Page 140 of Challenge Me

“Sure, but in this case, doing nothing may be more harmful. I want us to be proactive about this.”

Amir tipped his head back, revealing a bite mark on his neck, which I’d left in the shower. “What if I don’t want to be proactive? What if I just want some goddamn peace?”

“There’s an eighty-million-dollar contract on the line, no?” When Amir glared at him, Renshu smiled. “Word trickles down. Men in suits love gossip more than they’d ever admit.”

“What do we need to do?”

Pivoting out of the doorway, I leaned back against the wall while I tried to even out my breaths.

Eighty million? That was . . . unbelievable. Inconceivable. Absolutely fucking ridiculous.

I started toward the bedroom, but my toe clipped the leg of the coffee table, and I swore. Before I could hobble away, footsteps approached from the kitchen.

“Remi?” I turned, limping slightly. Amir lifted a brow as he took me in. “What happened to you?”

“Just clumsy,” I replied.

Wrapping an arm around my waist, he led me to the kitchen. “Want some coffee?”

What I wanted to do was put on the brakes, but I let him steer me where he wanted me. Once we were in the kitchen, he grabbed a mug and poured coffee into it.

“Hey, Remi,” Renshu greeted.

I offered him a smile, even though I didn’t feel very warm toward him right now. As Amir passed me the cup, he assessed me. He probably knew that I’d been listening, and most likely, he thought I was going to run again.

No running. I’d brought this down on him, so I could handle putting things back together. How hard could it be?

*****

“This is a joke, right? Please tell me it’s a joke.”

Amir frowned. “I’ve answered that at least ten times now.”

“Forgive me for not liking your answer.”

Renshu joined us, tapping away on his tablet. “Alright, we’re on in five. Are you two ready?”

“No.”

His eyes narrowed. “Think of this as a redemption arc.”

“Hate those, actually.”

Shifting his gaze to Amir, he made a face that I read as “control your rabid dog.”

I crossed my arms somewhat petulantly. “PR man says play nice, be tame; but chaos and I share the same last name.” Renshu stared at me, unamused. I cocked my head. “PR man, so calm, so sly; speak again and someone dies.”

“Remi,” Amir said softly.

“This is your chance to show the public that you’re not the wildcard they’ve been told you are,” Renshu reminded me. “You’re thoughtful and witty. Funny. Likeable.”

“So, I’m the class clown in Amir’s life.”

“You’re the guy he’s choosing to stand beside in spite of everything. Do you want to prove that you deserve it?”

I looked away from him.

“Let’s remember this is all theater,” Amir added as his fingers brushed down my back. “Remi doesn’t have to prove anything to me.”