Always (Follow Me #6)

Chapter Forty-Seven

“That’s how I know Addie isn’t over you. Because you’re you. You’re Braden. You’re not a construction worker. You’re not a billionaire. You’re just Braden Black, and you’re incredible.”

I smile. Really smile. Perhaps she gets that she’s a gift. And perhaps she feels the same way about me.

But my smile lasts only a moment. I’m still no longer a man of my word.

And she knows. She knows I had help getting to where I am today.

“What’s the matter?” she asks.

“You know my secret now.”

“About you and Addie. Yeah. I’m sorry she got hurt.”

“So am I, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I always wanted to be rich on my own terms, but I’m not. You know I had help setting up my company.”

“You mean Brock Ames’s money?”

I nod.

She laughs. She seriously laughs almost uncontrollably.

“I don’t see what’s funny about that from where I’m standing.”

“Aren’t you the one who told me that opportunity is opportunity? That I should use all resources available to me as I build my career? My God, I spent weeks thinking I wasn’t good enough. That I was only wanted because I was Braden Black’s girlfriend. Even that the contacts I had were from Addie.”

I can’t help a slight smirk. This woman forgets nothing.

And besides, my advice was sound.

“And besides, it wasn’t Brock Ames’s money. It was your money. You and he made a deal.”

“Which I just broke.”

“For me. For us. And you have my word that the story won’t leave this room. I swear on my mother’s life. On my father’s life. On my own life. On my love for you.”

I give a half smile.

“Besides,” she goes on, “you had an ironclad stalking case against Addison. You dropped it in exchange for half a million dollars and assurance that you wouldn’t be prosecuted for something you didn’t do. Brock Ames probably got off cheap. It would have cost him a lot more to fabricate a case against you and pay off everyone to see things his way.”

“All true,” I agree.

“So it wasn’t Brock’s money. It was yours.”

I chuckle then, shaking my head. “This right here. This is why I love you, Skye.”

“This is why you love me? Because I helped you see something you already knew?”

“Well, this and about a thousand other reasons.”

She wraps her arms around my neck. “Better.” She brushes her lips across mine.

I still haven’t told her about my mother, but this was significant for me.

“I need to get ready for my dinner with Eugenie,” she says.

I nod. “I’m sorry I can’t join you.”

“Are you sure? I really want you there.”

“I wish I could, but there’s something that needs my immediate attention.” I’m not looking forward to it, but it has to be done.

She sighs. “Okay, but I have to tell you something first.”

“What’s that?”

“I made a decision about my work with Eugenie and Susie Girl without talking to you first.”

I open my mouth, but she gestures me not to talk.

“Please. Just let me finish. I really wanted to talk to you about all of it, but you’re always so busy, and I think I made the right decision.”

“I’m sure you did.”

“You know what? I know I did.”

“So what happened?”

“Have you been reading Instagram posts lately?”

“I never miss one.”

Her cheeks redden. “Really?”

“Of course not. Your posts are a big part of your life, Skye. I may hate social media, but I love you. I read every one.”

“Wow.” She shakes her head. “Just…wow.”

“I’m not sure why that surprises you.”

“I suppose… I guess it doesn’t.” She clears her throat. “Anyway, I’ve been using these two new hashtags. Susieglow and simplyskye.”

I nod. “I love simplyskye. It fits you.”

“Yeah, I love it, too, and apparently so do Eugenie and the team at Susanne.” She exhales. “They wanted to buy the rights to both of them from me and trademark them.”

I lift an eyebrow. I don’t like the idea of Skye giving up any more of her creative rights than she already has.

“So,” she continues, “I thought about it. They offered me ten grand each, so I had to think about it, Braden.”

I nod. Ten grand is like ten cents to me, but to Skye, it’s still a fortune in her mind.

“By the way,” she says with an eye roll, “Eugenie is simply thrilled that you and I worked things out.”

“Skye…”

“No. It’s okay. I get that being with you helps me as an influencer. I’d be a fool to waste the opportunity, as you always say. But that’s important. I made a decision that I would sell the rights to Susieglow but not to simplyskye. I told Eugenie I’d need to use simplyskye with other businesses and also for my personal posts.”

“And what did she say?”

“She tried to talk me out of it. Gave me a guilt trip about how they’d have to redo all the paperwork.”

“And…?”

“And”—she smiles—“I held firm. She said simplyskye was a gold mine, but I figured it should be my gold mine. I wanted to call you, and I almost did, but then I decided I had to rely on my own instincts for this.”

“Good for you. You shouldn’t sell simplyskye. It’s yours.”

“And Susieglow?”

“I’m okay with that,” I say. “You wouldn’t be using it for anything other than your work with Susanne anyway. Companies pay for creations all the time.”

Skye looks visibly relieved that I agree with her decision. And that’s okay. She’ll eventually have enough confidence in herself that she won’t need my approval.

“How did the rest of it go?” I ask.

“The meeting about the new color campaign?”

I nod.

“It went great. The team is awesome, and I got the final say on the color. It was amazing!”

I give her a searing kiss. “I have to go. I’m sorry. The limo is downstairs and will take you to dinner when you’re ready.”

“I understand. And thanks.”

“For what?”

“For trusting me.”

I nod briefly, and within a few seconds, I’m in the elevator heading down.

I’m not looking forward to this.

But it has to be done.