The Pretend Boyfriend 2 (Inhumanly Handsome, Humanly Flawed Alpha Male Erotic Romance) by Artemis Hunt Page A

hasn’t even been convicted is a worrying development.
    She slips her cellphone back into her purse and peruses the crowded rush hour sidewalk. Then her shoulders slump when she remembers her own predicament.
     
    *
     
    It’s Friday when Sam receives a call from the PI.
    “Can you meet me over lunch?” he says.
    She has an appointment with Henry Moody today. “Uh, I can’t over lunch. But after work? Say . . . around seven?”
    “OK. Bring a check.”
    There’s barely going to be anything left in her savings when she has finished paying him, but if she can land Moody and keep her job, then it would be so worth it. Besides, it’s Brian’s life at stake. Nothing can be worth more than that.
    Outside her office, Kathy Angleston passes by in her impossibly high heels. She’s in all red today, and the look on her face is like that of a cat which has licked the cream off every other cat’s saucer.
    She pokes her head in.
    “Heard you got a Henry Moody appointment today,” she says slyly.
    Sam seethes. “Who told you that?”
    “A little birdie.”
    “I suppose you’re going to say you have an appointment with him too.” Typical Kathy Angleston, Sam thinks.
    “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” Kathy winks and sashays away.
    Damn.
    Now Kathy has her wondering what the hell she’s up to.
     
    *
     
    Three hours later, Sam comes out triumphantly from Moody Enterprises, clutching the precious contract from Henry Moody. She returns to Sapphire and marches into Rutgard’s office.
    “There,” she says with a flourish, laying the contract on his table. “I should be getting a raise for this.”
    He swivels on his chair to eye her. “For doing your job? I think not. I’ve already decided on the job anyway. Kathy Angleston is more suited for it than you are, and I’ve made up my mind to keep her.”
    Sam is dumbstruck.
    “Wh-what?” she splutters.
    Rutgard takes the contract. “I’ll be keeping this, thank you very much.”
    “But I got the contract, just like you said. I’m the first one to land a minimum commitment of a hundred thousand dollars.”
    “Yes, but Kathy brought it other accounts to the cumulative sum of two hundred thousand dollars.”
    “Bullshit! This is not about the other accounts. This is specifically about Moody! You can’t change the goalposts midway into the match. It isn’t fair!” A thought strikes Sam. “Oh God, what did Kathy give you? A blowjob right here in this office? You fucked her, didn’t you?”
    “That’s beside the point.”
    “God!” Sam is so mad right now that she has to use every ounce of her strength to keep herself from hurling at Rutgard to attempt aggravated assault.
    “It’s just business.”
    “Business has nothing to do with it!”
    “You’ve got three days to clear your stuff out. It’s a retrenchment package, Samantha, not the end of the world.”
    Sam storms out of Rutgard’s office. Her vision blurs. I’m not going to cry in front of that bastard, she promises herself. But oh, oh, oh, it’s so unfair. But whoever said life was fair? They certainly weren’t fair to Brian, and he’s a golden boy – handsome, unattainable, rich and successful. What more would the fates have in store for the likes of her, Average Jane?
    A text message alights upon her phone with the sound of a falling drop of water. She looks at the display. It’s the PI, reminding her of their rendezvous.
    Now how the hell is she going to pay for that and her apartment too?

19
     
    The elevator doors slide open. Brian feels like a condemned man as he steps out onto the familiar corridor. Up here in the top floor of the skyscraper, there is barely a soul walking around. The walls are brocade, and bronzed Buddhas from Indonesia grace pedestals of varying heights.
    His uncle is an antique collector. Personally, Brian can never stomach antiques.
    Jefferson Morton’s office is behind two paneled oak doors. Hubert, his bespectacled British PA, sits behind a desk. He looks