Sophia let out another groan. “Unless a person flaps their gums and ends up insulting the CEO’s grandson.”
“You didn’t.” Patience placed a filled champagne flute in front of Sophia.
Sophia reached for the glass and guzzled down the contents. “I sure did,” she admitted. “And it wasn’t until I saw his expression that I realized what I’d done. I talked about his appearance on the reality show and the sordid details. I said way too much about things Hattie didn’t know about.” She covered her face with her hands. “He was mortified. And angry.”
“What in the world!” Patience exclaimed. “I hate to say I told you so, but I knew that your love of reality TV was going to come back to bite you.”
Sophia pushed her glass toward Patience. “Hit me up again. I can’t believe you’re lecturing me when I’m so down.”
“You know I like to keep it real, sis. Tough love, baby.” Patience refilled her flute with another mimosa.
“What if Caleb isn’t comfortable working with me now? Or what if he tells Hattie to give me the boot? As you said, working for Hattie could change my life… and Lily’s.” She let out a sob. “What if I blocked this blessing by running my mouth?”
Within seconds Patience was wrapping her arms around Sophia and murmuring words of comfort in her ear. “Don’t assume the worst, Soph. It sounds bad but not earth-shattering bad. I mean it’s kind of cringey that you brought up the reality show, but I don’t think it’s a deal-breaker.”
“Hattie asked, but I should have kept my mouth shut,” Sophia muttered.
“So tell Caleb that. Do a mea culpa and make sure he doesn’t cut you off at the knees. And, honestly, you have no indication that he would do something like that.”
“I already apologized, but he didn’t seem like he accepted it.” His silence had spoken volumes. She’d left the conference room out of sheer embarrassment.
“Well, Soph, it might be time to level up and grovel,” Patience suggested, taking a sip of her mimosa. “Look at it this way. At least you’ll get some more face time with a gorgeous Stone brother.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You wouldn’t have to tell me twice.”
Ugh. Sophia hated the thought of chasing Caleb down to beg for forgiveness. Maybe it wasn’t that deep, after all. She flashed back to the angry look on Caleb’s face. Nope, this was pretty bad. She needed to smooth things over before it all exploded in her face. Unless of course it already had. She’d beaten a fast path out of the conference room due toextreme embarrassment, but maybe she should’ve stuck around to talk to Caleb.
She wouldn’t forgive herself if she’d ruined her chances of a once-in-a-lifetime position. She truly needed this job.
Her dwindling bank balance depended on it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
For the rest of the morning Caleb couldn’t focus on anything other than the meeting with Sophia and Hattie. Of course he’d been stewing about all the things he should have said in the moment but hadn’t thought of until afterward. His mother had taught him and his brothers to be gentlemen, but Sophia had been pushing it. She had stuck a knife in a raw wound and twisted it all around. And to make matters worse, they would be working together on the new hard cider campaign. Up until this morning he had been excited about his new role and the possibility of making a connection with Sophia. Now, he was sitting in his office with his brothers, who’d met up with him for lunch. He could barely think straight, thanks to Sophia.
“What’s your problem?” Landon asked Caleb. “You look like you lost your best friends in the world.”
“And that can’t be true since we’re sitting right here,” Xavier said, grinning.
“I got blindsided,” Caleb said, his mind still whirling.
“How so?” Landon asked, taking a bite of his tuna fish sandwich.
Caleb put his fork down on the table and pushed his salad away. He didn’t have an appetite, which was unusual for him. “Well, when I walked into the conference room, Sophia was there,” Caleb said, remembering how thrilled he’d been at the sight of her.
“And wasn’t that a good thing?” Xavier asked. “I couldn’t help but notice the two of you dancing around each other at Northern Exposure. No pun intended.”
“Yeah,” Landon said. “I noticed it too. She’s pretty stunning.”
Caleb let out a snort. “Well, that’s over and done with. She made a big point to let Hattie know the details about the reality show. Of course it made me look like an idiot, but since when does the truth matter?” Bitterness infused his tone, and he didn’t bother to hide his emotions. He was tired of his good name and image being smeared.
“That’s not cool,” Xavier said, frowning. “You’ve been through it, little bro. And that’s all in the past. Part of being in Alaska means a new beginning.”
“That’s what I thought too, but it appears I’m destined to be remembered as the Love Rat.” Caleb clenched his teeth. He detested being linked to a ridiculous reality show. He’d auditioned on the advice of his now former agent, but instead of a stepping stone into the acting world, Caleb had earned himself a reputation as a Z-list reality star.
“At least they could have given you a better moniker,” Landon said, shaking his head. “Being compared to a rodent is such an insult.”
“Thanks, Landon. You always know how to cheer me up,” Caleb snapped.
“What? I’m on your side,” Landon protested, throwing up his hands.
