Page 79 of One Midnight Kiss

31

FOX

The final rollout for Hanna was a few days away, and I should have been feeling good about it. Confident, even. But instead, I was staring at my screen, mindlessly scrolling through the latest social media buzz. Ever since that staged engagement announcement, Hanna’s popularity had risen exponentially. The press and public couldn’t get enough of it. They loved the tech, sure—but what they loved even more was the fairy-tale story of the reclusive billionaire finding love with his marketing director.

I was feeling pretty good about that too.

But I wasn’t naïve. The surge in interest wasn’t just about the product. It was about us. About her. The way they talked about Natalia and me online, you’d think we were royalty, not two people faking an engagement for mutual gain.

I wished I could say the tech was standing on its own, but it was new. I imagined there were plenty of people that were skeptical about the first lightbulb or the first commercial flight. When there was something this new, people were going to be naturally hesitant.

There would, of course, be a small percentage that wanted to be first in line to get their hands on Hanna. But those people were going to be looking for all the things they could complain about. There had to be enough positive to outweigh the negative Nelly’s of the world.

There was a knock on the door, pulling me from my thoughts. I glanced up to see Jerrod step inside, holding a stack of papers. He looked more stressed than usual, which was saying something. He was usually calm and level-headed, but the past few weeks, he’d been on edge.

We were all feeling the stress. HomeTech wasn’t going to sink if Hanna crashed and burned, but it would be a big hit to our bottom line. Losing consumer confidence was a difficult thing to recover from.

“How are you holding up?” I asked.

“Trying not to pull my hair out,” he said. “But I’m thinking of taking up smoking.”

“It’s going to be fine.” I was trying to make him feel better, but I couldn’t make him any promises. “The tech is good. We know it’s good. We’ve got a full staff ready to handle any hiccups.”

Jerrod dropped the stack of papers on my desk, his expression somber. “Yeah, the tech is solid, Fox, but there’s a lot riding on this launch beyond just the mechanics. The narrative we’ve constructed around it? It’s fragile.”

I arched an eyebrow, leaning back in my chair. “Fragile how?”

He sighed, raking a hand through his already disheveled hair. “It’s just, this whole thing with you and Natalia. It’s great for the press, but what if it backfires? What if people start seeing through it? We’re not just selling a product. We’re selling a whole story. If you blow that story up, it threatens to take Hanna with it.”

“It won’t,” I assured him. “We’re all being careful.”

He nodded, but I wasn’t sure if he believed me. “Are you sticking around for the Christmas party tonight?”

I had hoped to sneak away without anyone noticing. “Where is it?” I asked.

“It’s at that new bar a few blocks away.”

I leaned back in my chair. “I’ll make an appearance.”

In reality, I wasn’t sure if I’d even bother. If I did go, I would have a drink, shake some hands, and sneak away.

There was only one place I wanted to be. It was with Natalia. I couldn’t just text her, couldn’t call her. We only communicated through work emails or when I showed up at her place. And right then, all I wanted was to hear her voice.

Jerrod gave me a look. I could tell he was hesitating. “Can I say something without you getting pissed off?”

I arched a brow. “That depends. Are you about to say something stupid?”

He smirked but didn’t back down. “What’s your actual deal with Natalia?”

There it was. I should have expected it. I leaned forward, running a hand through my hair. “I don’t know,” I admitted honestly. “The ball is not in my court.”

Jerrod’s brows shot up. He wasn’t used to hearing me sound this uncertain about anything. “You like her, then?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “It doesn’t matter how I feel, Jerrod. She’s complicated.”

Complicated was an understatement. Not only had she been betrayed, but she was absolutely humiliated by her ex. No wonder she ran, letting him take everything he could from her. No wonder she was the way she was. A fake engagement might be the closest she ever got to the real thing again.

“I’ve never seen you like this,” Jerrod said. “Not ever.”