Cruel Fortune (Cruel 2)

“It’s not really that interesting.”

“Oh, don’t be shy, Olivia,” Lewis said. “Tell everyone how we met.”

I stared daggers at him and wondered what sort of world I lived in to have to endure this torture in front of everyone who mattered for my career. I couldn’t just tell him to go fuck himself here. Not like I wanted. Not without questions getting hurled at me.

But what could I say that wouldn’t give away that he was part of my book?

“He…went on a date with my friend Amy.” Not exactly a lie.

“Ah, yes, Amy,” Lewis said with a laugh. “Does she still prefer broke artists?”

“She does.”

“And will she still love you after your book releases tomorrow and blows up all the charts?” His eyes twinkled as I squirmed.

“I’ll have to ask her,” I said with a fake smile on my face.

Gillian laughed at our exchange. “What are the chances that you would know Lewis Warren? Well, I cannot wait to hear the full story later. Why don’t we all take our seats and get started with this meeting?”

“Yes. Let’s.” My eyes narrowed in his direction.

“Great idea.”

Lewis promptly took the chair directly across from my seat and winked at me. My cheeks heated as my anger lit like a fuse. Forget nerves for this meeting and enter cold, hard fury that this moment was being ruined by an Upper East Side prick who had been involved in the bet on whether or not I’d fall in love with his best friend. It wasn’t enough that the only book I’d gotten published was about this event. He had to be here to witness them discuss it.

I tried to block him out and focus on the meeting at hand. But I couldn’t seem to get it together. I wanted to know how he had known. Because he had to have known. And, if he had known …did that mean the others did too? Did Penn know?

I recoiled from that thought. He couldn’t know. I didn’t want to think about him or deal with him or see him.

“Olivia?” Gillian asked, clearly repeating herself.

I’d been so zoned out, thinking about the past, that I didn’t even hear her question. Or much of anything that had come before that. Had we been discussing the marketing strategies? Or preorder numbers? Had someone mentioned the New York Times?

“Sorry. What was that?”

“We wanted to discuss your next project,” Gillian said. “It’s not often we have the whole team together with the author.”

“Oh, right. What I’m working on next.”

I chewed on my bottom lip and glanced back to Lewis. His eyebrows were raised as he waited for my response. He actually looked…interested. Was that legitimate or fake enthusiasm about my book? Was he mocking me? Surely, he hadn’t read my novel.

“We’re all dying to know what’s next,” my publicist, Kathy, said.

“It’s still in the beginning stages.” I flicked my eyes back to Gillian. “I’m not sure it’s ready for anyone to see. Might disrupt the flow.”

“Oh, come on. Not even a morsel?” she encouraged.

I fidgeted in my seat. How the hell did I get out of this?

“We can’t rush brilliance,” Lewis interjected. “If she’s not ready to share, then it’s clearly not ready for the public eye. I’m sure, once the book is in working condition, she’ll wow us all.”

I shot a relieved look in his direction for saving me from continuing. He likely didn’t know that it was because I had no idea what to write next and no muse. But he had kept me from having to say that, and for that, I was grateful.

“You’re right, of course, Lewis,” Gillian said.

“We’re just enthusiastic,” Kathy piped up. “If it’s anything like Bet on It, then I know we’re going to have a best seller on our hands.”

I paled and managed to push a smile through. “Let’s hope.”

“All right, well, that’s all we have for today,” Gillian said. “Do you have any questions for us, Olivia? We know tomorrow is a magical day for a debut. We want to make everything as seamless as possible.”

“I don’t think so. I’m just excited to go into a store and be able to actually hold a copy of my book,” I told them.

“You’ll have to take a picture and send it to us. We’ll put it up on our social,” Kathy said hungrily.

“Sure,” I told her. Though I had no intention of showing my face for the camera, I’d send them something to use.

“Okay. Well then, we’re through here. See you tonight at Twig for dinner,” Gillian said.

I stood and shook hands with the rest of the team. I’d been working with them off and on all year, so it was nice to have faces to go with the names. They probably felt the same way about me, if I had to guess.

But, by the end of the meeting, it was just me, Gillian, and…Lewis.