Page 51 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

It was a deep emerald color that made my hair pop, and the neckline was way lower than anything I would've picked for myself, but Penny had assured me that it would be perfect.

The spaghetti straps were braided onto the cups, and the satin hugged me at the waist, and the hips flared out right above the knees into a mermaid number. It was snug in all the right places, and I felt a little bit like Jessica Rabbit as I twirled in front of the mirror and posed.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Penny's voice squeal behind me, "Oh, my God, that turned out perfect."

I smiled, and the words slipped out before I could stop them. "I wonder what your brother will think of it."

I looked good, damn good, and I knew it. And I couldn't help but feel a little thrill of satisfaction that he might have to swallow his own tongue tonight. Served him right.

But I realized my folly when I saw Penny's puzzled expression. "Well, I'm sure he'll be proud to call you his fiancée, right? Nobody should have trouble believing it after tonight," she said with a small smile.

I let out a shaky breath. "Yeah, let's hope tonight finally gets the PR swinging in Spencer's direction," I said halfheartedly, feeling a wave of guilt sweep over me.

I made a concerted effort to spend the rest of the day focusing solely on Penny and her enjoyment. We got our hair and our nails done, and it was nice to just have a girl's day and relax for a moment, even with all this other stuff pulling at the back of my mind.

As much as I loved being around Penny, I did enjoy one blessed moment alone before the gala got started. Spencer went ahead of me to make sure that everything had been taken care of properly, and Penny and I had escaped to a dressing room to prepare. He would be meeting me here shortly, and Penny had gone off to check on something, so I was left mercifully to myself for a few minutes.

I sucked in a deep breath. "Okay, Ava," I coached myself, "you can do this. Go out, paste a smile on your face, and pretend like this isn't the strangest thing you've ever done." The words had barely left my mouth when my phone beeped.

My heart started racing when I saw that it was a message from Leo.

Leo: This is what I have so far, and it's not looking great, Ava. I have a feeling you may want to shut the lid on this Pandora's box as quickly as possible.

His warning made me uneasy. He'd provided me a link, and with nervous hands, I clicked it open. In that link was an entire dossier on Connie Fordham. There was a clear pattern. She had scammed others before she met and started working for Spencer’s father, and all the people she had scammed since then, including Spencer himself, were people she kept coming back to. The regular deposits Spencer made over the years were made to offshore accounts.

It painted a grim picture of a woman who was a grifter and a blight on society, and at that moment, I was grateful that she had not raised Penny.

It was also evident that she was in cahoots with a former employee of the Ashbury Corporation, one who had his own history of menacing people with creepy pictures and stalking. It looked like we had a winner, or rather, a loser.

Just as I was finished reading the dossier, Leo sent another message.

Leo: I hesitate to send this because it's not so nice but…I think you should know exactly what you're dealing with. Proceed with caution.

Next was a file that contained several articles about a boarding school in the south of France that used corporal punishment to "take care" of students. It also utilized strategies such as solitary confinement and withholding food for offences—which were as small as being a day late with homework.

There was also a redacted file on a student number and description that matched a young Spencer. It detailed the offenses he supposedly committed, all of which were small issues and nothing compared to the things my own students did daily, but all of which were met with severe punishment.

Spencer had dealt with it for years.

And it looked like he tried to spare his little sister by making sure she wouldn't have to endure it as well.

I wondered then if that's why he took over the company, if it was part of the bargain to get Penny, and I couldn't help but feel like it had to be something close to that. Why else would he commit himself to a life he did not want?

I heard him say once before that the only person he really cared for was Penny, and sitting there looking at those files, I couldn't help but know with certainty in my bones that he truly did give up everything for her.

"Fuck, Spencer," I muttered, trying to process all the information I had just read.

It was overwhelming, and it didn't look like I would even get a moment to catch my breath because the door burst open, and there was Penny, smiling at me. "Okay, are you ready to be the future Mrs. Spencer Ashbury?" she asked in a mock stuffy tone, winking at me. "Or at least ready to play it up for the cameras?"

Still feeling shaky, I pasted a smile on my face. "As ready as I'll ever be," I told her.

I followed behind her, grateful that she wasn't watching my face too closely as I blinked back tears and imagined the life that had waited for this young woman before her older brother swooped in. She had dodged a serious bullet and didn't even have any idea about it, but Spencer had to live with it every single damn day, and even though I hated that he kept the secret from my best friend, I understood now why he had worked so tirelessly to protect Penny from this information.

My heart hurt for that little boy in that boarding school, but it was even more hurt for the man who had been forced into a situation where there was no easy solution.

Chapter twenty

Spencer

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