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“Go talk to him!” Elena urged. “He bought season tickets last year. He told all his friends to come. Maybe he wants to help our company.”
Sonia turned stubbornly away, stuffing another handful of almonds in her mouth. “There’s nothing between us. I found him on a dating app. We hooked up a few times.”
“He’s a lawyer, right?” Elena whispered. “I bet he has money. Connections. Go work it.”
“You want me to whore myself out for this company?” Sonia hissed.
“How much do you want to succeed?” Trevor demanded. “When you brought us on board, you said you’d do whatever it takes.”
Sonia shoved her hands through her hair. “Fine. Just watch me.” Pivoting, she strode toward Marco.
As she approached the concessions line, she pasted on a smile. How should she act? Soft and sweet? Flirty? Decisive?
She tapped Marco’s shoulder, and her mind went blank.
I’m not a talker,was all she could think.I communicate with my body.
Marco turned. His face opened up in astonishment, then settled into an uncertain smile. “Sonia. Hi.”
“Hi, Marco. I didn’t expect to see you here.”Brilliant, Sonia, just brilliant. Smile, dammit. Smile!
Whatever she did with her face, it didn’t seem to put Marco at ease. He rocked back on his heels.“I didn’t expect to see you either. It’s been a while since you, uh, informed me that we were over.”
“Right.” Sonia tried to soften the edge in her voice to a gentle coo. “I promise, it was nothing personal. I know you kept coming to our dance shows, and your support meant so much. It still means so much.” Fuck, she sounded like an idiot. Should she flutter her eyelashes? She gave them an experimental flap. “Especially now that we’re looking ahead to the next season.”
“I’m still recovering from that message you left.” Marco stubbornly held her gaze. “The one where you said ‘Hey, this was fun, now we’re done.’ Can we go outside and talk this through?”
Sonia’s stomach dropped. God, no. She was not here for an emotional post-breakup discussion. How could she fix this? Brendan would know what to do. He'd have Marco wrapped around his finger by now.
Sonia put her hand on Marco's arm, squirming inside. “Marco, I just don't think we're right for each other. Honestly, I'm not right for anybody right now. But I always wanted to stay friends.” A goddamn lie. “I hope you understand.”
“You really hurt me.” Marco’s voice was barely audible over the noise in the room.
Shit. She had?
“I didn't mean to.” Sonia took her hand off his arm. “We only saw each other a few times.”
“Yeah, well, you made an impression.”
You don't even know me!Sonia wanted to shout.We had sex and you bought me dinner. That was it.
Across the lobby, Elena and Trevor were huddled together, watching nervously. Elena gave a thumbs-up. Trevor patted his back pocket exaggeratedly where his wallet pushed out his tight jeans.
Sonia thrust her hands into her hair. There were people in DC who could turn this around. People who could shamelessly ask Marco for help and make him feel grateful for the opportunity. But she wasn’t one of them.
And the more she tried to get out there and use a “personal touch,” the more likely she was to fuck things up. Sometimes, it seemed like all she knew how to do was dance, have sex, excel in school, be a granddaughter, and occasionally — for the right person — be a friend. Why was she so bad at dealing with people?
“Look, I'm sorry, Marco,” Sonia muttered. “We clearly had different expectations.”
“Clearly. I just turned thirty-two. I'm not really interested in screwing around. Maybe when you’re older, you’ll understand.”
Sonia had the sudden urge to bolt from the theater. “I told you from the beginning that I was only in it for fun.”
“Like with the guy in your dressing room on Saturday night? Well, good luck with that. I have to say, when I saw him with the exact same flowers, I felt replaceable. Like men are just cardboard cutouts to you. Guess he’ll find that out too.”
“I never invited you to my dressing room,” Sonia flared. “And if more than one person wants to give me my favorite flowers, I have no problem with that.”
Color rose on Marco’s cheeks. “If this is how you deal with people, you’re going to be alone forever.”
