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her dignity. The whole conversation was ridiculous but she could not tear herself away from him...not yet.

      “Let me get this straight. A perpetual bachelor and notorious ladies’ man who is being trolled on the internet by my little brother in his antibusiness videos is giving me advice on interpersonal relationships?” She wanted to sigh, throw things. “Listen, Mr. Jameson.”

      “It’s still Derrick.”

      The way he stayed calm made her temper spike even more. The heat rose inside her and flooded her cheeks with every controlled word he uttered. She refused to believe the sudden need for a fan had anything to do with his perfect face or that sexy smile. Not that she found either all that appealing. “Do not mention my name to anyone ever again.”

      “Now, Ellie.” His eyes narrowed. “You don’t think that’s maybe—just a little—extreme.”

      Apparently she was not the only one familiar with the teacher tone. He threw it out there and nailed her with it. As if she needed another reason to dislike him. “Leave my brother alone.”

      “When your brother comes clean and then backs off those videos, I will.”

      “You’re a grown-up.”

      “So is he.” Derrick leaned in close enough for his warm breath to brush her cheek. “My suggestion to you is that you start treating him like one.”

      “I’m not kidding around.”

      His eyes traveled over her face, lingering on her mouth. “I can see that.”

      She fought off the tremor moving through her. “Leave me out of your games.”

      Before he could say anything else or touch her again, she slipped around him and through the crowd of people heading toward them. Kept going until she got on the elevator and watched the doors close on his smiling face. Getting her breathing to return to normal and the image of his face to disappear from her mind took longer.

      * * *

      An hour later Ellie poured a glass of red wine as she kicked off her stupid heels. Thanks to a bout of storming and muttering, she’d wasted most of her energy and hadn’t made it to her apartment. She needed to vent and that meant taking the Metro to her best friend’s condo instead.

      Vanessa McAllister’s one-bedroom place was small but cozy. Light bounced off the bright yellow walls. During the day, the sun beamed in from the large window at the far end of the living room.

      A steady beat of background conversation came from the television. Ellie had no idea what show was on and didn’t care. Vanessa didn’t appear to, either.

      Of course, very little ruffled her. Between her navy career father and her French mother, Vanessa had been all over the world. She spoke a ridiculous number of languages that served her well in her job at the museum.

      Ellie trusted Vanessa with any secret. They’d met in college and had been best friends ever since. They supported and cheered for each other. And right now, Vanessa was frowning.

      She sat on the stool at her kitchen’s breakfast bar. She sipped from her almost-empty glass of red wine as she scowled at the laptop screen in front of her. “Tell me again what happened at that fancy cocktail party.”

      The somewhat distant tone. That wasn’t good.

      Ellie was almost afraid to answer. She did, anyway. “I met Derrick Jameson and told him to back off.”

      The explanation sounded good. So strong. Just what Ellie wanted to be. After years of racing around, trying to keep every ball in the air and failing most of the time, Ellie wanted to be in control of her life and not running behind it, trying to catch up.

      Vanessa tapped on the keyboard. “Uh-huh.”

      Yeah, not good. “What does that response mean?”

      “Did you happen to see a photographer while you were there?” Vanessa sat straighter and waved her hand in the air. “Forget it. I’ll just go ahead and read it to you before you explode.”

      Ellie dropped the paper napkin she was twisting in her fingers. “Wait, read what?”

      “The latest from that Insider site.”

      “No.” Ellie’s stomach fell. She could have sworn it hit the floor.

      “‘Derrick Jameson and Ellie Gold made an official appearance together at the swanky Hay-Adams Hotel tonight. No word on whether they got a room, but they did leave the business party one right after the other, making more than one partygoer wonder if Derrick sprang for the presidential suite...’”

      Silence screamed through the room. Ellie could feel it hammering in her head as it rumbled through her.

      “Okay.” Vanessa cleared her throat. “So, that happened.”

      “It did not happen.” Ellie reached over and turned the laptop to face her. “We argued. We fought.”

      She started tapping random keys. Anything to make that now familiar Insider website disappear.

      “Wait, go back. There’s a photo.” Vanessa swatted Ellie’s hand away then leaned in and pointed at the screen. “Why does it look like you’re hanging on his arm?”

      As if Ellie could deny it. The evidence, even though it didn’t show the whole story, was right there. Her pressing against him, looking up at him. Anyone seeing this would believe they were having an intimate chat.

      “That’s not... I was just...” The words clogged her throat in the rush to get them out. “I’m going to kill him.”

      Vanessa winced. “You can’t think that he—”

      “Of course he planted this. I’m his PR plan.” And he wasn’t even trying to hide it. He’d been very clear. She just hadn’t realized he’d turned it on full-time.

      Vanessa made a humming sound. “He really is cute.”

      “Don’t.”

      “But clearly a gigantic ass.” Vanessa’s voice sounded harsher that time.

      “Better.” But still not good enough. Ellie wanted to forget all about his smug face.

      “Hating him doesn’t fix the Noah situation,” Vanessa said, being far too reasonable for the moment.

      “Or help with my income issue or get my life under control. Yeah, I know.”

      Vanessa’s shoulders fell as she sighed. “I can give you money, or move in here with me and don’t pay rent for a few months. Give yourself a financial break.”

      “I can’t.”

      “You can.” Vanessa made a grumbling sound as she said something under her breath that wasn’t quite clear. “I’m thinking about stuffing twenties into your purse while you’re not looking.”

      With that, Ellie felt some of the Derrick-related anger drain away. She reached over and gave her friend’s arm a quick squeeze. “You’re awesome and I love you, but this is bigger than a short-term money problem. It’s like everything is spinning and I can’t make it stop.” Even now her life choices ran through her head as she questioned each one. “I still can’t believe I got fired for something that wasn’t my fault.”

      “So, take it back.” Vanessa grabbed the bottle and refilled her glass. “Control, I mean. Start with one thing. You take a small piece, conquer that and then move on.”

      The advice rolled around in Ellie’s head until it took hold. She knew exactly which battle to wage first. “Right. Derrick Jameson.”

      “Um, no. I was thinking more like you could get a temp job and rebuild.” Vanessa topped off Ellie’s glass. “A guy like Jameson is not easily managed. Forget him. Handle what you need first.”

      The suggestion made sense but Ellie couldn’t

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