But how could that be? CeeCee hired me, because she believes in me. She told me so herself, and she wouldn’t lie to me.
I’m so confused. Why would CeeCee hire me... but Reed secretly pay my salary? Why the secrecy? Am I crazy? Paranoid? Oh, fuck.DidReed find CeeCee’s price? Did Reed offer CeeCee unparalleled access to his entire roster for the special issue, plus, an in-depth interview of himself, if only she’d hire the fuck buddy of his choice?
No. I can’t believe CeeCee would have gone along with that! I simply won’t believe it. But my mind is reeling. My insecurity is raising its ugly head. Did I get this internship solely because some asshole—in this instance, Reed—wanted to get into my pants?
“Excuse me,” I say to Aloha, cutting her off mid-sentence. “I’m sorry. I just remembered I have to talk to Reed about something important.”
“No problemo. Just get my number from Reed or Owen.” She pinches Barry’s ear. “Come on, Big Barry! This cowgirl wants todance!”
Practically hyperventilating, I sprint toward a set of French doors leading outside. But when I get outside and race around like a chicken with my head cut off, I still don’t see Reed anywhere. Not on the patio. Not by the pool. Not in the area just outside the garage where some of the members of Fugitive Summer and Watch Party are playing a rowdy game of corn hole. Frustrated, I turn around, intending to march back toward the house... but freeze on a dime.
The garage.
It’s the only place I haven’t looked for Reed.
But what the hell would he be doing in there, with the party raging on out here? Oh! Maybe he’s showing someone his car collection! Yes, that must be it. Reed is giving some buddy or VIP a tour of his beloved cars.
My heart exploding, I turn around again and head down the path, telling myself the whole time I’m being paranoid—that there’s no way Reed had anything to do with my salary or CeeCee’s decision to hire me. CeeCee would never betray me like that.And neither would Reed. He’s a liar, for sure. But only about highly personal things. Also, small things, sometimes, as well, for reasons that elude me. But he would never lie to me about something so important. But if hedid, he certainly wouldn’t continue lying to me, after I told him about Mr.—
The side door to the garage opens, and to my shock—andheartbreak—Reed and Isabel step through the doorframe, exiting the garage.
I’m standing, frozen, about ten feet away from them. And the minute Reed and Isabel see me, they freeze, too. And, instantly, from Reed’s stiff body language and the guilty expression on his face, Iknow he’s just been caught red-handed. Remorse washes over his guilty face. Followed immediately by barely containedpanic.
I shift my gaze to Isabel, hoping whatever I see there will make everything okay. But, no, Isabel’s face only makes matters worse. Her lipstick is smeared. Her hair disheveled. In short, she’s a hot mess—a woman who just got fucked. She wipes her mouth—apparently trying to remove the evidence of Reed’s mouth on hers—and a cavalcade of emotions flood me. Rage. Hurt. Rejection.Heartbreak. And then nothing but rage, rage, rage, rage, rage. But, somehow, I manage to disassociate from my white-hot emotions, long enough to get through this mortifying moment.
“Hello, Isabel,” I say calmly, like a sniper looking through a scope. I shift my gaze to Reed, my eyes like lasers. “Reed.”
“Hello again!” Isabel says, sounding nervous. Is she worried I’ll run straight to her billionaire fiancé and tell him what I’ve just seen?
“Reed was just showing me his cars,” Isabel blurts.
“Oh, yeah?” I say. “I’ve heard about them, but haven’t seen them for myself. Are they pretty?”
“Very pretty.”
I return to Reed, my nostrils flaring. “Would you be willing to show me your pretty cars, Mr. Rivers? I’d love to see them. Maybe I could feature them in my article about you.”
Reed’s Adam’s apple bobs. “Sure.”
“I should probably find Howard,” Isabel says, walking briskly past me. “I’m sure he’s looking for me.”
When Isabel is gone, Reed steps toward me, his palms raised. He whispers, “Georgina, I know how this looks.”
I point toward the garage. “Turn your lying, cheating ass around and get into that fucking garage. I’m not going to do this out here.”
60
REED
My heart crashing, I close the garage door behind me and turn around to face Georgie’s wrath. “I know how this looks, baby, but?—”
“Don’t you dare call me baby!” she seethes, her eyes like meteors. “When your dick is still wet from another woman’s pussy!”
Oh, Jesus. “I didn’t fuck her, Georgie.”
“Liar. I saw her flushed face, Reed. Her smudged lipstick. Her tousled hair. That look in her eye like she just got fucked. You not only fucked her, you fucked the living shit out of her!”
“No. Calm down and listen to me.”
