Page 50 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

His cryptic words just rang more warning bells, and as much as I was tempted to give in and forgive him, the words he said earlier that day had never quit replaying in my head, not even as I was dealing with my classes. It was like a song that had gotten stuck up there.

I faced him, determined not to let his sad puppy-dog eyes get to me. "No, Spencer, you were right. I should remember my place and why I am here to begin with. I am here to help out my best friend, and that's what I need to be focused on. So, with that in mind, I think it's only appropriate that we resume a strictly business relationship."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"That means," I said intently, "that I will no longer be your bedmate or any other kind of mate, for that matter. I'm just here to help my friend, and that's it."

It was hard to say the words because I wanted more than anything to reach out and touch him. I could see him start to fight, but then, resignation fell over his face, and that frustrated me even more.

There was something inside me that hoped he would fight back, plead with me, anything. But instead, he nodded curtly, a coldness glazing over his features.

"I see. Well, I will respect your wishes, then." He averted his gaze and looked a bit like a lost boy before he finally seemed to think better of himself and exit the room without looking back.

I cursed myself for the tears that stung the back of my eyes in that moment because I felt like I just lost something major. But I needed to remember what was at stake now. I couldn't let my heart hold the reins any longer since it would just lead me back towards Spencer.

***

The next couple of days felt like agony, but I had to work fast and under the radar.

Leo kept me supplied with updates. Mostly, he was running into brick walls at the moment, but I had faith that he would find out what I needed to know.

We were a couple of days away from the gala, and I was having to simultaneously paste a smile on my face and prepare for this stupid thing, all the while avoiding Spencer like the plague.

Never had it been harder to share space with him. My body ached for him. I missed him, but I couldn't forget the coldness of his words, and that headspace was where he went to when he was cornered.

I didn't want to have to worry about being lashed out at and cut down to size by somebody who should care about me. But therein lied the rub, didn't it?

He had never professed to care about me. We'd just been having really hot sex, and I needed to get my head wrapped around the fact that it obviously meant more to me than it did to him.

What probably made it hurt worse was that I was throwing myself into the details of the Ashbury family. While Leo hunted down Connie Fordham, I was doing a deep dive into Mr. Ashbury senior.

I'd heard tales as long as I had known Penny, but I'd never bothered to dig. It seemed a little much, considering she was my best friend.

But now, I went about it as if it was my job. It wasn't hard to find most of the information. Mr. Ashbury had been accused of insider trading, rigging elections, and sleeping with many colleagues' wives, among other things.

It seemed like the least of his offenses was knocking up his secretary. But while his long line of offenses was ugly and sordid, most of his higher-ups and the company were right along on the ride with him. These people made Silicon Valley and the Roaring Twenties look like nursery school. Drunken, debaucherous parties, swinging, illegal payoffs—you name it, they took part in it, and they dipped into the company funds amply to do so.

I had no trouble locating the four employees that Spencer had finally rid the company of. I could only assume that they had plenty of ammo against the company for him to keep them around that long, but I definitely could not blame him for getting rid of them the first chance he had.

Still, as nasty as their little dossier was, I wasn't surprised that they were going after Spencer with a vengeance now. Any of them would've been a good candidate to be in cahoots with Penny's mother, if she was even still alive.

It sounded so insane to say out loud, but I still couldn't quite believe it.

When the morning of the gala arrived, I was relieved to have some time out with Penny. I needed a distraction from all this mess because it was just one snarled, tangle of lies, and I felt dirty just reading about it. I could only imagine how Spencer dealt with it growing up that way.

"Ava," Penny said, snapping her fingers in my face, and I jerked my attention back to my best friend. "Where were you at just now? You've been lost in space all morning."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind about this piece I'm working on."

Penny rolled her eyes. "You artists, always lost in your own creativity. Would you mind being present today, because I want to have some fun with my best friend for once," she lovingly chastised me.

"Right, on it. I am fully dialed in, Miss Penelope," I told her with a smile.

"Good, now, would you help me zip up the back of this dress? I know I picked that pink one a few days ago, but I'm thinking this one might be a bigger hit," Penny said as she twirled around in an electric blue number that swirled around her thighs suggestively. I helped her zip it up, and she preened in front of the mirror.

While she was turning this way and that, she told me offhandedly, "Oh, I almost forgot, you need to try your dress on one more time to see if they got the fittings just right. Then, if we need to an emergency alteration done, we can still have it ready in time for this evening."

I made my way over to the tailor's station and retrieved my dress that Penny had helped me pick out a few days ago. She said we needed to act fast before all the good ones got taken, and I was glad we had because this one was perfect. It wasn't often that somebody like me dressed up like a princess, or a vixen, but for a moment, I could suspend all my nerves and my worry as excitement overtook me when I slipped on the dress that now fit like a glove.

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