Page 14 of The Player

Chapter Seven

With Cindy engrossed online, Liza ducked into the shower, something she should’ve done the moment she arrived home to scrub off the lingering smell of Wade’s aftershave.

Maybe that was why she hadn’t? Because the moment she towelled off, slipped on her skinny jeans and a turquoise long-sleeved T, and padded into the kitchen to say bye to Shar, she missed his evocative crisp citrus scent.

Irrational? Absolutely, but it wasn’t every day an amazingly hot guy left his designer aftershave imprinted on her skin.

The perky hum died in her throat as she caught sight of Shar waving a stack of messages at her.

‘These are for you.’

Liza raised an eyebrow. ‘All of them?’

Shar nodded. ‘I didn’t want to bombard you when you first came in.’

‘More like you wanted the gossip and knew those would distract me.’

‘That, too.’ Shar grinned and handed them over. ‘Looks like some editor from Qu Publishing is mighty persistent.’

Liza groaned. ‘Can’t those morons get a life and stop badgering me?’

‘Doesn’t look like it.’ Shar pointed to the message slips in her hand. ‘All those are from her.’

‘No way.’

Liza flicked through the lot, twelve in all. Nine yesterday when she’d been out in the afternoon and later at the party, three while she’d been in the shower this morning.

‘She said she’d call back in ten minutes.’

‘Like hell.’ Liza stomped over to the trash and dumped the lot. ‘I’m sick to death of being pestered by this mob and I’m going to put a stop to it.’

Shar punched the air. ‘You go, girl.’

Liza grinned. ‘While I’m kicking some publisher butt, maybe you should stop watching daytime reality TV?’

‘Cheeky.’ Shar shooed her away. ‘You’ve got an hour before I need to leave, so hop to it.’

Liza didn’t need to be told twice.

No way, no how, would she ever sell her story. Cindy needed to be protected at all costs and the last thing Liza wanted was a bunch of strangers reading about their lives and intruding.

They would, she had no doubt. There would be book tours and blog tours and a social media explosion if she revealed everything about her life to date. It was why these Qu Publishing vultures were hounding her. They knew a bestseller when they saw it.

Laughable, really, because what would they say if they knew the truth, that she’d invented a fake life to protect her real one? That every event, every lash extension, every designer gown, had fitted a deliberate persona she’d cultivated to get what she wanted.

Lifelong security for her little sister.

And when her financial adviser called today and gave her the good news about her investments maturing, she could put away her lash curler and hair straightener forever.

Yeah, the sooner she set this publisher straight, the better.

She yanked on black knee-high boots and shrugged into a sable leather vest with fake fur collar. While being a WAG had been a pain, some of the perks, like the gorgeous designer clothes she got to keep on occasion, had been great.

She’d miss the clothes. She wouldn’t miss the rest.

Time to hang up her stilettos and set the record straight.

Wade strode into the boardroom with five minutes to spare, then spent the next thirty listening to a bunch of boring agenda items that could’ve been wrapped up in half that time.

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