* * *
“Make yourself at home,” Bianca says, setting down her pen as I barge into her office. “I take it something’s wrong.”
“You know what?”
“Well, I know many things, but none are probably what you’ll say. We don’t really operate on the same wavelength most of the time.”
I narrow my eyes as I sit across from her. “Fuck the Royals.”
She brushes a lock of her long dark hair out of her face. “I was right. That wasn’t what I would say. But, then again, it’s not surprising. I’m always right.”
“Bianca ...”
“Sorry. Continue. Explain to me why we hate the Royals.”
Her grin eases some of my anger.
“Look, I love you, Renny, but I have a meeting in twenty minutes. Start talking.”
“Get this. I just got an ultimatum. I can either let the team pimp out my marriage in a marketing campaign, or they’ll sue me for breach.”
She settles back in her chair, surprised. “Wow. I didn’t see that coming. What did you say?”
I don’t know what I said.
It took the whole ride to the Brewer offices to stop my heart from pumping so much blood through my veins that I thought the top of my head would blow off.
Who the fuck does Galecki think he is?
“We own you.”
No one owns me, motherfucker. And no one owns Blakely Brewer.
“I’m not an attorney,” Bianca says, “but I would say that would be hard to prove in court.”
“I think that’s what I said. Sort of.” I groan. “Do you know what pisses me off the most about it?”
“What’s that?”
“That they are so damn money-centered that they would take the sliver of an opening that maybe my marriage was a mistake and try to exploit it—try to exploit Blakely. She has nothing to do with them and there they are, not giving a damn about that. She’s just a chess piece to move toward checkmate.”
Bianca smiles.
“What?” I look at her. “What are you smiling at?”
“Nothing.”
“I’m not in the mood, Bianca.”
“Fine. I think you went to Australia and fell in love. That’s what I think. I think that marriage probably was an accident, but it happened to be with a girl you’ve held out for, hoping you’d get a chance with for years.”
I gulp. “Why would you think that?”
“Come on, Renny. I was at your birthday party eight, nine years ago. And I watched you chase that woman around like a puppy.”
My lips twitch. “I did no such thing.”
“And then there was the time you had me help you send her flowers for Valentine’s Day. That’s the only time that’s happened. Have you ever sent another woman flowers?”