"Who?" I yell over the hum of the voices that are all blending together in an uneven buzz.
She cocks her head at me and laughs like I should know what the ever loving fuck she's talking about. I feel like a lamb being led to its slaughter.
Resigned, I follow her to wherever the hell she's taking me knowing that at the end of this journey there's some nameless guy waiting for us. I thought it was going to be just the two of us sharing a drink but apparently Sophia's into threesomes. I'm not if they involve another dick.
I glance over her shoulder and that's when I spot him. He's standing near a table talking to a tall, attractive brunette. He may have shaved off his beard and traded his signature ripped T-shirt and jeans for a suit, but it's clear that Joe, my tech guy, is the man Sophia brought me here to see.
"Nick,my man, how the hell is it hanging?"
Sophia cringes at Joe's words. "Don't ask that. You should never ask that question to anyone again."
"Why the fuck not?" Joe looks down his nose at Sophia.
She gives him some serious side eye before she turns to look at him directly. "You're not a fourteen-year-old kid, Joe. You're the head of the tech department at Foster Enterprises now. Start acting like it."
"He's what?" I ask, my eyes darting from Sophia's face to Joe's almost unrecognizable one. "Since when do you work at Foster?"
"Since this beauty landed me a full-time job." He elbows Sophia. "I get a corner office, benefits and control over their entire tech department. I'm going to be making six figures a year, Nick. Can you fucking believe it?"
I can't. I seriously can't. "How did this happen?"
Sophia cants her head toward his hands. "Give it to him now, Joe."
"Do I have to?" He stiffens. "I thought you might reconsider."
"If you don't," Sophia begins as she takes a small step toward Joe. "If you don't give it to Nicholas now, I can call Mr. Foster and tell him I made a mistake."
"Jesus, you drive a hard bargain, Sophie."
"Sophia," she corrects him with a smile.
"I know." He studies her, the look in his eye raising my pulse. He's attracted to her. I can't blame him for that. "It's my nickname for you."
"Drop it." Her tone is neutral. "We had an agreement, Joe. If you back out, I'll make sure you never step foot in your new office again."
"I fucking believe you." His hand disappears into the left pocket of his jacket. When it reappears, there's a wad of bills in his palm. He pushes it at me. "Here's the money you gave me to fix her website. Our deal is off, Nick."
I look down at the cash. "I paid you to help Sophia. Nothing's changed."
Sophia snatches the money from Joe before she tucks it in the pocket of my coat. "Everything's changed, Nicholas."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Sophia
Nicholas sitsin the corner of our booth with an untouched tumbler of scotch on the table in front of him. He hasn't said a word since I pushed the money he gave Joe into his pocket. I brought him here to show him that I'm one woman who is more than capable of finding her own way to pay for a website overhaul.
"After I met Joe yesterday, I realized that Foster Enterprises has been looking for someone to helm the tech department for over a month. Mr. Foster and his brother haven't been impressed with any of the applicants, so I asked Joe to clean himself up and come in for an interview."
It's the truth, mostly the truth.
I did think of Joe when I saw yet another interoffice memo about all the available job openings at Foster. It was waiting for me in my inbox when I got back to my desk after lunch. Since the listing at the top was for the tech department, I immediately thought of Joe. I sent him a brief text message asking if he wouldbe interested in a full-time gig with great benefits and an even better salary.
He texted me back almost immediately saying he might be since the money Nicholas gave him was all he had to his name. It was the second time that he'd mentioned his cash flow problem to me so I told him I'd arrange an interview but I expected a favor if he landed the job.
Knowing exactly what I was after, he agreed. Three hours later he arrived at my desk, clean-shaven and dressed in a suit. Mr. Foster gave him the job on the spot and before Joe left the building, we had an agreement in place that he'd build me a new website, and maintain it on a monthly basis, at no charge.
"I take it the price for helping him land the job involves him doing side work for your design business for free?" Nicholas finally picks up his drink.
