Page 24 of Contracted and Claimed By The Boss

Self-conscious, Paige glanced down at her clothes, then up at Amanda, who’d resumed her trademark sullen look. But when she came close to Paige, she slowed, stared at her long and hard then crossed her arms.

‘Hi.’ Paige ignored her sense of misgiving. ‘How was school?’

Amanda frowned at her. ‘Fine.’

Paige repressed a sigh. ‘Ready to help me in the kitchen when we get home?’

‘I have homework.’

‘Okay, after your homework, then.’

‘Fine. Whatever.’

At the car, Amanda slid into the back seat and slammed the door, staring resolutely out of her window and refusing to speak the rest of the way home.

Amanda didn’t resurface until Max returned home. She’d been studying in her downstairs living area and Paige had thought it best to give her some space. It was enough that she’d extracted a promise for help in the kitchen.

But with Max’s return, Amanda appeared in the hallway. ‘Can you both come in here?’

Paige glanced at Max, her heart speeding up. There was something in Amanda’s voice that set her nerves on edge but she maintained an appearance of calm, barely looking in Max’s direction. When she did, finally, slide her eyes to his, she saw the same look of confusion in his features. Nonetheless, they walked side by side into Amanda’s study.

The girl stood with her hands on her hips, looking from one to the other, then pinpointing Paige with her steely blue gaze.

‘Is there something you’d like to tell us, Paige?’

Paige’s heart skipped a beat. She felt Max stiffen beside her. Everything was wonky; her breath wouldn’t come properly.

‘Amanda.’ Max’s voice held a warning.

‘What, Dad? Did you know about this?’

She pressed a button on the remote control and a movie began to play, the scene instantly familiar to Paige. She squeezed her eyes shut, but didn’t need to look at the screen to see it playing out in front of her eyes. She remembered everything about this movie. It was one of the last films Paige had done—a teen feature film, a romance, that had been a smash hit around the world.

She heard Max’s reaction—a rough expulsion of breath.

‘Turn it off.’

‘She’s lying to us. She’s using us. This is obviously some kind of sick joke, like research or something. Why else would some famous Hollywood actress come and pretend to be a babysitter? Jeez, Dad.’

‘That is enough.’ Max’s voice was quiet and controlled but Paige could hear the anger in it.

‘Did you know?’ Amanda demanded and Paige finally forced herself to be brave and open her eyes, to watch what felt a little like a car wreck. Amanda’s face was almost wild and Max’s was the opposite, perfectly controlled, but Paige saw beneath that, to the throbbing of his Adam’s apple and the way his chest moved faster than normal.

‘Amanda, go to your room.’

Amanda stared at her father. ‘Are you kidding me? Why? What have I done wrong?’

‘Go to your room, now.’

It wasn’t the right decision. Amanda wasn’t at fault—but Paige was trembling from head to toe. She knew then that she should have told Max sooner. It was stupid and irresponsible to think she could keep this secret, especially with the book coming out.

Amanda glared at both of them and then stormed out of the room. Her footsteps could be heard thumping up the stairs and around the corner. Then, there was the deafening sound of her too-loud music slamming through the house.

Max turned slowly to face Paige.

‘This is why I recognised you,’ he said, after a long beat of silence.

She closed her eyes and nodded. ‘My name, that you’d know me as, was Aria Gray.’

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