Page 18 of Between the Lines

Aiden runs a hand over his jaw again, and there’s a spark in his eye. My breath catches in my throat. I have no idea what’s going to come next.

WhatI’mgoing to say next. Can I write this memoir?

“Soyou’rethe ghostwriter?” he asks.

“I am.”

“Impossible.” His voice deepens with something like frustration.

“I can’t believe we…” I shake my head. “You know, the proper thing to do would be for me to walk out of here. To rip up the contract because I can’t be unbiased.”

“Do you have to be unbiased to write a memoir commissioned by the person it’s about?” Aiden asks drily. “It won’t be presented in front of a panel of impartial judges. No one needs to know about Utah.”

“Let’s hope they won’t.”Vera can never find out,I think. This memoir is supposed to prove just how far my writing has come. She had told me it would be a sensitive piece of work.A challenging one.“You’re the CEO of Titan Media,” I say. It comes out like an accusation.

Aiden nods. “Yes. Have been for almost two years.”

Two years. But it has been over nine years since I was on that first, explosive season ofThe Gamble. The show has been airing ever since. It’s one of the highest-watched on the network.

His network.

“You want a memoir,” I say. My mind is spinning.

Aiden’s hand keeps running over his jaw, a tension in his expression. “The company wants a memoir, yes. There’s a packet prepared for you, with background information. Eric will give it to you after this.”

I wet my lips. They reallydon’tknow about me, or my history. It’s not on my resume… and I don’t look the same. Not that I have my picture on my CV or anything.

Can I do this?

Aiden’s eyes are burning through me. For all of his strangeness, the missing beard, the suit, the commanding air, his gaze is the same as it had been at that resort in Utah.

“What do you say, Charlotte?” he asks. There’s a challenge in his voice, a dangerous one. “I can stay professional these months. Can you?”

I’ve spent years chasing my curiosity. Throwing myself into new challenges. New memoirs, new cities, new subjects.

This will be the hardest one yet.

But I have become tough. I’ve had to be.

I extend a hand across the desk. His palm meets mine, and warm dry fingers close in a tight grip. We shake.

“You bet,” I say.

CHAPTER 8

AIDEN

The fucking memoir.

I rub a hand over my face. The stubble feels rough to the touch, and I know I need to shave again tonight before having dinner with the investors.

I should never have agreed to it.

But what choice did I have? Either appease the Board… or lose the opportunity to expand Titan Media in the direction it needs to go. The direction we all need to go in.

Modernization, technology.Streaming.Every day that passes we lose another chance at creating something lasting. The train has already left the station, and we need to get on it.

It’s the only way to get this companytrulyback on its feet and ready to face the future. And to prove myself to everyone who would love to see me fail.

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