Not once does Will look away from me during this conversation. Even when I’m looking elsewhere—at Rob, at the mug of coffee that’s going cold in my hand, anywhere but at him—I can feel his black eyes boring a hole in my forehead.
A ringtone interrupts the conversation. Will takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at the screen. “Oh. Excuse me for a moment,” he says casually, standing from his chair. He looks at Rob and gives him a tight-lipped smile. “It’s Ryan. Must be important.” Then he shoots me a quick glance and walks toward the bathroom hallway to answer his phone.
My insides turn to jelly.
Right. I don’t have a moment to lose. Grasping my mug tightly with both hands, I lock eyes with Rob, trying not toappear too desperate. “Rob, I appreciate your work in finding someone who’s such a good fit for this project.” I scratch my neck. “With that being said … for reasons I’d prefer not to disclose, I don’t believe Bill and I would be best suited to collaborate together so closely.” I remain as impassive as I can. “There must be someone else at the firm who would be just as great, if not better, to help my business with these goals.”
Rob frowns. “Unfortunately, Sophie, Bill is the resident expert when it comes to the events industry. It would be against our values as a company to assign anyone to this role who doesn’t have hands-on experience … and unfortunately, we don’t have anyone else who fits the criteria.”
I cross my arms and breathe through my nose. “I’m happy to work with someone with parallel experience, Rob. I’m sure you’ve got many talented consultants on the team.”
Rob tightens his lips. “I’m sorry. We only offer the best of the best in terms of consulting and strategy work. If we don’t believe we can help you achieve and surpass your goals, we don’t take on the project. And I firmly believe Bill is the best man for the job.”
“Listen,” I say. Rob jumps at my sudden change of tone. His dark skin seems to pale. I narrow my eyes and point towards the hallway where Will crept away. “I will never work with this man.”He hurt my best friend. He has no respect for women. And he watched and said nothing as the father of my children fucked other women behind my back.“So unless you have other options, I’m afraid this won’t be a good fit.”
Rob stares with his mouth half-open, unsure of what to say. I don’t wait for him to figure it out and get up from my chair. Right as I’m headed out the door, I turn back and see Will’s eyes are once again on me.
Did he overhear? Whatever. I rush back out on Mont-Royal Street, urging myself to forget all about William Béchard.
CHAPTER 6
WILL
Ihang up the phone and make my way back from the hallway just in time to hear Sophie spit out: “I will never work with this man. So unless you have other options, I’m afraid this won’t be a good fit.”
Before I can arrive at our table and stop her, she’s already headed out the door, her chunky heeled boots clicking against the tiled floor in confident strides. I watch her, enraptured by her presence, until she turns back one last time.
Our eyes meet. I hold my breath.
Then she’s gone without a second thought, and I can exhale.
I sigh and sit back down in my chair, wishing I had a coffee of my own. There’s not enough caffeine in the world to take the impact away from everything that just transpired.
“So … you want to tell me what that was all about?” Rob asks right as he takes a sip of his coffee. “I thought this deal was in the bag.”
“It’s a long story.” And frankly, not one I want to get into. Rob is a great guy, and we’ve done a few projects together and gotten to know one another a bit. But I don’t share my personal life with him. Or anyone else at the firm, for that matter. Hell, allof them call me Bill; one of my efforts at presenting this polished version of myself.
Basically, all they need to know is that I’m here to get our clients the wins they hire us for. And I’m damned good at it, too.
“Okay …” From Rob’s tone, I can feel that he wants to push the question, but he doesn’t. After working with me for five years, he knows damn well he’s not going to get much more out of me.
Explaining the complicated history of why Sophie now despises me would require me to divulge information about my old life. The one I keep securely hidden under the rug. Unlike Rob and many of my colleagues, I didn’t go to college. I didn’t go to business school. I don’t come from money.
Everything I bring to this job was earned through grit, bootstrapping the knowledge elsewhere of college, and pure determination.
“It’s such a shame.” Rob sighs. “I truly believe you could have helped her. From what I understood, she could really use this win.”
He doesn’t know the half of it.
But the issue here is that Rob is absolutely right. I know as much as he does that I have what it takes to help Sophie. And God, if that woman doesn’t deserve a win right now, then nobody does.
I narrow my eyes as I dive deep into thought. Sophie is a proud, stubborn woman. And she, like me, values hard work and client happiness. She’s amazing at what she does. I can’t count the number of Party Côté events I’ve attended, each one more spectacular and distinctive than the other. That unique spark of hers, and the pride she has for her business, is part of what always drew me to her. Matthew was one lucky bastard.
Before he went ahead and ruined everything.
I slap a hand on the table, making Rob jump. “You know what?” I say, turning to face him directly.
“Uh … what?” Rob looks like he’s seen a ghost. I can’t see my own face, but I’m guessing my passion must be showing.
