Capítulo 4: Chapter 4: You Again

Remi’s POV

“You don’t understand, Ava, he was such a jerk!”

Ava’s brows furrow as she brings the straw of her alcoholic beverage to her lips, taking a long sip while maintaining eye contact with me. She exhales slowly after releasing the straw. “I don’t know about that, Remi. I know Gray Wilder can be a bit of an… out there guy, but was he really a jerk to you?”

I nod without hesitation, remembering the encounter I had with Gray Wilder earlier this morning. After he had scolded Lucy for hiring someone to babysit him, he stormed out of the room without looking in my direction or acknowledging my presence.

Gray Wilder is known for his outbursts, bad temper, and unwillingness to accept change. His life is played out in the media every day to the point where everyone thinks they every detail about him, his personality, and his life.

Although I think the media is guilty of exaggerating stories and turning them into clickbait for more views and attention at the expense of someone else’s life, I can’t help but wonder if they got it right about Gray because he is exactly the way he appears on television in interviews. He seems so… angry and I don’t know why.

“He was a jerk,” I repeat and take a sip of my alcoholic drink, relishing in the way the liquid slides down my throat and allows me to wash away the disaster of a day that was my first day as Gray Wilder’s PA.

When I got home from work completely drained, exhausted, and overwhelmed by what will be required of me in this position, I asked Ava if she wanted to go out for a drink or two at my favorite bar in downtown Los Angeles called ‘Astro Lounge’. Thankfully she was eager to get out on the town and enjoy herself and happily agreed to accompany me. I partly believe she agreed only because she wanted to hear about my new job and if I got to meet Gray Wilder. Unfortunately for her, it’s not the first interaction she may have been hoping for.

“I can’t say much more than that because I signed a contract agreeing not to talk about my professional relationship with Gray, so that’s all the breadcrumbs I can give you.”

“Shoot,” Ava curses, and I chuckle at her politeness. “Maybe him acting that way was a once-off. It’s possible you could’ve caught him at the wrong time, or he felt overwhelmed finding out that you’re his new PA if he didn’t know about it. It only seems fair for him to act out if he felt blindsided by the situation.”

I lean back in my seat and let Ava’s words drown out the music pumping around the room from the DJ set in the back corner beside the bar. She may have a point. I was quick to judge Gray for acting like a jerk, but I never stopped to question why he acted that way. It would make sense for him to feel blindsided by me coming in to essentially keep him on track when he’s never had anyone do that for him in the past.

“He did seem shocked and confused when Lucy told him about me,” I say slowly as I replay the moment in my head. “Maybe you have a point.”

“See,” Ava points her finger across the small table at me. “The media likes to perceive Gray as the bad boy rockstar that is angry at the world. But I think there is something deeper to him. Something that he refuses to let people see because he’s afraid of getting hurt.”

I can’t help the burst of laughter that escapes my lips. I double over, holding onto the table for support as the laughter rakes through my body. Ava is frowning when I look up at her and I feel bad for laughing at what she said, but I can’t help it. She is defending a man she knows next to nothing about. How can I not laugh a little about that?

“Remi, come on,” Ava whines, her features morphing into annoyance. “You may be laughing now, but I guarantee you will look back on this moment and realize I was right when you get to know the real Gray Wilder. It’ll be inevitable considering you will be working with him five days a week. You just wait and see.”

I wipe away a stray tear falling down my cheek, careful not to smudge my makeup, and shake my head. “I don’t know about that, Ava. I may be his PA, but I don’t think he will let me close enough to see the real him. But if it does ever happen, you will be the first to know. But until then, I will stand by my statement of him being a jerk.”

Ava rolls her eyes and chugs the rest of her drink. “I’m going to dance. You coming?”

I look down at my half-empty glass of gin and tonic and shake my head. I’m not in the mood to dance tonight which is out of character for me because I love to bust a move on the dance floor of this bar, but I’m not feeling it right now. I came here for one thing, and one thing only – to erase the day with alcohol. It may not be the right thing to do, but it’s what I need right now.

“I’m good. I’m just gonna sit here and work on ideas for the plot of the book I’m currently writing.”

