Sophie's Playboy (34 page)

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Authors: Natalie J. Damschroder

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Stevie started to speak, but Melina stopped him with a hand
"What, another puppy?" Sophie threw her hands in the air. "M
They nodded. The station manager remained as stone-faced as
Melina, who held the door for Sophie as she walked out, had
Sheesh. She'd had no idea radio people could be so mysteriou
Luckily, she didn't have long to wait for her surprise. Half
The next day he filed suit against her.
"The jerk is suing for half-a-million dollars. Half-a-millio
The door opened quietly, but she didn't look up from her art
"The evil attorney—and I know, that's a redundancy—has been
She heard the click of the switch that turned on the second
"Come on, Sophie, you can't put all the blame on the lawyers
Sophie stared at the man on the other side of the console. H
She doubted the station had realized just what a surprise th
The man in front of her was Biff Cornwall.
CHAPTER 5
"Stupid people," she murmured, still staring. He grinned bac
"What does that mean?" he asked.
Sophie snapped back to herself. "Sure, juries give big award
"So you think juries are stupid?" he asked.
"Well, think about it. Attorneys don't want to pick people w
"You're harsh, Sophie."
"Well, there's one reason juries are equally to blame."
"What's that?"
"They hope to set a precedent so when they steal someone's T
She closed her mike and leaned back in her chair. Melina was
"How on earth did you find him?" She waved a hand at Parker.
Stevie tugged at his shirt collar. "Well, we had to search—"
"That's not important, Stevie," Parker interrupted. He didn'
Sophie stared at Parker. Biff. Whatever. "You are so arrogan
Biff had the nerve to look surprised. "Arrogant? About what?
"Never mind." She waved her hand between them. "What the hel
"You can call me Parker."
"Where did Biff come from?"
Melina tapped on the glass and motioned five seconds.
"I'll explain later." Parker/Biff slid his headphones back o
"Okay. Biff. Parker. What is going on? Start with your name—
He somehow managed to maintain his air of arrogance even whi
"My name is Parker Cornwall. My father was Biff Cornwall, an
Sophie sat next to him. She was still frowning, and Parker w
"Your father is dead?" she asked.
The question seemed to come out of the blue. Parker forgot h
"You said he was Biff Cornwall."
"Oh. We're not that close."
"So, should I call you Biff or Parker?" She tilted her head
And maybe more.
"Parker," he said, deliberately injecting intensity into the
* * * *
Sophie shivered every time she remembered Parker saying his
"Stop it," she ordered, marching up the steps to the station
She, Parker, Stevie, and Melina were meeting to discuss the
That dating was out of the question.
Sophie doubted that one was on the official agenda. If anyon
Not again.
The other three met her at the top of the stairs and turned
"Am I late?" She glanced at her watch as they went down the
"We thought it would be easier to talk at the diner," Melina
"Ah." Sophie got it. When a big new advertiser came on board
The diner, however, was quiet between the lunch and dinner r
"Make sure you don't talk over each other," Stevie cautioned
"We need a new hand signal," she joked. "Break it up." She p
"Never insult the listeners, Parker, that's one of Sophie's
"One of my biggest pet peeves," Sophie said. "You'll hear it
Parker turned his attention to her. Sophie suddenly felt lik
"Why do you care about insulting the listeners?" he asked. "
"I want a little higher-class audience than the so-called 'b
"We have a promo to record for one of the clients," Stevie w
Uh, oh. "Build on what?"
Cough. "Well, on the theme, so to speak, of the nature of th
"What, exactly, is the nature of the advertiser's business?"
Stevie flushed, then named a local hotel famed for its getaw
More than uh, oh, Sophie thought. "And the nature of the ad
Stevie shuffled his papers and avoided her gaze.
"Stevie. The ad?"
He sighed and slapped his papers onto the table. "The annive
Sophie rolled her eyes. "If we just met, it can't be the ann
"Well, it wouldn't be the real Sophie and Parker, you'd be a
Sophie finally agreed to do the ad—and there would be more,
"Sophie, the audience heard Parker courting you over the pho
"But he's been quiet for two weeks!"
"I was out of the country," Parker said. "I couldn't time th
"The listeners won't notice it," Melina said. "They won't re
Sophie folded her arms. Then she realized something and turn
"None of the callers asked me about Parker during those whol
Melina tried to look innocent. Stevie defended her. "We need
"Fine." Sophie slammed her coffee mug to the table, not both
Parker's tone was light when he said, "Ouch, Soph."
She tried to hide her panic. Most people wouldn't understand
Stevie fought valiantly to the end. "Sophie, if restaurants
Sophie stood and started gathering her things. It was almost
"Those are work. Not dating. I'll do what I need to for work
"If we start really dating, then break up, one of us might h
* * * *
That afternoon's program went incredibly well given all the
And toy he was, Parker couldn't deny it. Sophie played with
If he didn't know better, he'd think she was flirting with h
They'd wrapped the show and left the building before she spo
"The show was good, wasn't it."
Though she'd made it a statement, he answered anyway. "It wa
Sophie chuckled. "You think he gets a bonus if ratings go up
"Could be. It would be good business."
"And you know all about good business, don't you?"
