“Oh, you were a nanny for Evan West’s son? Wow, now that is interesting.” He leans forward, smirking, and my back immediately straightens.
“How do you know that, too?”
“It’s literally my job to be a nosy fuck, Flo. I can put the pieces together. Now,” he says, leaning forwards, bracing his hands on his knees and gazing at me intensely, “tell me everything.”
“Oh, you have to be kidding me right now. You’re kidding, right?”
Matthew releases a slimy chuckle. “I’ll make sure this benefits you, Flo. I’m talking about a documentary, all about Evan and his family life. With you as the star, spilling all the secrets. Maybe a book deal? This could make you hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more. You’d be set for life. I’ll make sure of it.”
I’m insulted that he’d think I would stoop as low as to spill Evan’s secrets. What I experienced with Evan and Leo was raw and real. It wasmine. “Get out of my face, Matthew.”
“I can sign you a check right now. I know you have some gossip. Some photos. How can you not after living with the two of them for two months?”
“You think I’m going to believe a word you say? Even if I were interested, which I’m definitely not, anything you’d offer me would be a lie anyway.”
“It wasn’t for those other women.”
My ears perk up. “What other women?”
Matthew’s eyes meet mine like the answer is plain as day. “The women I pay to go to other agencies and lie about Evan and Leo.”
I recoil back as if Matthew’s just smacked me around the face. “You? What? You’re doing that?”
His shoulders lift in a nonchalant shrug. “To keep him relevant. All in preparation for eventually getting thescoop and creating something big.” His eyes sparkle with dollar signs.
“Does Alexander know you’re throwing his client to the lions?”
Matthew’s expression doesn’t shift. “He gave me an important job, Flo. Told me to do what I need to do. Beats me if he knows, but I doubt he cares.”
Alexander knows everyone’s business. There isn’t a chance in hell he isn’t aware of what his nephew is doing.
“Think about the money. Think about the fame, Flo. Don’t pass up an opportunity like this. Come on, do something helpful with what you know about Evan West.”
Rage—it’s like a drum being beaten inside my tight chest. Heat pools between my eyes, dilating them. Fire thrums through my veins.
A sound of disgust forms in my throat. “Oh, trust me, I will.” I pick up my matcha and stand, throw the lid of the cup onto the table, and slosh the green liquid all over Matthew, leaving him dripping and glaring up at me with flaring nostrils.
There’s not much out there worth wasting a good, creamy matcha over, but this definitely takes the cake.
The man in the cowboy hat gawks at me with wide eyes from his table. Bet he's thinking he dodged a bullet with me.
“That’s for fucking with Evan and Leo,” I tell Matthew, placing the cup back down carefully like the gentle littlelady I am. “And for taking my promotion, you stupid fuck. How’s that for gossip?”
Fuck this trip.
Fuck Matthew.
Fuck Alexander.
And most of all, fuck Evan West for making me fall in love with him.
But, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Then I march out of the coffee shop and pull out my phone to book a one-way flight.
Next and final stop: Montana.
35: Evan
