Once Upon A Time(40)

“Seriously, who put a stick up your ass?” Kylie asked, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the large bowl on Quinn’s lap. Quinn grabbed the bowl and hugged it to his chest. Kylie rolled her eyes and turned back to me. “Are we missing something here? Did you leave something out?”

I raked my hands through my hair.

“God.” I sighed, throwing myself down on the sofa next to Kylie. “He’s impossible. I told him he’s not worth the risk. I’m not going to lose my job over him. I pretty much stripped him of his ego in the hopes he’d stop pursuing this thing he seems to think we have between us.”

Kylie shook her head as if she had all the answers to my problems.

“You can’t expect him to just disappear, Pay. He’s your client. You’re going to have to face him sometime.”

She was right, I knew she was, but that didn't stop my mind from drifting to places a mind should never venture, especially mine.

“I know. He said he wanted to take me to dinner as a peace offering.”

“Where is he taking you, anyway? You didn't say,” Quinn muttered, still stuffing his face.

“I thought I told you?” I paused, furrowing my brows. The location was what was making me nervous, not Gabriel. Okay, he was making me nervous too. “He’s got reservations at Illusion.”

Suddenly, Quinn was choking and Kylie was squealing and flailing around on my sofa. I swear I needed to invest in IKEA with these two around.

“Oh my shit!” Kylie stopped, turning to me with a devilish look in her eyes. “You’re going to Illusion and that’s what you’re wearing?”

I looked down at my baby blue silk tank and black skinny jeans, giving myself a once over before glancing at Kylie with a blank expression.

“What? This is the best I have.” I sighed in defeat.

“Quinn.” Kylie turned, prying the bowl from his vice-like grip. “We've got a job to do.”

Quinn smirked, wiping his hands together in exaggeration before they each grabbed me by the wrists, marching me into my bedroom.

“We have twenty minutes!” Kylie announced, placing me in the middle of my room. “Quinn, black or red?” she asked over her shoulder as she assessed me.

“With her skin tone? Black.” He smirked, leaving the room.

Where in the hell did he disappear to?

As if Kylie could read my thoughts, she answered my question.

“Don’t worry, he ran to my room to grab something.”

I looked at her pointedly.

“If that something is worth more than one hundred dollars, you can forget it.”

“Stop being a party pooper and raining all over my parade. Now.” She pointed at my head. “I need to deal with that.”

Oh, for the love of god.

I prayed for a miracle… or an earthquake.





I WAS ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE if I stood close to a naked flame, my head would become a raging inferno within seconds, I had so much hairspray in my hair. My hair had been twisted into an elegant chignon at the base of my neck and instead of my skinny jeans and blouse, I was sporting a black knee-length dress that Kylie had thrown at me a couple of minutes ago. When I got a look at the label inside the dress, my eyes all but flew out of my head. It was a Vera Wang dress – I had no doubt it cost a small fortune. My feet were encased yet another pair of Kylie’s Louboutins, this time a fire engine red.

“I feel… expensive,” I grumbled as I stared at my reflection in my bedroom mirror. I wasn't even sure if I was breathing, the dress was so damn tight. “I’m going to fall on my face, I can see it.”

I threw my arms up and turned to my best friends, who’d taken up residence on my bed.

“You’re so dramatic.” Kylie rolled her eyes.

“Erm, pot? Kettle?” I fired back, pulling the fabric away from my body in the hopes I could get at least an inch of breathing space.

Quinn pointed and laughed at Kylie. I swear, sometimes, my best friends were still in kindergarten.

“Ouch! Woman, watch the hair!” Quinn scolded, trying to put his hair back in place.

“Oh, shut it.” Kylie chuckled at Quinn before turning to me. “You’ll be fine. Just remember heel, toe.”

“Heel, toe.” I sighed. “Oh god. I can’t do this. Can’t I just wear my jeans and a tank? I’m completely out of my depth right now.”

Out of nowhere, my buzzer sounded. Glancing at my watch, my heart rate accelerated. It was six-thirty. Damn it, I had no time to change.

“Show time!” Quinn clapped his hands together and made a beeline for the buzzer.

“Oh my god, Kylie!” I shrieked.

“Okay, will you just relax?” She stood, placing her hands on my shoulders. “It’s just dinner in a fancy restaurant with the man who sets your vagina on fire, surrounded by celebrities with more money than they have sense. You'll be fine.”