Showing results by author "Cleo White" in All Categories

Not every "once upon a time" ends in a happily ever after. My fairytale, for instance, didn't come with a handsome Prince Charming, a night at the ball, or a magical pumpkin carriage. Instead, I got a bearded, bad-tempered king, a sex party for rich people, and a driver waiting to take me home after the royal a-----e was finished with me. And they lived not so happily ever after. The end. That should be it, right? Even missing some conventional fairytale elements, it's clear no one is riding off into the sunset in the tale of the grumpy king and the naïve, much younger actress.

Sometimes it feels like every step I take leads to a mistake that is painful or embarrassing, or painful and embarrassing, and it's pretty remarkable that natural selection hasn't taken me out yet. The point is, I have a lot of experience in cleaning up my own messes. Even with all that practice, though, inheriting my dad's failing laser tag business might be a little much.

If somebody Googled "cautious, responsible, people-pleasing eldest daughter," a picture would probably come up of me baking twenty-four loaves of banana bread for all the neighbors in our building after my roommate flooded the bathroom. So, as you can see, I am not the kind of person to catch feelings for my ex's tech-billionaire father after spending three days stranded at his house. Nor am I the type to keep in touch with him after I go home. Now, it's Valentine's Day, and Julian Ballard is on my doorstep.