“You don’t have to give me half your food. They’re making me a new one.”
She pushed the plate to him. “And I expect you to share with me when it gets here.” Then she kept her eyes on him, one eyebrow raised, waiting for his response.
“My last interviewer was very accommodating and would’ve never told me off. I didn’t like that interview much. So here’s the thing. I saw your poll asking who you should interview. By some strange twist of fate I don’t think either of us would’ve guessed a week ago, my name is at the top of that list. My company is launching a new product and my social media manager thinks our audiences overlap. And I figure that you want to give your viewers what they want. So, we do the interview, and we both win.”
She took a bite of potato and chewed slowly. She had a big audience—Roman would be stupid to not want the interview. But she had imagined how this meeting would go many times over the past few days, and it always ended with him not saying yes to it. Truthfully, it surprised her to hear the words actually come out of his mouth.
“Okay, let’s talk.” Her usual strategy would be to ease her way into what she wanted, but that didn’t feel right with Roman. She sensed he liked things straightforward and blunt. “I want a four-part interview.”
“No. We can cover it in one.”
“I don’t—”
“If we are only talking about me and my company, one is enough.”
She stared at him long enough that she hoped she made him uncomfortable. She didn’t like being cut off, or to have someone else tell her how to run her own show. “I’m not CNN and this isn’t a news story. People go to my YouTube channel because they want to be entertained. I am successful because I know what they want, and I give it to them. If you want this interview, it’ll be in four parts, each one in a different location, so it won’t get boring.”
“Do your viewers get bored easily?”
She was thinking of all the witty jabs she could make, but he must’ve sensed them coming and didn’t want to take the insults.
“If you’d like me to do demonstrations of my apps, we can do it in four.”
“The interview won’t be only about your company and your apps. And we aren’t just going to talk about the surface stuff when we talk about you and your company. Oh, now stop looking so panicked—I’m a good interviewer. You’ll have fun. It won’t be as uncomfortable as you’re imagining.”
She thought she was lightening things up, but whatever stoic wall he’d built, it was strong.
He started sawing his steak into bite-sized pieces, like he was pouring all his frustration into it. Honestly, she was worried about the knife. And the steak. And the plate. “How comfortable I am during the interview isn’t the issue. It’s that people don’t need to know about the personal stuff. It’s none of their business. I just want them to get interested in my business itself.”
Bex jabbed at a zucchini on her plate with her fork. “You’re looking at this wrong. If they get interested in you, they’ll be interested in your business. I read your Business Success interview, and I can see why people are eating it up. It’s exactly things like the fact that you wear crazy socks because it’s the one way that you can express yourself and still dress professionally that got all my readers interested in you. It wasn’t only that pretty face on the cover.”
Roman narrowed his eyes. “Nobody needs to know about what kinds of socks I’m wearing. Did you not see how awkward having that information out there makes things?”
“Did you not see how invested in you they were? And it’s not going to only be about your socks. It’s just not going to only be about your business, either.”
“It doesn’t need to be about any personal things at all! I’m not looking to be a celebrity. I don’t need people to get to know me or to like me—I just want them to enjoy our apps.”
“And I think you’re wrong.” She looked at Ian and Addison for help in explaining to this bull-headed man why it was beneficial for him to open up a little. It didn’t even have to be a lot—she wasn’t asking him to divulge his secret fears and hopes. All it had to be was a few bits for her readers to connect to him with. But the two of them looked all too happy to be staying out of the fight. In fact, they were probably wishing they had never agreed to come.
Why was she pushing for this so much? Just so she could win? To claim that she was right? She didn’t even want to do this four-part interview with him. “Do you know what? No, you’re right. If you don’t want people to get to know you or like you, then my channel isn’t really a good match, regardless of what my viewers think. You should be on a show that better fits with your goals—one where they only talk about businesses and products.”
“And you should stick with interviewing people like...Who was in second place again? Some movie star?”
Kenyon came over just then, holding Roman’s new plate, looking like he had just stepped into a field of mines and wasn’t quite sure if he dared take the half-step closer to their table or to set down the plate. He did, though, then quickly stepped back. He opened his mouth to say something—probably to apologize again—but Roman spoke before he got the chance.
Without taking his eyes off Bex, he said, “Actually, do you mind boxing this up for my table-mate here? I’m sure she’s going to need a good solid meal before her next interview, because her viewers are dying to know what kind of socks Corbin Shields wears.”
“And I’m sure that Corbin Shields will see the value in letting them in on a minuscule part of his life.”
“It sounds like it’s an interview match made in heaven.” Roman pulled out his wallet, opened it and took out several bills, and then handed them to Kenyon. “This should cover all four of us. Thank you for your service—keep whatever is left as a tip.” He turned to his right. “Ian, Addison, it’s good to see you again. Bex, thank you for meeting with me.” Then he stood up and left, walking away in his overly-fancy suit, looking like a dream.
Bex watched him until he had exited the lobby doors at the other end of the building, because if nothing else, he did look mighty fine in that suit. Then she pulled his plate—the one that contained the other half of her meal—toward her. “On the bright side, I got dinner with two of my favorite people, and I got half of my steak cut up for me.” She stabbed a piece of it with her fork and stuck it in her mouth, enjoying every bit of the perfectly cooked piece.
She should be mad right now. Or at least frustrated. Why did she feel so exhilarated? Probably because she actually got to spar with someone who sparred back and held his ground. Even if he did duck out before the match was over.
4
Roman
Roman had been dreading his eleven o’clock meeting with Charli since he came in to work. He already guessed what she was going to say, so he scheduled the meeting to take place in his office instead of the conference room or her office, just so he would have home-field advantage. It was a jerk move he usually didn’t use on his own employees, especially on his inner team, but desperate times.