The Pretend Girlfriend (A Billionaire Love Story #1)(49)

Henry was a risk taker, it seemed. He'd at the very least suggested the truth. Trying to scare her off, she knew. But it could also backfire. After all, he'd not come out and revealed the whole truth. It would damage the image of his company, and the last thing Henry Manning would ever allow was someone to hurt his business.

What was going to happen next? Would she show up for a lecture only to find a camera crew waiting outside the lecture hall?

Worse, would her classmates start to ask her about all this? It was pretty clever on Henry's part, she had to admit. Rumors spread faster than wildfire. He was getting help from the public, now.

She wondered what Aiden would make of it. Of course, if interviewed himself, he'd tell them it was real.

She went back to her desk, pushed the laptop aside, and rested her forehead against the cool surface. Was it real to him, though? Or was it really just a contract with a few signatures for him?

Is all this worth it? Gwen thought. Or am I the one who can't tell fantasy from reality? She kept sticking her neck out for Aiden, and so far for pretty much nothing in return but more trouble.

The best thing to do right then was just to get to work. To try and make all this effort worth it by following through on her school obligations.

With that in mind, she fired up Internet Explorer and did her best to ignore the open Word document. She had new emails.

One was from The Office of Henry Manning. It was a brief message, telling her that she could expect a lot more pressure now. And also to remind her that she could end it all quickly and easily, and that her life would go back to normal. And also that the cash settlement was off the table.

That was a crock, she knew. Even if she terminated the agreement right then, normal was no longer possible. People knew, now.

Her cell started buzzing against the desk. Gwen picked it up, and almost put it back down. Her call display read Mom. She contemplated not answering, but did.

"Hi, mom," Gwen said.

"Hello indeed! Do you know what your Aunt Virginia just finished telling me on the phone?"

Gwen stuck her elbow against the desk and planted her chin in her palm. She stared at the picture of Big Ben, wishing she could just concentrate hard enough and find herself in London. Having an entire ocean between her and her life right at that moment sounded pretty good.

"I don't know, mom, something about watching paint dry?"

Her Aunt Virginia was her mother's oldest sister. A dull old spinster who enjoyed being surrounded by cats and spent most of her time trolling Facebook for interesting bits of family gossip she could use to stir people up.

"You don't have to be like that, Gwenny. And actually, she says that you've taken up with a new boy. Why didn't you tell me!? Virginia says your father knows. What possible reason could there be for you to tell him and not me?"

Gwen loved the way her mom worded that, as though she was in junior high trying to hide a boyfriend after being told she wasn't allowed to date until her senior year of high school or something. Gwen swore, if a person were to go by her parents' description of her, they would think she was an airheaded teenager.

She stared up at the ceiling. This is my punishment for not using my time to get my paper done, isn't it? She was squandering her time pining about a boy rather than doing what she knew she should, and this was the universe trying to set her back on track.

"I didn't want to tell him, either..."

"What? Why?"

Gwen stood up and started pacing. "Because I knew this was how you'd react."

"Gwendolyn! I have a right to know what's going on in your life..."

"And I have a right to choose when and if I want to tell you!" Gwen said. Her voice had more bite to it than she'd intended, and she knew she was taking out her frustrations on her mother, who, despite her nosiness, really did just want to be included in her daughter's life.

"Well then," her mother said after a moment's pause, "Does this have anything to do with all the rumors?"

The sinking feeling in Gwen's stomach forced her to sit down on the foot of her bed. "What rumors?"

Rick couldn't have gotten that bit up online already, could he have?

"Virginia told me there are pictures of you and this boy all over the internet! People are saying things about you."

Pictures? Gwen wondered. Then she remembered all those cameras at the charity event at that Hilton. Her stomach twisted as she thought of how they might be captioned, and what the people she knew thought of the whole thing.

I must look like a gold digger or something.

"Is he a nice boy, at least?" her mother said.

"Man, mom; he's a man. Please stop calling him a boy." Nothing like being infantilized by your parents. She wondered at what point your parents were supposed to stop thinking of you as the little kid they walked to Kindergarten.

"Fine. Is he a nice man?"

"Yes, yes he is," Gwen said. And she meant it. No matter what else you said about Aiden, you had to agree with that. Nobody could do all that charity work without official support from his company and not be a good person, somewhere deep inside.

That thought rid her of some of the anxiety and worry stewing inside her. It made all the effort on her part seem at least partly worthwhile.

"And you really like him?" her mother asked.

"Yeah, mom, I do."