“Fine,” he snapped. “I won’t take much of your time. I just wanted to come and apologize in person…” His gaze shifted down, landing on my phone which had fallen on the table face up… with his picture illuminated.
Shit.
The hardened scowl morphed into a cocky smirk. If I didn’t want to slap him so badly, I might have kissed that smirk right from his face. “You doing some research there? While on your date?”
I snatched the phone off the table and shoved it into my purse. “Weren’t you apologizing?”
He raked a hand through his hair, and it fell boyishly around his face. “Yeah. I really am sorry—”
“For what exactly? The humiliation? Or verbal assault?”
His face twisted, brows knitting together between his eyes. “Verbal assault? Whoa. It was just a dumb prank.”
“Yeah. Sexual in nature. Your stupid show is a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“Are you a lawyer?”
He was nervous. I could see it in the slight tip of his head—a nervous tick I saw him do when he was reading the questions to me. “What if I am?”
“Look… what’s your name?”
I snorted. “You really think I’m going to give you my name?”
His eyes closed and his lips moved slightly, as though he was silently counting to ten. “Jut your first name, so we can talk. Normally.” His smirk lifted and he gestured to my phone, now put away in my bag. “Besides, you clearly already know my name.”
My glare hardened. One point for Sam. “Nina,” I snapped. “My name is Nina.”
“Nina,” he exhaled my name like it was a meditation. Like saying it, knowing it, brought him inner peace.
Hearing my name rumbled in that low, graveled voice made my insides mushy in a way that I didn’t care to explore or even admit. As much as I loved being a boss in the office, the bedroom was a different story. And the way he said my name and held my stare… I had no doubts Sam Murphy could take control whenever and however he wanted between the sheets.
Shit. I needed to get control back. Technically, in a couple of days, Sam Murphy and I would be colleagues. “Can I give you some advice, Mr. Murphy?”
One side of his mouth lifted higher in that arrogant smirk, his eyes flashing as I called him by his formal name, and I squeezed my thighs together against the pulse of arousal. “Go ahead,” he said.
“If someone is threatening to litigate, don’t apologize. It’s an admission of fault.”
He inhaled slowly, narrowing his eyes as he sat back in the booth. “I guess I didn’t realize how traumatizing our jokes can be.”
“That right there. That patronizing tone tells me everything I need to know about that so-called ‘apology’ of yours.”
He shook his head, a sharp breath exhaling out his nose. “Look, I really did come here to apologize. Sincerely. But if you’re going to threaten to sue me, then I’m not going to sit here and play nice when the real bully is the one across the table with her lawyer on speed dial. And frankly, I’m the one who got soup poured over my head. If we’re going to get technical, that is legally assault.”
Damn if he wasn’t right about that. A few years ago, there was a highly public case where a girl threw a glass of water into her date’s face in a restaurant. She was arrested and prosecuted for assault, according to California state law.
Sam slid out of from the table and paused, standing above me. I hated when men did that. Asserted their power by showing how much bigger they were physically. It was bullshit. With a rigid spine, I stretched so that I sat taller in my bench, but I didn’t dare stand and go nose to nose with him. Hell, no. That was just what he wanted. That would show he’d gotten under my skin.
“But don’t you worry,” he said, “I’m not a coward who hides behind a lawyer. And I only strike when someone else strikes first.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “How Karate Kid of you.”
That won me a smile… a smile that I didn’t trust. Not for a second.
“Well, when I have a problem with someone, I confront it directly. Talk it out. And I find we can usually come to an agreement of some sort.”
By the tone of his voice, it seemed like that ‘agreement’ probably involved nudity and a lot of sweaty moaning.
I swallowed hard. Then again, maybe I was projecting.
“I’m back!” Missy said, pausing as she walked up to find Sam standing there. She eyed him curiously, sliding back into her spot in the booth. “Um… did our server come yet?” Her gaze ping-ponged between Sam and me in our staring match.
Finally, he broke eye contact to glance at Missy. “Ah. You must be her date.”
“Ummm, I guess?” Missy said, looking to me for some sort of confirmation. “Do you two know each other?”
“Not exactly. We just both love the soup here.” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and threw down a hundred-dollar bill. “Here. Dinner’s on me tonight.”
And with a smug smile that implied he had won, he turned and exited the restaurant.
Oh, Mr. Murphy. If only you knew… your piddly little win tonight was just the beginning. The war begins on Monday.
Chapter 3
Sam
For nearly three days, I couldn’t get that woman out of my mind. Nina. Fucking Nina with her periwinkle eyes and long legs and fuck-me heels. I rubbed my fingers against my eyes trying to push her image out of my mind.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Josh asked, leaning in. “Are you that nervous to meet our new company lawyer?”
I shook my head as my dog, Harley, sat up beside me and nudged at my hand. I smiled down and ran my fingers over the velvet fur between her ears. “I just haven’t slept well the last couple nights.” I didn’t mention the fact that I’d been up fucking touching myself to thoughts of Nina for the last three nights. And it certainly didn’t help that every time I walked past the editing room, I knew I could look through the file and see her face once more in the footage from the other night.
Fuck. I had to find her.
Richard Blair, studio President, blew into the room like the force that he was. “Morning everyone,” his voice boomed, and the meeting room went immediately silent. Everyone had been nervous since our previous lawyer had quit to move to New York for a new job. There’d been talk that Richard was interviewing some heavy hitters in the industry along with a new team of executive producers. These sorts of shakeups can be intimidating for most. My brothers didn’t show nerves often, and it wasn’t like any of us were quaking in our boots at the thought of meeting the new network attorney… but I’d be lying if I said the concern that our show had the potential of being legally risky hadn’t crossed our minds at least once. And a show with high liabilities could easily be the next show canceled.
“We’re going to try to keep this short,” Richard said, and I couldn’t help but smile. When did that man ever not keep meetings short when he could? It was one of the things I liked so much about our boss. He was succinct and sharp and on top of everything. There was no time for bullshitting unless we were on a golf course or at the club having a business dinner. And even then, he typically had his meal, one scotch, and was gone before dessert. “We’re going around to each office to meet the crew and casts of each of our network shows, and we have several more to hit before lunch. That being said, you will have a chance to ask questions, just please keep them short.” Richard paused to sip his coffee. “Our newest executive attorney comes to us from a film background, and we were lucky enough to steal her away from a small little superhero franchise that I think you all may have heard of. I think her expertise will prove invaluable here. Everyone, please give a warm Silhouette Studios welcome to Nina Miller.”