Page 21 of Butterfly Effect

“I’m not thrilled about it either, Freckles.”

I bare my teeth to him. “I told you not to call me that.”

“Aw, see?” Jordan juts her lip out in a sardonic pout. “You already have cute nicknames and everything.”

Blood burns the tips of my ears.

I’m not beneath tackling another woman.

“Here.” Sheets of paper hiss over the table surface as Mel glides them in front of Wade and me. “Sign at the bottom.”

“What is it?”

She hands us each a pen. “HR statement. Saying you won’t let your personal relationship affect your professional one. Unbiased reporting stands. No partiality in coverage, interviews, etc. And there’s an NDA for all of us. This agreement doesn’t go beyond the room. No PAs, no friends, no teammates. The less they know, the better. It’s too risky otherwise.”

I peer up from the documents and blink rapidly at my producer, who has clearly lost her mind. “It’s afakerelationship.”

Looking to Wade for help is useless. He’s already signing.

God help me. What is wrong with him? Never mind, there’s too much to unpack there. But why is he agreeing to this so quickly? A second ago, he was up in arms about not being able to stick his giant prick anywhere he likes.

“Toyou.” The unpolished nail of her index finger taps on the signature line. “To everyone else, it’s as real as you can get. We can’t have any loose ends. Go on. Sign.” She nudges the pen closer. “You’ve made your bed; now lie in it.”

Boehner’s mouth twitches, visibly fighting back the urge to smile. I don’t know what he’s so happy about. He’s about to live a celibate life until New Year.

What other option do I have?

So I sign.

Mel and Jules collect their copies and shake hands, exchanging smug expressions.

I need an Advil.

It’s the first thing I search for when returning to my room, but instead, I find a phone full of manic messages and voicemails.

“Christ,” I huff, scrolling through the multiple concerned texts on the girls’ group chat.

Indi

UMM HELLO??

Bea

GO OFF SISTAH

Indi

WHAT

Sheena

IN

Bea

TARNATION

Indi

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