Faking Game Pt 04

Chapter 13

Olivia

"Oh my god, Lanie. He said he loves me." I climbed into the backseat of the Uber and shut the door with my phone pinned between my shoulder and ear. I was ashamed of myself for the way I reacted to his confession but what was I supposed to say? It was messy and confusing and if he really did love me he'd understand.

"Well that fixes your problem, now doesn't it?" Lanie laughed and I felt myself getting angry with her even though she was right. Technically if Grayson was in love with me and I told him I had feelings too, it wasn't a fake relationship and the "leak" was nothing more than a weak attempt at slandering us.

"Lanie, you are failing to get the point." I huffed and dropped my purse on the seat next to me as the Uber driver took off into traffic, ushering me toward work. This was way bigger than just a stupid arrangement and publicity stunt for my company's success. This was my life. This was my fucking heart and he was fucking with it. "He said he fucking loves me. And he said he meant it, not just for show."

The line grew quieter and she cleared her throat as she realized how upset I was. This wasn't supposed to be happening. It brought with it a whole new heap of problems. My trust issues, his past, our tricky situation with him being a donor and me the CEO. I should have chosen one of the other men from the top of my list but it made sense. When he offered to invest, I crumbled like apple crisp.

"Well, I guess you have to think about how you feel then. Don't you?" I could tell she was trying to be supportive without triggering my sensitive heart. I had been so hurt for her when Grayson pulled that stunt, and I still couldn't believe it. "He's a good man, Olivia."

She'd been saying that for weeks but I just had a hard time with it. My brain and heart had been arguing nonstop in my waking hours and in my restless nights. My heart was falling in love with him but my brain told me to run away as fast as I could.

"I don't feel. I just run my business." It had been my one anchor in life the past several years and it was all I could do to keep up with it. I didn't have time for a real relationship because they were messy and stressful and overwhelming. Besides, until I found a man who had a good heart I refused to settle.

"That's not true, Liv. You hide in your work because you're afraid of being hurt. Not all men are pigs." Lanie's first-hand experience of hiding in her own work was empirical proof that it worked. Maybe not the best way to live, but I didn't have time for messiness right now.

"Look, I'm just saying it's a freakin' mess right now. How can I juggle a relationship when all this is happening?" I bit my trembling lower lip and braced myself on the door as the car whipped around a corner.

"Did you stop to consider that a genuine partner wouldn't add more stress or mess but instead would help you carry the load? Isn't that what Gray is doing? Hasn't he been supportive and encouraging? A man like him doesn't put money on things he doesn't believe in and he's investing in you, not just your company. He believes in you. You can trust him."

"I'm gonna go. I have to try to calm down before I get to work. Ethan will know something's wrong. At least I feel confident that Grayson was definitely not the leak. And you're right. We can fix that by just going all in on the relationship front. No one has to know it's really fake if we play it right." Even when I said the words "it's fake" I cringed. I knew it wasn't fake. I was just glad I bolted before I blurted out something stupid to him that I'd regret later.

"Alright, call me if you need to vent. I'll be here."

Lanie hung up and I let my head drop to the headrest behind me. No matter what, I'd have to have a difficult conversation with Grayson now. My app was perfect. It worked exactly how it was supposed to and I actually knew Grayson was a good match for me, if not the match for me. But I'd never be able to date him. He was an investor and that meant he was off limits. When the app was launched we'd find a way to amicably part and I'd jump on to the next "perfect match." I'd find someone I was meant to be with and he'd get his part in the company as promised. It was the way it had to be and it was the way I wanted it.

Lanie would say I was running from being vulnerable or being prideful and stupid. But I had a business to run and when Dating Game launched I would not only need Grayson's funds to keep pumping the marketing but I wouldn't have time to fuck with feelings. I hoped he understood that.

Chapter 14

Grayson

When Olivia rushed out I didn't even pause to think. I dropped a tip on the table that more than covered the fee of the coffees and left, though I did take mine with me. Learning that someone had leaked the secret that what we were doing had started out fake infuriated me. I got to my car and had Miles on speaker phone before I was even out into traffic.

"Yeah, I'm here. Go..."

