Rumor Has It (Limelight) (7 page)

“All of this looks really good, Ellie. I have a few more candidates to interview later this week but I hope to have a decision made by early next week. Are there any questions you wanted to ask me?”

Now I have a philosophy that when an interviewer asks you this question (and they all do eventually), you must come up with something. Otherwise it seems as if you don’t give two shits about the job. There was nothing people loved more than talking about themselves, and by extension the company they worked for.

“I do, I was wond—”

“Wait! Now I know how I know you.” Her eyes were wide and she pointed a finger at me across the desk.

My stomach dropped and did a somersault. My chest tightened.
No, no, no, no
…

“You’re that girl from the YouTube video.”

Damn it. What did I say to that?

“The one that went viral,” she continued.

“I can explain…”

“No explanation necessary. I think we’re through here.” She began tamping together the sheets of my résumé, put it in a folder and proceeded to throw said folder into the recycling bin. Right. In. Front. Of. Me.

I tried to keep my composure in case there was any way to salvage the situation. My cheeks were flushed in anger, but maybe she’d think it was from embarrassment. “Miss Ambrosa, if you’d let me explain.”

“Save it. I’m not hiring you. Not only do your actions in that video reflect poorly on you, but I wouldn’t take the chance someone else in the media found out you worked here and tried to use it to their advantage. This station doesn’t need any bad press. A huge portion of our operating budget relies on donations from the public.”

I kept my mouth shut and willed the tears that had begun to burn behind my eyes not to fall. I refused to give her the satisfaction of knowing how she’d affected me.

She leaned across her desk toward me and lowered her voice. “Let me give you a tip, Ellie. The world of media is a cruel one and has little tolerance for screw-ups. It’s even harder for women because unfortunately, there
is
still an old boys’ club. Buck up, get rid of the emotion I can see in your eyes, and get used to it. If you want any kind of success in this business you’re going to need to grow a thick skin. It’s every woman for herself.”

Jeez, why was it always the women who were the cruelest to other women? We didn’t need to worry about men oppressing us; we could do it just fine ourselves.

“Thank you for your time.” I rose out of my seat and left as quickly as my feet and my three-inch heels could carry me. I reached my car and leaned over the steering wheel and sobbed. I didn’t give a shit what she said. This moment deserved a good cry.

One mistake. One instant of not thinking before I acted was affecting every aspect of my life. It didn’t seem fair. Everyone made rash decisions sometimes but it seemed that thanks to a camera phone mine was able to play out over and over again to anyone with a WIFI connection.

I pulled my phone out of my purse to check the time and saw that Skye had texted me to see how the interview had gone. I typed her a quick rundown, hit send and started my car to begin the drive home.

I’d been on the freeway for a few minutes when my phone rang. I hit the speaker button knowing it’d be Skye.

“That bitch!” came blaring through the speaker. “I can’t believe she said that to you.”

“It was harsh but she’s probably right.”

“I don’t care if she’s right or not, that was just plain rude.”

“I’m so sick of that stupid video following me around. It’s been over a month now. When will people forget it?”

“We’ve all done things we regret.” The tone of her voice was serious. She sounded like she was talking from experience.

“Is everything all right?” I asked.

“Of course. Anyway, don’t worry about it. Next week some dancing baby will take over your spot as the newest viral sensation and you’ll be old news.”

“I hope so.”

“Listen, what are you doing tonight? Want to get shit-faced and drown your sorrows?”

“I can’t tonight. I have plans.” Thoughts of my plans with Mason helped to perk me up a bit.

“Plans. What plans and why wasn’t I informed of them?”

“Mason and I are going out again.” Even in my crappy mood I got a small thrill saying it. I grimaced as the squeal from the other end of the phone came through the speakers.

“That’s so awesome. What are you guys doing?” Skye asked.

“He wants to take me to Catch 31.”

“Nice! Okay, then let’s go for drinks tomorrow night and you can give me the lowdown on your date.”

“Sounds good. The only thing is Katie from work already twisted my arm to go out with her tomorrow night. Are you cool if she’s there, too?”

“Hell yeah. I like that girl. She cracks me up at her blatant disregard for social etiquette.”

“Alrighty then.” Seems Katie had a fan.

“Are you wearing the PP’s again tonight?”

That was
the
question. Mason was only here for a limited time. Did I really want to play coy for the next few weeks, following a self-imposed rule? I really liked him. If I waited until our eleventh date that’d only give us a week or less of bedroom antics before he left. I couldn’t imagine that’d be near enough. Besides, my life could use a little fun at the moment.

“I’m still undecided.”

“Woohoo! If this guy is as hot as you say then I don’t blame you.”

“I said I’m undecided.”

“Yeah, yeah, we both know you won’t be wearing them.”

She hung up and a small grin crept onto my face. Damn, that girl knew me too well.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I met Mason at the restaurant since I’d agreed to cover part of a shift for the night secretary and had returned back to the office after the interview. She’d needed to take her kid to an appointment and I’d needed someone to cover part of the afternoon. It worked out for both of us. Well, except me because the job interview had been a bust of epic proportions.

I’d changed into a lilac silk dress with spaghetti straps that hit mid-thigh. Skye had suggested pairing it with my cream peep-toe platform heels and a pearl necklace. Of the fake variety, obviously. The sides of my hair were pulled back with bobby pins. Overall I was happy with the look. I even felt a little sexy, truth be told, which helped brush off my earlier mood.

