4
Suddenly, my phone rang. It was Mr. Davies.
“Stella, where are you? Get to a bar called ‘Serendipity’ right now! Harris Croft is on his way there as we spe- ak. This is your last chance! He didn’t get a good look at you before. Once he sees your face, you’re in!”
I was slumped over the bar, my head spinning. “Boss, please,” I slurred. “Let me go. His assistant already warned me off. The stand-in trick isn’t going to work.”
He wasn’t listening. “What do you know? Even the toughest guys have a soft spot if you’re persistent enough. There’s no such thing as a failed substitute, only one who didn’t try hard enough. He might resist once or twice, but seven or eight times? Can he really remain unmoved? Trust me, I know men better than you do. When you can’t have the real thing, even a picture is enough to quench the thirst.”
His voice dropped to an excited whisper. “Listen, I have inside info. A minute ago, Harris suddenly shot to hi feet, so agitated he crushed a wine glass in his hand. His assistant asked him what was wrong, and Harris’s voice was trembling when he said, ‘She’s online. She’s nearby.’ Turns out, his long-lost love just logged intc an old, dormant social media account and posted something. After he saw it, he forgot all about dinner, personally traced the location, and found out she was at a bar nearby. He’s rushing over there now, looks like he could fly.”
Mr. Davies was practically giddy. “I bet she doesn’t want to see him, otherwise why would she stay away al these years? When he gets to the bar and finds out she won’t go back with him, that’s your moment. That’s
when you strike.”
The world snapped into focus. Harris was coming here?
Who gave my boss the audacity to say something so insane?
Wait. Harris found my private account?
That meant all my teenage angst, my unrequited love, my possessive desires… it was all laid bare for him to
see.
My head throbbed. I wanted to delete every single post, to erase every trace of my secret heart.
I scrambled off the barstool and headed for the exit, desperate to escape. I hadn’t even reached the doo
when I heard Harris’s voice, cool and controlled, cut through the noise of the bar.
“Lock this place down. I don’t want so much as a fly getting out.”
His assistant was right behind him, promising, “It’s done, sir. I have guards at the front and back doors. We’l
find Miss Taylor this time, I guarantee it.” Then, he spotted me. His face twisted in disgust. “You again? Are you deaf? Still haven’t given up? Get lost.”
A guard next to him spoke up. “Mr. Hanson, Mr. Croft just said not even a fly gets out.”
Hanson pointed a dismissive finger at me. “She’s the exception. This woman is trying to pass herself off as Miss Taylor’s stand-in. The man he wants to see the least right now is her.”
Harris hadn’t seen me.
The moment his assistant said my name-Stella-the gaze that had been sweeping the room, the gaze that was about to land on my face, slid right past me. His body language was a clear, brutal message: he had no
interest in a substitute.
He walked straight to the bar, holding up his phone to the bartender.
“Have you seen the girl on this screen?”
With my head bowed, I fled.
No one stopped me.
Chapter 2
I stumbled out of the bar, my legs unsteady.
I thought I was safe. But just as I reached the sidewalk, I ran right into Mr. Davies, who had followed me to
watch the drama unfold.
He blocked my path. “My dear girl, where are you going? Get back in there! This is a god-given opportunity!”
He grabbed my arm, his voice a frantic hiss, and tried to drag me back inside.
I was genuinely drunk now, my thoughts turning to sludge. I was getting angry. “Mr. Davies, let go of me. I’ve had too much to drink. You know what happens when I’m not in my right mind. If I do something to Mr
Croft… don’t blame me when he comes after you.”
