“You call me impulsive. Maybe I am. But Jason,” I said, closing the suitcase, “I loved you. That’s why I put up with so much. All I
wanted, just once, was for my boyfriend to be there for me when I needed him.” The wrap
party was just the last straw. What I wanted Was
so little. A quiet word of comfort, a piece
of candy, a quick kiss, away from prying eyes. But I got nothing. Not once.
I picked up my suitcase, ready to leave. He grabbed my hand. “Amy, we’ve been together for four years. We fight, but we don’t just throw away our relationship. Do you understand?” His eyes bored into mine.
“I understand.”
He looked at me in disbelief. “And you still want to break up? Our relationship means so little to you?”
I shook my head, not wanting to argue anymore. “Jason, we’re not breaking up. We are broken
- up.
<
I pulled my hand away and walked a few steps,
then turned back. “You know, I’m usually pretty
easygoing. I don’t like fighting. We had
something good. Let’s end it amicably. I’m
leaving the industry, so I’m not going to write
some tell–all or post our pictures to ruin you. Consider it,” I paused, “a parting gift.”
He stood there, stunned. Then he rushed. towards me and grabbed my arm. “Amy, stop this. Where will you go without me?” His voice dropped. “If you walk out that door today,
there’s no going back.”
The doorbell rang.
I turned to open the door and froze.
Sarah, seeing me, also froze. Then, her gaze flicked past me to Jason, her voice shy. “Oh, hi Jason. I think I left a bra here the other day
when I…borrowed your shower…”
tarted to laugh I timmad to lagan
<
Silence. I started to laugh. I turned to Jason. “Is borrowing showers also part of your contract?”
Jason hesitated. “Friends help each other out.
It’s just a shower, Amy. Do you have to be so
sarcastic? If you don’t trust me at all, then
maybe we should just break up.”
Yes. Just break up. We were already broken up.
I stepped into the elevator. Jason started to
follow, but Sarah grabbed his arm. “Jason! You
can’t go down there! The paparazzi are
downstairs! They’ll see you!”
He hesitated. The elevator doors closed.
I bought a ticket for the next flight to Seattle.
Rhonda came to see me off, her eyes red.
“Amy, you’re leaving acting? What are you
going to do back home?”
Jason had asked me the same question.
“I don’t know. Go back and…follow the family
plan, I guess.” I’d been young and rebellious,
leaving home against my parents‘ and brother’s
wishes to make it in Hollywood. Now, after four
years, I hadn’t even landed a lead role and was
covered in bad press.
“It’s hard to find a job outside the industry once
you’ve been in it…”
“Yeah, it’s a headache.” I sighed. “I guess I’ll
just have to go back and…inherit the family
business.”
“What?” Rhonda stared.
My flight was boarding. I hugged her. “If you’re
ever in Seattle, come visit me at the Sterling
Corporation building.”
“Sterling?” Rhonda blinked. “The Sterling
Corporation? The biggest household goods
company in the country?” She looked at the
giant Sterling ad on the wall of the airport.
“So…your Sterling…and Sterling Corporation’s Sterling…”
“Yeah,” I said. “Same Sterling.”
The flight was two hours. Landing in Seattle, I was greeted by the familiar smell of the ocean.
When I got home, I learned about the trouble the family business was in. My parents lived abroad, leaving the company to my brother.
He’d tried to hide it from me, but I noticed that
many of our family heirlooms and his prized
cars were missing. He finally confessed that the
company was facing a financial crisis.
“Mom and Dad don’t know yet,” he said,
rubbing his temples. “It’s complicated. We need
to find a partner quickly…and the only one who
can provide the capital we need is Lancaster
Enterprises. But the amount is so large…a
contract might not be enough.”
I knew what he meant.
“So…you need a marriage alliance?”
My brother sighed.
“I can do it.”
He looked up, surprised. “But what about that
actor guy…?”
“We broke up.”
My brother had always looked out for me. He’d
been the one to convince our parents to let me
pursue acting. He’d carried the weight of the
company on his shoulders for years. Now that
he was in trouble, I had to help him.
“So…you’ll meet him?” he asked hesitantly. “If
you don’t like him, we’ll say no. There are other
options.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
Life is funny. Two weeks after breaking up with
Jason, I was sitting in a fancy restaurant, on a
blind date with Alex Lancaster, CEO of
Lancaster Enterprises. He’d texted that he’d be
late, so I was reading a novel on my phone.
Ten minutes later, he arrived. He was
impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, his looks.
and physique as striking as any movie star.
“Sorry, Ms. Sterling. Something came up.”
“No worries, Mr. Lancaster. I just got here
myself.”
He sat down.
“Shall we begin?” I nodded.
“You go first,” I said.
<
11:01
- ))
He thought for a moment. “Are you in good
health?”
“Aside from the occasional upset stomach, I’m
perfectly healthy.”
“Oh, that’s nothing. CEO disease.”
“Excuse me?”
