Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“Normal? Real?” I shook my head. “And how exactly will that help when this normal woman realizes all she has to do is threaten to tell the press I’m a misogynist to get me to stay with her?”
“Are you really this dense? I knew you were a pretty face, but I didn’t think you were just a pretty face. This is a relationship purely for show. It’s fake, Derek. Like the tits of your favorite women. Or the lips. Or the asses.”
“Yeah, I got it Brody.”
He laughed. “Don’t get upset with me, I’m not the one who doesn’t know the difference between Twitter and a text message. Look,” he started again, his tone serious once again. “I mean it when I say a normal woman. Not a model or a pop star, not even a fucking makeup artist. I’m talking about normal as in a hairdresser or dentist, or even a lawyer or college professor. Nor-mal.”
My fingers pinched the bridge of my nose again, or maybe they had never left and that’s why I didn’t feel the headache yet. “How long,” I snarled at my agent.
“Until I tell you to stop.”
A reluctant grin crossed my lips. “You’re enjoying this too much,” I accused, quite accurately I’m sure.
Brody laughed. “I really am, but I’m also trying to keep this gravy train running until your luscious hair starts to thin. The new album is done, the first single and videos are ready to drop, which means we can’t afford for fans to boycott now of all times.”
He was right. If the launch was soft or mediocre, the label would be pissed and they would punish us for that. “Yeah, okay. A fake girlfriend. Is there an agency that hires them out?”
That earned me another laugh. “You’re currently in the land of normal women, my friend. Make sure she’s pretty but not too pretty, and make sure she has a regular, relatable job. If you come back with an influencer or some shit, I’ll pick the girl. Send me her pic when you find her.”
“And then what?”
Brody sighed his frustration. “And then we’ll figure out what she needs and offer it to her in exchange for pretending to enjoy your company for a couple of months.”
“Months?”
“Yeah, months,” he emphasized. “This is a big problem Derek, and it requires a big solution. The heartbreaker gets his heart broken is the outcome I’m hoping for, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.”
“Wait, so this is all to make me look like a fool?”
“If that’s what you want to call it. I see it as making you into a sympathetic figure, so the womenfolk who loved you start to love you once again.” He growled and smacked his hand on the desk. “Find an appropriate woman, and we’ll work up a social media strategy Derek. That’s it,” he said and the call ended abruptly.
“Fine,” I said to the blank screen. “A normal woman,” I mused, wondering who in town would be willing to do this without getting attached. I picked up the phone to call Pippa, but I wasn’t surprised when Ryan answered. “Are you around today?”
“I’m at Dark Horse, what’s up?”
“I’ll be there in ten,” I told him and gave myself the sniff test. “Fifteen. I need to talk to Pippa.”
“Why do you need my wife?” he growled and I laughed.
“That’s personal,” I told him and ended the call before he could lay into me. I’d see him soon enough.
Chapter 11
Bella
I stared at the half-eaten full slab of ribs on Everest’s plate with shocked eyes. He ordered the food and did so eagerly, which I didn’t mind because he’s a growing boy who puts in long hours on the farm, and I love the kid to pieces. But still, with every piece of meat that disappeared, I couldn’t believe he could put away so much.
“Where are you putting all of this food?” Maybe it was a stress response to what I had just told him about his grandparents.
Everest licked each of his fingertips, ending with his thumb. “This barbecue glaze is delicious. It’s addictive.” He shook his head as if even he couldn’t believe it. “So,” he said finally, his expression sober and far too mature for a thirteen year old kid. “They want me now?”
He hadn’t said anything for ten full minutes after I shared the news with him, and I wasn’t sure he was even going to acknowledge it. Now that he had, I switched back to parent mode and nodded. “They have already filed a petition to get custody of you, which is why I went to get an attorney.” He needed to know the truth, and I had to tell him as much as a child his age could handle. “I don’t want you to go Ev, and I will fight with everything in me to keep us together, if that’s what you want. If that’s not what you want, well then, that’s a different conversation.” One that would break my heart, but I would do whatever was best for Everest.