‘Just Fallon.’
Tony smiled appeasingly. ‘Fallon. It’s come to my attention that you proposed writing a book to Mr Blake.’
‘Call me Oliver, Tony, for fucks sake.’ Oliver leaned back in his chair, not taking his eyes off me. His jawline was more pronounced than the last time I’d seen him, although that might have been my brain altering the details. Not that I had spent time thinking about him in any capacity other than a potential job.Never.
He wore a sport coat over a dark blue t-shirt, his hair the perfect mix of casual and effortless. Something he probably spent a lot of time perfecting.
‘I did.’ The hairs on my neck started to rise. Sweat trickled down my spine. I made an effort not to let my voice shake. ‘You shut me down. Quite vociferously, if I remember correctly.’ I matched Oliver’s stern gaze with my own, but I couldn’t imagine it had much impact. Unlike his, which was beginning to make me shift in my seat. Did the man never blink?
‘I’d say it was more a casual brush-off.’
‘Adamant refusal.’ I countered.
‘Vague disinterest.’
‘Outright contempt.’
His lips twitched again but didn’t quite rise to a smile. If he ever did smile… every person with a uterus in a ten-mile radius would no doubt be getting pregnant.
‘I am trying to protect the best interest of my client.’ Tony started talking once more, ignoring our bickering. ‘Why are you interested in this project? Why did you seek him out?’
I drew my gaze from Oliver to his PR manager. Right. I needed to sell myself.Shit.
‘Because I thought he could benefit from telling his story in his own words. I have experience in the publishing industry and know that this is the kind of thing that sells. So I decided to grab the bull by the horns, as it were.’
Yes.My voice didn’t shake once.
Tony’s eyes narrowed slightly, matching Oliver’s steely gaze. My heart started thumping against my ribs so loudly I wouldn’t be surprised if they could hear it.
‘And how did you come to meet Mr Blake? He has been less than forthcoming about how you two connected in the first place.’
My mouth gaped open for a second before I snapped it shut. I glanced at Oliver, who arched a brow as if asking me whether I was really going to tell Tony how we met. Mysurprise was mainly down to the fact that Oliver hadn’t divulged that information already.
‘We met at a pub,’ I said. Oliver glanced down at the desk, barely surpassing the urge to laugh. It wasn’t technically untrue. We did meet there. It just wasn’t how wefirstmet.
Tony didn’t look convinced. ‘I see.’
I hope not.
‘And what would be the personal benefits to you if we decided to hireyouas his biographer?’
Biographer.One word suddenly had me doubting all of my abilities. The time spent at university, studying and eating my weight in instant noodles, and the years I devoted to the field all seemed drastically inadequate as the sudden realisation of what a huge deal this book would be, walloped me over the head. I tried to draw a deep breath as three pairs of eyes watched my every move.
Surreptitiously wiping my sweaty palms down my jeans, I tried to keep my voice steady.
‘The “personal benefits,” as you put it, would be the obvious.’
Tony raised his dark brown eyes expectantly. ‘And that is?’
‘I’ve worked in publishing in some capacity for a decade. My last job was as a copywriter, and I was bloody good at it. However, it has always been a personal goal of mine to have my name in print. So writing this book would go a long way to making that a reality.’Plus… the money.
I bit the inside of my cheek as Tony regarded me carefully. Oliver’s gaze remained impassive. Ihatedthat look. He kept his emotions carefully hidden behind a mask of indifference, making me second-guesseverything. I kept my trembling hands out of sight as I leaned over and grabbed the bag at my feet.
‘You know what, I’m getting a very important phone call.’
‘Your phone isn’t ringing, Miss Lowell.’ Tony pointed out.
Staggering to my feet, I launched towards the door, doing my best to avoid eye contact with Oliver. I tucked my hair behind my ears and flashed what was no doubt a manic smile to Tony, who stared at me like I had gone insane.
