Page 64 of Faking It

There’s a long beat where he just steers the car, keeping his gaze straightforward. I’m on the verge of giving up on a response when he mutters, “I’m broke, Ana.”

I gape at him. “Okay. Now Ireallydon’t understand.”

He goes on to tell me how his investment manager wiped out most of his savings around the same time his mother got committed to that recovery facility, and how his father swooped in to save the day. He paid to keep the story from breaking out, and he lent Gideon money to keep afloat. Gideon intended on paying him back over time, but his father had other ideas. My gullible fake-boyfriend didn’t read the fine print on the contract. Despite how terrible his father had been to his mom, he still trusted him. His dad tricked him, using the contract to pull him back into the industry he wanted to escape.

I cut into his shocking story only once to give him directions to my apartment.

“So, that’s it, in a nutshell,” he says as he steers into a parking space in front of my apartment building. “If I tell the world what a monster my dad truly is, I’m going to lose my home.”

“And I thought my mom was cruel,” I breathe, the words flying out before I can stop them.

“Not unless she sold you to the highest bidder or something,” he mumbles, then zones in on my face. His brows lift. “Did she?”

A movement outside catches my peripheral vision as I attempt to deny it. Twisting my head, I gasp as a figure bears down on my window, fists pounding the glass. “Ana, you fucking bitch. Get the fuck out!”

Chapter 24

Gideon

I make Ana wait inside the car, and I get out, fury surging through me as I walk around the hood toward the madman on the other side. Yes, he must be mad, not for pounding on my car window like that, but for startling Ana. Seeing the terror in her eyes made me want to deliver hell on him. I don’t give a fuck who he is.

“Hey. Back the fuck up,” I call as I approach him.

He backs off at once, but his furrowed expression tells me he’s not actually obeying me. “Oh-oh.” He dry-chuckles. “She sent the bigshot to fight her battles, didn’t she?”

“Who are you, and what do you want with Ana?” I demand.

His expression flames even more. “Who am I? Is that a fucking joke?”

I stare at him deadpan, my arms crossed on my chest.“Who. The fuck. Are. You.”

“Alfred Bloomberg’s grandson, you dumbass,” he snaps. “Everyone knows that.” He points to the window, where I barely make out Ana’s face, now that the light’s turned off. “And I’m her boyfriend.”

A sensation like cold water gets dumped on me. My chest tightens with a weird feeling.

“Yeah, you piece of shit. You’re riding around town with my girl. She knows I don’t read the shitty tabloids, so I wouldn’t find out her two-timing ways so easily—”

He stops abruptly as Ana gets out of the car. “Logan, stop lying. You and I broke up weeks ago.”

Logan. As in the person who called her on set.Interesting.

Logan scoffs. “Yeah. It’s funny how you broke up with me around the same time you got that part in the film. What did you do, bend over backward or spread your legs?”

Another burst of anger pierces through the relief that they’re not together anymore. I launch at Logan, grabbing his collar. “Disrespect my woman again, and I will break your fucking jaw. Understood?”

He glares up at me, and I imagine the wheels turning in his head. I’m curious to see if he’s stupid enough to challenge me.

“Under-fucking-stood?”

After a moment, he nods sharply, then pushes at me as I release him. He looks Ana up and down, his face filled with scorn.

“I fucking made you,” he spits. “If it weren’t for me pushing your career, you wouldn’t have made it this far. And this is how you treat me?”

“You’re delusional,” Ana replies, glaring back. “You’ve never lifted a finger to help me.”

His finger shoots forward as he points at her. I step toward him. “Watch your fucking back, you hear me? Don’t think for a second that I’ll allow you to play me, then walk away scot-free.”

I lunge after him, and he backs off, then breaks into a run, yelling, “Cunt!”

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