I noticed instantly that Troy’s face was stark-white and Clarissa wasn’t faring much better.
“Good evening, sunshine,” I said to Clarissa, moving closer, drawing her attention away from the television.
“Good evening.”
“You look stunning.” The white halter dress showed off sun-bronzed skin covering toned arms and shoulders. She looked good enough to eat.
“Thank you.”
“Troy?” I glanced over at him.
My assistant’s eyes were still locked on the blank television screen.
“Troy?” I repeated.
Clarissa reached over and placed her hand on Troy’s arm, obviously realizing his distress. The simple move had my body hardening. I wasn’t sure what was so appealing about seeing her touching him, but…
“I’m so sorry,” Troy sputtered. “I can’t believe they’re running a report claiming I’m … that I’m…”
“My newest love interest?” I filled in for him.
His eyes widened, and his face paled even more.
“That doesn’t bother you?” His voice was pitched a little too high.
“Why would it? You, of all people, know the things they’ve said about me over the years.”
I’d heard damn near everything. Everyone knew the reporters were looking for a story and if they couldn’t find one, they simply made it up. At one point, I’d been accused of being inducted into the Church of Scientology by Tom Cruise, dating a woman in her nineties, having three girlfriends at one time, and looking into leaving acting and becoming a MMA fighter.
Knowing Troy would have to come to terms with this on his own, I placed my hand on his shoulder and turned him so we could leave my office. I took Clarissa’s elbow and steered them into the foyer, past the dual staircases and into the living room.
“What time will the food arrive?” I asked Troy.
He didn’t answer.
“He said seven,” Clarissa offered helpfully. “Do you think he’ll be all right?”
I chuckled. “I’m sure he will.” I stopped at the sofa and nudged Troy until he sat down. He was still staring blankly. “Let me grab some wine while we wait for dinner to arrive.”
I found Zeke and Ransom standing in the kitchen. “Feel free to take a couple of hours off,” I told them. “You have free rein of the house. Whatever you need.”
“Sure thing, boss man,” Zeke said with a smirk before he ushered Ransom out of the room.
As I headed for the wine cellar, I grabbed my phone and dialed the security guard at the main gates, informing him we had food coming and asking him to deliver it to the house when it arrived.
Once that was done, I located what I was looking for, and with a smile on my face, I headed back toward my guests.
I was extremely curious to see how tonight was going to go.
Whether they realized it or not, those reporters had just made my job a whole lot easier.
After all, they’d given Troy a glimpse into my intentions.
Troy
I COULDN’T FEEL MY HANDS.
Perhaps I was going into shock.
How in the hell did this happen? A picture of me—of all people—plastered on the big screen while reporters talked about how someone from my past admitted I’d been in a gay relationship. That was absurd. I wasn’t newsworthy.
Not that I cared that was made public. I’d never tried to hide it. My father might be a hard-ass when it came to business, but he never gave me the impression I would be less in his eyes because of who I chose to spend my time with. So, I didn’t have parents to keep that from, either. I merely kept it to myself because it was difficult to explain that I was into both women and men.
However, it bothered me that my boss was being dragged into this scandal. The press was accusing us of having…
No. I couldn’t even fathom it. Fucking hell.
Trent had every right to fire me for this and I honestly wouldn’t blame him if he did. The last thing anyone needed was to have rumors being spread about their sexuality.
“Troy, are you all right?”
The sweet, feminine voice drew me out of my thoughts. Clarissa was sitting right beside me, her cool fingers on my forearm. For a brief moment, all thought fled and the only thing I could focus on was how smooth her hand was, how good her touch felt.
During the drive from her house, we’d talked endlessly. Mostly about the crazy shit she was explaining on that limit list. There was some seriously weird shit people were into. Granted, I found myself somewhat intrigued to experience a few of those things. We’d laughed and somehow managed to fill out at least a quarter of the first page before we arrived.
I peered over at her. “I’m… I think I’ll be fine.” Just as soon as I got out of there, everyone would be fine.
“I’m sure there have been a million rumors about Trent over the years,” she said softly. “He probably shrugs them off.”
