Chapter 13: Chapter 13

“I don’t think it’s some type of unicorn myth, but I haven’t exactly had time to devote myself to looking.

Though my grandmother is more than ready to marry me off and start another line of Townshends.”

“That sounds a bit archaic,” she scoffed.

“You don’t know my grandmother. The woman is a force to be reckoned with. I’m terrified of her.”

Roslyn laughed. “Well, maybe you should be looking for Mrs. Townshend.”

Or maybe he should work on figuring out how to get Roslyn out of his every waking fantasy. How could he even think about another woman with the way he wanted her?

And what Nigel wanted, he always got.

Now if he could figure out how the hell to get around his own rule of not getting involved with his employees all while saving his show, he could retain his sanity and stay in control.

Four Sophie pushed away from her desk and came to her feet, adjusting her shirt over the top of her black pencil pants. She really wished she hadn’t gone all out in the transformation. She missed the comfortable yet fashionable dresses that had become her trademark. A good maxi and flip-flops sounded perfect right about now.

But with it being winter in New York, she was happy for the extra layers. Mercy, that wind could be brutal. She certainly missed the warmth and sunshine back in Royal, but she truly felt like she was getting somewhere here...and she didn’t mean with just Nigel.

A tap on her door frame had her lifting her head to see Craig. “Hey. Mr. Townshend called and wants you to meet him for dinner. He texted you the address and time, but he wanted me to follow up with you.”

Sophie reached for her phone on her desk. “I didn’t hear anything come through,” she muttered.

She tapped the screen and, sure enough, there was a message from Nigel about dinner, but she’d also missed two from her brothers. Clearly she needed to check in.

“Got it.” She smiled at Craig and waved her phone. “I forgot I put it on vibrate earlier.”

“No problem,” he replied. “So, how’s everything going? Settling in okay?”

Sophie nodded. “Seems to be going really well.”

“I overheard Mr. Townshend chatting with a few guys from the camera crew.” Craig stepped into her office and lowered his voice. “He mentioned you and some of your ideas for capturing snippets for teasers for social media.”

Sophie couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride. Over their lunch yesterday, she’d not only discussed posts but also various ways to showcase small segments to continue to draw new viewers in. She was trying to appeal to all walks of life, no matter the stage a woman was at. Divorced, married, stay-at-

home-mom, career woman, whatever. There was something in each cast member that could appeal to any potential female viewer.

But on the coattails of her pride came the guilt. While she may actually be good at her job, she hated being deceitful. Nigel and Craig and everyone else she’d encountered were so nice to her, making sure she felt like part of the team.

“Well, I just hope those ideas pay off for Secret Lives,” she replied.

“Seraphina might be off the show.” Craig cringed. “That won’t be good.”

So apparently it was still just at the rumor stage—Nigel must not have told anyone but her. She felt quietly honored at his faith in her discretion. Sophie might want to pull out all the gossip on Miranda she could, but she wasn’t about to add anything to the mix or get into the lives of the other women. And there was no way she’d betray anything Nigel trusted her with...unless Miranda’s name came into the mix.

“That would be a shame,” she replied. “It seems all the women mesh really well together.”

Craig shrugged. “I don’t know. Between the ratings and the potential loss of one of the cast members, I just hope the whole show doesn’t go under. But, that’s just my nerves talking. We still have some great women.”

“Do you have a favorite?” she prompted.

Craig smiled. “Doesn’t everyone? I’m partial to Miranda. That whole Southern charm she has is so fun.

Plus, she’s probably the nicest out of the bunch.” He grinned at her. “You look surprised—did you get a different impression of her? It’s always difficult to tell on screen, but even when the camera is off, she treats the staff with respect and is always so friendly.”

Ugh. Not at all what she wanted to hear. But that was just one opinion and Sophie had just gotten started.

“Nobody can be that sweet all the time,” she countered with a smile to soften her doubts. “I bet you know some juicy dirt on all the cast.”

Craig playfully raised a hand to his lips and mimed turning a lock before he shrugged.

“I knew it,” she joked, but she wished he’d give up a little more information. “How long have you been here, Craig?”