Page 29 of Forgive You

“That’s obligatory?” The question is rhetorical, because even if it’s not, I’m still the new girl.

Not going will not put me in the best light with my boss. Plus, it will be a good opportunity to meet some associates of the brand. Maybe Jason won’t be there.

“It’s not, but since Ford Lawson will be there, I figured you’d stop by to keep an eye on him.”

Jason is definitely going to be there.

Crap.

My stomach somersaults because I have a feeling he won’t be the only one who will be there. “Ford is going to be there?”

“Yeah, him and his agent RSVP’d a while back.”

Great.I’m more than tempted to quit my fucking job and trust I’ll find another one soon enough. Maybe I’ll take my chances as a barista. Or maybe I should just throw a dart at a map and see where the universe tells me to go.

At this point, it doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

“You’re going, right?” Mike asks again.

I’d rather not, but yeah, I’m fucking going.

“Yeah, I’m going. Of course,” I recover, hiding my shaky breath behind a tone of confidence.

“Soooo,” he drawls with more expectation in his voice than I expected, “want me to pick you up?”

Wait? Is he… “Are you asking me out on a date, Mike?”

“Yeah, I guess I am.” He clears his throat, which is answer enough, and I can’t help the grin that expands to my ears.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You know, since we work together.”

“We don’t have to call it a date. Consider it my way to welcome you to LA. It can get a bit lonely in this town.”

His words hit me right in the heart, because they sound like gospel right now. I have been here for two months, but even though I’ve met plenty of people, I still find myself alone on my pink couch most days.

Mike is cute. A dime a dozen cute, but still cute, and as much as I’m not interested, it’s the little ego boost I’ve been looking for all week while I’ve tried to get over my horrendous night at the gala.

Maybe I should. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun with someone whose last name is not Spencer, right? It could be good to have some distraction if Jason is going to be there.

“You know what?” I nod, though he can’t see me. “Sure, why not?”

When I went to bed last night, I thought it was a great idea.

When I woke up this morning, I thought it was a great idea.

When I stepped into Mike’s red Mini Cooper, I frowned, but I still thought it was a good idea.

Why?

Because I’d have Mike to focus on the entire party, and even more reason to ignore Jason for the rest of the day.

Because I woke up feeling energized and sassy for the first time since the gala, and pissing off Jason with a semi-date seems like a littlewhat-goes-around-comes-aroundafter he left me panting in a bathroom.

The son of a bitch.

But it took one glance from the man taking residence in my mind, and now I’m regretting that with a passion. I’m sitting on a lounger with the sun burning my cheeks, while Mike is blabbing something in my ear about the last Yankees game I couldn’t care less about.

I’m too occupied with not focusing on the pair of blue eyes that are lasering a hole into my chest from across the deck, literally stealing my breath.

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