Faking Game Pt 02

Chapter 5

Olivia

This was the part I hated...

Of course I signed up for this entire thing and so far it was panning out, but jetting off to Savannah to the tune of three days alone with a man whose morals were highly questionable made me queasy. Lanie swore "Gray" would be a perfect gentleman but more than once I felt his stare over my shoulder as I read from my eBook reader on my phone on the plane. Always at the spicy parts too.

Play-acting wasn't my strong suit. In high school I avoided the drama team or anything to do with theater. This arrangement was testing me to my core and I didn't really know how much I'd be able to put up with. Grayson hadn't said or done anything to make me think less of him since we started "dating" but his past spoke for itself, and while Lanie was certain he was a reformed soul, I still didn't trust him.

"Hungry?" he asked, and he touched my elbow. He had this thing about touching me and I hated it--but not entirely. I only hated it because he was so damn hot and every time he touched me or even brushed against me, it made me zing with chemistry. So that app had gotten some things right; it didn't mean I had to like it.

"Uh, we can just order pizza..." I looked up from my eBook and noticed the cab we were in was stuck in traffic, though moving steadily down the road. "I'm exhausted. It's been a long week."

Grayson smelled good too. Like the perfect amount of cologne that makes you want to lean closer and get a better whiff. Not the over-the-top, smells like he bathed in it sort of scent. I was unnerved by how much I actually was attracted to this man and I couldn't understand why.

"The point of this trip is to be seen, Olivia." He patted my knee and gave my leg a squeeze and I couldn't help but look down at where he touched me then trace his arm up to his face and glower at him. He was right. I couldn't just hide out in a hotel room pretending to be dating the man. The entire point was to be seen out and I was certain he'd picked some place very visible. The investors and soon my adoring customers would drink in every tidbit of gossip in the tabloids and it would prove my app worked.

It did work; I just didn't know if I liked what it told me.

"Fine," I grumbled and pressed the power button on the side of my phone to lock it. At least we'd gotten the suite at the hotel so he could have the pullout sofa to himself and I could have the bed. "But no PDA at all. I'm not the type of woman to do that anyway and the last thing I want is any reason for either of us to make a stupid choice." I probably sounded jaded or bitchy but my intentions were clear and now he knew it.

"Hey, I'm here to help your company. That's all." His hand lifted from my knee and both hands were up palms outward in a defensive pose.

I sighed hard. "Sorry. Old habit..." But it wasn't. I wasn't the sort of snappy person who put people in their place and anyone who knew me would attest to that. I was confident and bold about what I wanted or didn't want, however, and what I didn't want was Grayson Thorne thinking into this any more than he had to. This was an arrangement where he provided me a service and helped me. What it did for him I had no clue, and I didn't want to. It wasn't using him if he volunteered. Besides, eventually as a beginning investor and long-term backer, he'd get shares and inevitably end up adding to his already-massive fortune.

"I was thinking a walk downtown within the historic district. There's a music festival going on right now that's drawn several big-name singers. I think Reba might be there. If so, the press will be too, and anyone who knows anything will know about Dating Game and the gorgeous CEO."

I didn't have to look at his face to know his compliment was sincere. My cheeks burned with unspoken rejection but I couldn't stop the way my lip crept between my teeth.

"And tomorrow there is a boat thing, maybe we can jet off Tybee down to Hilton Head. I think it's a four-hour thing. You pay for the boat and spend the day there then--"

"Look," I said curtly, interrupting him. "I'm sorry but this is all a little too much. I just want to get the weekend over with and get back to Charlotte to make sure my polls are showing improvement." The longer I spoke the more his face fell like a scolded puppy and I felt like a trash human being. Just because we weren't ever going to date, didn't mean we couldn't be friends but who the hell wanted a friend like that? I'd seen firsthand what he did to Ian and they were best friends.

"You're right. It'd be better to actually do something with more press exposure. I'll do some digging this evening and see what I can find. With big singers in town there's bound to be more press-ops." The rebound he did made my head spin. Either he was a frickin' pro at not letting his feelings get hurt or he understood my stance and accepted it instantly.

