ink. (haylor)

ii. rooibos on the counter

a/n:

i haven't updated in forever im so sorry, im on winter break now and im posting this at 1:30am so it's not the best but yeah :):

love love love

-kay

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[Taylor's POV]

"You've got to be kidding. No way this is really happening," I stood from behind my desk, furious.

No, absolutely seething.

"I'm sorry Tater-tot. This is the only way Des and I can see a way forward from here. Think of it as a business deal," my dad began to reason, half-heartedly.

Did he not understand how precious my private life was to me? Ever since the family company blew up, I've had strange men shoving giant cameras into my face, barely giving me space to walk – and now he expected me to pretend to be in love with some rich successor for those very same men.

No.

"I'm not doing it," I stated plainly and stared out into the New York streets below the giant window that stretched across the wall of my office behind my desk.

"You have no choice," Janellle protested, speaking for the first time.

I huffed and didn't turn back, still staring out the window. A plane flew by, heading into the sunset. How I wished I was a passenger on it. I would fly away from all of this bullshit. Into the sky. Maybe I'd float aimlessly, with no destination in mind. I'd float so directionlessly, I'd become indistinguishable from the clouds themselves.

What in these sick peoples' minds makes it seem okay to force two people – who don't know the first thing about each other – to pretend to be in love for the sake of a profit?

Sometimes I wondered if Scott was really my dad. He looked up from his phone, clearly annoyed that this was taking so much time out of his god-awfully busy schedule.

"Look, this is not the time to be acting like a spoiled brat, Taylor Alison. Now, you know we can't have a CEO who is seen as some kind of drifter. You need to have settled down before you take the position. This is us settling down for you. You're going to come with me and meet with this boy tomorrow, and I swear if you're not there at 10am, I will cut you off," he finished with a threat and stood to leave, Janelle trailing after him like a lost puppy.

"What about Adam?" I asked softly enough that he might not have heard me.

"The DJ? I suggest you forget about him. Fast."

They left, and I felt the pure anger pumping through my veins, heating my cheeks up. This was why we needed feminism in this day and age. Because women, however smart or powerful, were still being forced into situations such as this one.

I hoped the guy was good-looking, at least.

I scolded myself and sat defeated in my plush swivel chair and stared blankly at the computer screen that seemed too bright in contrast with the gloominess I felt on the inside.

Just going home and burrowing under a nest of blankets with a bottle of wine seemed like a great idea at that point – but then I remembered the green-eyed gentleman from this morning.If I completely dodged work for the rest of the day and went into hibernation, chances are, I wouldn't "accidentally" bump into him in the hallway outside his apartment.

Almost every moment since the morning had been occupied by day-dreaming about the pull of his suit jacket across his broad shoulders as he took my hand. And the elegance and calm collectedness he carried himself with. And he was so panty-droppingly sexy, he had me constantly trying to keep my thoughts PG, in case any of my employees passed by and saw me with my eyes closed and a goofy smile on my face.