Page 86 of How to Get Even

Astrid

Yeah he will! You go girl!

But he’s okay? I feel pretty bad about the whole vengeance thing.

Bella

Me too. But yeah, he seems okay?

How are things going with Aiden?

Astrid

Oh, you know. He’s being his usual charming self.

Bella

And Blake?

Bella knew that things had got tense with Aiden’s brother Blake who, according to Astrid, was the complete opposite to Aiden but just as much of a pain.

Astrid

Turns out Blake is a pussycat

Bella frowned.Really?

Bella

You mean to say you’ve tamed the lion?

Astrid

Something like that

Bella laughed, slipping her phone back into her pocket and picking up her coffee as Maurice came into the kitchen.

‘Ali’s got the mock-up of the layout for the Nayak’s first brochure. I thought you’d like to see it.’

‘Absolutely,’ she said, smiling as they returned to the office. Now that the plans to help boost both Chase and the gallery’s reputations were underway, Bella was knee-deep in finalising content for email bursts, newsletters, and what would be the website’s live content, once it transitioned from the ‘coming soon’ phase, which would happen the following week. Once that was done, she could shift her focus towards active comms in order to create a decent client list and a broader audience.

Which needed her attention because as much as Chase wanted to stick his head in the sand about the damage the article had done, the newsletter numbers had dropped considerably and website hits were almost exclusively driven by people being nosey following the article.

Which was why the Harrison’s charity gala was so important – and why she was so thankful for Magenta for coming through for them. They were raising money for families living in poverty in New York and even if Chase grumbled and moaned, he couldn’t argue with that.

Tej had thought it was a great idea when she’d spoken to him to sound him out about it and the cost – and of course, permission to use the gallery for the prize. Bella bit her lip, still uncomfortable about essentially going behind Chase’s back in order to organise it. But she knew he’d try and shut her idea down. And he couldn’t. Not if they were going to make the opening a success.

‘You need to pace yourself,’ Maurice said, later that day. ‘We have time,’ he insisted.

And Maurice was right. She had loaded up her work plate and was approaching it like an all-you-can-eat buffet with a time limit. But she couldn’t help it. She needed to. Because when she wasn’t working…

Chase was standing in front of her in a towel and nothing else.

Or popping a fry into his mouth with that wicked look in his eye.

Or running his fingers through his hair.

Or scowling.

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