“Next stop, New York,” Nathan echoed. He smiled at her across the table. “Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER 16
ZOE
“And there you have it.” Zoe flicked the lights back on and clicked to the next slide. The pitch had just finished playing. “The follow-up to the ‘Hottest Doctor Alive’ that everyone’s asking for. It’s framed in a heartwarming way that sparks nostalgia and paints Nathan Hale as a truly good man, as well as the ‘Hottest Doctor Alive.’”
She turned back to the room, which was full of executives from a national TV network. They were all looking back at her, though she couldn’t read their expressions. Zoe’s chest tightened. Was this it? After all their hard work, was no one going to be interested in the show? Beside her, Nathan met her eyes, and she saw worry there, too. He looked away as he slipped off his glasses to polish them.
“What kind of story arc do you expect?” one of the executives asked.
“Excellent question.” Zoe pulled up a slide and went through the kinds of episodes they were planning for the first season. The next exec asked a question about product placement, which Zoe answered easily. A few questions in, her confidence started tobuild. They weren’t turning her down out of hand. They wereinterested.Carla Vassallo’s reputation hadn’t sabotaged Zoe’s chances here.
And this was only the first meeting. Even if this network said no, the next few days were filled with more meetings and events to increase Nathan’s exposure and drum up public interest in the show. There was every chance that someone would say yes.
“All right.” The head executive got to his feet and came to the front of the room. “It’ll take us a few days to put together an offer, but this is exactly the kind of content we’ve been looking for. Viewers are hungry for shows just like this that are heartwarming, positive, and uplifting. We’d love to take your show.”
It was all Zoe could do to keep from jumping up and down. She took the exec’s extended hand and shook it, then Nathan did the same.
“We do have a few other meetings,” Zoe said. “So, we can’t confirm on the spot, but we’ll be looking forward to receiving your offer.”
“Excellent. We’ll be in touch shortly.”
Nathan and Zoe thanked the team and said their goodbyes. They made it all the way down the hall and into the elevator before they turned to each other. As the doors closed, they began to jump up and down.
“We did it!” Zoe said. She laughed with joy. “We did it!”
“Youdid it,” Nathan corrected. “You were amazing!”
Zoe pulled him into a hug, savoring that pine smell that always seemed to follow him, even miles from the nearest forest. Hisarms were warm and strong and solid around her, and she’d have liked to melt into him and rest her cheek against his shoulder.
“No,youdid it, too,” she said instead. “This was a team effort, through and through.”
The elevator doors opened, and they quickly stepped apart, arms by their sides, looking straight ahead. A few women got in the elevator, but they seemed so busy talking to each other that they barely noticed Zoe and Nathan. Zoe stole a glance at Nathan, and he winked. Her knees went weak.
Once they were out on the street, she turned to him.
“We have to celebrate. I know we have a bunch of meetings and events tomorrow, but this is a big moment and, like you said, we need to celebrate all the moments.”
“You don’t need to convince me. I’m in.” Nathan grinned at her. “I was the wise one who said we should celebrate in the first place. So, where are we going? You’re the expert here.”
Zoe bit her lip in thought before grinning. “I have an idea. Come on.”
They were only a few blocks away from one of her favorite Thai restaurants, which was a relief. She wouldn’t have wanted to take Nathan on the subway on his first visit to New York — he would never have come again. And she wanted him to come again. She wanted him to like it here. She could imagine him visiting her in the future, walking in Central Park and drinking black coffee at her favorite café…
“I still can’t believe this,” Nathan said as they walked side by side. “You’re a magician, Zoe. You told me no one was going to offer us a deal in the room, but they did.”
“I had no idea they were going to,” Zoe admitted. “That’s never happened to me before.”
“I guess the other doctors needed a little more time to find a good fit,” Nathan said. Zoe’s brow furrowed. Other doctors? Then, with a sick feeling in her stomach, she remembered the lie she’d told about working with other doctors when she’d been trying to convince Nathan to take a chance on her.
“Oh.” She took a deep breath. “About that?—”
But before she could come clean, Nathan stepped into the street. A bicycle came whizzing towards him and Zoe grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back onto the sidewalk. He turned to her, his eyes wide.
“I almost died.”
Despite herself, Zoe laughed, though she quickly dialed it back when she saw that Nathan looked unamused.
