Love Me Like You Do Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  GOOD INTENTIONS

  BOOTY PREVIEW

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  About the Author

  Love Me Like You Do

  A Love Me, I’m Famous Novel

  M. H. Soars

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  GOOD INTENTIONS

  BOOTY PREVIEW

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  About the Author

  Love Me Like You Do © 2017 by M. H. Soars

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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  Cover Design: Book Cover Luv

  One

  LIV

  My eyes are bleary as I read the contract with the catering company for the thousandth time. I knew taking the week off to attend the funeral for Oliver’s father would cost me big-time. I tried to do as much as I could before the trip since I cannot trust my coworker Celine to even do the bare minimum. It’s not hard to see how she landed the job in the first place—she’s a natural bullshitter. What is hard for me to grasp is the reason she’s still around. She totally fucked the contract I’m trying desperately to fix. I miss Mellie and Lloyd so much right now.

  My phone beeps, and with a quick glance, I see my sister’s name pop up. It’s the tenth message in less than an hour. It’s a mistake to ignore Kimmy, but I know once I acknowledge her, it won’t be a quick call.

  With a sigh, I write a quick e-mail to the catering company, attaching the revised contract. Hopefully that’s the last one of Celine’s screw-ups that I have to fix. Glancing at the desk she usually occupies, I find it empty. No surprise there, since she always leaves work at five on the dot. I’m the only idiot in the department who works past eight most days. It’s six now, and it’s just me besides my boss, who is locked in his office on a conference call.

  I take the opportunity to read all the messages Kimmy sent me. Gah, she has so many questions. She’s helping me organize our parents’ surprise anniversary party, something we decided to do months ago, but thanks to my high-demand job and also my unexpected trip to England, she ended up handling most of the preparations. Some event coordinator I am.

  I answer her first question about the flowers and her response tells me she’s pissed. She already made all the decisions without my help. Crap. She’s mad at me. I’ll be in the doghouse for a long time. Kimmy holds a grudge like no other.

  I call her. It rings and rings. I’m afraid she’s going to let the call go to voice mail when she finally answers. “I don’t need your help anymore.”

  “I’m sorry. I had a ton of things to do by the end of the day.”

  “Yes, you’re always so busy. I don’t know why you sign up to do anything outside your day job if you’re going to bail in the end.”

  “I didn’t bail. I’ll be there on Saturday to help with the final preparations.”

  “You’d better be. This was your idea, after all. I’m not an event planner.”

  “I know.” I rest my head in my hand, feeling the first signs of a headache approaching.

  Bill, my boss, steps out of his office and makes a beeline to my desk. He doesn’t look pleased.

  “Kimmy, I have to call you later.”

  I end the call before she can get a reply in.

  “Is there something wrong?” I ask him.

  “Yes. I need you to attend the conference this Saturday.”

  My heart sinks. He can’t possibly be serious. “Bill, it’s my parents’ thirtieth anniversary this Saturday. I’m helping organize the party. I mentioned this to you months ago.”

  “I’m sorry, Liv. It’s out of my hands. This is one of the biggest events Reinhardt Corp takes part in, and it needs to go smoothly. Our CEO is one of the keynote speakers.”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that. I thought you were going to be there with Celine.” Not that she counts for much.

  “Change of plans. I have to attend the roadshow in Europe, and Celine is coming with me.”

  I open and close my mouth. There’s nothing I can say, really.

  “Listen, you don’t have to stay until the end. As long as everything is under control, you can leave early.”

  “Sure, Bill. You don’t have to worry. I’ll make it work.”

  He knocks on my desk twice, something he always does that annoys the heck out of me. “I know I can count on you, Liv. You’re my best employee.”

  He walks away, exuding his usual confidence while I glare at his back. The ladies in the office think he’s attractive. I don’t see it. Maybe because I work with him on a daily basis and have to put up with his narcissistic personality. Patty Sanders, my former boss, was a tough cookie, but at least she was a hard worker too. I honestly don’t know what Bill does.

