Page 4 of Forgive You

Is she not working for her dad anymore?

Is this another attempt to fuck with my sanity?

“Thank you for your time.” Julie gets up, pulling me out of my own head as she reaches out her hand to Ford.

“The pleasure is all mine, honey,” he says, sultry as fuck, burning my insides. “Maybe next time, we can discuss this over dinner?”

I’m going to kill him.Slowly, but surely.

Her brown eyes briefly lock with mine, and my heart constricts as her expression turns coy.

She better not…

“How about we get to know each other a little better at the gala this weekend, then do this shoot in two weeks and you can show me you can actually behave first? Then maybe we can discuss the next phase over dinner.” Julie gives me a questioning look. “If your agent agrees.”

Well played. I know what she’s trying to do, but I’m not falling for that pretty smile.

“We’ll see.”

“Oh, I’ll be a good boy,” Ford adds, because the man simply can’t read a fucking room.

“Until next time, Ford.” Julie chuckles, releasing his hand before giving me a curt nod. “Jason.”

We watch as she walks out of the conference room, a flashback of the last time I saw her walk out of a room turning my stomach. How she walked into the bathroom with my shirt barely covering her ass.

Get your shit together, Jason.

“Touch her and your dick will be cut in half,” I snap, the second the door closes behind her and the thickness of the air disappears.

Wincing, he throws up his hands. “Whoa, okay, relax. I’m just messing with you. No need to involve my dick.” His hands protectively cover his groin as he gives me a disturbed look. “I need it functioning.”

“Your track record in the media shows it’s functioning just fine, but lay one hand on her and you’ll be looking for another agent with your dick in your hand instead of hanging between your legs.”

“Right, wanna tell me what’s going on with you two?”

I casually lift my shoulder. “I've known her since high school.”

It’s not a lie, but I still swallow away the acid taste it forms in my mouth.

“Oh, you don’t just knowher. Youknowher.” He rubs his hands together, loving this way too much.

“What does that even mean?” I roll my eyes as I get up.

“This is gonna be fun.” He snickers.

I make my way back to the elevator, while fuckboy is on my heels like a puppy. All eager and annoying without the cute fluff. “Let me guess, high school sweetheart? Popped your cherry at prom?”

“Just fucking drop it.” Sighing, I push the down button as anger tightens my chest.

The last thing I want to do is rehash all the thoughts I’ve been trying to forget for months. I was fine, pushed it all effectivelyto the back of my head, compartmentalized it in a vault, and it’s been silent.

But now I can feel it slamming against the steel door, ready to break free.

“What? No. This is fucking live entertainment!”

Fuck him.Fuck her. Fuck this. I’m not one to give up, but Ford dissecting every inch of this fucked-up situation just makes me want to scream. I’m not going to do this for weeks. Trying to fix Ford’s reputation is a challenge enough, I can’t do it besideher. Anyonebuther.

“Wait downstairs. I’ll be down in a sec.” I step back out, refusing to wait before this explodes in my face.