Page 65 of It's Not All Fake

I can’t let her go like this.

I slam the door shut as a peppy pop song blares out of the radio, another reminder of how great her day started.

Chloe hits the radio button, and it turns off. “Liam, please,” she says firmly, clearly wanting me to get out.

“Chloe, I’ll make things right,” I reassure her desperately. I just want her to be okay again.

“You can’t fix this.” Her voice raises in frustration, and I know I’ve said the wrong thing. “Your money cannot fix this.”

I need to rephrase. “I’m going to do everything I can to help you.”

“You shouldn’t have to. It’s my issue.”

I feel cool air blowing out of the dashboard vents, but I swear some of the cold is rolling off Chloe. Her green eyes hold a mix of emotions that she’s trying to hold back—anger, fear, pain—but I see through her defenses.

Unfortunately, I also see where her train of thought is heading. She thinks Lucas is her problem, and she wants to go straight to the root.

“Don’t contact Lucas. It’s not a good idea,” I assert firmly.

I see Chloe wince, but she keeps her resolve.

“Please, let my team handle this for you,” I urge her gently. “Your business will bounce back from this, I promise.”

Tears pool in her eyes as she looks at me, on the brink of overflowing. I scramble for the right words to ease her fears.

“Hell, my PR team can drive your business tenfold despite the breach,” I offer her a reassuring smile because I know it’s true. As I lightly brush a stray strand of chestnut-colored curls away from her face, I search her eyes. "Trust me, Chloe."

“Why would you do all this?” Her voice trembles with emotion.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I ask, wondering how she can’t already know. She holds some kind of power over me, and I am completely crazy about her.

I let her read the subtext and I see her expression soften. The ice instantly melts, and she closes the space between us. I meet her kiss, deepening it, as I feel her tears roll down her cheek.

With a gentle touch, I brush them away with my thumb, trying to wordlessly relieve her pain.

And she lets me.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHLOE

My mind is spinning as I sit on the couch in my apartment, staring into space and trying to process everything that’s happened.

It’s not going well.

My eyes are swollen from crying, and I feel numb.

It was a herculean feat to get through three life-coaching sessions before I could come home. Thankfully, I’m an expert at compartmentalizing when I need to.

Now, I need to figure out how to handle losing my clients' trust. Sitting there with my clients today, I felt like a liar, withholding the news that their secrets might be revealed to the world. But Ted insisted I let him craft a formal notification.

Stupid, stupid, stupid… Why didn’t I have better virus protection?

I scold myself but realize that it won't help the situation. Taking a deep breath, I try to focus my thoughts productively.

I need to figure out how to continue living my life—how to go to Ashley’s bonfire party tonight—and act somewhat normal despite receiving a ransom note for ten million dollars.

Liam assured me he’s handling things, but I can't shake off the feeling of guilt for not dealing with this myself. I don’t want to have to rely on Liam.

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