Page 21 of Followed By the CEO

Hayden grabs me under the arm, not in an alarming or forceful way, and guides me across the field to a shade tree. “Let’s chat.”

“We have nothing to chat about,” I say.

“Yes we do. Why would you want to completely change that commercial?”

I shake my head. “We both got caught up in the moment. We can’t release that into the world. People will think we’re together.”

My words hurt, and a little bit of light goes out of his eyes.

“Sure, but won’t that make those stupid lines even more convincing? Susan said we had chemistry,” he says.

I pick up Monster, who’s been pawing my leg. Holding my little buddy in front of me is a convenient shield. “Nobody is questioning our chemistry.” No one indeed. Hayden and my chemistry is off the charts. I can feel him everywhere right now in the way he studies my face for answers. It’s as if my body already anticipates his touch. “It’s just too much for me.”

“What was too much?” Hayden asks.

Once again I have to ask, “Are you kidding me? Everything that happened…after.”

He smiles wickedly. “I’ve been thinking about that too.”

“That was crazy.”

“Crazy hot. But not on camera.”

“No, but every time I see that commercial I’ll think about what happened…right after.”

“Is that such a bad thing?”

“Good…bad…no. Just too much too soon. I don’t even know if I can trust you,” I say.

He smirks. “You want a background check? Because Stella at Stel Securities can send one right over. She just sent one to the adoption agency.

God, he’s relentless. And smells so good. And that smile threatens to break me down.

Looking everywhere but at him, I stammer. “I-I have to go rest now before my gig tonight.”

“I’ll see you after the show,” he says.

And I want to tell him to give me space, but the words don’t come.

Weirdly, that was the best set I ever had in my hometown. I never sell out. Heck, I rarely sell out a third of the club.

Tonight, the place was packed, and the crowd was amazing. I killed it. It went even better than Chicago. The best part is I got 20 percent of the ticket sales.

Seeing Hayden in the audience halfway through my set might have had something to do with it. He was sitting at a table with a woman close to his age. Gorgeous, and obviously wealthy. Watching her make eye contact with him and touching his arm made me about fifty percent snarkier on stage, and I brought out some of my older, riskier jokes about men.

It was taking a considerable gamble, but the audience loved it.

One of the bouncers, Jimmy, who I’ve become friends with over the years, walks with me to the back alley where my car is parked.

Just as I’m about to head to my car, Hayden and that elegant woman are crossing the end of the alley on the sidewalk.

Hayden’s gaze falls to me and he turns to approach.

“Careful with the quick turns, H, I’m not super steady on my feet,” the woman cackles, clearly a little tipsy.

Okay, I think, taking all this in. Clearly, he has a girlfriend. I should be either completely pissed off right now that he used me to cheat on her. Or he’s just dating around, and what there was between us didn’t mean anything, which takes the pressure off me.

But none of those feelings land right with me, and all I can feel right now is plain old jealousy.

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