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3. Fake It Till You Make It

[AVA]

Ava?” The guy stood there, utterly shocked, his eyes bulging out as if they might pop right out of his head.

Oh, great! This was definitely not part of the plan. At least not so soon.

"Is it really you?" he stammered, furrowing his brows and adjusting his rimless spectacles on his nose. "How... what... when... WHAT?"

To put it simply: I was in deep trouble. Like, really, really screwed!

After leaving the party, I had called a cab and headed to the address given by the client, although it was quite a challenge with my mom still nagging at me. It took about twenty minutes to reach the location and another five minutes to dodge the reception and slip into the (thankfully) empty elevator. But as soon as I opened the door to the designated room, expecting another meaningless encounter, my worst nightmare stood before me in a suit, his cheeks flushed.

As if that weren't enough to destroy my self-esteem, it turned out that this nightmare was none other than Sean Edwards, the brother of my arch-nemesis, Coraline Edwards.

"Shit!" I exclaimed for what felt like the thousandth time, watching with wide eyes as twenty-six-year-old Sean cringed at my choice of words and nervously bit his lower lip. "Shit! No, scratch that. Double shit. Actually, screw it, no amount of shit could be shittier than this shit."

"Could you please stop?" he grumbled, wiping sweat off his forehead. He was already tired of dealing with me. "That's enough shit for a lifetime."

"What do you even know?" I exclaimed, hiding my face in my hands, barely holding back the urge to burst into tears. I felt humiliated, my face burning with embarrassment, and sweat trickling down my forehead even though the air conditioner was working perfectly fine.

Why did this have to happen to me? I just needed to hold onto this job a little longer, but no, fate couldn't be that kind to me, could it? I completely forgot how unlucky the entire Monroe family had been lately. And now that I was caught by the guy I practically grew up with, this job was doomed from the start. To make matters worse, I couldn't even save enough money for my second semester before everything went downhill. For the past few months, I compromised my pride and values for absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing!

"I guess I know a few things, but maybe I'm exaggerating how bad my experiences have been. I tend to do that a lot."

As I stood there staring at him, he rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Sorry. I tend to say nonsense when I'm stressed. Wait, why is it so hot in here?" He fanned himself and then returned to bed, taking a seat and fidgeting with his long fingers.

I groaned, rolling my eyes, and sat down on the cushioned chair next to the door, burying my face in my hands. "Sean, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question."

Sure, he had the right to ask, but it didn't mean he had to. I raised my head and gave him a sarcastic look. "Oh, why bother? Haven't you already figured it out?" I knew I was being rude and had no justification for it... but I couldn't control myself. If word got out about my job, I would be in serious trouble. Deep, deep trouble.

I couldn't bear to think how disappointed Dad would be!

"What's wrong with you?" He furrowed his brow in annoyance. "Do you think I wanted this? To get caught with an escort who happens to be a childhood friend of my sister? What the hell, Ava? Why are you mad at me?"

He was right. I shouldn't be angry at him. He didn't do anything wrong. Except for hiring an escort... but I was the last person to judge. After all, it was because of people like him that I still had a chance to graduate.

I sighed, rubbing my temples.

"I'm not mad at you," I said, which was partially true. "I'm... I'm furious with myself. This... was never supposed to happen. You don't understand..."

"Well, in that case, we're on equal ground, aren't we?" he remarked, frowning again. "Because you don't seem to be doing a great job of understanding me either."

"Does that mean something?" I asked.

"Of course it does. You're not the only one dealing with a crisis."

"What are you... What are you even talking about?" I clenched my fist and hissed, "How can you be in trouble?" From what I could tell, his family wasn't going bankrupt, his mother wasn't pressuring him to seduce the wealthy man next door, and his brother wasn't stealing from him, wherever he stashed it. So, no, I couldn't understand what kind of trouble he could possibly be facing.

But then I pondered it further, and another realization dawned on me. My shoulders slumped. "I won't breathe a word about this if you're worried. So, relax. Your secret is safe with me. I promise!"

"Ava, it's not what—" Sean was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He scowled as he retrieved it from his pocket and grunted a few words. "Damn it. Why are they so early?"

I frowned, a shiver running down my spine. His words filled me with fear. "What's going on?"

"Ugh... this is bad!" He ran a hand through his dark hair, leaping out of bed and going into full panic mode. "I did something really stupid. Please try not to be mad."

"Enough with the nonsense, Sean. What the hell did you do? Who's early? Wait. Did you contact another escort? What the hell, Sean? Are you some kind of sex addict that I'm just finding out about?"

I wasn't even sure why I felt offended. But screw it. Who really cared?

"What? No! How could you even...?" He appeared equally horrified and terrified.

"What else am I supposed to think?"

Instead of answering, he shook his head. "Forget it. We don't have time for this!" He turned and headed towards the door, grabbing his jacket from the bed. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

However, before he could even touch the doorknob, we were interrupted by a knock.

Sean's hand froze. His eyes widened, and he almost let out a whimper as he glanced back.

But he wasn't the only one.

Sean and I exchanged a glance as my heart pounded against my chest.

He gave me an apologetic look while I shot him a bewildered one, wondering what the hell was happening.

"I can explain," he said quietly, using his hands to implore me to calm down.

"You better start right now," I whispered, keeping my voice as low as possible.

Sean walked across the room, grabbed my arm, and pulled me to the far corner, away from the main entrance.

"Alright. It all started yesterday when one of my friends teased me about not having a girlfriend. I tried to convince them that I wasn't interested. With all the workload, I had very little time for anything else. You know my dad, right? He can be a real pain in the ass. He's incredibly meticulous and-"

"Sean!" I scolded. "You're rambling. We don't have time for this!"

He winced. "Sorry. Nervous. As you can see. Well, here's what happened... I told them I didn't have time. They didn't believe me. I told them the truth. They still didn't believe me. They labeled me as gay. And not in a supportive or understanding way, but in a derogatory manner. They were mocking me. It was too much to handle. So, I sort of lied..." He took a deep breath after blurting it all out. "I told them I was hooking up with a girl I met online, and she wanted to keep it a secret."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, it sounds terrible, I know."

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

"Yeah, that too."

"Are you saying they came to watch you hook up with some mystery girl?" I could feel bile rising in my throat. "What's wrong with your friends? Are they all this disgusting?"

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