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“Okay. This is getting really weird.” I glanced over at Jeff. “I think I’m just going to go.” I pushed my chair back when Jeff put his hand on my arm.
Jeff smiled. “I know Rome has a tendency to just dive right in without a warmup, but I promise there’s a legitimate reason for these questions.”
“Fine.” I sighed. The sooner I answered his questions, the sooner I could leave. “It was maybe six months ago? I dated one of my customers from Morning Jolt for a few weeks, but it wasn’t serious.”
“Great.” Roman Grier smiled at me like my lack of a personal life was a good thing. It was really hard not to fall under his spell when he was trying to be charming—unlike yesterday on the beach. “And you understand that we’re still covered under the terms of your original NDA? Anything said here stays here. Like Las Vegas.”
“I’ll take your word for it—I’ve never been.” I shrugged. “But yes, I understand. NDA means no talking about you or your employees or your property, like Pongo. Where is he by the way?”
Roman Grier tipped his head. “He’s in his pen in the backyard. I can’t have him loose when I work out. He thinks it’s a game and tries to play along. It’s cute, until he’s tackling me while I’m doing pushups. I’ll let him out in a minute.”
“Okay. I take it we’re done here, then? Or did you want me to walk Pongo since I’m here?” I made a move to get up again when he spoke.
“Not yet.” He exchanged a look with Jeff, then shook his head. “Look, there’s no easy way to say this, but I need you to date me.”
I stared stupidly at him and blinked a few times.
“Is that a joke? Am I on one of those hidden camera things?” I turned my head, looking in every corner, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“No. I’m serious.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. It was like an involuntary reaction. This was bizarre. Roman Grier wanted to date me? Yeah right. “Seriously, where are the cameras?”
“Rome, you mind me taking lead for a second here?” Jeff asked. “You’re making a mess of this.”
Roman Grier waved a hand, sitting back in his chair with a pissed off expression.
Jeff tipped his head. “I’m sure you’re aware of the situation with Ariel Knight and Rome’s brother, King.”
I nodded.
“Well, given the pictures that surfaced yesterday,” Jeff continued. “We think we might be able to take advantage of the situation and hopefully take some of the media spotlight off King and Zoe at the same time.”
“By dating me?” That was—hands down—the craziest thing I’d ever heard. “Why would people care? I’m a nobody.”
“Exactly.” Roman Grier leaned forward with a gleam in his eyes. “The media and the public would eat it up. That’s how you manage them. Basically, you can’t stop the paps, but you can direct—or misdirect—them. We go on a few public dates, you come to the set a few times, paps get their picture of your ring, and King will get some relief.”
Was this a dream? It didn’t feel like a dream. Usually they made more sense than this. “Wait, ring? Did you say ring?”
Jeff sent Roman Grier an annoyed look. “Someone is getting a little ahead of the plan, but ideally, after a few weeks, you two would announce your engagement.”
“We shouldn’t announce it.” Roman Grier parried. “It would be more impactful if there was speculation, and once it hit fever pitch,thenwe announce it. You gotta learn nuance.”
“Whoa.” This time I didn’t wait for permission. I shoved my chair back and stood up, waving my hands. “I’m not getting engaged to you. We’re not even dating. You all are crazy.”
“See, you went too fast.” Jeff grumbled. “This is what happens when you miss steps.”
Roman Grier might’ve rolled his eyes at Jeff, but I wasn’t sure, since I was backing away from the table.
I don’t know what weird plot I’d walked in on, but I was getting the heck out of here.
Chapter Four
Rome
“She’s getting away,” Jeff whispered.
“You’re talking like a B-Movie villain,” I muttered before raising my voice to Sophia, who froze when I spoke. “I realize this is a lot. How about me and you take Pongo for a walk and talk about it?”
