Blurred Lines 1: CHASE
Chapter 40

-Sofia-

Andre took me to an Irish pub near my apartment complex. The place flared with an intimate vibe, eve Andre knew the owner and snagged us a booth with a wonderful view of the stage. A guy in his late fo My hunger was satisfied by the shepherd's pie we ordered. Andre now nurses his second glass of Guin "Thank you for this," I said, running my forefinger on the lips of my glass.

"It's long overdue," he replied and rested his elbows on the table, leaning forward a bit. "Care to tell m I gnawed my lip, considering my next statement. Andre is the type of guy who'd listen, and right now, moment, and decided to make it vague. I went out with him to unwind, have fun, and talking about my Andre seemed unconvinced, rousing my curiosity.

"What?" I asked, sipping my drink.

He shook his head. "Nothing."

"Come on," I tapped his boot with the tip of my stilettos under the table.

"Is Montiero giving you a hard time?"

"What makes you say that?"

His eyes narrowed to slits. "Everyone in Rio knows how he is, Sofia."

"What do you mean how he is?" My brows crinkled.

He lifts a shoulder in a lazy shrug, leaning further toward me. "I recently read about him. There's this s My ears perk up. "What site?"

Andre pulled out his phone and showed me the site. I took a mental note of its name. 'A Cidade Depo My face scrunched. It's in Portuguese.

1

gh it was crowded. It's Friday night, after all.

lays guitar; his voice drifts through the chatter and buzz

hile I'm on my third vodka cran.

made you sullen and want to drink?"

need someone to listen to my rambling. A lot of thought is running through my head, and it's overwhelming. "Just work," I said, thinking better of this ems is the opposite of that. Worse, it might just drag our chill mood down. "Sometimes the pressure gets overwhelming."

t talks about celebrities and socialites, and your client has been making a buzz there for a while now."

scurecer.

Andre typed something on his phone, and when he showed it to me again, it was in English. Although ranslation was sloppy, I still caught the thought of the article. The column talks about Chase's social media. accounts and the content we put on it. The author contradicts everything good about Chase to the tiniest details..

"What the hell?" I whispered and opened my palm, asking Andre to lend me his phone.

He handed it over, and I scrolled to read more. When I reached the end of the article, my brows were knitted together. I gave Andre's phone back with puckered lips. "How did you know about that site?"

"A friend told me about it," he explained. "Chase is not the only one on this site. They talk about anyone and anything. It's an unrestrained gossip site." "Sure is," I huffed, emptying my glass. "Now I need to find out how to deal with that site, too."

Andre took a swig of his beer. "Don't waste your time. Everyone knows it's trash."

"Chase is my client. Anything involving him concerns me even if it's a trash site like that.". I raised my hand and called the server's attention. I ordered two more glasses of vodka cranberry and a refill for Andre.

"What are you going to do? Take it down?" Andre asked, chuckling. He meant it as a sarcastic response, but it's the first solution I thought about.Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on FindNovel.net. Visit FindNovel.net to read the complete chapters for free. He read it in my face when I didn't laugh. "No way," he shook his head. "Let me save you the trouble. A friend of mine tried to put this site down a while back but failed. The IP is encrypted."

My brows raised. "Really?"

He hummed a yes. The server came back with our drink. "Guess I just have to find a way around it. Anyway, enough about me. What's up with you?" I dropped the topic. This isn't the first time we've dealt with something like this, but I will have to call Georgia. "Well, it's my birthday on Sunday," he said, like it was just another day. There it was again, the pinch of red on his cheeks.

He's so adorable.

"What!?" I gasped. "Well, advance happy birthday. Where are we celebrating?"

Ana is a party addict. I figured she would throw a party for Andre.

Andre shook his head. "Actually," he scratched his day-old stubble-covered chin. "I usually spend my birthday hiking... alone." "Oh, and Ana is fine by that?"

Andre chuckled. "She never gave up on urging me to throw a party, but she understands." He paused, remembering something. "When we were younger, our dad used to bring us to his cabin, and that's where I spent my birthday." "Aw... that's so sweet."

"I do it in his memory. It's the only reason Ana doesn't push me that much."

I reached over the table, covering his hand with mine. My hand looked like it belonged to a child compared to his. "That's really nice," I said, feeling sentimental. I wish could do something like that in memory of my parents. Andre turned his hand and laced our fingers together, pulling me out of my emotional state. My hand dropped to our joined hands and back up to Andre's brown eyes.

"Can I ask you something, Sofia?" His eyes were as gentle as his thumb drawing soothing circles on my knuckles.

"Hm?"

"Will you come with me?" The crimson on his cheeks deepened. "No hike. The cabin is accessible by car. I just hike to take my mind off of things. Ana and Mich can join us if you want."

"Of course," I said, pressing his hands. "But no hike. I'm in no shape to hike." He sighed, holding my hand tighter as he released the tension on his shoulder.

On the walk to my apartment, Andre told me stories of his time while he was in a band in highschool.

It was nice to get to know him deeper while we share our passion for music.

"I'll pick you up Sunday morning? Say around eight?" Andre's voice reverberated in the empty hallway in duet with our footsteps.

"Sure," I said, drawing my keys from the bag as we stopped at my door. "How are you getting home? You're not driving, are you?"

"No. I'll ask Jake to drop me off. We live in the same neighborhood." Jake is the owner of the pub.

I slotted the key and the lock unhinged. "Thank you for tonight, Andre. I needed the talk, the food, and the drink...." I gnawed my lip, facing Andre. "And the company, of course," I said as I pushed the door open. The hallway light spilled inside. Andre stepped forward until we stood toe to toe. I paused; the look in his eyes made my heart skip. His gaze traipsed on my face while he coiled a hand around my waist. "The pleasure was mine..." he said, his free hand Cupping my face. "Andre..." I whispered. His bold movement surprised me.

"Sofia..." he murmured, his thumb brushing over my lip." had a great time. I hope we can do this more often."

I could not focus on what he was saying. My mind was a jumbled mess. Do I want him to kiss me? I'm not sure, I gasped when he drew me closer. He leaned forward and closed the distance between our faces. I stood there stiff as a pole, my hands balled on my side. His eyes held mine as he did, questioning, waiting if I would push him away. Turns out, both of us didn't have to make that decision. A loud bang behind me startled both of us. Andre covered me with his body, a protective manner I greatly appreciated. Glancing over Andre's shoulder, my eyes landed on Chase. He was leaning on the kitchen counter, nursing a glass of what I assume is whiskey.

"What is your client doing in your apartment?" Andre asked. His voice strained.

Chase cut me off. "Where the fuck have you been?" he asked, his eyes shooting daggers at me