Except now Lola is here in Carter’s apartment. “You really think you can just quit like that?” she says, laying into me.
“I can, and I did,” I reply.
“You won’t ever see a penny of that money,” she spits.
Like I care. She’s just pissed that I’m not playing into her hand. “Doesn’t matter. I quit. That’s the end of it. In fact, why don’t we just have these cameras leave too? You aren’t going to get what you want, Lola.”
And of course that’s when Carter makes an appearance, a towel slung around his waist as he strolls in, his eyes narrowing at Lola. “What are you doing here?”
Lola gives him a haughty smirk. “Just checking in for myself. I find it hard to believe you haven’t had sex yet, Carter.”
He practically growls. “You did a good job of making sure I didn’t have any options. That was low, Lola, even for you.”
She shrugs. “It’s just business.”
The camera crew is packing up as all this is going on, apparently taking me quitting seriously. “You know what?” I say to them. “Wait for a minute. I actually have something I need to say, and everyone needs to hear it.”
Chase runs in. He must stay parked outside of Carter’s apartment or something because he sure does pop in at a moment’s notice.
“Ashley, no. You can’t say anything.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Carter bursts out, totally confused.
I turn to him, regret filling my chest. I should've just told him this part eight weeks ago when he first asked. But I was scared to do it then. Scared I’d lose him. And while that’s a very real possibility if I come out with this now, I have to. I can’t start a relationship with him without being totally honest.
“Ashley,” Chase warns. “You signed a contract. You can’t—”
“No,” I say, cutting him off. “I can.” Focusing all my attention on Carter, I walk up to him and take his hands. “I have to tell you because I love you. You deserve my honesty.”
His brow wrinkles and he hesitates when he says, “Ash?”
God, I hope this doesn’t go the wrong way. I take a deep breath and let it all out.
“Carter, I told you I was hired to seduce you, and that was true. But there’s more. Something I didn’t tell you. I was actually hired to make you fall in love with me. They thought if you loved me, you’d give in and have sex. So…yeah.” I bite my lip, waiting for everything I’ve ever wanted and finally have to come crashing down around me.
Carter
Ashley’s words hit me like a force of nature. I simply stand there and stare at her for a time, studying her face, trying to figure out if what she’s saying is true. I totally forget that Lola and Chase and the camera crew are all standing around watching and filming what could be the most defining moment of my life.
“Is this true?” I finally ask her, my voice low and controlled.
She nods, her eyes filling with tears.
Then she grabs my hands, gripping them desperately. “There’s more, though, Carter. You have to let me explain.”
I keep my face blank. I don’t know what she’s going to say next, but I have a feeling it will go one of two ways. A make or break kind of thing.
“I’m listening.”
She sighs, and then lifts earnest blue eyes to my face. “When I started this, I was in it for the money. I took a job, initially trying to seduce you. And when that didn’t work—that night at the strip club—Lola upped the stakes. She wanted me to make you fall in love with me. Like I said, that was supposed to send you over the line, make you give in.”
Ash glances at Lola, but I can’t even look at her. Fucking Lola.
“But it quickly became something else for me, Carter. You have to believe me. I don’t care at all about the money now. I haven’t for quite a while. From the beginning, really. Once I got to know you, I knew I couldn’t do it.”
“So why didn’t you quit?” I say gruffly.
She swallows hard, and she looks so distraught that I just want to take her in my arms. But I don’t. She needs to say this. And I need to hear it.