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Chapter Eight
Sophie
Pulling up next to the gym, I could see the group of news reporters waiting outside. “Really? Am I that large of a story?”
Tibby laughed, “Most eligible bachelorette in the nation sleeping with a common person. That beats cum on a dress from the President any day.”
I howled at her comment before taking a deep breath. Miles and Drake met me at the front entrance which I had to take that day because the side entrance was blocked with large news vans. The cameras flashed as I ducked out of the SUV. “Miss Dash, how long have you been seeing this employee? Are you planning to sell your company?”
“What?” I lashed back at the ridiculous line of questions, but Miles and Drake pushed me into the front entrance. We rushed to my office as my eyes met with those of that stunning man who I recognized screwing around with the prior CEO. Drake closed the door as Steve and Julie got up from their chairs to acknowledge my presence. I traveled to the head of the table, looking at the unopened folder and took a seat. It was silent for a few moments and a heavy wood scent filled the room. It reminded me of my adoptive father who was the only kind person to me as a child. Unfortunately, he was married to a horrible woman who only adopted me because the foster system agreed to pay her monthly. When the monthly checks stopped coming in, she kicked me out and as much as my foster father disagreed, he slipped me a few hundred dollars as he embraced me with his last goodbye. A few months later he died, it was the only funeral I have ever attended. Before leaving, I grabbed his wool jacket which smelled of pine, exactly like the smell that filled this room. Glancing around I quickly noticed that Miles didn’t join us. It was not required or expected so it didn’t bother me much.
After a few moments of silence, I looked over at Steve who was sitting on the side next to Julie to start the conversation. He took the hint and cleared his throat.
“Mr. Shaw, thank you for meeting with us today. It seems you have been involved in some allegations towards my client.”
Colton, who was sitting next to me, not looking in my direction. Even with sitting, he was taller than I imagined, and I was trapped into his root-beer brown eyes. “Listen, I’m not here to be involved with anything. That information didn’t come from me, and it’s not me in the pictures. I did have a temporary situation with the prior CEO but I was told by the HR that I was fine and to continue working. I didn’t know at the time she was a CEO. I thought she was an assistant or something.” His accent was not as strong as I expected.
“So, you think all associates have access to this office?” my challenging question forced him to face me directly. His face was baby-like and manly at the same time. Perfect jawline to match the sexy accent that American women were naturally drawn towards.
“No, it was a heated moment. You seem to know all about those from this picture.” His eyes softened as he raised his eyebrow with his quick wit gleaming out. My face flushed.
“We would like to propose something, for which you would be highly compensated for.” Julie’s voice filled the air between us. His gaze broke from mine as we both looked onto Julie, who slid over a contract. Not seeing the agreement myself until then, I flipped open the folder.
“You will agree to court Miss Dash in public when requested. You’ll act as her partner and remain confidential of the information when requested. You will agree to do this for the next 30 days in which you will be paid $250,000. $50,000 when you agree to the conditions, and $200,000 at the end of 30 days. Miss Dash will announce your separation as she sees fit to the public, and you will no longer be able to speak negatively to any public or private source.” Julie flipped through some additional pages quoting things about all expenses paid and use of a company vehicle. The entire time she reviewed the terms, he kept those brown eyes fixed on me. Pretending to read the contract, I could feel his eyes burning through me. Julie stopped reading, and Steve jumped in covering all confidentiality agreements.
“Any questions?” Julie snapped, annoyed at his reaction of not paying her the attention she expected.
Looking up from the file, my eyes instantly met his. He was still, which left me confused about what he was thinking. Then, picking up a pen without uttering a word, he flipped the page over and started scribbling down something on it. Julie, Steve, and I looked at each other, our faces full of confusion before he stated, “I’ll sign it, but I want you to include my conditions as well.”
Sliding the paper over on the table, he stood, in which I immediately felt his wood scent take over, the only thing that felt like home. Putting his sunglasses on, he kept his eyes locked on me with a half-smile as he left.
“Well, doesn’t he seem… nice?” Julie added before looking down at his paper.
“What does it say?” Steve grabbed the paper from Julie, to which she was a bit astonished. He put on his glasses to read. “Sophie will attend a weeks’ vacation with me to Australia paid for by Forever Fitness. No other relationships can be ongoing by either party during the 30 days’ time. One night a week, I get to plan a date on my terms.” Steve put down the paper and replied,“Easy enough.”
“No” I snapped at Steve. “I need time to think.” Their faces turned pale as they looked at me with horror. I stood up with a jerk without wasting a further moment and headed towards Miles’s office. He didn’t attend the meeting with Colton even though it was his idea. I wondered how he would react to the additional conditions.
Miles opened the door to his office to let a young, petite blonde walk out. “Thank you so much for your time, Miles. I hope we can connect soon.” Reaching for his green tie, she straightened it as he nodded.
“You should hear something back soon.” He replied as I passed her on the walkway, I noticed the low-cut shirt, which left nothing to the imagination. Jealousy raged inside me; however, I didn’t let it out.
“Do you have a few moments?” I kept a calm face towards Miles.
“Sure.”
I entered, and he left the door open. This was the second time Miles gave me a cold shoulder. This morning he blew off a meeting with me, and now we were having an open-door conversation. “Are you sure this is the best plan for the company?” my eyes were holding his.
“Yeah, she’s perfect. Feel free to make her an offer.” He stated in a casual tone. Stunned that he was thinking about some assistant and not the PR nightmare that was happening, feelings inside me shifted. I was not one to want relationships and wanted to ensure Miles and I had been on the same level before signing something that would exclude, whatever this was we had going on.
“Sorry, did you want to discuss something else?” Miles’s eyes met mine.
“This, between us” I waved my hand back and forth, so he was picking up on nonverbal cues with the door open. “Listen, I don’t do relationships, but I like what we have going on.”
He interrupted me with a smug laughter, “you don’t need to explain yourself Sophie. This between us is just fun, nothing serious.” He leaned against the front of his desk and crossed his legs. “We both know that neither one of us would be good for one another in the long term. Let’s keep it casual, lighthearted and should I say… fun.” He was mocking my lifestyle with the word ‘fun’. Our physical connection was strong and oddly my raging metal health needed a reality check. Dreaming of something more, logically I found he was right. I nodded my head in agreement even though inside I was tangled in wishing it could be something more. “Good, how did the meeting with the janitor go?”
Faking happiness as best I could the words swept out of my lips faster than expected. “Great, your idea was… great,” I declared, moving back out to the hall.
I called out, “Drake, let Steve know I’ll sign it.” Drake looked past my direction, and I turned to see Miles standing next to his door before advancing forward. Closing the door behind me, I was now alone in my office. Miles had got what he wanted, and he was ensuring that we stayed at a distance. But, little did he know, both of us could play that game.
