Page 48 of Reputation (Tempt)
“Um.” He glanced around, looking anywhere but at me.
“Nate?”
He dragged a hand down his face. “It sort of spiraled out of control.”
Oh. Holy. Shit.
“Explain,” I said and stood from the bed, gathering my hospital gown around me. “Explain to me exactly what that means.” I glanced around, wishing I had my phone. If the world truly believed we were engaged, it would be buzzing nonstop. “And where the fuck is my phone?”
“Emerson,” he said in a commanding tone as I continued searching. It was a small room. There were only so many places it could be. “Look at me.”
My heart rate was skyrocketing. I couldn’t focus. Couldn’t breathe.
“Emerson.” He grabbed my arms and forced me to still. “Hey. Take a breath. Breathe. Calm down.” His calm tone did anything but put me at ease. And his touch—I shook my head. His touch felt like being struck by lightning. Electric. Consuming.
“Calm down,” I said. “Calm down?”
My family was probably freaking out. And Kendall, she had to be worried sick about me being in the hospital.
“It was a mistake, and I will make it up to you.”
“Yes, you will. And you can start by telling everyone the truth. I can release a statement or whatever. And we can coordinate our response. It was a silly joke. A misunderstanding—” I sliced a hand through the air dismissively. “Blah. Blah. I mean—” I started laughing, practically doubling over at the prospect. “Could you even imagine? The two of us engaged?”
“Why not?”
My eyes went wide.
“Think about it,” he said. “We get along great. And anyone can see how much you adore Brooklyn.”
“Yeah, but there’s a difference between ‘getting along’ and trying to convince people we’re in love.”
“I can pull it off,” he said, undeterred. “Can you?”
“Oh no. I know what you’re trying to do.” I wagged my finger at him. “And it’s not going to work.”
“What am I trying to do?” He wore an expression of innocence.
“You’re trying to goad me into agreeing to this ridiculous charade. What I don’t understand is why.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “As you may have noticed, I haven’t had the most favorable press lately.”
“Maybe not, but it will blow over eventually.”
He shook his head. “This time, I’m not so sure.”
I’d never experienced this level of…intensity from the press, and I knew I wasn’t the only one feeling suffocated. I mean, damn, they were relentless. Harassing. I couldn’t even imagine how Nate felt.
Even so, it was his life. Not mine.
“Mm.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And that’s my problem, how?”
“It’s not, but I think you understand how frustrating it is to have people focus on your shortcomings or meaningless drama instead of your accomplishments.”
He was right. I did. And it sucked. But agreeing to be his fake fiancée would have people doing just that—focusing on my romantic status instead of my achievements. Thinking I’d been secretly dating my boss for god knew how long.
“Oh my god. The Hartwell Agency is going to fire me.” And if I’d had any idea where my freaking phone was, I had a feeling they’d probably already called to do just that. And my dad…the competition.
“I’ll pay you,” Nate said as I turned my back on him and pulled on my pants. “A million dollars.” His voice came out strangled.