Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,222

from Raging Bull to Love, Actually. The food’s supposed to be good, too.”

“I’ve read about this place. Sounds like a fun date spot,” Renee said, and I was so thankful for her speaking up for me.

Looking to Kait, Pam said, “So have her do a date piece on it. You can come up with an interesting date, can’t you?” she asked me.

I looked between Pam and Kait. Pam was pushing something, it was clear. Had Kait told her about Leo? Finally I just said yes, I could find a date (thanks very much) and the meeting wrapped.

As I got my notebook and pens together, Pam came close to me.

“Don’t think you can slack just because you got some special assignment,” she said softly, but her tone was like iron. “We’ve all been here a lot longer than you. We don’t need some recent grad coming in acting like she’s some hotshot reporter. Write your little drive-in piece, and remember your place.” She started to leave, her hand on the conference room door. “By the way, I’m editing it, so it better be good.”

Before I could say a word, she was out the door, leaving me shaken. What had I done to upset her? What did she know about my Leo assignment?

Since the moment Ava Marie told me about the drive-in, I couldn’t help but picture being there with Leo, a totally irrational thought. Pam may have been on the attack, but she was right—I had to see Leo as nothing more than a subject, and as a subject, I shouldn’t use him to hang out with for fun.

I plopped down on the chair in my cubicle. Besides, It’d been a week since the flight with Leo and I hadn’t heard from him. Even if I had the nerve to call him I couldn’t, since the number he called me from was blocked. I guess despite the contract, he had me on probation—or a leash, as Kait said when I told her about the time gap since I’d heard from him.

Every morning she stopped by my desk, her double-shot skinny latte clutched in her hand, and asked one question: “Heard from him?” When I shook my head no, she kept on to her office without another word, but I felt the disappointment coming off her, like it was my fault he was out of town or unavailable.

Today, though, she stopped at my cubicle on her way back to her office after the meeting. She draped her arm over the wall and said, “Listen, Sophie. You need to step it up on our story,” she said, and I had no doubt about what “our” story meant. “Work on the drive-in piece for New Girl, but as for the other…” She lowered her voice. “This whole business of not having his number is ridiculous. It’s a great anecdote for the story—it clearly shows the level of control he has in his relationships—but it’s a disaster when it comes to you getting closer to him for the sake of the story. The next time you see him, get his number. That way you can text him, maybe invite him out to dinner. Got it?”

“But what if he’s already…you know, moved on?” I asked, anxiety blooming inside my belly.

“You didn’t fuck him yet, did you?” she shot back, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“God no,” I said, but I wondered if oral sex counted.

“Good, because if you screw him right away, you’ll kill the whole deal. You have to make him wait so you can get more dirt.”

“I’m not having sex with him,” I said forcefully.

She nodded and made a face of disbelief. “Sure,” she said. “Of course not. After all, why might you want to have sex with the hottest stud on the planet when you could probably be out eating fast food with some guy from the mailroom?”

I couldn’t force the guy to give me his number, even if I did agree with Kait that it was a clear symptom of the way he treated women. Withholding. Controlling. Using.

My head throbbed with confusion and budding anger and resentment towards Leo and everyone else.

I started researching the drive-in in Silver Lake but soon I was searching images for Leo Armstrong. He wasn’t often photographed by the paparazzi so most of the pictures were of him on a red carpet for a movie premier in one of his many custom-made tuxedos. Closed-lip smile, hands in pockets, a glint in his eyes like he knew something all