Page 42 of Waiting for Acceptance
“Better watch out, she’s a great judge of character.” I snort.
“Explains why she attacked you.” The smirk on my face falls.
“We worked it out.” I roll my eyes and take a sip of my coffee. Then the little bitch startspurringand rubbing her head against his arm. My mouth pops open as she practically melts onto the counter in front of him.
“Well, would you look at that? Sheisa good judge of character.” He grins at me and I glare back at him.
“She must be having an off day,” I say, picking her up from the countertop. “Traitor,” I whisper in her ear before putting her back on the ground. “Is there a reason you’re here?” When I turn to face him his eyes are drifting back up from my ass, causing a blush to spread across my face like wildfire.
“Coffee, remember?” He nods to the cup in my hand.
“Is watching me drink it part of the agenda or?” I leave the question open so he can fill in the blanks.
“No. I am here to cash in that favor you owe me.” I slump over on my counter, giving him a clear look of annoyance.
“I’m very clearly hungover right now. Can we maybe talk about this some other time?” I whine.
“As much as I’d love to accommodate your misery, this is kind of a time-sensitive matter.”
“Ugh.” I slide my coffee to the side and lay my head down on the cool countertop as I hear him stand up from his seat.
“Water?” I assume he’s asking for some and point him in the direction of the refrigerator. I hear it open, then the crack of a water bottle lid.
“I need you to be my girlfriend.” I snap to attention, staring at him across my kitchen island.
“What?”
“Well, fake girlfriend, I guess.” The bothered look on his face is something I’ll have to revisit and assess at a later time because my head has barely stopped pounding enough to even understand what the hell he’s asking me to do.
“Again,what?”
“My parents are trying to force me into a relationship with a woman I whole-heartedly loathe, and every time I go to New York—for any reason, but especially for work events—they invite her as my plus one on my behalf. I figure they can’t exactly invite a date for me if I bring my own.”
“Fitzgerald, I am sonotin the right headspace for this conversation right now.” I lay my head back on the counter as he continues.
“If I had the time to discuss this when you were less…grouchy, believe me, I would. However, I am supposed to fly out for an event this weekend and time is of the essence if I’m going to inform my parents I will be bringing my own date instead of the one that makes me consider willingly walking on hot coals just to escape her.” I don’t bother picking my head up when I speak this time because the cool surface is actually working wonders for my headache.
“I am notgrouchy,” I argue. “And you hate me too, so why trade one woman you can't stand for another? Just take the girl your parents like and get it over with.”
“You’d be surprised by how little I hate you, Trouble.” I gasp when I hear Fitzbehindme and spin around so quickly it makes me dizzy. He takes a step toward me, even though there’s not nearly enough room for him to do so, making my back hit the edge of the marble.
“What do you say? Be my girlfriend?” My stupid girl heart flutters at his words and that’s enough to tell me this is a horrible idea. I’m already starting to notice the nice things he does more than the annoying, bossy things. Not to mention he’s everything I try to avoid in a man. Rich, entitled, and too damn charming for his own good. So in reality, maybe it’s a harmless task. How hard could it be to get through an event or two as his fake girlfriend? With arealrelationship off the table, it shouldn’t be that challenging to pull off a fake one.
“Whatever. It’s just one event, right?” His brows pull together.
“Um, no. I just needed you to be available by the first event.”
“So, how long is this favor going to last, exactly?” For the first time ever I see Fitz looknervous.
“A year.” My eyes pop.
“Ayear?!I’m gonna throw up.” I lean my head forward to stop that from happening, unable to care that it’s now resting on his shoulder.
“Yes, I seem to have that effect on you lately.” My head snaps back up.
“Oh,pleasetell me I didn’t throw up on you last night.” I close my eyes, praying to anyone who will listen that he says no.
“You don’t remember?”
