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“You’re with her for clickbait? So, it’s not a real relationship? And you didn’t even think about consulting me? Have you even thought about how this is going to play with the public? Dating a freaking barista is bad for your brand. It’s best if you look available.”
“Are you kidding me? How much more available can I be? I’m dating a regular middle-class girl. My fans will eat that up. Our server last night even mentioned it. She told Sophia that she loved it and was rooting for us. This is publicity gold.”
“You’re naïve. And you’re lucky as hell that your current project doesn’t have a relationship clause in it. Did you even think about that? And what are we supposed to do when you start filming that other movie coming up?”
“Of course I looked at my contract. This isn’t my first rodeo. How about we worry about the next movie when it rolls around? Things change. We can always ask for an addendum.” Honestly, I didn’t expect this to last that long, but fuck if I was going to tell that to Hope now. She was seriously pissing me off.
“What do you even know about this girl? What’s to stop her from running to the press the minute this is over? Has she signed a contract?”
“Do I look new? Of course we did a background check. And she’s signed an NDA.” That nagging voice in the back of my mind trilled about the contract we’d talked about but never signed. It would be better if everyone went into this knowing what was expected. I needed to talk to Sophia about it again. Not that I was going to tell Hope as much. She had a bug up her butt about me and Sophia, and I really didn’t understand why. “What is your problem, Hope? Why are you so upset about this?”
“Because dating a nobody is an epically bad idea, and it’s going to backfire on you. I’m telling you, I think this is bad for your brand. You went from dating pop star Victoria Jay to a freaking barista? Everyone’s going to think you’ve lost it.”
“If you can’t sell the fact that I’m with a ‘nobody’ as you say, maybe I need to find someone else to represent me.”
A gasp came from the hallway behind me, but I didn’t turn around. I knew who it was. And she better be scurrying her little ass back to the guest room.
I took a few gulps of my sweating smoothie, condensation mixing with the sweat on my hand. “What’s it going to be, Hope? Am I looking for a new publicist, or are you going to get on the Rome and Sophia wagon?”
Hope’s gaze slid to the side as she took a moment. Then she turned back to me and cocked her head. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Fantastic.” My smile was more me baring my teeth than an expression of happiness, and I knew Hope knew it too. “I need you to work up a list of dates and places Sophia and I should be seen this week.”
The more attention I could take off King, the better.
“Fine.” She gritted her teeth at me. “There was one more thing I wanted to talk about. Did you want to release a public statement about Ariel’s death?”
My fake smile disappeared, and I narrowed my eyes at Hope. “Ariel Knight was the worst thing that ever happened to my brother. I don’t want to give her another inch of column space. We don’t mention her. Ever. Clear?”
“Right. No, I understand. And I agree.” Suddenly Hope was falling all over herself to make it better.
I was too tired to keep up. And smelly. “I’m gonna go shower. Get with Jeff and organize an itinerary of dates for Sophia and I that aren’t too over the top. I might hate Ariel, but I don’t want the whole world to think I’m off being a selfish douche while my brother is grieving. It’s a thin line, but I’m sure you can make it look effortless.” I knew when to push and when to fluff. And Hope was suddenly preening despite our argument.
Hope nodded, her expression thoughtful. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I’ll be back in twenty.”
“Take your time,” Hope muttered distractedly as she whipped out her phone.
Smiling smugly, I walked down the hall and paused outside Sophia’s door. Should I talk to her now or wait until I had all the details hammered out with Hope and Jeff? I shifted my weight to leave, when her door opened.
“Oh!” Sophia flinched and held her hands up reflexively. “Sorry. Didn’t know you were there.”
“No, I was just…” And I couldn’t come up with an excuse for me to be facing her door that sounded even somewhat plausible. “I wanted to see if you had any plans today.”
Sophia laughed. “Hardly. I don’t have a job. Or my laptop. Speaking of which, when do you think it’ll be safe to swing by my apartment? I don’t feel like I can breathe without my laptop. And uh, I kinda need to know what the plan is as far as living arrangements. Should I go back to my apartment? Am I moving in here? What are you thinking?”
“Well I don’t think you can go back to your apartment anytime soon. It’s only been one day.”
“Damn,” she whispered then muttered to herself, “I’m going to have to tell Molly to find a new roommate.”
“I don’t want you worrying about rent or making ends meet. I can cover whatever costs you have.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You haven’t, but I am. I will. This relationship isn’t going to cost you a single dollar. I’ve already cost you your job.” Did Sophia really think so little of me? I thought we’d connected last night. Gotten to know each other. What the hell?
“I didn’t mean to offend you. This is such a weird position to be in. I don’t have a job. I hardly have any savings, and I’ll be damned if you pay me to date you. I know how people like her out there think of me. But that’s not me. I’m not here for a meal ticket or whatever. I want to help King and Zoe. But everything else is so confusing. I don’t know how to do this.”