"I appreciate you understanding." The car made an abrupt stop and my phone flew out of my hand onto the floor. I gasped in surprise and leaned down to get it just as Grayson did too. Our heads knocked hard and I winced and sat up. He retrieved the phone and I whimpered as pain vibrated through my head and neck. That hurt.

"God, I'm so sorry." He put my phone on my lap and pried my fingers away from my head. His fingers gingerly touched the spot on my head that hurt and as he leaned closer I felt my chest flutter. "It's gonna bruise probably," he said, but I was speechless. His scent was intoxicating and he was so close to me I could see the flecks of green in his blue eyes. I breathed him in and felt hypnotized.

He wasn't supposed to be nice. He wasn't supposed to be a gentleman or chivalrous or even kind. He was a nasty jerk who was conniving and backstabbing. He almost broke up Lanie and Ian. He wasn't my type.

"I'll get you some ice when we get to the room." Grayson leaned back and took the hypnotic cloud with him and I could only nod. It wasn't him I didn't trust. It was me. I was going to blow this whole thing because I was a very weak woman, weak to that damn smile, his charm, his personality, his fucking god-like body which I knew damn well was under that suit.

I stared out the window the rest of the ride from the airport to the hotel. Grayson didn't say another word. Whether he was letting me ruminate in the charm he slathered me in or if he was just awkwardly unaware of how attracted I was to him, he left me alone. I was glad. One more encounter like that and my panties would be off and I'd be wrapping my legs around his head.

At the hotel the cabby helped us collect our bags from the trunk and the bellhop carried them in to the front desk and waited for us. We approached the counter walking a few paces away from each other. Eventually I'd have to at least hold his hand in public but for now I was playing it safe. My body still felt like the Sahara after the way he touched my face.

"We have a suite... Reservation for Thorne for two nights." Grayson leaned on the high counter casually and pulled out his wallet. I noticed the wad of cash inside it and felt ashamed for looking. I was wealthy too, but I didn't carry cash around like that. My net worth, however, was about a tenth of his, so despite being on the way up, I let him pay for this stuff. Then reminded myself again, it wasn't using him if he was volunteering.

"Of course, Mr. Thorne." The short, stocky woman behind the counter typed away at her keyboard and glanced up at me with a look that said, "he deserves better" and then focused on her screen. I probably looked a mess after a long day of work then traveling, plus the knot forming on my forehead. "I see..." she hummed then grimaced and looked up at Grayson. "Sir, we've been double booked and no one managed to send you a notice. The suite has been taken. I'm sure you heard we have a few celebrities in town and--"

"What?" I interrupted. The suite was booked over a week ago and it was the only reason I'd agreed to this. I had a private bedroom. "There must be a mistake. Look again." I felt my face contorting which hurt my forehead and Grayson cocked his head at me as the woman typed into her keyboard again.

"No, no mistake." She looked back up at me. "We have a king-size non-smoking room left or there are a few doubles." Her eyes scanned the computer and then she looked up at Grayson. "I can call other hotels for you but the town is pretty booked up."

"King-size is good," he said so casually it sounded real. Like he was really okay with sharing one bed in a tiny-ass room just because the hotel screwed up. I pushed him aside and moved into the woman's direct line of sight. She glowered and looked down at her computer.

"Excuse me," I said, and I knew I sounded like a Karen. I snapped my fingers in the space between her face and the glowing computer screen a few times as I said, "Excuse me!" a little louder. It was all panic--sheer terror coursed through my veins.

"Ma'am, please don't do that."

My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. My palms dripped like the Amazon rainforest and my heart raced like a roadrunner. "I have to have a suite. I can't have a king-size. Please look again." I must've looked like a deer in headlights. Her eyes flicked up to Grayson's then met mine again.

"I can do two rooms?" Her eyebrows rose as if her upselling was going to earn her a pat on the back from her boss. They couldn't have our room for us, but they just happened to have two other empty rooms? Not cool.

"Yes, two rooms," I said firmly, but Grayson's hand was on my elbow pinching and pulling me backward instantly.

"Babe," he mewled in a thickly sweet tone that made my skin crawl. "We can just share." He spoke through his teeth in a manner that made me cringe as I looked up at him.

"But..."