"Miles, I have a problem." I turned toward Ward's office because my gut told me he was the reason Olivia was up in arms. If I got to the bottom of this and settled it right away, it would be a non-issue for her.

"Don't we all?" Miles said sarcastically. I wasn't in the mood for his attitude today. Sometimes he got on my nerves.

"I'm pretty sure Ward stuck around my house the other day and eavesdropped on our conversation. He heard us bickering about Olivia and let it slip to her board that our relationship was fake." It all made sense to me the more I thought about it. It was Ward's entire modus operandi, to silently pick away at someone's life until they unraveled. He had every intention of making me suffer and he didn't care who he hurt in the process. In this case it was Olivia and I wasn't about to let him do it.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like a problem for you though. That sounds like a her problem." Miles sniffled and I heard him hock a loogie. "If Dating Game tanks we are out of that requirement to continue pumping funds. Right?"

"Are you that heartless?" I didn't mean to be angry with him but it was like he didn't even care that I had feelings for Olivia.

"No, man. I'm not saying it doesn't suck for her. I'm saying you can get out of that investment. We still have to figure out how to get that money to Ward though." He didn't have to remind me, but he probably took great joy in making sure I remembered that I disagreed with him and it meant losing money in the short term.

But to me it meant gaining something far greater in the long term, even if Olivia ran out on me when I confessed my love.

"I'm taking care of that. The house will be sold and I'll eat the loss, alright? Forget that. Let's just take Ward down. You find out how he got that information to her board chairman. I want actual proof he did it, not suspicion. And I'll deal with him personally."

"Got it... I'm on it, Gray. You're right. Ward's a pain in the ass and someone should kick his feet out from under him but you need to be careful. You know how powerful he is." The words of caution were wise and I would heed them, but there was no way in hell I was going easy on the asshole. He deserved everything he had coming.

"I know. And I know just the man to help me take him down safely." My best friend had suffered more than I had and I knew Ian would be game at tearing our rival limb from limb.

I clicked the hands-free off and accelerated onto the highway ramp. The entire drive around the belt I was stuck in my head planning what to say to him. He thought he could fuck with me and he was wrong.

Someone announced my arrival to him, too, so I didn't get the advantage of surprising him. Or maybe he knew I'd show up based on the fact that he was the only logical suspect. He sat behind his desk with a smug grin on his crooked face. His eye was black and I swore his nose was more aquiline than normal.

"Welcome, Mr. Thorne. Do you have my money yet?" I hated the way he bounced the back of his desk chair as if it were a rocker. It made him look like a fucking bobblehead on the dash of an old VW van.

"You'll get your money, Ward. That's not why I'm here." My chest tightened as I remembered the way I slugged him so hard he tumbled backward and broke my lamp. He could press criminal charges against me but he hadn't. Which meant he wasn't about winning the public eye competition. At least not on this. His motive had changed and he was going for the jugular--my heart.

"Ah so you came to spar again. I should tell you I've hit the gym since the last match. I got some pointers from my boxing coach." He chuckled wryly and touched his swollen eye. "Still smarts."

"Cut the crap, Nelson. Who the fuck told you Olivia and I weren't really together, and why did you go blabbing it?" I wanted to lean over his desk and grab that tie of his and choke him with it. Maybe it would choke some sense into him.

"You told me, silly. And why not play tattle tale? You seem to be two steps behind me at every turn. I am enjoying the game." He most certainly was not going to enjoy this little game when he learned I was bringing in a third.

"You're fucking with the wrong person, Ward. Olivia has a good heart. You have no reason to try to destroy her. It's me you want. Come at me, not at Dating Game." It would never work. My pleading would only make him zero in on her more, but I had to try.

"That's half the fun. Besides, you know better than to be so foolish. Trying to steal proprietary information by becoming an investor and then manipulating the CEO to hand over private user data by sleeping with her and blackmailing her?" He clicked his tongue and I balled up my fists. "Shame on you..."

"Fuck you, Ward. That never happened and it never will." I was gutted. He hadn't just heard that part about us starting out fake. He'd listened to the entire conversation and put it all together himself. Now there was a real threat. Not just one we could brush under the rug with good acting. "What do you want?"