  Instead of going home, I open the folder containing all the documents pertaining to Saturday’s tradeshow. Celine had some tasks assigned to her, and knowing how incompetent she is, I’ll have to double-check everything she did.

  It takes me two hours to make a list of the items I need to fix besides taking care of my own list of to-dos. When I get home, I find cold dinner waiting for me on the stove. Sh
it. I had promised Sebastian I would come home earlier today. I didn’t even text him.

  “Bas?”

  No answer. I put my keys and purse on the kitchen counter and lift the pan’s lid. Pasta carbonara, one of my favorite dishes, but only good if eaten as soon as it’s prepared.

  I forget eating for now and head to our bedroom. Sebastian steps out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist at the same time I enter the room. He pauses when he sees me, but instead of saying hello, he continues to the walk-in closet.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call,” I say.

  “Don’t stress. I’m used to it by now.”

  His clipped answer twists my heart.

  “Celine left me a mess to fix.”

  Sebastian returns to the room wearing loose PJ pants and nothing else. I know he’s not showing his sculpted abs to seduce me, but my eyes linger on all that exposed skin just the same. He doesn’t acknowledge my reply, choosing to jump on the bed and turn on the TV instead.

  Since he’s pissed at me already, I might as well tell him all the bad news.

  “Bill asked me to cover for him this Saturday at a conference.”

  Sebastian finally looks at me, frowning. “It’s your parents’ anniversary. Or have you forgotten already?”

  “I haven’t forgotten. I’m not staying at the event until the end.”

  “Right.”

  His sarcastic tone makes my blood boil. He knows I hate it. “What do you want me to do, Bas? This is one of the biggest events for Reinhardt Corp. I can’t say no to my boss.”

  “That’s the problem, Liv. You can say no. You don’t need the measly salary they pay you.”

  I cross my arms in front of my chest and give him the death glare. “I do need it. I don’t want to depend on you financially. Why is that so hard to understand?”

  He turns to me, his eyes dark with contained anger. “I’m not asking you to quit your career. I’m asking you to quit this job and look for something better. Preferably a place where you’re not overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated.”

  I scoff. “What do you know about working in the real world? You went from party boy to instant celebrity.”

  I realize I said the wrong thing the moment the words leave my lips and Sebastian’s glare turns glacial.

  “You’re right. I know nothing about how things work in the real world.” He throws his legs to the side of the bed and stands up.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I think it’s best if I sleep on the couch tonight.”

  Oh shit. I think I pushed things too far this time. “Bas, I’m sorry.”

  He stops in front of the door and looks over his shoulder. “You know, Liv, I’m really tired of hearing you say that.”

  He walks out, closing the door behind him with a soft click. I remain frozen, staring at the closed door. Part of me wants to go after Sebastian and talk things through, but I’m afraid I’ll only make things worse. I sit on the edge of the bed, feeling at a loss. Sebastian has never looked at me like that—ever.

  A sob escapes my lips as a shudder runs through my body. Newly married and already failing at it. I don’t know what can I do to fix this mess.

  Two

  LIV

  Sebastian gave me the cold shoulder the entire week. He ignored all my attempts to apologize until I stopped trying. What I said last Monday was stupid, and it hurt him. I get that. But at the same time, I’m frustrated that he doesn’t see things from my perspective. I cannot botch this job up, not after the epic failure that was my internship. Rodrigo used his influence to get me this job, something he has never done before. I won’t let him down.

  It doesn’t help that Kimmy isn’t talking to me either. We had an argument when I told her I had to work today. She’s kept me completely out of the loop of the final preparations since then.

  Hopefully, all the extra work I put this week will pay off and things we’ll run smoothly today.

  It’s 6:00 a.m. and I’m the first Reinhardt employee at the venue. Our sales guys won’t be here for another hour, but I learned that when it comes to the operational side of events, those guys are useless.

  Squaring my shoulders, I walk with purpose through the Los Angeles Convention Center toward the location of Reinhardt’s booth. The echo of my high-heeled pumps mingles with the sound of workers putting booths together. The convention center gives us the option to hire our own assembly crew or use their team. I’ve opted for the latter, even though I could probably get a better price if I hired an outside company. But I figured using the venue’s workers would mean there would be fewer chances for things to go wrong.

