Chapter 5 #2
Was that the house she’d mentioned? No, she couldn’t possibly live there.
I wasn’t even sure it could classify as a house.
It seemed to be under construction. But still, the coincidence was too big.
Phoebe wasn’t that common of a name. My instincts nudged me to contact her, and I direct messaged her before I could second-guess myself.
Griffin: Is this Veronica’s friend Phoebe?
She answered right away.
Phoebe: Yes, it is. And if this isn’t the infamous Griffin, whom The Loft doesn’t know whether he went there looking for business or pleasure.
I laughed. The woman definitely had a great sense of humor.
Griffin: What do you think? Should I call them out on it?
Phoebe: No, I don’t think they’re actually open to feedback. I just needed to get my frustration out, and I guess I took it out on them. The night didn’t end well.
Griffin: Fuck. How come?
Phoebe: Long story.
Griffin: Do you have a phone number? I’d love to hear it.
Dots appeared and then disappeared before reappearing once more. Obviously, she was contemplating what to write.
Phoebe: Why?
That was a good question. And I didn’t have an answer. She just seemed vulnerable, and I hated the idea of that moron hurting her.
I didn’t reply, but she did, typing her phone number. I called her the next second.
“Hey, this is Griffin,” I said as soon as she picked up.
“I figured.” Her voice was so incredibly shy and different from her sassy messages that for a split second, I figured maybe I was talking to someone else.
But no, I recognized her voice. She’d been shy at the bar too.
It hadn’t kept me from drinking her in, though.
Even now, I could picture her perfectly in my mind.
The image of her in that tight dress was permanently marked in my mind.
Don’t flirt with her, Griffin. Don’t flirt. She’s in it for the long haul.
“Did anything happen when you went home?” I asked.
“Yeah, he called me.”
“Why the hell would he call?” Anger pumped through my veins.
“About this damn house. It’s gonna come crashing down on me soon.”
Fuck. So she really lived in that run-down thing from her profile pic.
“He wanted to discuss the asking price. I want to lower it so that we can finally get rid of it. But if we lower our price, then we’re going to make very little profit, and God knows that I could use it right now. So, hello, rock, and hello, hard place. I’m right between the two.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I just told you that!”
I couldn’t imagine the nightmare she was in. “Want to talk about something else?”
“Yes, please. What happened to your business deal? Did you manage to turn it around?”
I’d almost forgotten that I even told her about it. “No. I even shared everything with my brothers this morning in our business meeting.”
“You work with your brothers?”
“Sort of. We own Sterling Investments.”
“Oh, I think I’ve heard of it.” She didn’t sound stunned, or in awe, like people usually were when they made the connection. It was refreshing.
“We each own separate businesses, but on Mondays, we meet to brainstorm. None of them had any ideas I could actually use. They just fooled around, talking bullshit.”
“Meaning?” she asked.
I hesitated, but why not tell her? We could laugh about it. She certainly seemed to need that distraction.
I couldn’t believe I’d just called this stranger out of nowhere and that I was willing to share things with her.
“When I told them that one of the reasons he shot me down was because I had a reputation as a womanizer—”
“Oh. That would explain a few things,” she muttered.
“What things?” I asked.
“Never mind. Go on.”
Hmm… “Anyway, one thing led to another, and I told them that I ran into you.”
“Wow, I feel so good now. Worthy of being mentioned in a business meeting.”
“One of them suggested that I could present you to Jude as my girlfriend.”
She started laughing. “Your brothers have a fantastic imagination. It wouldn’t be such a bad idea,” she said, then rushed to add, “For business reasons, of course.”
For a second, I was certain that I’d misheard her. My intention was just to make her laugh, but now she had me thinking.
“Wait, what? Are you serious?”
“You did save my butt. I guess it could be a ‘you scratch my back, I scratch yours’ situation.”
I rose from my chair, adrenaline coursing through my body the way it did when I was on the verge of sealing a very important deal.
“I haven’t seriously considered this until now,” I confessed.
Though that wasn’t strictly true, because from the second my brothers mentioned it, the idea had percolated in my mind.
But Phoebe didn’t need to know that. “Are you sure?” I double-checked.
It was a dangerous idea, and not at all my style.
I hated lying and pretending. And yet, pretending to date Phoebe didn’t feel wrong.
This is insane.
“Honestly, no. I’m just figuring things out. But you would just need me to go with you to a dinner or something, right?”
“Yes.”
She laughed. “I can’t believe you’d put a deal in the hands of a stranger.”
That was the insane thing. She didn’t really feel like a stranger, though I couldn’t explain why.
“The way I see it, as things stand right now, I wouldn’t have a chance in hell to make the deal otherwise. I could probably find some arguments to convince him, but somehow I prefer showing up with a smoking-hot date on my arm, pretending she’s my girlfriend.”
I heard her suck in a breath at that. But it was 100 percent true.
“Sure, why not?”
“Listen, Phoebe,” I said, because the hesitation in her voice was obvious, “if you don’t feel comfortable with this, let’s just drop it.”
“It sounds like fun. And God knows I could use some fun in my life. It’s pretty depressing right now.”
“Why?”
“You mean beyond the obvious?”
“Well, yes.” Because I had an inkling there was more to it—beyond the failed relationship and living in that decrepit house.
She sighed. “It’s just that for the past few years, I worked with him. Marshall. I ran his doctor’s office. And now—”
“You’re out of a job,” I realized. “Fuck, that’s a shitty situation. How do you even make the mortgage payment?”
“From my savings,” she said in a small voice. “But I’m on the right track with that. I found a part-time job as an accountant. It doesn’t pay a lot, but it’s better than nothing.”
She was a fighter. I admired that.
“So…” Her voice sounded awkward now. “How exactly are we going to play this?”
I looked off into the distance, narrowing my eyes. “I’ll ask Stella, my assistant, to send Jude an invitation to dinner for him and his wife. And she’ll inform him that my girlfriend will also be attending. If he takes the bait, I’ll let you know.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
“Is your ex likely to bother you again?” I asked.
She swallowed audibly. “It’s not like I can avoid him. Both of our names are on the deed for the house. Eventually, I’ll have to see him again.”
“Well, if you need someone to murder the hell out of him, let me know. And I’m your man for anything. A smoking-hot kiss, a love declaration right in front of the prick, whatever,” I said in a teasing tone.
“You do tempt me,” she said. I was pleased that her voice was light again. “But why would you bother?”
“Because as you said, you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
“Oh, Griffin, I think you’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”
It was my turn to laugh. “You say that now because you don’t know me too well. You might change your mind.”
“I don’t think I will. Let me know if your potential business partner takes the bait. And if not, well… then I don’t know. I’ll see you around?”
“Sure.”
She definitely would, because as I hung up, I’d made up my mind. Regardless of what Jude replied, I was going to see Phoebe again.