“The romance novel, right?” Ava questions and I nod.

“That’s the one. It needs a bit of work, so I’m gonna sit here with my drink and get lost in the fictional world I made up. Because that’s normal, right?”

Ava chuckles, having forgotten the tension of our previous conversation, and slides off her seat. “You’re funny, Remi. I’ll be back soon, okay? If you see me grinding on a hot guy… no you didn’t.”

I burst out laughing and watch Ava as she saunters across the floor, passing tables filled with patrons likely here for similar reasons to me, and walks onto the dancefloor. I watch for a moment and shake my head, holding back a laugh when I see a man with short blonde hair instantly gravitate toward Ava, placing his hand on her hip as he lowers his mouth to her ear to talk over the music. I take that as my cue to look away and pretend I saw nothing.

I look around the rest of the room, taking in the rustic look of the bar with its wooden tabletop, black bar stools, and artworks lining the walls that look like they could be displayed in a museum. I like this bar because it reminds me of my hometown in Texas and what it was like growing up there.

I exhale slowly and turn my attention back to the drink resting between my hands. I try to focus on the pop music bouncing off the walls to take my mind off feeling a little homesick and my new job. I can’t allow myself to get overwhelmed because I need to focus on my novel and getting it written. After all, that’s the reason why I’m here in L.A., to become an author. I can’t get sidetracked with this new job, I can’t.

I don’t know how much time has passed of me staring at the glass between my hands as I dissected the plot of my novel for any inconsistencies when an eruption of screams and loud voices is heard over the music blasting from the DJ booth.

My brows knit together in confusion, and I spin around in my seat to look for the source of where the commotion is coming from. Party goers are rushing to the front doors of the venue with their phones raised in the air and a squeal of excitement escapes their lips.

“What the hell?” I mutter as I try to get a better look at who entered the bar. It must be a big celebrity for people to be acting this crazy. I have never known the Astro Lounge to be a celebrity hotspot, so I’m sure this is new and exciting for everyone.

The crowd follows the unknown celebrity further into the club until a group of security guards pushes everyone away to create a safe distance for whoever they’re trying to mob. I hold back an eye roll because I don’t understand why people act this insane over another human being until I lock eyes with two floating emeralds from across the room.

My heart drops because I saw those eyes earlier today and they were not pleased to see me then, but for some reason, they seem brighter now and more… alive. It’s Gray f*cking Wilder. What is he doing here?

Gray stares at me from across the room despite the multiple patrons trying to get close to him before the beefy security guard’s intercept. He doesn’t move an inch as he continues to stare at me. The intensity of his eyes rolls over my skin, involuntarily making it hotter. What is he doing?

Even though I think Gray is a jerk, it would be criminal of me to not admit how attractive he is with his exposed tattoos on arms and knuckles, the metal of his lip piercing sparkling under the fluorescent lights, and the drop-dead gorgeous smile that radiates sex appeal.

My heart stutters as he crosses the room, heading straight toward me. It’s at this moment I spot the stunning blonde woman hanging off his arms. She is dressed in a short black dress that doesn’t leave much to the imagination with thick curls framing her face. Why the hell is he walking in my direction?

It isn’t until Gray stops a foot away from me, his eyes traveling up the length of my bare legs, and over the curve of my hips before settling on my face do I feel the eyes of every person in the room on me. I swallow hard, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Rainy, right?” Gray’s deep voice drawls as a wicked smirk captures his lips.

“I-It’s Remi,” I manage to say over the music and the thumping in my ears.

Gray nods, his eyes never leaving mine. “Well, Remi, good luck getting me out of bed tomorrow. You’re going to need it.”

The girl hanging off his arm shoots me a dirty look before leaning up to nibble on Gray’s earlobe. It doesn’t seem to faze Gray, and instead, he winks at me before turning to walk toward the VIP section behind me.

I don’t release the breath I’m holding until I can’t feel his presence anymore and the crowd of people has stopped watching me to go back to normal as if the last two minutes never happened.

“I’m so f*cked,” I mutter and turn to my glass to chug the rest of its contents. How am I going to work with Gray Wilder? This is going to be tougher than I had originally thought.

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