Katie had stayed late and caught me changing in the restroom. She’d been supportive and seemed to be excited for me. Hell, I was excited for me. Mason was sex incarnate, and I hadn’t worn my PP’s tonight. Anything was possible.

I arrived at Catch 31 Restaurant on time to see Mason waiting outside for me. My stomach got that half sick, half excited feeling it did every time I saw him. He wore beige linen pants with a white button-up short sleeve shirt, his broad chest evident underneath. The tattoos on his arms were a nice contrast to the clean cut look.

Mason smiled wide as I approached. “You look…exceptional,” he said.

I blushed. “Thank you.”

He leaned in and gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek. I inhaled his familiar scent. Heat immediately pooled between my legs.

He led me into the restaurant with a warm hand pressed on my lower back. I tried concentrating on where I was walking so I wouldn’t stumble in my heels and make a fool of myself. All my attention was focused on the hand on my back. It was difficult to think anything other than naughty thoughts when he made physical contact with me.

We approached the hostess table where an attractive and stacked blond stood. Her eyes ran over Mason like he was on the menu and she hadn’t eaten for days. He asked for a table and she smiled wide and pushed her chest out. As if he could miss the double D’s pushed up to her neck. I bit back my irritation as she sashayed in front of us to show us to our table.

She stopped at a table with an ocean view. “Here you are. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”

She was looking directly at Mason when she said it. Her tone held the implication that if he wanted to stick his dick in her later that’d be no problem.

Mason didn’t seem to notice and thanked her without sparing her a glance. Her sultry look turned to disappointment, and she looked me up and down, clearly wondering what the hell he was doing with someone like me.

You’re preaching to the choir, sister.

Catch 31 was one of my favorite restaurants. The soaring ceilings, white table tops and ultramarine blue accents always gave me the feeling of being under water. My favorite part was the outdoor patio. Set in close proximity to the beach, it had a section of tables that circled various fire pits. I’d spent a few nights there sipping cocktails with my friends listening to the surf. It was a popular restaurant and the place was busy, even for a Thursday.

After we’d gotten our drinks and placed our food orders we settled in to talk. Mason took a sip of his drink and set it back on the table. “Do you miss Miami at all?” he asked.

“Definitely. There’s always something to do there, always something going on. I’m thankful that at least I ended up by the ocean.” I motioned with my hand toward the water.

“You like the ocean?”

“There’s something so calming about it. Even when the waves are crashing against the shore it feels peaceful to me. It makes me feel small, like just one tiny piece in this puzzle of a world. It makes my problems feel small, too.” I shrugged. “It’s silly, I know.”

“It’s not. Have you ever gotten up early enough to see the sun rise over the ocean?”

“Not lately. I saw it a few times in college. Not because I’d planned on it though. I just wasn’t coming home until dawn.” We both laughed. “Did you go to college?”

“No, I never got the chance. I started working right after high school.”

“How does someone get into something like song writing?” I asked.

Mason shifted in his chair and looked away from me for a second. “Usually someone in the industry hears your work and likes it. That’s how it happened for me anyway.”

“Don’t you ever get writer’s block?”

“Not normally. I’ve always found it pretty easy to express my feelings on paper. That’s all a song is, your feelings put into words, then those words get put to a beat or music.”

“Still it must not be easy to keep coming up with new material all the time.”

“You just have to look for inspiration.”

“Oh? Where do you usually find yours?”

“Right now it’s sitting across the table from me.” His eyes locked with mine and he stared at me with intensity. I couldn’t look away; those eyes of his drew me in. A few seconds later I was aware of someone beside us clearing his throat. Mason broke eye contact first.

“Here you are. Enjoy,” the waiter said as he placed our appetizer on the table between us. I’d convinced Mason to try the raw oysters since he’d never had them before.

“Thank you,” I said to the waiter and then turned my attention to Mason who was staring at the oysters like they were a science experiment gone wrong.

“I don’t know about this,” he said. “There’s a reason I’ve avoided these things for twenty-three years.” He’d grabbed a fork and was pushing against one of the oyster shells like he was trying to see if it was still alive.

I laughed. “Come on. A big tough guy like you afraid of some oysters?”

“How do we go about eating these…things?” He scrunched his nose up and creased his forehead in disgust.

“Here I’ll show you. The easiest way is to take your small fork and move the oyster around in the shell to make sure it’s detached, bring the shell to your lips, tilt your head back and let it slide into your mouth. You might have to kind of suck on it a bit if it doesn’t come in your mouth right away. Then swallow. Like this.” I demonstrated and put the shell back on the plate. “It’s really yummy but it’ll taste a little salty.”

Mason’s eyes were heated and his cheeks flushed. “Forget everything I said about not wanting to try the oysters. I love oysters. My new favorite food. We’re having them every time we’re out together.”

“What?” I asked, not catching on.

“Ellie, that was hot.”

“Hot?”

“Can you really not know what it does to a man to watch you explain how you eat an oyster and then demonstrate the process so well?”

I thought back to my explanation. I put my hands over my face when I realized what he was referring to. “Oh my god. I didn’t mean it like that,” I mumbled from underneath my hands.

Mason leaned across the table, grabbed one of my wrists and pulled it away from my face. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” He chuckled and I started laughing, too.

Maybe I was
too
comfortable around him. I needed to start thinking before I spoke. “It’s okay. I can’t believe I didn’t realize what I was saying when the words were coming out of my mouth.”

Mason raised an eyebrow. “You really need to stop saying the word coming if you want to make it to the main course. A man only has so much self-control.”

We both laughed louder than we should have, drawing the attention of some of the other diners.