Page 19 of Wild and Bright

“But you don’t have to—”

“But I want to. This is an exchange of services. You’re helping me, and I’m helping you. It’s not a real relationship. I want that to be clear.”

The coldness in his voice sends a chill down my spine. I try to keep my expression blank, not wanting him to sense how his words gut me.

So this is how it is, huh? Nothing has changed.

He hates me just as much as he did five years ago.

“If you were going to do it for Hunter, you can do it for me.”

The hard words cut into my reverie, making my head jerk back. He sounds almost…petulant. Like a child insisting on having the same size ice cream scoop as his sibling.

He’s jealous.

The thought makes me smile. “Fine. You obviously have way too much money if you want to throw it away on something you could get for free. I’ll gladly take it from you and put it to better use.”

“How long does it take you to read a list?” The sharpness in his tone tells me he didn’t like what I said.

I lift the paper from my lap, about to say something sassy when I glance over an item that shocks me. I have to read it twice to make sure I understand it correctly. “You want me to share my phone location with you?”

His jaw clenches, but he doesn’t answer. I only belatedly recognize that we’ve now parked, and he’s opening his door. “Why does it look abandoned?” I ask as I glance around the parking lot.

“Because it’s Christmas. They aren’t open.”

Minutes later, we’re standing in a large, sparsely furnished office, and Cam’s lawyer, Chris, gestures for us to sit on a burnt-orange mid-century modern couch across from his desk.

“I love this,” I tell him as I run my hand along the tight fabric.

“My wife picked it out. It’s not comfortable at all.” He smiles at Cam. “So my clients don’t linger too long.”

“You said it was fine. I could have waited until tomorrow.”

Chris’s smile stays fixed on Cam. “Could you have, though?”

A notch forms between my brows. “What is this about? What’s so important that we had to meet on Christmas day?”

Chris gestures at Cam to cue him to speak, but Cam remains silent. I get the distinct impression that he’s trying to intimidate me. Ironically, it does the opposite. My belly flares with heat. I love it when he’s domineering.

It makes me want to taunt him.

“Please tell me we’re here to discuss some kind of sex contract,” I say. “Cam, I could totally see you having a kinky dungeon with whips and handcuffs and sex swings and stuff, and I’m down for all of it.”

When his brows shoot together, my smile widens.

“Whatever you want,” I say. “You can spank me, flog me, clamp my nipples—”

“Jesus Christ, Lauren.” Cam’s dark voice sends a jolt of heat to my groin. “Keep your word vomit in check for once, please. Of course this isn’t about a sex contract. That’s not even legal. None of this is legal, in fact. We can’t even make an official employment contract. Not if sex will be involved. Why do you think I handwrote your responsibilities? And you need to stop saying you’re my mistress. I don’t know who you’ve told already, but from this point on, you’re my live-in girlfriend.”

What? “That’s what everyone will think? Like news sources and stuff?”

He shakes his head sharply. “News sources don’t give a shit about my personal life, and that’s because I’ve worked hard to keep it private.” His jaw ticks. “I’ll expect you to do the same.”

“Damn.” My brow furrows. “That’s a shame, because my subscribers would absolutely love it, especially since I’m so aggressively average looking. It makes them root for me more than your typical beauty influencer. They’d love it if I landed someone like you. I mean none of them probably listen to your twangy banjo rock music, but you’re exceptionally hot and a real celebrity, instead of another YouTuber…”

I trail off when Cam’s hard look softens, and his eyes alight with laughter. “What?”

“My twangy banjo rock music.” Cam utters the words slowly as he glances in Chris’s direction. “She doesn’t pull her punches, does she?”

---