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Her fake tits brush against my arm with every word she speaks.
I growl quietly. I really don’t want to be having this right now. I know what Andrew is trying to do – slowly break down my defenses until I’m drinking with him and partying until the sun comes up.
The old me would’ve carried through with all that in a heartbeat. But not me today.
I just want to go home.
“How about you get Victor to drink a proper drink, Francesca?” Andrew asks the girl. “He’s refused my advances, and it makes me so sad. Tell him he should drink and have a good time. I’m sure he can have a good time with you.”
“Yes,” the girl shrieks joyfully. “Have a drink with me, Victor. I will show you a really good time.”
She bats her eyes at me.
“I’ve got a girl waiting for me back home, but thank you for the offer,” I reply calmly. I have nothing against Francesca – she’s seen a famous celebrity and so is taking advantage.
“The mousey girl?” Andrew asks. “Really? Where’s the old Victor I used to know? He wouldn’t say no to all this.”
Yes, I am after the award, but there is something else here. I don’t want to spend my whole evening here at some bar, and it’s because of Josie. It’s because I am thinking about her. It’s because I want to be with her.
These are all very new sensations.
“I’m going home,” I announce to my director and the girl.
Andrew is very shocked right now. He’s not hiding the expression spread across his face.
“What are you doing, Victor?”
I stand up to go and smile at Francesca, who looks confused, and then I smile at my director.
“Have your fun,” I say. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, Andrew. On set.”
40
JOSIE
I miss home.
I miss everything to do with Crystal River. I miss my crappy little barista job where I don’t have to think. I miss Amanda. I even miss my shitbox of an apartment.
And I know this feeling is fleeting. I know it’s just one of those days when everything feels crap. I know it’s just going to be something I’ve got to learn to deal with.
But I still miss home.
I’m having a shower in the grand ensuite of this hotel. It feels so utterly stupid for me to think like this when I am literally surrounded by opulence, I know. But this is not real life – this is just a short dalliance into the life of billionaire celebrity Victor Penmayne.
What am I doing here? Sure, the hotel is nice – very, very nice – and being in Italy is a dream come true, but everything else in my life is just going to crap. I want to divorce my ex, but that’s going to be months and months away. I’ve got to spend months and months pretending to be in love with a man who everyone knows. The constant lying is going to take a toll on me.
I groan.
Victor is off somewhere doing something - gym or acting stuff or some important deal. I don’t like to ask him what he’s doing. I’m finding it hard being a fake girlfriend. I don’t know what kind of emotional investment I have to give, or when I should back away into the background. Into obscurity.
Oh, boohoo, Josie. You have to spend your days moping around a five-star hotel. How hard must that be...
Yeah, I know I should be basking in this luxury, but my mind is just so flat.
I dry myself off and step out of the shower. My phone is lying on the bed with a new notification. I go and check it. Damn, I’m addicted to my phone.
And the message instantly makes my heart drop even further.
