The Game Changer (The Millionaire’s Assistant #4)(4)
Author: Helen Cooper

He grabbed her hand and she snatched it away like he had burnt her. “I’m sorry, Alice.”

“It’s all part of the game, right?” She smiled at him manically. “I’m just a pawn. Disposable.” She laughed hysterically and he slapped her.

“You need to get it together, Alice,” he whispered in her ear as she looked at him in shock. “You cannot wig out right now. You are going to draw way too much attention to us.”

She sat back and looked out of the window. She felt as if she had been drugged and was having an out of world experience. She watched the buildings and the lights as they drove down the highway. It soothed her nerves to count them. She could feel Oliver stare at her but she didn’t bother turning around to look at him. He pulled her out of the cab as they got to the airport and they walked in.

“I don’t have my passport.” She stared at his mouth as she spoke.

“No worry. We’re taking a private jet.” He grabbed her hand and this time she didn’t resist. “Please try and trust me, Alice.” She nodded and walked with him. She had nothing left to lose.

Chapter 3

Alice awoke in a big soft luxurious bed. She was wearing a cotton nightgown and the sun was beaming in through the windows. She stretched for a second enjoying her luxurious surroundings and then cringed as she remembered what had happened the night before. She jumped up out of the bed and Oliver walked into the room smiling at her gently.

“Good morning, sleepy head, I was wondering when you were going to wake up.” His hair was tousled and he had deep bags under his eyes. He didn’t look as if he had slept all night.

“Where are we?” She tried not to look at him.

“Tobago.”

“Where?”

“We are on an Island in the Caribbean. Trinidad & Tobago?”

“Never heard of it.” She looked out of the window and gasped at the beauty outside. There were coconut trees and a wide expanse of white sand next to what she assumed was the ocean. “It’s beautiful.”

“Tropical island paradise.” He came and stood next to her. “I like to come here to relax and get away after a movie has been released.”

“I can see why.” She finally looked up at him and she saw pain in his eyes. She quickly averted her gaze again.

“We need to talk, Alice. I want to explain.”

“What?” she said softly.

“Everything. About my mom. John. Me.” He pleaded with her. “I need to tell you.”

“You never wanted to tell me anything before,” she spoke harshly, harsher than she had intended but she couldn’t help herself.

“I never told anyone anything before, Alice. You know what I was like when we first met. I didn’t want anyone to get too close. That’s why I had the rules. They were intended to keep everyone away.”

“I tried, Oliver,” she mumbled under her breath. “I tried and sometimes I thought I was getting through.”

“I know and it scared me. I didn’t want you to reach me, to take me to that place of caring. But I want to tell you now. I need to.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want to know.” She walked away from him. “You’re the guy I thought you were at the diner. Arrogant, pompous and without any real care for anyone else.”

“I was that guy, Alice. But I’m not anymore.”

“Is this part of your game, Oliver?” She turned around and shouted at him, “What do you want me to do now? Shall we just get some strings so I can be your puppet? So you can just move me around and tell me what to do?”

“This isn’t a game, Alice.” His voice was soft. He looked at her keenly, trying to convey the innermost feelings of his heart through his gaze. “You changed the game, Alice.”

“And how did I do that, Mr. Park?” She looked at him with disgust.

“You made me fall in love with you.” They stared at each other for a long time and Alice felt something in her stomach flip at his words, the words she had always dreamt of hearing. She’d always pictured him telling her he loved her but never in a situation like this.

“I need to go shower.” She turned away from him and walked out of the room. Oliver watched her as she left and he felt his heart constrict. He didn’t know what to do. He felt like all the light in the world had been taken away and he was all alone. Left to fend for himself. There was only one other time that he had felt that way and that was when his mom had left him at the orphanage.

Alice stepped into the shower and let the water run over her. It was so hot it was scalding her skin but she wanted to get the feel of John off her. She was ashamed to admit to herself that she had enjoyed her time with John. But only because she had thought it was Oliver. She wanted to wash off the memory of John’s hands on her, of his mouth on her. She scrubbed and scrubbed until finally she felt clean again. She got out of the shower and put on a pair of jeans and a tank top that was waiting on the bed for her and then she went to go and look for Oliver. She found him right outside their cottage, sitting on the beach.

“Hey.” He looked up at her and smiled.

“Hey.” She smiled back at him. “I’m ready to listen.” She wanted to hear what could have driven him to this dark place. She wanted to understand, to see if she could ever accept and love him again. She sat next to him on the beach and they both lay back.

“I love the sound of the waves,” he started. “It reminds me of when I was younger. It’s the only memory I have of my mother other than the day she left me at the orphanage.”

Alice turned onto her side so that she could look at Oliver as he spoke. “She took me to the beach and we built sandcastles. And then a big wave came in and destroyed all of our work. But she just laughed and chased me into the ocean. And we jumped the waves. Over and over and over. It seemed to me that the beach was the most perfect place in the world.” He paused and turned over to look at her as he spoke. She could see green specks in his eyes. She felt like she could melt into his eyes and an overwhelming feeling of love enveloped her.

“My mom moved to Los Angeles to become an actress. She had me young, you know. But she still wanted to follow her dreams. She met John Gold. He told her he was going to make her a star and she believed him. He got her hooked on coke and started whoring her around. That’s how he got his start, selling women to top directors and producers. She didn’t have a chance. She was so young and impressionable.”