If anyone wants to pm me some book covers I would love to see them! 🥰

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I stood in front of the mirror, wiping the toothpaste from my lips. Earlier, Mr. Carter had brunch with me and I still couldn't think about a single thing besides his words.

"Logan, doesn't know what's good for him..."

"He's going to try and end things

but it's up to you to keep him on track..."

Things were still tense when we went home, he still had yet to say a word to me. I look over at his already sleeping figure in the bed.

How did he even expect me to do that? What kind of persuasive powers did he think I had?

I sigh and quickly wash my face, moisturizing afterwards. I pulled my straightened hair into a messy bun, wrapping a silk scarf around my head.

Just as I was going to crawl into bed, my phone began to ring on my nightstand. I picked it up, reading the caller ID.

Why was calling me?

I snuck a peek at Logan who was snoring softly. With a frown, I walked downstairs to the kitchen to take the call.

I answered and waited for him to say something.

"Why are you calling me?" He sighed softly over the phone at my voice.

"I just wanted to check in on you, Yasmin." I heard shuffling over the line before it went quiet again.

"I'm fine, was that it?"

"Yes... no, Yaz, I know you're with your colleague and—"

"Wait a minute, how in the hell could you possibly know that?" I held the phone between my ear and shoulder, grabbing a bottle of white wine from the fridge.

He spoke as I poured myself a glass, "I have a friend that works there. I haven't met the guy but I-I just want you to know that I'm here for you. Not for a fling but here for you."

"Why?" I sipped the cool liquid, leaning against the counter top.

"What do you mean why?" I heard a touch of disbelief in his voice.

"I mean, what's in it for you? Why would you help me?"

"Yaz, not every man that wants to help you has alternate motive."

"Every man I've met has, including you, Derrick." I roll my eyes and look around for a snack.

"Including me? When you called me, I came to see you. You always chose sex over talking. You did, not me."

"Well, I'm sorry if that hurt your feelings. I'm with Logan now and we're happy." I clenched my jaw tightly at the lie as I picked up a big of hot Cheetos.

He was silent for a minute before he spoke up, "you know this thing you're doing, it doesn't bother me. The walls you put up to protect yourself, they don't work on me. Say whatever you want, it doesn't matter. I still have feelings for you."

I freeze at his words and pull back to look at the phone. Putting it back to my ear, I respond, "what?"

"You heard me. Why is that so surprising? You're with a man who tried to keep you as his dirty little secret. You deserve someone that will cherish you rather than use you. You and I both know that."

I wet my bottom lip with my tongue quickly, feeling a tinge of embarrassment from his words. "Logan divorced her."

"And he's just happy as can be, huh? They were high school sweethearts, Yaz. There are tons of articles about the infamous billionaire boy, Logan Carter and his beautiful Barbie wife. But he divorced her and he loves you, because you mean the world to him?

"Yasmin, he doesn't even know you. Nobody does."

"What, why are you pretending to—"

"I'm not pretending to do anything, I now that for a fact. You don't let people get to know you. When was the last time he made you smile?" I blinked rapidly as my eyes began to sting.

"I—"

"Not recently. Does he even know your favorite color? He still loves his wife, Yasmin. Maybe if you stay with him long enough or trick him into staying, he could forget about her. But, that's only if he broke all and complete ties with her. Are they still in communication in any way?"

I say nothing.

"Right, they are. Look, I'm not trying to hurt you. I care about you and I want you to be happy. I want you to be happy with me. When you realize that he doesn't deserve you, I'll be here. I'll be waiting for you." He ends the call and I stand there, staring at the wall.

My mind went back to the conversation I had with Mr. Carter.

"I hope you don't mind, I ordered for you. We'll be here for a while." He rests back in his seat and crosses his arms with that smile still in place.

"What exactly did you want to talk about?"

"I know about the affair, but don't be alarmed! I knew it was going to happen. Don't try to deny it, I'd rather you not insult my intelligence. The reason that I'm okay with it is because I made it happen."

"You— I'm sorry, what?" I look at the waiter who kindly smiled at me, handing me a coffee. He left as quickly as he came.

"I knew this would happen. Your parents and I orchestrated it, I mean it wasn't that hard. Put two attractive young adults in one room around each other, add a little sad marriage into the mix and BAM! There's an affair, am I right?" He laughs and snaps his fingers, drumming the table cheerfully.

"It was a bit risky, putting it together. I mean, the affair part was easy. It's the staying together part that's hard. He's divorced her and now you two can have your happily ever after. Right?" He pats my hand and points at the coffee for me to drink.

"But why? If what you're saying is true... I don't understand why you would do it."

"Logan, doesn't know what's good for him, he's weak. He needs someone strong by his side, someone needs to watch his every move, hold his hand along the way, and keep his sexual drive satisfied. You'd think that would be his wife, right? No, too much damage there. But you two?" He shakes his head with a smile.

"And the fact that you're not white helps even more! Well, not completely white... anyways, people will love that! Your father and I saw this as a perfect opportunity for publicity in both of our companies and for this company to flourish."

I stared at him like he'd grown to heads, he was so nonchalant about this. Like he wasn't just playing Cupid or God, he was his father and he just— is there even a word for this type of stuff?

"Aw, don't look at me like that. You're not exactly innocent if we're pointing fingers. You slept with a married man... repeatedly! They have words for that— whore, tramp, mistress, the other woman, that one was three words. Oh and my personal favorite, sidepiece. I think that's what the young people say, right?" He chuckled and waved the waiter over, the boy placed a sandwich before me.

"Now, for the most important part. It is imperative that the two of you stay together for the sake of appearances. Need I remind you, if it comes out to the world that the half black established business owner had sexual relations with a white married CEO, I doubt it would be easy for you to branch off if you really wanted to. You know, if things didn't work out and you tried to leave.

"You should know that I would easily ruin your image to keep my son's place. Bless is stupid little heart. I also want you to know that my son is planning to leave you.

"You probably don't believe that but I'm here to tell you that he's thinking about it. You know why? It's because he's bored. He needs attention, he needs the adventure, the scandal! And right now, there is none. He's going to try to leave you."

I look down at the steaming plate, feeling sick to my stomach at his words.

"But fear not! Papa Carter is here! Leave it all to me. The only thing you have to do is prolong his break up speech. Listen carefully to my words,

he's going to try and end things

but it's up to you to keep him on track. Any time he tries to end things, distract him. It won't be hard since he'll feel shitty regardless."

He leans forwards, dark brown eyes staring into mine. "You help me, I help you. He stays and you get a husband and a boost in your image. He leaves... well, let's not even think about that."

"So, eat up darling. Put a smile on your face. Things are just getting hot and heavy!"

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