“Good afternoon, Zane. I hope you’re having a good day.”
“Not hardly.” That’s all I’m going to give her. I refuse to give her the satisfaction of knowing that she’s the reason my current mood is shit. The silence stretches as I scroll through the rest of the pictures the photographer sent me of Harlow.
The camera loves her. Every angle of every curve of everything about her. In ways that have made me spend way too much time staring at them today instead of tackling the shit I need to do.
It’s her fault. All of it. Isn’t that the easiest way to wrap my head around it all?
“What do you need?” I ask.
“I need access to SoulM8.”
“Why? So you can fuck that up for me too?”
“My needs are twofold. First off if I’m going to promote it, I need to understand it. And secondly, if I’m going to sell your lie that we met online, don’t you think it’d be wise for me to have a profile and be more than familiar with yours?”
She has a point. Shit. My sigh fills the line. “Can’t you just stand there and smile?” It’s a dick comment but I feel like getting under her skin right now.
She doesn’t take the bait. “I had lunch with Robert this afternoon,” she says nonchalantly, causing me to choke on my water and wish it were something stronger.
“Why would you go and do something like that?”
“Because he asked. Because he wanted to talk marketing. Because he’s lonely and I was trying to be nice. I don’t have to have a reason and I sure as hell don’t have to get approval from you if I want to go to lunch with someone.”
I sigh, already exhausted by her. “Should I assume he told you the news?”
“News?”
“Yes . . . that you and I will be promoting together.”
“Ah, that news. Yes, Robert did mention it.”
“And . . ?”
“And I’m trying to figure how we’re going to manage this seeing as your attitude has a way of getting in the middle of everything.”
“God you’re irritating.”
“Then prepare to be irritated because we’re going to be spending a lot of time together these next few weeks.”
Fuck. She’s right.
“It’ll be fine, Harlow. I’ll stay out of your way so long as you stay out of mine.”
Her laugh scrapes through the line and makes me wonder what it sounds like when she comes. Totally inappropriate but between the pictures in front of me and her defiance everywhere, the thought was there.
“You do understand we’ll have to work together, right?” she asks. “That makes the staying out of each other’s way part rather difficult.”
“Yes and no. When we have to be together, we’ll be on. We’ll play the part. And when we’re away from the public eye, we’ll steer clear of each other.”
“Okay.” She draws the word out and falls silent. “May I ask what I did to you that has you so angry?”
It’s my turn to chuckle. “You forced my hand.” Matter of fact. Unaffected. Honest.
“Ah, I get it. Macho men don’t like being told what to do but it’s okay for those macho men to assume any passing female is the simple dog walker. A person for hire to do their dirty work.”
“Are we back on this?” Women and their ability to throw in the damn kitchen sink. Hence why I don’t do relationships. Or women long term for that matter.
“No. We’re not. We’re just . . .” She sighs and it sounds as frustrated as I feel. “Back to Robert’s marketing idea. I think it’s smart on the company’s part but it could also be disastrous.”
“Tell me how you really feel,” I say being caught off guard. I shouldn’t be surprised that she’s speaking her mind—most people don’t around me when it comes to business matters. They just kiss my ass and do as I say. But with Harlow—just like everything else with her—she’s different than the norm.
“You should know by now, I will. Selling the couple idea—that the platform works—is a brilliant idea.”
“Then what seems to be the problem?” I ask.
“I don’t think you’ll be able to pull it off.”
“Just when I thought you were trying to make nice with me . . . ”
“Look, Zane, you’re approaching this all wrong and it shows.”
“You’re something else, you know that?”
“You’re looking at this as a business to make money”—she says, completely ignoring me—“not something that can change people’s lives.”
“You don’t even know me. We’ve only met three times.”
“I’ve seen enough to know that this is a casual entity for you. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is off and it’s more than just the fact that this is out of your wheelhouse. You invest in tech. In business. You’ve never dabbled in something like this.”
“Someone’s been doing their homework.” I hate and I love the fact that she has all at the same time.
“I have. I need to understand the person I’m working for. Any smart businessperson would do the same.”
So much more than just a pretty face . . .