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“Amazing,” I breathed, getting lost in the memories of that night and the intimacy it had created between us.
“And you’re not doing that thing where you lose interest or get scared and close yourself off?”
“I’m trying not to. I feel the doubt creeping in, especially every time Cheryl or Nicoletta say something.”
“Don’t let them get to you, girl. Those men are falling for you, and it’s easy to see you’re falling for them, too. When they said they didn’t care about the money, I just about fell out of my seat.”
“You’re not mad about that?” Hearing the words would do wonders for that niggle of guilt in the back of my mind. I’d thought about Es and the business before agreeing, and I hoped she would be on the same page.
“Not at all. This is about you and the brand, which, by the by, sales are up—like, way up. Keep modeling those clothes, and we won’t need the money.” Yeah, but once I was off the show, how long would those sales keep their trajectory? We needed the backup.
“Speaking of the brand, what’s the problem?”
“Oh! The material for the gray dress on the winter line is delayed by a week.”
“But we always plan for delays.” That wasn’t a problem at all. We built in padding between orders because we’d been burned before.
“I know. I just wanted an excuse to call you. Everything is going well, and we’ve been able to reduce our spending on advertising because you’re doing the damn thing on that island. Things are good.”
“What if something happens next week or something, and you can’t call?”
“Then it will keep until you get back. Like you said, we built in fail-safes.”
A laugh bubbled up and grew larger when I put all the pieces together. “You just missed me, didn’t you?”
“So fucking much, but I am also so proud of you for doing this. I know it wasn’t easy, but I see how honest you’re being with yourself about who you are and what you want. Even if you want three guys and have a relationship that not all of society agrees with.”
“Is the negative stuff online bad?”
She hemmed and hawed, refusing to give me an answer.
“Just spit it out, Es. What am I up against here?”
“There are a few very loud social media pages that are unhappy with your relationship. Saying that Kayla was justified in her reaction to Aaron picking you for that date, especially now that he’s joined your harem. They’re saying it was a setup from the get-go by the producers or that you’re putting spells on all the men or some shit like that.” I groaned. “But, on the upside, because of the stunt Ryan pulled in week one, his MC came under scrutiny, and the president was forced to make a statement that they don’t condone his behavior. It’s all for show, of course, and I’m sure they’ll welcome him back with open arms, but he’s lost a shit ton of credibility with the public.”
“I don’t want his business to suffer,” I admitted. I relayed my earlier thoughts about his misguided approach to clinging to someone he thought he had a future with and that he wasn’t abadguy. Just a little headstrong.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I wondered the same thing, so I drove by and poked my head in one night. There were abunchof sweet butts at his bar. I guess the manager has been airing the episodes there so they can watch Ryan on the screen and they have formed their own little jealous/possessive fan club.”
“Well, at least there’s that.”
A knock sounded on the door. “Sophie, we gotta get back.”
“Just a second, Jess! Thank you,” I called back. “Hey, Es, I gotta go. You’ll get the discount from the fabric people we worked out in the contract, right?”
“Already emailed, just waiting for the partial return on payment. You got this, Soph. I’ll see you in a week and a half.”
“Love you, Es. Thank you.”
“Love you too.”
I hung up and opened the door to find Jess in the hall.
“All good?” she asked.
“Delay on some material our seamstresses need for a dress in our winter line. Es will finish getting it sorted. Thanks for coming to get me.”
“You got it,” she answered, leading me down the stairs. We passed by the kitchen, finding two of the usual cameramen and Tobias eating cereal at the counter.
