Beg Me (Mess with Me 1)

Funny the things you notice when you’re on your way to be fired. I have the urge to yell out “Dead Man Walking” at everyone I pass.

When I get to James’s office, he motions for me to close the door.

“I’m not sure how to say this,” he begins.

“You don’t have to be delicate. Just lay it on me.” If I’m about to be sacked, I’d rather hear it upfront then after an hour of bullshit.

“Fine. Andre Lavin called me asking for Mya’s phone number. I gave it to him but I didn’t feel right about not saying something. I get the sense that he wasn’t interested in calling her about the campaign.”

My relief that I’m not fired immediately morphs into sick jealousy. The very thing I was trying to prevent when I started this whole thing in Vegas has happened anyway.

“He was interested from the moment he met her. I guess it was inevitable that he’d only wait so long.”

James looks disturbed. “I have to say, I’m surprised that you’re taking this so well. And I’m very surprised that Mr. Lavin would pursue her despite knowing that she’s already engaged.”

I can’t very well explain that Mr. Lavin is going after Mya because he knows our engagement is fake. If he hasn’t blown the whistle on us yet, then maybe he doesn’t plan to.

He probably doesn’t feel the need to. After tonight, he’ll have what he wants, Mya designing his campaign and warming his bed.

My hands clench into fists.

“Did he say anything else?”

James shakes his head. “Not to me. But Anya said he asked about good local restaurants before she transferred his call.”

After a minute passes and I’m still sitting there, James throws his hands up in the air in frustration. “Why the hell are you still sitting here?”

It’s too hard to explain the whole thing when I can’t tell him the whole truth. So I settle for the most important part. “Maybe this is what Mya wants. A rich, handsome guy. Isn’t that what all women dream of?”

“I’m pretty sure Mya wants the man who actually cares about her. The one who’ll be there in good times and in bad.”

‘It’s too late. She won’t talk to me. I lied to her about something important and let’s face it, I didn’t exactly have a good track record to start with.”

James fixes me with a glare. “I may have failed at marriage but at least it taught me a little something about what not to do. Communication is key. Everything you just said to me, you need to say to her. Go fight for your girl! Maybe if I’d done that, my marriage wouldn’t have fallen apart.”

As he speaks, an energy grows until I’m too restless to sit. Mya changed something in me over the past few weeks. She brought out the best in me while teaching me that it’s okay to not be perfect. Maybe a rich guy is what she wants but maybe it isn’t.

And if there’s even a chance she wants me, I need to know.

I turn back to James. “What was the name of the restaurant Anya recommended?”

22

It turns out the time-of-the-month card is good for multiple days off from work. When I called in to check with James, he couldn’t get off the phone fast enough. Anya is a genius.

And I’m a wreck.

Taking my own advice is much easier said than done. Demanding the best is hard when your heart wants the thing you know is bad for it. My head is determined to hold on to my principles but my heart aches to answer the phone every time I see Milo’s name flash on the screen.

Which it’s doing right now. He really is unfairly handsome.

I push the phone away with a scowl. I don’t have time for handsome men and their excuses. I’m busy. There are Netflix shows I need to watch. Just me and my stress cow against the world. My fingers give Chelsea a comforting squeeze. Hey don’t judge, it really does make me feel better.

Ariana clears her throat.

Oh yeah, she’s here too.

“I’m going to say something that you aren’t going to like but just hear me out.” Her voice is muffled as she takes another spoonful of ice cream. She resisted binge eating with me on day one but even she only has but so much willpower.