Page 51 of Fake Out

“It’s… complicated,” she finally murmurs, her gaze distant. “Making it in the sports agency field isn’t easy, Charlie. Isaac’s got connections. He’s got the power. You cross him, you’re dead in the water. And it’s hard to get a job at any agency as it already is.”

I purse my lips as a cold wash of realization crashes over me. It makes sense — her determination to endure Isaac’s endless criticisms, her reluctance ever to challenge him.

Every day I hear stories about what an ass he is.

I reach for her hand. “Start your own agency.”

“I plan on doing that.” She smiles softly. “I need to get my star client signed first, though, so I have something to show off.”

I guffaw. “I’m your only client.”

She smiles sunnily. “It doesn’t make you any less of a star.”

“Thank you.” I get up and clear our dishes from the table. “So what movie would you like to watch?”

Carrying the plates across the kitchen, I place them in the dishwasher. She still hasn’t answered, so I turn around to face her and find her staring at the raindrops sliding down the window.

“Let’s go out,” she says, turning to me.

I blink in surprise. “What? Are you sure?”

She nods resolutely. “Yeah.”

“What changed your mind?”

She shrugs, a small grin playing on her lips. “Don’t know.”

She stands and moves toward me. “Maybe I’m just tired of hiding.”

Her words ring in the air between us. I feel a thrum of excitement. A shift. Things are changing between us, and I can’t say I don’t like it.

“Where would you like to go?” I ask, trying to maintain some semblance of control over my racing heart.

She shrugs again, looking carefree but with a spark in her eyes that tells me this means something more. She’s stepping out of the shadows cast by Isaac.

“How about we go somewhere… public?” she suggests, her voice teasing.

I laugh at her audacity. There’s a challenge in her eyes, one I’m willing to meet.

“Public it is,” I agree, already heading to grab my wallet and keys.

We leave the warm coziness of my house, stepping out into the drizzle that’s turned into a downpour. The rain pelts us relentlessly, but neither of us seems to mind. We’re caught up in this new dynamic between us, one that feels liberating and exhilarating.

The night stretches ahead of us, unscripted and full of promise, like the blank pages of a journal. And damn it if I’m not giddy to write our story.

CHAPTER 22

MARISSA

I’m feeling confident when we leave Charlie’s house in his sports car and he drives us deeper into the city. When we end up at a lounge frequented by celebrities, though, my hesitation creeps back in.

The place is packed, even outside. Security keeps check at the doors, and a small group of people hang around, smartphones at the ready, eager to get pictures of whatever celeb must have gone inside earlier.

My stomach twists into knots. “I don’t know about this place.”

Charlie finishes parking and gives me a confused look. “You said you were tired of hiding.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think we would go somewhere so… obvious.”

---