as I fled, though I would never admit that was what I was doing. Her frown deepened, and her eyes welled with tears.
What the fuck? Where the hell does she get off pretending she’s the one who got hurt?
For a split second, I nearly succumbed to the intense desire to go to her, to demand answers. But she was at work, and I wouldn’t do that to her. Whatever she had done, however she had used me, she’d still quit her old job because I’d asked her to.
The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if her initial refusal of my offer was a ploy to draw me in. If it was her way of playing hard to get. She’d seemed so sincere at the time, though. It confused the shit out of me now.
I would figure out what to do about our situation later, after I got away from there. With her in such close proximity, it felt like the air I breathed wasn’t reaching my lungs. I screwed my eyes shut for a second, trying to forget the pain in her eyes, and I hightailed it to my car.
Christ, if I ever got over Demi, I would never, ever, make the mistake of falling in love again. This shit was too painful. It was no wonder there were so many books and movies about it. I was about to burst from all the emotions swirling around inside me. I was going to go crazy if I didn’t find an outlet.
Drumming my fingers on my steering wheel, I realized that was exactly what I needed. An outlet. A distraction. And I knew just what the perfect one would be.
“Call Steven,” I said out loud, waiting for the Maclaren to connect me to my financial adviser. Apparently, I wasn’t as skilled as I thought when it came to sniffing out the gold diggers, but there was one skill that I possessed that could turn the shit show I’d let my life become into profit.
Steven answered almost immediately. “Barrett, what can I do for you?”
“Athena’s,” I said. Turning that sinking ship around was the challenge that I needed. “How’s the deal coming?”
“The situation is still the same,” he said. “The owners are hanging on by a thread, but they’re hanging on with all they’ve got.”
“I want it.” No, I needed it.
“I know, Barrett,” he said, sounding slightly offended that I might think otherwise. “I’m on it, as always. I’ll update you as soon as there’s something new to report.”
“I know you’re on it, but I want you to go hard. Throw more money at them. I don’t give a fuck what you do. I want that contract signed within a week.” Restless energy came over me, just as it always did before I closed a big deal.
Yes, this is the perfect damn distraction from Demi.
Her stamp may be all over BHA for now, but Athena’s had nothing to do with her. I could throw myself into it while I figured out how to erase any sign of her from BHA.
“I’ll do my best,” Steven promised. “What’s your maximum bid?”
“Don’t care. You know what I’m worth, and you’ve seen the projections. Bid as aggressively as necessary. I trust you, Stevo. Make this happen for me.” Trust was something I might have misplaced with Demi but Steven had never let me down.
Steven paused. “Any particular reason why this company and why now? If you’re looking to branch out that badly, I can have a dozen other options that are sure things on your desk by the end of the day.”
“I’m not in the mood for a sure thing. I want the challenge.” Which was exactly what had gotten me into my current predicament, of course. But I’d always been an all-in, balls to the wall kind
of guy.
“Whatever you say, Barrett, but I’m warning you that it may take longer than a week to convince these people. I’ll see what I can do.”
“That’s all I’m asking, just push hard, okay, Steve?” My lead foot grew heavier as I raced back to the office. The day was already looking up, now that I had something else to focus on.
“You got it, Hart. Expect to hear from me by the end of the weekend.” Steven ended the call as I pulled into my parking spot.
As high as I was flying when I walked into my office, that was how hard I crashed when I turned on my computer to find my inbox flooded with proofs from Demi’s last few shoots. Seeing them was like an arrow was being driven into my heart from one end while a sword shredded it from the other.
I couldn’t bear to look at them, so I closed the entire email program and tugged at my hair. There might have been important messages waiting for me. I happened to know there were at least four contracts that needed to be signed that day, but I couldn’t do it.
Why the hell does the face of my agency have to be hers? The face of the only woman who’d ever broken my heart. It was both extremely beautiful and extremely painful to see.
Still, I had work to do. I had my assistant print the contracts, signed them without really reading them, trusting that my lawyers would’ve picked up on anything that wasn’t in line with the negotiations, and I sent them off.
This couldn’t continue.
As much as I hated to do it, I had to put an end to my distractions for the sake of my sanity. I would find a way to soften the blow. Before my assistant left my office, I asked him one last thing. “Please call Stefan and have him send Demi over as soon as they’re done.”
“Sure thing, boss,” he said, shutting the door with a decisive click behind him.
Two hours later, I had spoken with my lawyers, told Adam what I was going to do, and figured out how to do it without being completely unfair to Demi. A soft knock signaled her arrival.
“Barrett,” Demi said, stepping into my office looking like every fucking dream I had come true. She wore a sundress that hid just enough of her milky skin to drive me wild, but I bit it back. “If you wanted to see me, why didn’t you just text me?”
