Page 44 of Billionaire's Second Chance

“I slept with him again,” I said quietly, secretly hoping he wouldn't hear me.

“You what?” He pulled away to look at my face. “Don’t tell me you still have feelings for him.”

He was trying not to judge, but his tone gave him away.

“I’m not. I don’t know. But I’m the reason Lily is pressing charges. It’s all my fault.”

Greg pursed his lips. He had those eyes now. The ones where he’d listen to me rant for hours without interrupting. Well, not today. I couldn’t find the words to define how I felt.

“You’re going to tell me it’s not my fault, but I know it is. If I hadn’t been so selfish to send those pictures to the tabloids, all this wouldn’t happen.”

He said nothing. I crossed my hands across my chest, unfurled them, and crossed them again.

“If it’s any consolation," Greg finally said. "I did hear that her lawyer could be open to an out-of-court settlement if Lily would agree to it.”

With that, Greg stood up and backed away from me, glancing at his watch. “Listen, I gotta go, I'm late for a meeting. You'll be fine, Ava. Just concentrate on work, OK?”

“You’re leaving already?” I yelled after him, but he had already shut the door.

He was finally fed up with my drama.

I stared blankly into space, then picked up my phone. The line beeped, each beep taking longer than the last one.

“Hello?” the voice on the other end said hesitantly.

“Hello, Lily,” I replied.

“I’m sorry. Who is this?” She asked.

I swallowed a lump. “It’s Ava. Please don’t hang up.”

Deafening silence grew between us.

"What do you want?" She scoffed.

“A meeting with you. I need to explain some things." I cut to the chase.

“Whatever you want to say, you can say it to my lawyer, Ava. Here's his—”

“No. I need to see you, Lily. Lunch, any place of your choice.” I cut her off.

Curiosity must have gotten the best of her. She inhaled, then paused. “Fine. Nobu. 1 pm. This better be worth my time, Ava.”

It would be. I dropped my phone back on the couch and hurried to the bathroom to freshen up. It was almost noon.

The shower washed off most of my inhibitions about going for lunch with Lily. The very second I stepped out, they returned.

The digital clock on the wall read 12:24 pm.

The earlier I showed up, the better. I slipped into a pair of denim and a simple black top and drove to Nobu. True to my guess, Lily wasn’t there when I arrived. I picked a seat closer to the door.

Five long minutes later, Lily showed up. My heart skipped when she appeared in a short white dress and a frown. Her eyes were not as puffy as the last time we had spoken. She had gotten over the pain. All that was left was anger.

“Hi, Lily.” I opened my hand for a handshake. She didn’t take it.

“Let’s get straight to the point, Ava.” She sat down across from me and crossed her legs.

“I know you’re mad about everything that happened with the role and Damon, I really—”

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