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Chapter 4

He Is Not That Into You

"What was that last night?" Nathan asked bitterly and stirred milk into his cereal.

Clay gave to him a "What-are-you-talking-about?" look.

"The thing with the bidding." The basketball player explained and frowned.

Evans smirked. "Why? You jealous?"

Nate didn't honor him with an answer. He merely snorted and noisily took a bite of his breakfast.

The blond man crossed his arms across his chest and took a deep breath.

"What do you feel for her?"

And after a couple of seconds of expecting stare, he answered himself, "Nothing, right? But you still don't want to share her."

"Well, let's just say I wouldn't be blossoming, if she fucked the whole New York behind my back."

"Oh, so this is what it's all about!" Clay raised his forefinger accusatorily. "Your ego would be hurt, if she was interested in someone else."

"You're the one who offered this circus," Nathan stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, but don't you think that Brooke deserves a little respect in this?"

Nate raised his stare from his breakfast and rested his blue eyes on his agent.

"You don't know her. Her legs were open for everyone at high school. Lord knows what she's done to build a successful company," he pointed dryly.

Clay was looking at his client calmly.

"Yes, I probably don't know the Brooke Davis you are telling me about. But I saw something in the eyes of the COB founder Brooke Davis. Actually, I saw nothing. And somewhere at the bottom of this nothing, there's some stubbed pain. Do you know what could be the reason?"

"No and I'm not interested. This is just business." Nate almost muttered.

Evans stood up from the chair and grabbed his light grey jacket.

"Here's an idea – try to get her. Or you'll be the playboy that can't make his girlfriend happy."

Then the blond man left Nate's apartment with confident steps.

The basketball player sighed deeply and rested his elbows on the table. He knew the idea was bad from the beginning. It was the only thought crossing his mind while he was throwing his breakfast in the garbage.

Then it occurred to him – what if there was pain at the bottom of his blank stare too?


Brooke ran her fingers through her dark hair, sighed and leaned back.

Someone forgot to move Anderson's column to page 47, the new fabrics were late.

She could only guess how many years being a boss had taken from her.

However, her headache and fatigue were gone the second she read Nathan's name when her screen flashed on the bureau.

"Hello," she said, her voice suddenly inspired.

"Hey, Brooke!" Nate greeted politely and took a small breath. "Look, I've just finished my practice. Do you have some time to have a lunch with me?"

Of course she had. And if she hadn't, she would've found it, invented it. Whatever it took.

"Yes, I do," she answered sweetly.

"Okay, I'll pick you up from your office at 1 p.m."


"Where was I looking last night?" The dark-haired basketball player's mind was screaming while he was looking at the woman that was coming closer to him.

The previous night Brooke looked fabulous, glamorous, alive. Now she was… ordinary. And unpresentable. And with a dead soul.

Her skin was pale, but not porcelain as last night. It looked unhealthy. The dark color of her shirt emphasized her boney fingers. Her whole body seemed way too thin.

The brunette smoothed the non-existent wrinkle on her grey pants and checked her airy navy shirt with a bow around the neck to see if there were any spots. She was only praying not to step askew and embarrass herself in front of Nathan.

The basketball player took her hand and kissed it gently.

"You're very beautiful," he said… just because he was polite.

And out of a sudden, her tired face lightened with a smile as if nothing was making her soul suffer. And just for a second, she was pretty again in the eyes of the basketball player.

"Thank you!" Her pearly white teeth were showing behind her curved lips, painted with a peachy colored lipstick.

She didn't believe him, because she could see the dark under-eye circles and weak hair, but she found his noble lie pretty adorable.

And for the first time in ages, Nathan felt guilt. Guilt for what had happened the previous night. No woman deserves to be rejected even if she looks horrible. He strictly had believed in this until the night before.

"Look…" he started and pushed uncomfortably his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans, "about last night…"

"You don't have to justify yourself, Nathan. Just because we're pretending to be a couple doesn't mean we have to screw each other."

"Oh, because that sounded so optimistic," the dark-haired man remarked. "Are you hungry?"

The fashion designer nodded and they headed to the restaurant.

While he was cutting his steak, Nate was thinking about way to bring up the subject that Clay had told him about earlier. The air around seemed to be disappearing.

Brooke sighed and dug her spaghetti with a sad face expression.

"I can't eat this!" She whined. "I shouldn't have let you pick fat bombs for me."

"These Cosmo phrases won't pass. I'm tired of going out with women who always order salad, water and air."

Brooke laughed. "Maybe you're right."

"And don't think that we aren't aware that you shove mountains of chocolate into your mouths when you get home hungry as wolfs."

"It's easy for you. You guys eat crap all the time, but half an hour later you burn the fat. We have to be on tea and cereal for weeks. And it's still not working!"

"Tea and cereal? That sounds like a saaad life."

The brunette continued smiling. She hadn't been talking for basically nothing in a very long time. On top of that, she was doing it with a very handsome man.

"You are pretty when you smile."

Nathan suddenly became serious. He thought that if he had not started at that moment, he would never have brought up the subject.

"Why don't you smile more?"

Brooke looked down in shame. "I don't know." She shrugged.

"No, you do. But it hurts you to talk about it."

"You want the truth?" The brunette lifted her head again and after she received an inviting face from the man in front of her, she continued. "When you are a chick and you make an empire, men aren't interested in you unless they're wannabe actors. And if you count the fact that your mom loves you just because you make her rich, you will eventually start to look like me. The information about how my heart feels will take more time to explain."

Scott nodded. "Thanks for sharing."

He assumed from her face expression that he shouldn't have asked more. She wasn't ready to talk. At least for now.

"Why are you asking?"

Nathan merely shrugged. "I don't know. I remember you in a different way. Now you seem a lot different."


Millicent nervously knocked on the door of her boss' office. After an encouraging 'Come in!', she opened the door and with an obvious doze of uncertainty took a few steps forward.

"Ms. Davis, the fabrics are here, but we can't stop the magazine. Actually, we could, but that would lead to loss and delay."

Brooke's body was as still as a statue, her eyes were empty while she was staring at the window.

"I've told you to call me Brooke," she uttered quietly. Her lips were the only part of her body that was moving.

"What happened, Ms. Davis… I mean Brooke?"

The fashion designer removed her gaze from the huge window and landed it on Millie. Then she shrugged.

"Can I sit down?" the assistant asked and pointed the beige chair on the other side of Brooke's desk. "I'm going to wait until you feel better or at least start speaking."

"People want my clothes, want the face of COB. They want my lifestyle without knowing that it actually sucks. But nobody wants me. After the charity event, Nathan tried to make a move. He grabbed me as if he wanted me only to let me go a second later. He told me he didn't want to fail."

Suddenly, the fashion designer started talking.

"Having in mind the photos that have been flowing around the magazines and the Internet, it was a step forward to back off and not use you." Millie didn't know what to do, but she tried to say the right words.

"It's exactly what I want. I want someone to show this animal crave, to fuck me as if it's his last time and just for a second to make me feel as a human, not Brooke Davis."

The fashion designer made a small pause before continuing.

"I guess we crossed the line in our 'boss-assistant' relationship, didn't we?"

Millicent laughed. "Yeah, the word 'fuck' killed all the professionalism we had."

Brooke chuckled.

"You know, fuck Nathan! Let's dress up and go for a girls' night out tonight. He has fun behind your back anyway."

"It's a good idea, Millie." Brooke smiled.


Next time: Brooke decides to give it a try and live a little. Will she jeopardize the plan and who will she meet while having fun?