Page 35 of Certified Heartthrob

“What do you think that’s all about?” Jada asked.

“I have no idea.” I dropped my eyes to my phone.

Mark still hadn’t responded to my earlier message when I’d asked what he meant by, “I’ll take care of it.” The impromptu press conference must have been his solution, but the fact that he’d scheduled it and then was a no-show...It left a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I wanted to rush off right then and there, but that would only entice the gossip columnists to follow me. Besides, Jada and I had already ordered another round of drinks and some salads.

“You okay?” Jada noted my suddenly uneasy disposition.

“Fine.” I smiled tightly, refusing to let go of my rosy mood just yet. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions about anything.”

But who was I kidding? I had already been jumping to a plethora of conclusions! Like that Mark and I could live happily ever after together. That we could be two cynics who turned romantics and took the world by storm. The more I thought about it, the deeper I retreated into my stone-cold corner of doubt. My usual extreme temperance was starting to take hold. All the more reason not to rush off on my romantic crusade right away.

“I’m sure everything’s fine,” I decided out loud, reassuring both myself and Jada.

“I’m sure it is, too,” she said with a comforting smile. “Although I am dying to know what he planned to say to everyone.”

Surely he was going to confirm our relationship and deny any sinister motives behind it. But then again...he was the guy who’d sicced all of these reporters on me and my company to begin with. He was the one who had trolled us for months and lost us a great deal of money.

With each passing second, I was getting more paranoid that maybe Mark’s original mission wasn’t complete. Maybe this was part of it. All of it...press conference included, which he might have intended to use to back the media’s story. What if he’d believed them? What if he was going to stand right up there in front of everyone and say I really had gone so far as to con a man into a relationship just to save my company?

The next round of drinks and our salads finally came. I downed both, but Jada was taking her time. By rushing her, I’d only make myself look crazier...which I didn’t need any help with at the moment. As soon as I could, I flagged the waiter down for the check and did my best not to look like I was rushing off to see Mark. I knew that was what the reporters wanted.

Finally, the check came and Jada finished, though it felt like it took an eternity. I tried to pay and tip as calmly as possible, but the tabloid journalists were still camped out at their table, watching me like a hawk.

I looked over at them with their eager, expectant faces. They were fidgety and restless, like me. I knew they would follow when I left.

“Want me to try and do something to distract them?” Jada offered.

18

Mark

Audrey paced my apartment—the same one she and I used to share. It was surreal to see her walking around there, surveying all the changes.

“I like what you’ve done with the place.” She smiled awkwardly, then her smile faded into an expectant expression.

“What do you want? Why are you here?” I asked, feeling exasperated.

“Aren’t you going to offer me a drink?”

I looked her perfect body up and down, realizing how easy it would be to slip back into the past. I kept telling myself I had come too far for that now, but still I slunk into the kitchen and poured two glasses of wine.

“Here,” I huffed resentfully, handing hers over. “But not for you. For me. I need a drink to get through this.”

“Oh, come on, Mark. Don’t be so dramatic,” she scoffed. “There was a time when you loved me.”

“Until I caught you fucking around behind my back,” I snapped.

“Well, you’ll be happy to know it didn’t work out.” Her bottom lip quivered for a moment before she plopped down on my couch. She set her glass down on the coffee table and raked her hands down her face.

“He left me the same way I left you,” she croaked. “So, whatever I did to you...I’ve more than paid the price for it.”

“I somehow doubt that. So...what? Things don’t work out and you come crawling back here? Do you expect me to pretend like nothing happened?”

“No, of course I don’t expect that.” She pulled out her phone and scrolled across the screen before handing it to me. I glanced at it long enough to see she had pulled up one of the articles featuring Camille and me.

“I wasn’t going to bother you, but then I saw this,” she said. “Mark, I don’t think I realized the extent to which I hurt you until I heard about all of your internet trolling. It’s romantic, if you think about it.”

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