5. five
five
EZRA
She was even more beautiful than the last time I saw her.
I couldn’t believe that I’d been in the same room as her.
I was happy that God believed me worthy enough to be in her vicinity.
I didn’t think I would bump into her again after spotting her through a window at a local Scottish jewelry store, gazing at engagement rings with a young man beside her.
I remembered his smile. A smile full of admiration, and his eyes… they’d been filled with love. I knew that look better than anyone, because I looked at her like that when we were in college. When she was my lover, my friend, my treasure.
And now she was going to marry another man. She would tie her life, her heart, to someone else.
After everything I did to her, she deserved to be happy.
But I couldn’t help myself when Zack mentioned offering her a movie deal.
I’d read her book; I knew instantly that it was a depiction of the short-lived, yet powerful, romance we shared at Blackthorn House Academy.
If she could write this story about us, then perhaps the feelings she had for me were still there.
Even if those scraps of affection were tied to hatred, it was a feeling directed toward me, and that was enough.
There was a fine line between love and hate, and I wished to help her cross it.
“That went better than expected,” Zack said, pulling his blazer over his chest.
I recalled the way my best friend had the habit of pulling on a mask of bravado.
He pretended like he didn’t wish to be there, but I knew his heart was screaming the same way mine had been.
Zack wasn’t fixated on Lysandra, but on her friend.
They hadn’t seen each other for just as long as Lysandra and me.
“I’m glad she accepted the deal. We need her just as much as she needs us.” He set his polished shoes over the table, crossing his ankles, and setting both his hands at the back of his head. I slapped his legs away from the table.
“This is not our office. Stop that!” I hissed.
“I didn’t think Miss Guerrera would cause you to have a stick up your a—”
“This is a business meeting. It does not matter if we have known the author and her agent for years now. We could be considered foolish because of your actions, and the deal could fall through,” I reprimanded him.
“That girl is made out of something else. Ain’t she, mate?
” Zack muttered, his tone laced with contempt and humor.
It took everything in me to remain calm as he rolled his eyes and burped in my direction.
I would have gagged if I had not seen Greer Black and Elena Fleur, walking back into the meeting room.
The worst part of movie deal offers was about to begin.