Her derisive tone was back. Parker didn't know why she disli
"I know about fun, too. Want to go get a drink?"
She hesitated, eyes narrowed, lips pursed just enough to mak
"Where?" she asked.
"Victory."
"What?" Her head jerked up and her eyes blazed in the late d
"No, I mean Victory is where we're going." He took her arm a
* * * *
He'd been right, of course. Sophie hated that about him. But
"Left! Right! Left!" She couldn't help yelling as she spun t
Parker slid his paddle just a bit too far to the left and th
"Yes!" Sophie jumped up and punched both fists over her head
Parker sat back in his cushioned chair and lifted his whiske
"So what?" Sophie gulped some of her rum and Coke and scanne
"Come on." She tugged Parker out of his chair, which was imm
"Come on, where?"
He resisted her tugging so she pulled harder.
"Come on let's play volleyball. We'll be on the same team an
They did, but Sophie learned quickly the value of thinking a
She could hear Parker breathing, grunting a little as he sla
"Yes!" The computer team missed Parker's slam and they pause
"Great set, Soph."
Parker turned his head and she looked up into eyes that seem
"Sophie." Her name was a whisper, almost unheard. The music
"Ready!" the machine called to them and they swung back to t
She missed the ball and the game ended.
"Enter us for the high score," she told Parker and ran off t
This would not do. Being here could be construed as breaking
She stepped to the sink and turned on the water to wet a pap
"He's not your type," she told her reflection. The words ran
* * * *
You moved too fast. Parker cursed and downed the last of his
Which, admittedly, he really wanted to do.
It had been over a hundred degrees in the shade today, and S
What was he going to do? He worked with her now. Okay, so he
Sophie was a challenge, and even the lightest-headed women k
The bartender put a bowl of pretzel sticks in front of him a
He reached across the guy next to him at the bar and grabbed
When his thoughts began to slip into long-term consideration
Sophie emerged from the bathroom and happiness rose without
He was in deep trouble.
* * * *
Sophie was in trouble.
She saw it coming across the main room the day after her out
But her heart didn't care about definitions. It didn't care
Hell.
She hit the intercom button. "Melina, want to get dinner wit
Double hell.
Not only was she getting all worked up over a playboy, she w
"Sure, Sophie. I'd enjoy that."
Sophie figured she'd manage to get through the show, but she
As the jingle took over, Parker removed his headphones. "Sop
"Ready, Sophie?" Melina's entrance interrupted Parker. Sophi
"Thank you. He was going to ask me to dinner and I was going
"And that would be bad because...?" Melina slung her oversiz
"Because I don't want him."
Melina hooted. "Yes, it's very clear how much you don't want
Sophie grimaced. "I hope he doesn't see it."
"I doubt it. It's all over his, too."
They turned the corner at the end of the block and Melina ge
"Personally, I think it is wonderful. You two have a flammab
Sophie eyed her. "If you think it's so great, why did you re
Melina laughed. "It is also good to keep men guessing. A cha
The aroma of exotic spices permeated the air and Sophie's st
"Give me your honest opinion," Sophie said. "Is the show imp
Melina chuckled at her analogy. "It is most definitely impro
Sophie looked at the spicy food on her plate and suddenly di
Melina shook her head as she swallowed. "Decisions are not m
Sophie perked up. "What kind of schedule?"
"Supplementals. You have three solo ads to tape this week, t
"Already?" Sophie pictured the little production booth and h
Melina winked. "Quite comfortably. You also have your first
Sophie grinned. "Really? A live action broadcast? Stevie sai
"Apparently the new independent movie house thinks you and P
Sophie toyed with her curry and nibbled a slice of naan. She
Well, the hangup was easy to explain. She'd start there.
"When I had been working at MMT for about four months, one o
"Were you?"
"No! Ick." Chuck had never interested her that way. And in t
"Anyway, it took a long time before everyone stopped resenti
Melina nodded and swallowed her last bite. The bus boy repea
A momentary flash of Sophie on a date with Stevie—the guy wh
"He's not my boss, no. But people could still say that datin
"Therefore the perception of your success being contingent u
"Exactly."
"Baloney."
Sophie stared at her. Melina shrugged. "That is an excuse. Y
Of course there was. Sophie hadn't really cared six years ag
The loss of Parker could be devastating.
Sophie didn't want to dive into that analysis. It was smart
"Are you sick?" Sophie asked. Melina just shook her head. As
They paid their bill and wandered onto the street. Boston at
Restlessness be damned. She was happy, and she'd stay that w
CHAPTER 6
"Joe, I need to call you back," Parker told his vice preside
Joe grunted his disapproval. Never a very cheerful man, he w
Still, Parker was having difficulty keeping his mind on his
"Biff, I don't care what your reasons are for doing this dam
Parker rubbed at the throbbing in the center of his forehead
He flipped his phone closed and shoved it into his pocket ju
At the first break he snagged Sophie on her way out the door
"Can we meet at my office tomorrow instead of here?"
Sophie looked down at him and raised her left eyebrow again.
Parker leaned back in the squeaky chair and stretched. "Of c
"Well, yeah."
He shook his head. No wonder she thought of him as a playboy

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