Page 49 of Love Not Qualified

Was that… Mr. Graves?

I lifted my hands to wipe my eyes and when I was done, the man was nowhere to be seen.

Great. Now I was hallucinating.

SEVENTEEN

TRISTAN

I was watching a racing contest while I sat alone at the dinner table, waiting for Ryker to walk downstairs, but didn’t pay attention to it. My mind was clouded with something else.

Why do I keep talking to her?

I repeated the question over and over in my head, unable to come up with a response as I sat alone at the dinner table, waiting.

Since last week, we’d seen each other every day, building a plan to convince Gorig we were worth the shot, so it wasn’t like I missed her or some shit.

So why do I still have that stupid app on my phone?

It might be because Chad knew her on a personal level I seemed unable to reach. Was I that lured into her that I wasn’t risking losing the connection, maybe because I was sure the moment she found out how I was, she was going to run without looking back?

Who would want a cold prick?

Over the years, I’d been seen in public with many girls—models, actors, and all that—but even though the press made up a new relationship every week, all I wanted from them and all they wanted in return was sex. They were willing to do anythingso they could say, “I slept withtheTristan Graves,” and I liked my bed warm. For a while, though.

Now, I realized having someone who wanted me as I was—with flaws and all—and not just for my name, didn’t sound half-bad.

I wasn’t saying Haelyn might’ve been that person for me. Not at all. She had too much of a smart mouth and I didn’t have the patience for it. Yet I couldn’t stop wondering what she was going to do the second she learned Chad Bitt didn’t exist—at least, not the one I was pretending to be.

Closing the chat would be the smartest choice, but then I couldn’t find out things about her as Tristan. I couldn’t convince her to go grab something to eat or to tell me what was upsetting her.

Why the fuck did I care so much?

I shook my head, clenching my jaw. “Ryker!” I shouted, impatience running in my veins.

My fingers dropped the fork on the full plate and the chair creaked when I pushed it behind with my legs as I got up. I’d been waiting for him for longer than twenty minutes and the food had gotten cold in his absence.

I moved my teeth back and forth, going for the staircase when my phone rang. I took it out of my coat, my eyes rounding in surprise the moment they landed on Haelyn’s contact. The second I answered, her voice bloomed in the speaker, screams dimming the clarity.

“Um… Hi. I’m sorry for calling, but I have an idea about how we can get Gorig to work with us. I’m out with my friends, but if you give me twenty minutes I can make it to the office so we can sort things out,” she breathed out, and I sat in silence for a moment, taking in the background noise. “Of course, if you want and if you’re able to,” Haelyn added, sounding out of air.

I massaged my temples with my fingers, glancing up the stairs to where Ryker’s room was. If he hadn’t come until now, he wasn’t going to anytime soon. The way I knew Ryker, he was going to grab a meal in the middle of the night when he thought I was asleep.

In reality, I was in my office, drinking myself to sleep.

“Text me your address and I’ll come pick you up,” I said, then hung up the phone.

A few seconds later, a message popped up on my screen, but it wasn’t what I asked.

Haelyn Ross

I’ll grab an Uber. See you there.

I grabbed my car keys and exited the house, the big wooden doors closing shut after me. The cold air swept down my face and under my clothes, obliging me to take bigger steps toward the BMW in my driveway.

The lights flashed when I opened it, lighting the grey color of the car. I got inside, pushed the start button and the engine roared to life. I checked my phone, a small smirk creeping up my lips when I saw she had given up.

Me

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