Page 19 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

I opened my mouth to speak, but Spencer was quick to cut me off. “Penny, I know that you’re upset and confused, but I really think that I should be the one to talk to you about what’s been going on.”

I looked at him with a furrowed brow in warning. We had agreed to talk to Penny about this issue together, but once again, Spencer was overriding my say in this.

He must've sensed that I was about to bite his head off because he looked at me with pleading eyes. Seeing his desperation for me to allow him to talk to his sister was not something I ever expected to see from the likes of him.

I relaxed my stance, and he took it as my acquiescence as he turned to Ralph and told him, "Ralph, would you mind showing Ava here the room at the end of the hall? I think that's the one she'll prefer. It has the best view."

Ralph perked up with being given something to do. "Of course. Ava, come this way. We'll leave these two alone to talk."

I didn't exactly appreciate being dismissed in such a manner, but there was something in Spencer's eyes that made me melt. Which, frankly, was quite annoying as well.

In the few times I met Spencer before all this chaos started, I'd pinned him to be two-dimensional at most. But in the span of forty-eight hours, I'd now seen more sides to Spencer Ashbury that had me raging in anger but also had my heart racing.

Reluctantly, I followed Ralph down the hall, looking over my shoulder as I saw a concerned Penny sit on the couch, and Spencer joining her.

"He better not muck this up," I muttered.

Ralph nudged me in the ribs. "My sentiments exactly."

Chapter ten

Spencer

"Okay, now you're starting to freak me out. What was all that about?" Penny started grilling me as I made my way to the couch to sit next to her.

"Everybody's okay, Penny, the situation is just a little bit…delicate."

Her gaze shot to the hallway where her friend disappeared mere moments before. "That's the last word I would use to describe my best friend."

I had to snort at her remark. "Yeah, well, I might agree with you there. But…I don't even know how to say this."

She rolled her eyes at me impatiently. "Just spit it out, Spencer. I'm your sister, for God's sake, you don't need to PR things up for me."

I let out a long breath. "I ran into Ava at the school the other day when I was coming to see you, and we bumped into each other. I ended up having to catch her in my arms to keep her from falling and hitting her head, but your lovely students made sure to capture that moment with their phones."

She nodded and smiled. "You can't turn a centimeter without a phone getting pulled out when there are teenagers around."

"Yes, well, I learned that the hard way. As you know, Ralph had that bizarre idea about the fake fiancée bit, and apparently, some of the students decided to post their pictures online. It seems that people think I have a fiancée even before I...or Ava…could sign off on the idea."

Penny's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. I wasn't sure exactly if it was a good or a bad reaction until she started laughing. "You're kidding me? They think you and Ava…that you two...?" Then, she laughed even more heartily, slapping her knee, and I couldn't help the thread of displeasure that wound through me at her reaction.

"Well, it's not something I would've ever expected, but I don't think it's all that funny of an idea," I groused.

"If you don't know how funny that is, then you're out of your mind," she said, still laughing, then sobering almost instantly. "But wait a minute, do you mean to tell me that you and Ava are going to continue with this ruse? And what does your fake relationship have to do with all the weird notes?"

I looked at her thoughtfully, but when she gave me a warning look, I just laid it out as best as I could, without getting into too much detail, something that I'd had to get used to over the years while raising Penny, even though I hated hiding such things from her.

"The notes…those are just something that I will be dealing with. But we can never be too safe, so you will be having extra security on you for a little while until I can get to the bottom of it."

Frowning, she shook her head. "I don't get it. Dad's been gone for years, but that's the only thing that makes sense, right? He pissed off the wrong person, and now, they're trying to come after you and anybody around you?"

Wanting to put her at ease, since I had no real information that I felt comfortable giving her, anyway, I put my arm around her shoulder and tugged her into me for a hug. "I wish I had all the answers, but it's a possibility. Regardless, we are going to make sure that everybody is safe, especially you and Ava."

Penny looked at me confused.

I rushed to explain. "Ava and I might have been out to dinner last night to discuss the details of our deal when more pictures were snapped of us. Whoever is behind the pictures is now is aware of her presence as well. And since we're letting people think that she's my fiancée, unfortunately, that makes her a bigger target."

Penny started to rise, shaking me off of her, and I could see that her patience was waning, so I hurried to explain. "Penny, you have to know that I would never have asked your friend to be a part of this ruse if I'd known that she could be hurt. But we're here now, and it's my duty to make sure that she's safe. That's why I'm having her stay here for a while."

---