Giles Weiss's first love was back, and he couldn't wait to announce it on social media.
@Lissa Perry — I finally waited long enough for you.
His buddies flooded the comments with likes.
"Giles dated twelve stand-ins, and the real deal is finally here."
"@Ivy Gilbert — Number Twelve, take the hint and get lost."
How charming.
Giles Weiss was the first man who'd ever dared treat me like a placeholder.
I thought of the deal I'd made with my father.
"Ivy, you change boyfriends every three months. That kind of instability tells me you're not ready to run this company."
"Maintain a stable relationship — even just for one year — and I'll name you heir to the Gilbert Group."
For that, I'd reined myself in. Committed fully. Dated Giles like I meant it.
Seven days. I was seven days away from the one-year mark, and he wanted to dump me early.
I scoffed. Not a chance.
The relationship? I couldn't care less.
But the inheritance? That was mine, and I intended to claim it.
……
The front door swung open while I sat on the couch reviewing financial reports.
Giles walked in holding Lissa Perry's hand. The moment he saw me, the smile on his face froze.
"Why are you still here?"
He frowned, irritation dripping from every word.
"Was my post not clear enough for you?"
I set down the tablet and looked up at him.
"Did you forget something?"
"This is my apartment. The ten-thousand-dollar monthly rent? I'm the one paying it."
Giles's face flushed red.
He was a musician. Talented, sure, in a marginal sort of way, but broke. In the eleven months we'd been together, I'd covered the rent, picked up every dinner tab, and even bought him his guitar.
Giles cleared his throat, then jutted his chin out stubbornly.
"I won't need your money anymore. I'll pay for it myself!"
Lissa glanced at me with open disdain, then draped herself against Giles and cooed.
"Our Giles just signed with Gilbert Media. He's going to be huge. This little rent is nothing to him."
Gilbert Media.
My father's company.
If I hadn't put in a word with the department head, Giles wouldn't have gotten within a mile of that contract with his level of talent.
And now, before the man had even made it to shore, he was already hacking apart the boat that carried him?
Interesting. Truly interesting.
I kept my expression neutral and spoke evenly.
"Say whatever you like. The lease is black and white — it doesn't expire for another seven days. Until then, I have every right to stay."
Only one thought occupied my mind.
I could not move out.
If I did, my father would find out that Giles and I had fallen apart.
I just had to keep up the act.
Seven days. That was all.
Giles assumed I was clinging to him. He raised an eyebrow, smug and dismissive.
"You think squatting here will make me change my mind?"
"You're Number Twelve. Nothing more, nothing less."
I took a long look at Lissa Perry.
Twenty-six years old, poured into a tight dress that left little to the imagination. Curves in all the right places, sure.
So this was the great love of his youth?
Tacky taste.
Giles didn't spare me another glance. He pulled Lissa toward the bedroom.
"Stare all you want — that's your business! I'm with Lissa now. If you want to play audience, be my guest!"
The bedroom door stayed open.
More accurately, Giles left it open on purpose.
Soon enough, sounds drifted out. Lissa's breathy giggles. Giles's exaggerated groans.
Disgusting.
My fists clenched.
Not from heartbreak. From rage.
I was Ivy Gilbert, the sole heiress of the Gilbert family. When had my life come to this — reading someone's mood, listening through walls like some discarded afterthought?
I shut the door to the second bedroom and put on my headphones.
Seven days.
I could endure it.
