Page 7 of Captivated By You
CHAPTER
THREE
CLAUDIA
My sushi settled in my stomach like rotten fish. Nothing could have made it taste good that day as I wandered the streets, taking as long as possible to return to my desk.
Goodness. I’d slammed into Liam Allistor for crying out loud. If I had been a teenager when he hit the scene, I would have wanted to cover my walls in posters of him—shirtless and on stage. Not that my mom would have ever allowed it and I was too old to do it now. All that ink drove me crazy. He had a body that belonged inside a fighting ring and somehow, he stroked and strummed a guitar and wiggled his hips on stage like he’d been gifted with the gracefulness of a dancer.
It was the tattoos on his knuckles that first gave him away. I knew from a magazine spread he’d done about a year ago that he’d gotten Love Loud inked in all caps on the knuckles of both his hands. At the time, he’d been attached to some B-List actress and the ink spawned rumors of an upcoming engagement. Two weeks later, she was gone and the rumor mill spread to something else more exciting.
If I could have ever met a musician or any celebrity and run the risk of fangirling like a lunatic, Liam Allistor would be the one I’d do it for. Instead, I’d run into him like a complete, embarrassing idiot.
How humiliating. First I spent the morning trying to essentially sell my virginity to my Aunt Karen and then I landed on my ass in front of an incredibly sexy rockstar.
My day officially sucked.
Back at my desk, I tossed my purse on the top and turned, intent on using the restroom before getting back to work, when Karen’s voice rang through the intercom on my desk. It was brusque and demanding, just like always.
“Claudia. My office. Now.”
Oh-kay.
I made my way to her office, not bothering to knock before opening the door.
As soon as I was seated in a chair opposite Karen’s desk, she slid a file folder in my direction. “It seems I don’t have much choice in your wishes anymore. I need you to fill out the questionnaire on the tablet. Here are the times for your medical and psychological evaluations scheduled for this afternoon, and here is the contract you need to sign.”
My world spun and the sushi threatened to make a return appearance.
I stared at her, my mouth hanging open as my skin turned to ice. “Excuse me?”
“This is your contract.” She tapped the closed file with a red painted fingernail. “Claudia?”
Three papers. Sign my life away. I asked for this not even two hours ago.
My pulse hit skyrocket levels as I scanned the contract. I’d seen dozens of them in the last month. I knew what it said.
Still, despite my approaching Karen earlier, everything was moving too fast. It was supposed to take up to months for Infidelity to find the perfect companions. Contracts weren’t signed until then.
“Why so quickly?” I asked, tapping my pen on the contract.
Karen’s expression was neutral. Typical of her. “I can’t tell you why.”
“But this means you have someone already lined up for me. Who?”
“You know I can’t tell you that, either.”
My blood raged through my system, flaring everything with the sudden onslaught of fear. Something wasn’t right. “Karen—”
She shook her head once. The quick whip of her hair was an effective slash to silence me.
I was floundering, grappling for a lifeline, something to explain the sudden shift in what had occurred since my lunch hour.
“You know the rules, Claudia.”
“But—”
“And you chose them. You came to me for this.” She was right, but I hadn’t expected everything to happen so quickly. Her voice softened and she continued, “Go do the evaluations. Leave the contract on your desk. When you’re done, if you still want to move forward, sight it and return it. But I will need your answer today.”