  Once I arrive at our booth’s location, I see our boxes but no personnel. The facility’s manager assured me their workers would be here first thing in the morning. Dreading something is amiss, I call her, glad she answers right away.

  “Hello, Liv. How can I help you?”

  “Hi, Katie. I’m at Reinhardt’s booth, and there’s no one working here. I thought the assembly crew would be onsite half an hour ago.”

  “Oh dear. Let me double-check the schedule. One moment.”

  It only takes a few seconds for her to give me the first bad news of the day. “It seems you canceled the assembly crew.”

  “I did no such thing.”

  “I have an e-mail from your coworker, Celine Dupont, canceling the order. She sent it last Wednesday.”

  I curse under my breath. Fucking Celine. I’m going to kill her.

  “She must have made a mistake. I’m the head organizer of this event, and she sent that e-mail without my knowledge. Is there any chance you can send some guys to assist me?”

  “I’ll see what I can do. We have workers on call, but they probably won’t get there right away. We’re talking an hour, maybe two.”

  Shit. That will barely give us any time to put our booth together. I don’t have any other choice, though.

  “Please do so, Katie. Meanwhile, I’ll start with the small stuff.”

  I end the call and stare at all the huge containers. Banners and other small things I can handle, but this booth is massive, and it requires professional handyman to put it together. Or at least strong men who can handle the weight. If Owen and Sebastian weren’t busy with my parents’ party, I would call them.

  Okay, Liv, don’t freak out. You do have men at your disposal—Reinhardt’s sales reps. I hope they follow the instructions I sent them and arrive in the next thirty minutes.

  There’s nothing to be done now but pull up my sleeves and get to work. First order of business is organizing the containers. I pull the itemized list and start to count. It doesn’t take long for me to realize I’m missing boxes. I count them again just to be sure.

  Fuck me. I’m missing two of the larger boxes that contain part of the booth’s structure. This cannot be happening. I call the shipping company and they claim they delivered all the boxes they picked up at our office. There’s no one there today who I can ask to verify if those missing boxes are there.

  I look at my watch. Reinhardt Corp isn’t too far from here. That’s it. I have to go there myself. I call Ralph, the only sales rep who isn’t a complete asshat.

  “Good morning, Liv. To what do I owe the pleasure of your early call? I’m not late, am I?”

  “No, Ralph, you’re not late. I have a situation. Only part of the boxes was delivered to the convention center, and the shipping company is claiming they delivered all of them. I checked the shipping manifesto and indeed, the missing boxes are not on the list.”

  “Oh, blimey. Okay. No stress, luv. I have to actually stop by the office because I forgot my business cards there. How big are the missing containers? Do you think they would fit in my Suburban?

  “Yes, they would. You’re a lifesaver, Ralph. We’re only missing two boxes.”

  “Say no more. If they’re there, I’ll bring them with me.”

  “Thanks, Ralph. I really appreciate it.”

  I end the
call, but I won’t relax until this freaking booth is put together. Let’s hope the boxes are actually at the office and not in same random location.

  The other two reps arrive fifteen minutes later, and when I tell them I need their help, they throw a hissy fit as I expected they would.

  “This is ridiculous. We’re account executives. It’s marketing’s responsibility to make sure everything is ready so we can do our jobs.”

  “I know, Damien. Trust me, this mess wasn’t my doing.”

  “I bet it was fucking Celine who screwed things up. That cow can’t get anything right. Tell me again how she got the job?” Peter, the second rep, chimes in.

  Whoa. I didn’t realize Celine was pissing off other people besides me. Not wanting to add more fuel to the fire, I ignore Peter’s comment.

  Grumbling, both men start to unpack things, but they only work for about ten minutes before the assembly crew arrives. Ralph comes in twenty minutes later with the two missing boxes and I almost weep in gratitude.

  “Thank God,” I sigh.

  “It turns out someone forgot to attach the shipping labels to these two containers.”

  “Celine handled the shipping part. I should have double-checked.”