He smirked at me and narrowed his eyes. "I want you to suffer. I want you to know what it feels like to be made a fool of the way you and Ian have done to me. And I want to feel that celebration when I am finally on top and you're wallowing for my help."

I could tell there wasn't a single word I could say that would stop him. I had to let him play his hand, but when I played my hand it would finish him. My royal flush beat his straight flush any day.

"Good luck," I said, turning to go. It was time to crank up the heat and I knew just how to do it. I was barely outside the door when I reached for my phone and dialed Ian's number. Two could play at this game and since I was inviting a third, it was almost a sure bet that I'd win.

"Hey, Gray, heading to a meeting. What's up?"

"Ian, I need your help. Ward has got to learn a lesson..." With the information Ian had on the man I was surprised Ward had pushed him so hard. He knew Ian was a good man, that he'd do the right thing for the people he loved, and now I was banking on that same thing. Because if it wasn't Ian or myself, Ward would get the better of someone else, somewhere else.

Chapter 15

Olivia

I had planned tonight's date a bit differently. After Grayson's dumb confession of love, which I still doubted was entirely altruistic, I had a long think about the situation. Not to mention girls' night where Gina and Lanie convinced me to give him a chance. I felt more relaxed, less on edge about things, and instead of attending the gala at the art society where media and photographers would cluster around us in a flurry of bright flashes, I opted for something different.

Grayson, however, didn't seem to notice that out here on the side of a mountain with a blanket stretched out and a picnic basket was far less public than an art gala. A wall of trees surrounding the quiet little clearing where moonlight was fading, and he stared at his phone, swiping through apps and scowling. He'd been doing it since he picked me up, though I had managed to pry his phone away from him while he drove.

"Gray..." I sat cross-legged on the corner of the blanket, almost ready to tell him I, too, was feeling like this was more than just the arrangement we agreed on. But his distraction was irritating me. It wasn't like him to be so inattentive, or perhaps that was his true nature coming out and up until now he'd been fooling me. I had reservations about all of this, but Lanie swore to me I could trust him.

He didn't look up. He was typing, messaging someone, and the scowl on his face shifted from anger to mild irritation and back to anger. It could have been business or even a family thing, but he could have had the decency to at least tell me what was going on. If I'd have known I was going to be ignored the whole night, I'd have gone to the gala. At least there would have been people there to talk to.

"Gray..." I played with a stray fiber on the hem of my jeans and waited, but he still didn't look up. His thumbs flew over that phone screen typing and switching apps and typing again. Anger bubbled up. "Grayson!"

His head popped up and his eyebrows were high. The expression on his face changed from anger to remorse instantly, and I felt bad for interrupting him.

"God, Liv, I'm sorry." He locked his phone and his shoulders relaxed. "Just something I'm dealing with and Ian was talking to me." Worry etched his forehead. It made me want to massage the creases out of his skin and help him relax.

"Anything you need to talk about?" I chose the higher road of being a good friend instead of being petty and selfish and snapping at him, though I wanted to. He did know what I was thinking though, how I was trying to get up the courage to tell him I wanted to see if we really had something between us. It wasn't fair for me to test him like that. He was clearly upset about something.

"Oh, uh... nothing you need to worry your beautiful face over." The soft smile that turned his lips made me blush. He said things like that and they rolled off his tongue so naturally I believed he really meant them. But then his phone buzzed and he looked back down at it and swiped to unlock it.

The momentary happiness was swallowed up by frustration again as he returned to typing and swiping and I'd had enough. This night was supposed to be more special than he knew and if I had to physically remove his phone from his hand I would. I crawled across the blanket and sat next to him but he kept typing. His hand shielded his screen but I wasn't trying to read over his shoulder.

"Grayson, please..." My voice was small but I wasn't afraid to be bolder. I just didn't want to be hurtful or rude. He glanced up and grimaced and then went back to his phone so I laid my hand over the phone screen until he looked me in the eye. Then I wrapped my hand around it and tugged it from his grasp and set it aside before climbing on his lap and straddling him.

