Page 93 of The Boyfriend Experience

I take off my suit, wash the blood off my face and hands, pull on yesterday’s clothes because they’re lying in a heap on the floor, and then go back out. Heading straight to Bronco Brews to tell Oaklee this fucking game is over.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE - OAKLEE

It was a sleepless night. Tossing and turning doesn’t even begin to cover how I spent the last eight hours. It was more like… I wanted to throw up. I wanted to turn back time. Stop Law from going over to see Hanna. Stop this stupid game before it started and just tell him… I like him. We should give it a real go.

Because I knew. That’s the worst part. I knew Hanna would ruin things and I sent him over there anyway.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I get out of bed early, stand in front of my terrace window as the sun comes up, and focus on his terrace down the alley.

Did he sleep?

Is he thinking about me?

But then I make myself take a shower, get ready for work and go through the motions of making coffee. But it just sits in front of me. Untouched.

I have to fix this. I don’t know how I’m going to do that, because I don’t know what Hanna told him. And even though he said he’d call me after work and we could talk about it then, I don’t think he meant it.

My phone rings in my office. So I walk in there, pick it up, and say, “Oaklee.” It comes out sad and pathetic.

“Oaklee, this is Janice downstairs.”

Janice. Great. She’s one of the brewmasters, which means this call is not what I need right now. “What can I do for you, Janice?”

“Well, there’s people outside and I don’t know what to do.”

“People? What people?”

“I didn’t open the door, don’t worry. But they said something about an appointment with you this morning.”

“Appointment?”

“Do you want me to let them in and send them up?”

“No,” I say. With all this crazy drama going on and Lawton getting me thinking about security—“No. I’ll come down and take care of it myself. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Janice says before hanging up.

Who the fuck? This had better not be Hanna. I’m really not in the mood for that kind of confrontation right now.

I get in the elevator, take it downstairs, and as soon as I step out I can see a group of people standing out at the front doors. We don’t open until lunch, so I have no clue what this is about.

I unlock the door and open it up to find two smartly-dressed women and two equally well-dressed men. “Can I help you?”

“Oaklee?” the woman with the blonde bob says.

“Yes,” I say.

She offers her hand and I reach for it out of instinct. “It’s Michaela!” she says. Like I’m supposed to know who she is.

“OK,” I say.

She tilts her head at me, strange expression on her face. Something in between confusion and curiosity. “We talked on the phone yesterday?”

“We did?” I say. “I’m sorry, I’m confused. What’s this about?”

Michaela looks over her shoulder at her entourage, then back at me. “What do you mean? We talked yesterday. You pitched the show to me because you knew I was coming to town for a meeting. And we made arrangements to go over things.”