An awkward pause fills the room as my last confession dangles in the air between us. My heart begins to pound, and I continue with my rambling. “I despise the idea that your agency represents her. You’ll always be tied to her, going on the occasional business trip to do…whatever it is you do as her agent.”
“Okay,” he says, and I stop talking, confused and curious.
“Okay, what?”
“You’re right,” he replies. “It’s not fair to you. Any of it.” He falls silent for a minute, locking eyes with me. “I’m done.”
His offer shocks me, and my mouth opens and closes several times before I’m finally able to utter, “Wh-what do you mean you’re done? Greyston, I didn’t mean—”
“I’ll hand her account off to Toby,” he clarifies for me. “She’s signed to the agency, not to me specifically. I don’t want you to ever wonder…not that there’d be anything going on…” His words hang there for a minute while he takes a deep breath. “And besides, if the situation were reversed, I know damn well I wouldn’t like the idea of you being alone with Ben for a school or business-related reason.”
“Greyston, I can’t ask you to do that,” I argue, even though the second the offer is voiced, it’s all I seem to want. I’m fully aware that I’m being unreasonable, yet I’m grateful he volunteered so quickly. It’s all very confusing.
“You’re not asking, sweetheart. I’m telling you I’m done with her. She crossed a line, and I wouldn’t feel right representing her anymore, either.” I continue to stare at him, bewildered, and he offers me a comforting smile.
“Greyston—”
“I know you didn’t bank on any of this happening—neither of us did—and I’m sorry for that.” He cradles my face in his left hand, eyes narrowing as he tries to read my expression. “What is it?”
“I sound like a self-entitled brat.”
Greyston smiles. “No,” he says, his thumb stroking my cheek once before pulling his hand away. “It makes you sound human, and I can’t fault you for feeling this way.”
A part of me wants to tell him that none of this is necessary, that I’m capable of acting like a mature adult while he continues to represent Gemma, but I can’t. “Thank you,” is my response instead, and I’m more than happy with it.
I’m letting the selfish twenty-year-old have her way this time, and I don’t care what anyone thinks.
Chapter 34
Greyston made good on his promise, telling Toby that he would have to handle all of Gemma’s endorsement deals for the foreseeable future. Greyston said that they were both shocked to hear what Gemma had done, and I kind of developed a little girl crush on Callie when I learned that Toby had to restrain her before she could hop in her car and hunt Gemma down.
Okay, so it was more than just a little crush; had I been there, I probably would have kissed her.
The months seem to fly by. Maybe it’s because I’ve been gearing up for finals and Greyston’s been busy with work. However, even with all of the crazy in our lives, we still make time for each other. We’ll always try to plan a quiet dinner together, and if we can’t for some reason, we’ll be sure to set aside a couple hours before bed where we turn off all phones, computers, and TVs so we can sit and enjoy each other’s company before going to bed. Plus, we’re still sure to keep a weekly date night ritual, which is always great.
This week’s regular date has been postponed for Callie and Toby’s wedding, and I am currently seated in one of the two hundred satin-draped chairs in the rented banquet hall. After arriving, Greyston left me with his parents, kissing me on the cheek and telling me he had to go uphold his best man duties. We find our seats, third row from the front as the first two rows were designated for family—turns out, both Callie and Toby come from pretty big families.
Smoothing the lines of my knee-length sapphire blue dress, I look around the room and take in all of the little details. Almost every chair in the room is filled, and I can feel the love that fills the air. Everything is tasteful from the paper lanterns and twinkle lights that hang from the ceiling, to the light blue and purple bows tied around the chairs, and the white rose buds nestled in them.
There’s a string quartet up near the archway that Callie and Toby will be married under, and they’ve been playing since before Greyston and I even arrived. Everything about the wedding is absolutely beautiful, and has me wondering what my wedding—way way in the future—will be like. Will it be this big? Will we choose to elope? Vegas or somewhere in the Caribbean, perhaps? Maybe we’ll go down to city hall with just our parents and have something super small and intimate.