I STILL LOVE YOU, BUT...

CHAPTER 20

AMANDA

"Have you read this?"

Debra shoves a copy of the Daily Mail under my nose.

"What is it?"

"It's an interview with Tristan Remington. Look."

She spreads out the paper and jabs at the picture of Tristan.

It's Tristan's new official photograph, the one he releases to the media.

He's wearing an outfit I had chosen for him. A midnight-black Armani suit, an iceberg-blue shirt, and a narrow black strip of tie. He looks cool and hot and impeccably assured, with that hint of arrogance in the stare of those penetrating dark eyes, that blade of a nose, the cut of that sexy, chiselled jaw. This is the image Tristan Remington projects to the world: a hard man, an uncompromising man, a man who doesn't tolerate mistakes, but as I look more closely, there's a tiny smile playing upon his lips --- hardly noticeable, except to the most discerning eye. I'd like to think I put it there. "You have to look friendlier, smile more in your photo," I'd said to him severely that morning, sliding my fingers up that hard, ripped chest to knot his tie, readying him for the photo shoot. "Do you know how scary you are when you don't smile? You look like this." I had scrunched my brows into a ferocious scowl, and snarled, and he had laughed, a low, warm rumble of pleasure washing over me, like a comforting wave, and pulled me close and murmured, "But, darling, you know I only smile at you."

"You're smiling." Debra is frowning at me. "Why are you smiling?"

"I'm not."

"Yes, you were. You're not -- oh, God, you are." her face crumples dramatically. "Poor, poor Amanda."

"Huh?"

"You're crushing on him, aren't you?" she sighs. "Can't say I blame you, but this article is going to destroy you." She sighs again. "Read it, but be warned. It's going to break your heart." She rubs her chest, casts her eyes downward. "Like it shattered mine."

The article is captioned, Billionaire CEO Tristan Remington Unstoppable on his Relentless Rise to the Top

Tristan Remington, the charismatic owner and founder of Remington Inc., continues his meteoric rise to the top of Britain's tough and highly competitive corporate world, capping off another successful year with an impressive list of mergers and takeovers...

"You can skip all that...just read this part here. Remington is in a serious relationship..." Debra says mournfully. "See? He's seeing someone..." she raises a tearful face.

"Um --- "

"I. Am. So. Sad," she gives a heartfelt sigh. "So, so , so, so, saaadddddd..."

"What's up, girls?" Lynn pops up like magic. Her jaw goes slack. "Oooooh, a write-up on Mr. Sexy! Give me that!" She snatches the paper from under our noses.

"Trust me, Lynn. You do not want to read that." Sally says chirpily, breezing in, her cheeks flushed red from the blustery February wind. "It quite ruined my breakfast."

But Lynn is already reading, her brow furrowed.

"Billionaire CEO Tristan Remington Unstoppable on his Relentless Rise to the Top...why does that sound so dirty?" she brays.

Sally giggles. "Maybe, it's because you have a dirty mind, Lynn."

Lynn continues to read, "Remington has...investments...track record...bla bla bla bla...boring..." her eyes glaze over, skim down. "Bla bla bla...yawnnn." She stops talking. Her mouth drops open. "REMINGTON IS IN A SERIOUS RELATIONSHIP." She staggers, clutching her chest. "What??? Nooooo. It's not true! He's single, single, single, single..." she wails.