“Good news?” Warning flashes in his emerald eyes and I ignore everything about it.
“Yes. About how you’ve hired me to be the face of SoulM8’s ad campaign. I’m going to be the spokesperson.”
Where everything about Robert’s face lights up, every part of Zane’s stills and rejects my revelation without voicing it. “You what?” he finally says after he takes a long pull on the drink in his hand.
“I told him the good news!” Zane stiffens when I reach out to squeeze his arm to show Robert some familiarity between the two of us. “I was so surprised and excited when you told me earlier that you’d selected me that I was still processing it all. And then of course I met Robert and we were talking about how out of all the finalists here, he felt he could relate to me the best so I thought it was the perfect time to tell him. What better way to put my communications degree and my modeling experience to use?”
“What better way indeed . . .” Zane says with a clenched jaw, eyes boring into mine while he plasters a smile onto his face.
IS SHE FUCKING KIDDING ME, right now?
All those visions I had of those heels being dug into my ass while we were having sex get thrown out the window.
“Robert?” Harlow says as she looks at Robert with those doe eyes and parted lips. “You’re not saying anything. Should I be worried that—”
“Not at all.” Robert looks from me to Harlow and then breaks out with a broad smile. “This is some of the best news I’ve heard in a while.”
Wait. What? He’s okay with this?
But Simone. I told Simone she all but had the job.
“You’ll be the perfect face of SoulM8, Harlow,” Robert says, making me shake my head like I’m in shock.
Roll with it Z. Fucking roll with it.
But something is wrong. I can see it in his face. In the way he keeps glancing at Harlow like there’s something more he needs to say, and I hate being the one on the fucking outside looking in.
“Then I guess we should tell him the other news too.” What am I saying?
“The other news?” They both say in unison and turn to look at me. I find the tiniest bit of satisfaction in the fact that Harlow looks worried.
She should be because I’m about to boost her ass right off this campaign just as quickly as she jumped on it . . . all the while fixing the problem I created.
I give her a soft smile before stepping closer to her, my eyes back on Robert’s. “We were afraid to mention it,” I bluff. “She’s right. I originally chose Harlow as my spokesperson months ago, and then lo and behold, when I went online and used SoulM8 as you suggested, it matched us together.”
Harlow’s eyes bug out of her gorgeous face. Two can play at this game, sweetheart.
“Is that so?” Robert asks, head swiveling from me to her and then back, skepticism in his eyes I don’t want to see.
“I know it’s hard to believe . . . but we talked online for a bit during the beta testing phase—both using avatars—and so you can imagine our surprise when we found out that we were who we were when we met face to face.” I step closer, pull Harlow into me, and press a kiss to her temple.
“It was quite a surprise,” she says, playing perfectly into the hand she has no idea will be dealt. “I thought I’d sign-up for an early look at the site and see what the whole thing was about. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this would happen.” She slides her arm around me and turns to smile softly at me.
“When you told me earlier, Zane . . . I was skeptical that you were telling the truth. I . . . Harlow, my apologies for the things I—”
“Don’t apologize for your honesty,” Harlow says. “When I found out who the man I’d been talking with was, I had many of the same concerns you do.” She looks up at me and although her smile is sweet, her eyes fire off a warning to me that’s as confusing as the exchange between the two of them. She looks back to Robert. “But I have to tell you, the more I’ve gotten to know him, the more those concerns have dissipated.”
“Is that so?” Robert asks, clearly more at ease than when we spoke earlier this evening.
“It is,” Harlow says.
“I feel like an outsider here,” I joke, hating being in the dark.
“It’s nothing that concerns you,” Harlow says with a reassuring nod to Robert that makes me all the more curious, but allows me to take the lead here.
Your run was good, Harlow . . . now it’s time to end it.
“What does concern me though is the appearance of impropriety, Robert and that’s the last thing I want just before a huge promotional launch for the platform. Harlow and I have talked here,” I say, “and decided that it’s best if I use someone else for the spokesperson position.”
Harlow’s body stiffens beside me and her fingers dig into my side.
How does it feel to be blindsided?