"They're so booked we got bounced. We can't take up that other room. There are other people in this city who want a room." His hands slid up my arms to my shoulders and then across to my cheeks. I felt my entire body explode with a fire so hot I wished I could tear my clothing off as his thumbs brushed over my cheekbones and his tone softened.

I was paralyzed, staring into his blue eyes, speechless and unable to protest anything. The anxiety morphed into some weird mixture of arousal and embarrassment and he leaned forward and brushed his lips across my cheek on his way to my ear. He whispered, "It'll be okay, Liv. I promise. Think of Dating Game." Then he straightened and still looking into my eyes he said to the woman, "We'll take the king-size room."

I was in shock, floating toward our room without saying a word as the bellhop led the way. It was a surreal feeling, out of body almost, and when we were alone in the room with our bags neatly lined up on the floor by the dresser, Grayson stood in front of me with a stupid smirk and something erupted out of my belly that I couldn't stop. I smacked him so hard the smirk splattered on the wall in the form of spit from his lower lip.

Before his hand was even covering his cheek I was headed toward the bathroom. "Bastard," I growled and locked myself into the bathroom. My hands were shaking. Why did I hit him? Because I was attracted to him? Because he'd been a gentleman? Because he'd helped me remember the reason we were even on this trip? And I was the bad guy and he'd done nothing wrong but I was mad at him. It made no sense at all, except to my vulnerable heart that actually wanted this privacy and this damn room and god I hated myself.

He knocked softly but I ignored it. I sat on the toilet lid and covered my face with my hands. This entire weekend had started off so badly, I figured the rest would follow suit. It was only a matter of time before he thought I was a total bitch and lost interest in me. Given my presuppositions about him that was a good thing, but there was a part of me that hoped I was wrong. That he wasn't a total douche.

"Liv, please can we talk?" he asked through the door but I had tears welling up in my eyes and I didn't want him to see me cry so I said nothing. I just let them roll down my cheeks and watched the crack at the bottom of the door until the shadow was gone. He'd walked away and I was free to blow my nose and look at the goose egg on my forehead. It was huge, swelling up like Mt. Everest and bright red too. I was such a dummy. No wonder that woman looked at me so strangely.

Hearing a loud thud in the other room, I jumped in surprise. It sounded like something large had hit the floor and if Grayson had dropped my bag I was going to kill him. I had expensive perfume in that bag. I yanked the bathroom door open and bolted out into the main room to see the couch torn apart and a hideaway bed folded out. He stood over it with a proud grin.

"What the...?"

"It's a foldaway," he announced with a sweeping gesture of his hand. "They always have a foldaway bed. I knew it would be fine, and if not we could have ordered a rollaway bed from downstairs." Grayson lowered his body to the corner of the bed and the mattress squeaked as he sat. I felt foolish. Once again he'd been the gentleman and proven that I was so uptight I needed to check myself.

"Gray... I'm so sorry." It was the first time I let myself call him that. I hated the nickname entirely, but there it came out of my mouth so naturally it felt right.

"Think nothing of it. I told you, Olivia. I'm here to help your company and having two rooms would have defeated the purpose of this trip. Things happen, okay? We make the best of them."

He was right. Things happened. We would just have to make the best of them. I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat. Maybe this weekend wouldn't be so bad after all.

Chapter 6

Grayson

Olivia's response to my touch electrified me as much as it seemed to terrify her but I didn't say a word. She had been pushing me away and putting up a wall for months now every time I tried to get closer to her. She'd made it very clear a number of times how she would never date a "man like me," which I could only assume meant someone flawed or messed up. I wasn't perfect, but who was.

After arguing over not having the suite we paid for last night, we settled and got pizza. I convinced her to walk through the historic district once she had food in her stomach but I was positive that whatever photos were taken of us out together in public looked more like she'd been apprehended by a violent terrorist and was looking for an escape, even when she wrapped her arms around my bicep and walked in step with me.

She was sleeping by nine p.m., and I stayed up past two watching reruns of old sitcoms. I slept until noon, but I heard the door click shut around six in the morning and the shower around eight. Our schedules weren't even close to matching, but according to her snarky comment over lunch, which was more like breakfast to me, she didn't mind the privacy.

