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I do a dramatic twirl and laugh. “Thank you. I feel good.”
“I’ll have what she’s having,” he jokes. “The usual?”
“Yes, please.”
I’m happy to be a regular at this coffee shop, and happier still at David’s compliment. I might have put a little more effort into my outfit, hair, and makeup today. Call it armor, or war paint.
The truth is that I don’t want to crawl into the office looking down in the dumps. Declan’s utter rejection of me last night certainly stung, but I want to move past that. And he certainly isn’t going to get the satisfaction of even suspecting that I’m doing anything other than great.
“I’d tell you to make it a wonderful day, but it looks like you’re already taking care of that all by yourself,” David says, handing me the latte.
“I’ll do it all the same—thank you!”
I catch a glimpse of my face in the reflection of the highly polished elevator doors as they close, on my way up to our floor. I school my expression into one that’s collected, focused.
Maybe even aloof.
I came into this position with all the passion in the world. It’s still there. I just don’t want Declan to get any ideas that he’s the reason for that interest. The truth? He’s not. I’m here for the work. And if he can coldly turn me down at the flip of a switch, I can be coolly professional.
I don’t want him. I want this job. And that’s all that matters.
Andrea stops me in my tracks on my way to my desk.
“This?” She waves her hands all around, up and down, in front of me. “This is giving me absolute life right now. Do you hear me? I am living for this look. I can’t believe you were out late covering that party last night and then showing up to work on time looking like this.”
I grin and laugh. “All in a day’s work, I guess. But thank you.”
We each settle into our cubicles, and I have a few minutes to myself to catch up on my inbox before I report to Carol.
“How did the party go?” she asks before I even have a chance to sit down.
I’m thankful that I’ve spent the better part of the morning schooling myself against feeling bad about the interaction I had last night with Declan. I leap immediately into the details, recounting the people I spoke with, the aesthetics of the event, and my concerns about the marketing approach.
I’ve had time to refine my thoughts on everything, and Carol nods as I wrap up my verbal report.
“I’m sure you’ve already seen the numbers, but if you haven’t taken a look yet, your posts got excellent engagement,” she tells me. “Do you have a guess as to which one had the most interactions?”
“Well, I’m hoping it was one of the stories—one of the first-person accounts from the attendees on how Dynasty changed their lives.”
“Bingo,” Carol says. “Good work, Sophie. You followed your nose on that one, and your instincts were correct. I think we’re going to use that as a jumping off point for a new marketing direction. Especially now that we have data to crunch.”
I step out of Carol’s office, absolutely positive that today’s going to be a good day…
…and nearly run into Declan, who’s on his way inside.
It’s as if time slows down. I watch his chiseled jaw clench, a tiny muscle working in his stubble-dusted cheek, at the sight of me. Something savage inside me leaps with pleasure. Good. I’m glad I’ve taken him off guard.
“Excuse me, Mr. Wright,” I say casually, but we both know I’m digging at him. He told me last night to call him Declan, but I’ve thrown up another wall between us. If he can promise me filthy things and then tell me to do my job in practically the same breath, I can erect some boundaries too.
He steps aside, but his gaze lingers, trailing downward over my face, my blouse, and my waist. I can’t not blush at the heat of his attention, but I can turn and walk away. Right back to my desk to do what I was hired to do—work.
He doesn’t get to see my tiny smile of satisfaction as I walk away. That’s just for me—and for the extra oomph I gave myself this morning.
When I return to the cubicles, however, it is clearly not business as usual.
Andrea, Hannah, and Mark all have their heads together, talking in hushed tones.
“What is going on here?” I ask, but Mark shushes me while beckoning me closer.
