The Billionaire and I (Part Two) Read Online Free PDF

She did a little shimmy. "I'm celebrating, after all."
    She clearly wasn't going to offer me a seat, so I just helped myself, lowering myself onto her leather couch. It was surprisingly not as uncomfortable as it looked.
    I played pretend too. "Oh, I know me coming over here is pretty awesome, but you don't have to celebrate on my account."
    Rachel's glossy lips turned downward. "Awesome isn't the word I'd choose."
    Me either. How about awkward. Painful. Grating. For both of us. "What's the occasion, then?"
    "I talked to the producer a little while ago and apparently the site views for the movie went through the roof. The website was down for several hours early this morning because the server couldn't handle the traffic." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You know, maybe I don't require your little company's services after all. I've done more for my career in the past twenty-four hours than Whitmore and Creighton has done in over a year."
    My stomach dropped, but I kept my expression blank. "That's why I'm here actually. To talk about your career and your goals."
    Her eyebrows lifted. "Are you moonlighting as a guidance counselor?" But I knew that she wasn't that good of an actress. She seemed genuinely surprised. And interested.
    I made myself comfortable, crossing my legs. I was laying the groundwork. My earlier approach was misguided. Tough love wouldn't work for someone that cared for nothing and no one but herself. She needed honey. "I'm the head of new clients management." Hearing my job title out loud still brought a rash of pride. A much needed injection of confidence since she was really, really good at making people feel microscopic and irrelevant. "And you're still a Whitmore and Creighton client, Rachel. As such, your career and the goals you have are very important to me."
    She puffed out her chest a few inches. She needed no help in the pride department. It billowed from her like the white tapestry that fluttered in her dining room, catching the breeze from the balcony.
    Starla returned to the room with Rachel's mimosa in one hand and my water in the other. Rachel was delivered hers first and she lifted her glass to me before she took a sip. While the bottle of water Starla extended to me was unopened, I passed.
    "No thank you."
    "Well, that's certainly not the way to convince me that we can move forward, Leila." Rachel clucked her tongue like I was a child that got caught doing something I shouldn't.
    We both knew that if I was dying of thirst in the desert, she wouldn't have offered me a capful of water. This was a power thing with her. Just like most things in her twisted world.
    I steered us back to the reason I was here. "I appreciate the offer." If my face got any tighter, it would snap in two. "I want to start off by-" You can do it, Lay . The nauseous feeling that rose in my stomach said otherwise. I wiped my mouth and swallowed the utter wrongness that was hitting me. I have nothing to apologize for! She was the child! She was the one that went on national TV and told the world my husband asked her crazy ass to be his sex slave!
    Rachel had practically finished her mimosa and I could tell her patience was running thin for whatever game we were playing. It was now or never.
    I sunk my teeth into the skin in my jaw. Biting back the overwhelming urge to tell her off. It didn't compare to the urge to rectify this situation. I had to fall on my sword...and it was gonna freaking hurt .
    I summoned up all the acting ability I had and looked Rachel dead on. "I want to apologize for disrespecting you at the meeting." The wave of sickness hit me again. It felt like someone had socked me with a brick in the gut, but I managed to keep my face still and void of anything true. I sold the lie with everything in me, even dipping my head guiltily when she leaned in, those snake eyes on the hunt for BS.
    "Did you hear an apology, Starla?" Rachel gasped.
    I pulled my chin up and wished I hadn't. The glee that danced