Free Sex, Lies & Her Impossible Boss by Jennifer Rae Page A

looked in their neon clothes and over-priced shoes. Charlie would have laughed at them too. He would have made Cash laugh, pretending to jog all the way to the pub where he would have sat him down and told him to stop being an idiot and go and talk to Faith. Explain everything to her. Charlie had always helped calm him down and sort through things. But Charlie wasn’t there. And soon, Faith would be gone too. He’d told her it was to be her last show. He’d made her feel like he used to feel—as if what she did wasn’t important, as if she wasn’t important. And instead of it making him feel like the man in charge—he was left feeling like the world’s biggest jerk.
    * * *
    ‘He is the world’s biggest jerk.’ Faith was waiting for Betty Boom-Boom to put the final touches on her make-up.
    ‘Maybe he’s right, Faith. Maybe this stuff is too much for people. He does have a business to run.’
    ‘Don’t take his side!’
    ‘I’m not.’ Betty looked at her with her kohl-lined eyes. ‘I’m just saying you don’t know what else is happening in his life. Maybe he’s getting pressure from the bigwigs. You never know what people are dealing with behind closed doors. It could be nothing to do with you.’
    Faith folded her arms. No, he was just a jerk. A jerk who kissed like an X-rated dream. A jerk with deep brown eyes that seemed to search her soul, that seemed to see what was there and like her anyway. But he didn’t like her.
    ‘Why can’t people just say what they mean? Why do you have to always figure out what’s going on in their heads?’
    ‘Because most of us have been hurt and are afraid of it happening again.’
    ‘I can’t imagine Cash Anderson ever being hurt. He’s always in control. A master manipulator of people. That’s why they called him back over here from the States—apparently he’s the man who can make anyone do what he wants.’
    ‘It seems odd, don’t you think?’ mused Betty, swiping her lips with bright red lipstick. ‘He had such a successful career over there—probably earning squillions. Why would he come back here to fix this tiny little Australian station?’
    ‘I don’t know—maybe he’d run out of women in America.’
    Betty laughed and swatted Faith with a feathered fan. ‘I’ve never heard you so cynical before, Faith. You’re usually the eternal optimist. Seeing the good in people. Trusting everyone.’
    ‘I don’t trust everyone.’
    ‘Yes, you do. You’re like a child sometimes—always expecting people to treat you the way you treat them. Always expecting everyone to try their best and do good things. You need to hang around here a bit more. Then you’d realise that some people are just not worth it.’
    Faith considered Betty’s words. She supposed she was a bit of an optimist. And she did like to be liked, but didn’t everyone? She didn’t want Cash to like her, though. After that kiss she’d spent hours thinking of him. Wondering if he was thinking of her. But when she’d seen him in the boardroom, she’d known he hadn’t been thinking of her at all. All he thought about was advertising dollars and how much money he could make. He hadn’t thought about her. So she was refusing to think about him.
    Although stubbornly his face kept creeping into the corner of her mind. The words he spoke to her the other day sounded in her ears—‘You are brave, Faith.’ The way he breathed into her mouth during the tantric session, the feel of his hands on her back as they caressed her bones. The hardness of his chest as he pushed into her and the passionate way he held her wrists when they kissed, as if he’d never let her go. Her stomach swooped. Deep in her core she swelled. She shouldn’t think about these things. She wouldn’t.
    ‘I’m going for a little wander, Bets—come and find me when you’re ready.’
    Faith didn’t want to sit amongst the half-naked women and the idle chatter. She wanted to think. Think about how Betty said you