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“I’ve already demanded a meeting with Ms. Sydney Sun.” Her response was less than encouraging, but Zac doesn’t need to know that. I’ve already cleared my schedule to drop by her office today.
“This isn’t about Sydney Sun. It’s about Roxana Voss.”
“What?”
“You know, thatthingyou were supposed to handle? Well, she also called me,” Zac says, tapping his fingers on the desk, histone a mix of frustration and amusement. “Did you seriously bail on her?”
“I didn’t bail,” I say, straightening my cuff. “Snooki was sick.”
Zac blinks. “You brought Snooki?”
“And the boys,” I admit, rubbing the back of my neck, already regretting where this conversation is headed.
“On a date?”
I point a finger at him. “It wasn’t a date, remember? It was a professional business meeting.”
He deadpans. “You were trying to get out of it, weren’t you?”
I stay silent and admit nothing.
Zac lets out a low chuckle. “And what the hell happened to her purse?”
I can’t help but stifle a grin. “No comment.”
“Well, hell hath no fury like a reporter scorned,” he says, reaching for a newspaper on the desk. He slides it across to me, the headline glaring up at us. “Here she is, handing you your ass on a platter with this mockup and an invitation to quote-unquote chat.”
I pick up the newspaper, my heart sinking as I take in the headline.
Eternal Bachelor & Billionaire F*Boy Destroys An Empire, One Woman at a Time
I snatch up the paper, my eyes narrowing as I skim the headline. “Can she even say that? It’s a public newspaper!”
Zac shrugs, leaning back with a smirk. “It’s just a mockup. The real thing will probably be so much worse.”
I skim the article, my blood boiling with every line. “The fact that this woman works at any paper is staggering. Misspellings all over the map. Chock full of lies. First off, those insane women who chased me and the kids to the car were not my dates. And second, no matter how she paints me, I am not a fuckboy. Just ask Sydney Sun. She paints me as a hero.”
Which is weird, considering she won’t even talk to me.
“There are no less than three dozen women parked downstairs just waiting to get a glimpse of you.” Zac blinks, then points to the window with a casual wave. “Youknow you’re not a fuckboy. AndIknow you’re not a fuckboy. Mostly because if you were, things would go a hell of a lot smoother with Ms. Voss. But they”—he motions wildly toward the window—“your adoring fans, very much think you are.”
“Can I help it if I’m irresistible man candy?” I mutter under my breath.
Zac rolls his eyes. “Don’t make me gag.”
I pause, letting the weight of the situation settle in before tossing the paper into the trash. “Speaking of gag, what now? Do I sic the lawyers on her with a gag order?”
Zac snorts, shaking his head. “You’ll have better luck gagging her yourself.”
I glance out the window at the sea of bodies below. My hand instinctively smooths over my left wrist, the absence of my watch burrowing an ache deep in my chest.
Dismayed, I shake my head, a tired grin tugging at my lips. “I never thought I’d say this, but I think I need a break from women.” Honestly, it’s not much of a stretch. This dry spell?It’s been dragging on for a while. “Maybe I should haveOff Limitstattooed in all caps on my ass.”
Zac sidles up beside me, admiring the crowd below. “Tattoo or get hitched.”
Out of nowhere, an image of a feisty, dark-haired beauty with full lips and a fire in her eyes flashes through my mind. A woman who despises me with every fiber of her being. “I’ll fix it.”
“How?” He pats my back. “By going cold turkey?”
