Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Speaking of attention. He stared at her in a way no man ever had before—like he wanted more than her thoughts. And in a room full of people.

Someone else started speaking, but Sophie didn’t hear what they said. Nigel broke the spell by glancing away, but Sophie couldn’t quite focus for the rest of the meeting.

Once they concluded, she gathered her things and headed back to her office. That meeting hadn’t produced anything she could use to further her plan. In fact, very little was said about the show’s stars at all. When filming was mentioned, it was mostly locations being brought up for upcoming shots and how they would be marketing the show by implementing new ideas.

So, since there was nothing she could do right now to dig into Miranda’s dirty secrets, she decided to stay in the marketing headspace and pull together some ideas and suggestions for the show. Sure, she wouldn’t be staying long, but it would still look suspicious if she didn’t have any work to show for her time on the clock. She couldn’t just ignore the fact Nigel believed her to be legit. So long as she kept up this charade, she could possibly find everything she needed.

Sophie had a spreadsheet she’d used when first getting started on YouTube—basically the dos and don’ts and what worked and didn’t work when it came to brand promotion. The marketing field was like a strategic game and if the players didn’t know what move to make next, the entire plan could be for naught.

She realized there was an entire team here, but Nigel had wanted fresh eyes and that’s where she came in.

The moment Sophie stepped inside her office and circled her desk, she glanced toward the doorway and let out a yelp.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Nigel leaned against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his broad chest. His hair was just a bit mussed, as if he’d raked his hands through it after the meeting.

Clearly she’d been so focused on her own thoughts, she’d missed the fact he’d practically been right behind her when she’d come in.

“No, it’s fine,” she replied, laying her things down. “I’m actually glad you’re here.”

“Is that right?”

“I have some things I want to run by you regarding a few marketing suggestions,” she replied, ignoring the way he just stood there, staring, like he’d rather be doing anything else than talking about work.

“Why didn’t you voice your thoughts during the meeting?” he asked, his brows instantly furrowed.

“Well, my job is to listen to all of the material before tendering my opinion,” she informed him. “Plus, it’s my second day and I wasn’t sure your employees wanted to hear that I think most of their ideas are wrong.”

Nigel studied her for a moment before he let out a bark of laughter and dropped his arms. “I do appreciate all of this honesty you provide. But, if we’re going to talk, I say we should do so over lunch.

Meet me in the penthouse in thirty minutes.”

“I need about forty-five,” she stated. “Trust me. I’ve got something to share with you.”

He stared at her for another minute. Sophie didn’t miss the crackle of tension. Even if she was here as a ruse, she had to be up front because she’d never been good at hiding her feelings. There was only so much lying she could handle.

“Listen,” she started. “The attraction here is...”

Nigel quirked a brow. “Yes, it is,” he agreed with a smile. “But, I would never get involved with an employee. I’m strict about that. Especially now when my sole focus needs to be on the show.”

Sophie nodded. “Okay, good. Because I didn’t come here for a fling or anything else. I just can’t stand tension and I had to talk about the proverbial elephant.”

“I appreciate your bold honesty.”

With a shrug, Sophie sighed. “It can put off some people.”

“Men?”

She nodded.

“Then they’re fools.”

There it went again...that crackling tension. She waited on him to say more, but he wouldn’t. He’d already made it clear he didn’t socialize with employees. Too bad he didn’t know she wasn’t a legit staff member. Though he probably wouldn’t be too thrilled with her if he knew why she was really there.

Maybe it was better this way. They couldn’t be together, but at least she knew he wanted to be.

“I’ll see you upstairs in forty-five minutes,” she told him, needing to shut this moment down.

Nigel offered her a grin and nod, then he turned and was gone. Sophie blew out a breath the moment he stepped away from her office. Revisiting the attraction issue wasn’t going to get either of them anywhere they needed to be. She had to remain focused and so did he. They both had outside issues that needed their full attention...though he didn’t realize that.

And had she seriously considered getting into something—a fling—with her fake boss? Sophie was either sleep deprived or else she had completely lost her self-control when it came to Nigel because she’d gone this whole time without giving herself to a man. Was she really ready to jump into it all because of a sexy accent and some sexy stares?