Now, dressed in my best suit, and escorting whom I believed to be the most beautiful woman in Savannah, we descended in the elevator to head to the ballroom of the hotel. As it turned out, one of the celebrities from the music festival was putting on a private show and the hotel felt so bad about bumping us from our room, they gave us two VIP tickets to watch. What I didn't know was that there would be dancing.

Olivia's eyes lit up as we walked through the propped-open double doors of the ballroom into the darkness of what appeared more like an adult prom than a concert. Round tables lined the perimeter of the large open space. White lights shimmered and dangled from the invisible lines they'd been tethered too, making them appear like stars. They were beautiful, but not as stunning as Olivia in her evening gown.

When we found out we had tickets to the event, I sent the concierge to the store and he returned with fifteen dresses for her to try. She was teary eyed when she put on the black one with beads and sequins, and my god the way it hugged her curves made my dick rock hard. She noticed it too, which only made her lips flush a dark red with arousal before she locked herself in the bathroom for the next two hours.

When she emerged she was a work of art. Her hair was pinned up in a French twist; small silver studded earrings sparkled on her lobes, and a simple silver locket hung around her dainty neck. She looked as enamored of me in my suit as I was of her, but neither of us said a word.

"This is so pretty," she marveled and I agreed, but my gaze was fixed on the silhouette of her face.

"Yes, it is..." My hand slid to the small of her back as I guided her toward the open bar. "Let's get a drink."

Men and women milled about, most of them dressed more casually than us. Flash photography was apparently not banned, because the blinding lights captured us more than once. Olivia always looked directly into them with a broad smile, but I stole glances at her, noticing how incredible her smile was.

"Yes, I need a drink." Her hasty comment made me cringe, though I should have expected as much. Nothing about the day had been civil. Every time I tried making conversation with her, she reminded me that we weren't really dating and that I had really hurt her friend Lanie. After several attempts, I gave up and just watched television. Then when I wasn't trying to engage with her she complained that I was too quiet, that I hadn't groveled enough to earn her respect. I couldn't win.

"What would you like?" I asked, stepping up to the bar with my card in hand.

"Something fruity? I need to not think tonight." Her eyes continued to scan the room and she leaned against the bar facing the dancers in the middle of the dance floor. We had a while until the main act showed up but people were already well into their drunken highs enjoying the atmosphere.

"A daiquiri and whatever you have on tap." I laid my card on the bar and the bartender took it as he walked away to get our drinks. That fancy perfume Olivia wore tickled my nose and made me want to sneeze, but it was a good scent, light and flowery. I looked down over my shoulder at her and she wasn't paying attention. The swell of her breasts inside the bodice of her dress was attractive. I wanted to sink my teeth into her cleavage.

But I pulled my gaze away and focused on the man making our drinks as my eyes finally began to adjust to the lights. I didn't expect her to start talking to me.

"Feels like we're back in high school," she said over the din of music and I agreed.

"Yeah, except now I'm the cool kid everyone stares at, not the nerd." I chuckled at the memory of my high school days with glasses and braces, acing calculus and tutoring my buddies on the team. They all thought I'd be a loser accountant or tax prep agent. No one imagined I'd become one of Charlotte's billionaire playboys.

"What?" Olivia said loudly and I turned and leaned down closer to her ear. It was hard not to look down her dress again. God I wanted to touch her.

"I said, now I'm the cool kid not the nerd." The words vibrated off her ear, tingling my lips that lightly brushed them. She scrunched her forehead up.

"Nerd?" Her head shook like a bobble head and she smiled.

"Yeah, I was a math major. I'm a tech guy, remember?" People always found it hard to believe that I was actually intelligent, especially pretty women who judged me by my past choices.

The bartender returned and handed me my card, the receipt, and two drinks. Olivia took the daiquiri and put the straw between her lips immediately, sucking the thick icy beverage up through it. I sipped the beer, something watery and boring, but safe. If I got whiskey that woman was going to be my dessert, which I wouldn't mind, but she'd have words about it when I finally convinced her to do it.

"So do you want to dance?" I asked, nodding at the dance floor where bodies gyrated in beat to the music.