Page 38 of Faking It with my Billionaire Grump

She shakes her head. “No. He was never violent. He was just a jerk. It’s hard to believe that I stayed with him for so long. I mean, he couldn’t be more opposite to you.”

Her words take me by surprise, and then I think back to what she said to Bryan about me earlier. A part of me believes that she thinks of me the way she described me. But does she really, or was she just trying to get rid of the guy?

15

Tilly

Once Jake loads thefeed into the truck, we head back to the ranch. Now I wish I’d stayed at the computer, punching numbers into an Excel sheet. If I hadn’t gone into town with him, I wouldn’t have met Bryan, and my day, the wonderful day I had enjoyed so far, wouldn’t have been completely ruined.

I’m not one to hate much in this world—it’s not the kind of person I am—but I am slowly beginning to hate Bryan Reading. I’m also so very tired. I’m tired of his texts and phone calls. I’m tired of feeling drained every time I read them. The constant worry of seeing him or meeting him is exhausting. He is exhausting.

Mel suggested that I block him. I already have on all my other social media. It’s not a bad idea, but then, when will I know if he finally leaves? Because being the arrogant ass he is, Bryan will announce it. He’ll tell me that he doesn’t need me. That his life will be better without me in it, and that I will now miss out on the wonderful life he could have given me.

Yeah. Right.

No. I won’t block him. Not until then. I want to be able to jump for joy when I get those messages.

“You know this guy means business, right?” Jake says, cutting into my thoughts as we reach the track that leads back to the ranch. “From what I saw today, he’s pretty determined to win you back.”

“That’s not really news to me.”

“I get that, Tilly, but I don’t think this guy is going to give up anytime soon.”

Great. Just what I need to hear.

“What else am I supposed to do?” I cry. “I’ve left him. I’m completely ignoring him. We’re even pretending to be engaged just to get rid of him, which is ridiculous by anybody’s standards. What does he want? Blood?”

“Maybe we should just get married,” Jake says flippantly.

I spin my head to look at him, but he’s smirking. Clearly, he’s joking, but I’m gobsmacked that he would even suggest such a thing. It took enough effort on my part to get him to agree to this fake engagement. It makes me wonder what has him so turned around.

When we get back, I get to work on the Excel sheet while Jake deals with the huge sacks of feed. I’ll admit, it’s far harder to concentrate on this stuff now. Jake’s warning is playing over and over in my head. While I should be focusing on columns of feed and fertilizer, all I can think about is how long I have to suffer Bryan’s harassment. In the end, I put a YouTube video on my phone and drown out my thoughts with some music.

An hour and a half later, I’m all done. But when I go out to let Jake know, I can’t find him anywhere. His truck’s still here, but his person is nowhere to be found.

Right.

Returning to the office, I stand with my hands on my hips. My eyes scan the room, and I notice that it clearly hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. There are several tall, but not to the ceiling, bookshelves filled with file boxes. The files are labeled with whatever is in them as well as the year. I’ll admit, Jake’s pretty organized in some things.

There are small mismatched tables pushed against two of the walls, each holding papers and documents. No doubt more farming paraphernalia. And then there are a whole lot of cardboard boxes on the floor under the tables.

Every surface has a layer of dust, and the wooden floor beneath my feet could do with a scrubbing, too. He really could use a cleaner. Not only does he need a hand outside, but he could do with it inside, too.

At least I know where the cleaning cupboard is. Once I’ve gathered all the things I think I’m going to need—a vacuum cleaner, dusters, furniture polish, a mop and bucket, and a small step ladder—I get started. The sound on my phone is a little bit tinny, so I open YouTube on his computer, and the music is playing loudly out of the very decent speakers.

“Let’s start from the top down.”

Sounds like a better plan, right? No point dusting things below if I’m going to cover them with dust from above.

I start from one side of the room and make my way around. The top of these bookshelves is filthy, and I have to wonder if they’ve been touched since his father passed away. Stretching on the stepladder, I manage to get right to the back, and when they’re all done, I make my way down each shelf.

There’s no way I’m lifting each box out. I’ll be here ‘til Christmas. Instead, I dust and polish around them the best I can. As I go, the music playing in the background, my mind wanders back to what Jake said in the truck.

Maybe we should just get married.

I know he was joking, but I can’t help wondering if it’s the only way I’ll truly get rid of Bryan, as nuts as the idea sounds. I mean, it wouldn’t be real, right?

Are you pleased or disappointed at that thought?

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