"Mr. Thorne, I'm going to need you to pay attention to me now." I wasn't intending to turn our private picnic in the state park into a sexy rendezvous but now that I was on top of him, the sensations in my gut were stirring.

Grayson's hands rested on my hips and I settled more comfortably on his thighs, letting my hands slide up the sides of his neck where my fingers tangled in his hair.

"I'm sorry, Liv. I won't pick it up again until our evening is over." The way he squeezed my hips softly was a huge turn on.

Yeah, we'd had sex a few times but those times were different. Heat of the moment passion felt different than purposeful connection, which was what this felt like to me. I didn't just want to be the distraction from his stress. I wanted to be the cure. Something inside of me had stopped thinking about whether people were watching us and believing our story, and I started wanting to see him smile, make him laugh.

"Tell me what's bothering you so much." My eyes searched his in a very bold move. Before this I was the one to shy away and run, not the pursuer. That had been his job. Hell, he'd been doing it for months before any of this started. I knew he was good at it. So it felt odd for me to be pursuing him, but I liked it.

"Honestly, it's nothing. Let's forget about it entirely and let me focus on you." Grayson squeezed harder and pulled my hips forward until my crotch was nestled up against his stomach, our bodies touching from tits to hips. It made a pool of warmth gather in my groin.

"You want to focus on me?" This was the most vulnerable and intimate I'd allowed myself to be. Sure, sex was great, but have you ever let a man see your real desires? Especially a man who you've been pushing away for months?

"Olivia, I've been focusing on you for a long time now. I don't think you realize how much I enjoy being with you. I wasn't lying when I said I love you. I really do. I don't want a fake relationship where the media follows us around to document our story and meanwhile we're perfect strangers with an agreement." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to mine.

It was so tempting to just kiss him and fuck right there, but the moment was too perfect to throw it away with just meaningless sex. I wanted him, don't get me wrong, but I wanted more than sex. I wanted connection.

"What do you want then?" I asked him softly, afraid of my own voice. Because what if what he wanted was what I wanted? What if in wanting that I was setting myself up for being hurt really badly?

"I want you, Liv. I want a partnership in life and in love. I want to see your dreams come true and put babies in you..."

My heart clenched at those words and tears threatened to well up. Here we were, alone on a mountainside in a park that was closed. Darkness was encroaching. There was no one around to hear him say these wonderful, sweet things to me, no press to document it. No crowd to show off for. Just me and him and I believed him.

"You know what?" I asked, and my jaw trembled as he tipped his chin up and kissed me lightly.

"What?" he asked, hardly pulling away.

"I think I want that too..." The sheer force of that confession barreled into both of us in a kiss so scorching it left heat on my lips even when his teeth were sinking into my earlobe.

"Say it again," he growled, his hands roaming over my body, claiming me as his.

"I want that, Gray."

He growled in the back of his throat, something feral I'd never heard from him before and I loved it. Turning and laying me down on the blanket, he lowered himself on top of me. My hands were on his biceps and his worked my shirt, trying to get it unbuttoned. The need was desperate and frantic, like if I didn't get my clothes off and feel his skin against mine I was going to change my mind or something.

"You are so beautiful, Liv." he growled out as his mouth moved down my jawline. I arched up into him as his lips found my collarbone. His hand cupped my breast through my shirt and I moaned softly. I wanted this clothing off now!

I became frantic as he undid my jeans and tugged them off none too gently in the process. My hand worked his belt loose and he had the same idea and just as easily had our clothes in a messy pile on the ground next to us. The cool air kissed my heated skin as he pressed himself against me.

"You have no idea how badly I've wanted to hear you say that to me." Grayson's lips crashed into mine again, and my fingernails sank into his skin, pulling him down on top of me. I spread my legs and wrapped them around his hips, arching my hips upwards, silently begging him for more.

"I love you, Liv," he whispered, and with one searing stroke, he filled me completely. The force of it had my eyes clamping shut as whimpers and moans escaped my lips. He felt incredible, like silk and heat, and I wanted to enjoy the sensation of his skin against mine for as long as I could before I was forced to reach for the condom in my jeans pocket.