Free Lucky Me by Saba Kapur Page B

who’s behind it,” Jack said, his tone sounding very business-like. “But, you need to accept the fact that I’m not going anywhere. You can hate me all you want, but I’m still going to be around.”
    â€œWhat if I don’t want to know who’s behind it? What then?”
    â€œI think we both know that’s a lie. And you don’t have the ability to find out who it is by yourself.”
    â€œBut you do?”
    Jack shrugged. “I could definitely help. Plus, you’ve got that Golden Globes thing you’re so excited about. You don’t want to ruin that, do you?”
    I raised an eyebrow. “How do you know about that?”
    â€œGia, I live with you remember? It’s all you’ve been talking about for the past few days.”
    I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. “Let’s say I, hypothetically, take you up on this offer. What do I have to do?”
    â€œDrop the act,” Jack said simply.
    â€œCome again?”
    â€œOh come on, Gia,” Jack replied. “You can’t honestly hate me this much for no reason. You don’t even know me! This is probably just to get back at your dad for something.”
    I stared at him silently for a few seconds. Alright, so he had caught me. I mean, it wasn’t like it was a huge secret or anything. But I wasn’t exactly expecting him to just blatantly state it like that.
    â€œWell what’s in it for you?” I asked, deciding it was a good idea to ignore his very valid points and swiftly move on.
    Jack’s expression remained completely serious. “The sooner we figure out who’s doing this, the sooner you’re out of danger. Which also means I’m no longer needed. So I go back to New York, your life goes back to normal, and everyone’s happy. It’s a win-win from where I’m standing.”
    I hoped I also looked like a Victoria’s Secret model from where he was standing. I took a deep breath, majorly unhappy with where this was headed. He did have a point. As much as I would miss his overwhelmingly attractive good looks, having Jack out of my life would bring back a lot of peace to my world. And he was right. Now that I was up for the role of Miss Golden Globe, I couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong and ruin my chances. I wasn’t about to let some weirdo with far too much free time get in the way of me handing Bradley Cooper a trophy.
    â€œSo you’ll help me catch this creep, and all I need to do is be nicer to you?”
    â€œPretty much.”
    â€œYou know, I could just fire you and all our problems would end.”
    Jack shook his head and said, “Actually you can’t fire me. I technically work for your dad and not directly for you.”
    I did some mental reasoning, weighing up the pros and cons. Being nice to Jack was going to be tough, but it would lead to a lot of my problems beings solved.
    Against my better judgment, I finally sighed and gave a reluctant nod. “Fine.”
    The corners of Jack’s lips twitched as if they were going to curve up, but didn’t quite get there. He extended his hand toward me so that I could shake it.
    â€œDeal?” he said.
    I looked at his hand uncertainly, and the back at him. The hostility was my only defense mechanism! I was practically signing over my one weapon to my enemy. Unfortunately for me, I needed Jack’s help, and his offer worked out pretty well in my favor.
    I put my hand in his and shook it firmly. “Deal.”
    â€œGreat,” Jack said, our hands still holding one another.
    â€œJust so you know, this doesn’t make us besties.”
    â€œGot it.”
    â€œAnd my rules still apply.”
    â€œI figured as much.”
    My gaze dropped to our hands, and suddenly the electric currents started shooting through my body again. I yanked my hand out of his placed it behind my back, where it wouldn’t be tempted to try and rip off