Chapter 43
Forty-Three
S ybil
“What situation?” I ask through the door, straightening Perry’s shirt and giving Cooper a pleading look. He’s still holding me, and he’s still hard, but the rush from my orgasm is fading, and nerves tingle through my chest.
“Just hurry up,” Ricki commands. I’m certain she knows we were doing something naughty behind this locked door. How loud was I?
Her footsteps retreat.
Cooper and I share a conspiratorial look, then we both burst out laughing.
“Oh man, I don’t want anyone to know what we were doing in here,” I say.
His laughter falters. “Are you ashamed?”
Ashamed? No. Embarrassed. Yes. This isn’t either of our bedrooms, and we shouldn’t have done that at work .
I shake my head, but my response comes too late. Cooper stiffens, and the moment of levity evaporates. “Don’t worry. Nobody will say anything, and it doesn’t have to happen again.”
He carefully extracts me from his lap and helps me stand. Dread slinks through me. We both agreed we wanted to be friends again, and this has complicated that. But… it felt so good. Right.
“Cooper, we should talk about it,” I whisper.
He shakes his head. “You don’t have to say anything. I get it. You don’t want to ruin the friendship, and I don’t, either. We can chalk that up to me helping you out, and let it be a onetime thing.”
He doesn’t wait for me to reply as he slips out the door and closes me inside Perry’s room.
Confusion sweeps through my body, and I don’t know what to do with these feelings. We’re going to have to have a heart-to-heart about this soon. The way he left will eat me alive. Since when did I care so much about my relationship status with a man?
Since Cooper, I guess.
I freshen up and hurry downstairs. Perry and Cooper’s low voices carry from the mudroom off the garage. They’re clearly in a heated discussion, and when I hear my name, I know I have to intercept.
“You will not ask her to do that,” Cooper says.
“It’s good for the show,” Perry argues. “At least let me ask her.”
“Ask me what?” I step into the room, arms folded over my chest. “Well…?”
“Benton and Gloria are having it out right now, and your name is coming up a lot. I let her know you and Benton weren’t anything serious and aren’t sleeping together anymore.”
“I already told her that.”
“But you weren’t mic’d up, and we didn’t get it.”
My body prickles, as if a million eyes are watching me at once, but I can’t see them. I like my privacy; it’s been drilled into me since birth. A million eyes on me is exactly how it will feel if my personal life airs on Top of the World .
“You can’t cut around my name?”
“We can, but it’s better if we don’t,” he says. “People will want to know.”
Logically, I get what he’s saying. This is juicy drama—the kind needed to make the show a success. But I’m also not a cast member for a reason. And yes, the cast have guests they bring into episodes, but I never signed up for that.
I’m a producer.
A Laurence.
I have a reputation to uphold.
I’m trying to get a promotion at work, for fuck’s sake. My family has been in the media eye this past year when we never asked to be.
This isn’t something I want to do.
“She’s not doing it,” Cooper says.
Perry frowns. “But it’s my job to?—”
“Your job is to make the show great, not exploit Sybil any more than you already have. Find another way.”
Perry gives me a pleading look, but Cooper is firm, and honestly, I’m grateful for it. My heart flutters for him in this moment but also for the one we shared upstairs, my feelings for him growing.
“I’m sorry, Perry. You’ll have to find a way to edit me out of this.”
“But—”
Cooper grabs my hand and pulls me from the mudroom, back upstairs, and for a second, I think he’s taking me to finish what we started, but instead, he takes me into the screening room.
Pointing at the editor, he practically growls his instructions. “You will delete any footage you have of Sybil and any mention of her name. Do it, or you’ll be out of a job.”
The guy’s eyes widen, and he nods. I stand there frozen in the doorway, mouth open like a dead fish. I don’t think anyone has stood up for me the way Cooper just did.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“You don’t have to thank me, Valentine,” he says. “It never should’ve happened.”
Then he speaks up again, loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. “If I hear of anyone talking shit about this or gossiping, they’re done. Do you understand?”
They nod, and Ricki strides in, looking like she’s about to blow, but she doesn’t argue with Cooper.
Perry is the boss, but Cooper and I are the money. The fact is, I didn’t consent to being on camera or airing my personal life.
Ricki catches the stricken look on my face and gives me a little smile. “You don’t have to worry, Sybil. We’ll take care of it.”
Perry pouts for the rest of the evening, but nobody says a word to me. Fortunately, Benton is able to win Gloria over. Their fight will get watered down for the episode, and I know Perry is not happy about that.
Luckily for us, Gloria and Benton aren’t the only ones making Top of the World interesting. Audra and Justin have a new flirtation going, plus Dane’s cheating ex-boyfriend has been begging for forgiveness, and Sloan isn’t having it.
The night wraps late, and I head to my car, exhausted but fulfilled, my body lighter and looser than it’s been in ages.
This was one of the most eventful evenings of my life, and I’m glad it’s over.
I can’t wait to crawl into my bed and sleep…
after analyzing what happened upstairs with Cooper, of course.
Cooper’s waiting next to my car, and I approach with hesitation, not quite sure how to handle this.
If I’m honest, I loved what has evolved between us, and I want to explore more, but I’m scared.
I don’t want to lose him again. Not even for what will probably be the best sex of my life if that oral is anything to go by.
I’m a logical person, and logic tells me to stay friends.
My heart? It’s screaming to go for it. To kiss him again. To let this thing between us become something bigger. For once, I might let my heart win out.
“Hey,” he says. “Some night, huh?”
His eyes flick down my body, lingering on the hem of the dress shirt, and a flush of heat washes over me.
“Yeah.” My voice sounds breathy and wanting—an outward reflection of everything inside.
He wraps me in a hug, and I melt into him, relieved to be exactly where I want to be and also totally turned on, wicked fantasies flashing through my mind.
What would it be like to be held by him like this, but in a different way?
Our naked bodies clinging to each other as we tease out the pleasure we both deserve?
He lays a soft kiss on the top of my head. “We’re finally friends again,” he whispers reverently against my hair as if in prayer. “What happened doesn’t have to change us, right?”
“It doesn’t. I promise.”
And I promise it won’t if we keep following our desires, even though I’m not sure that’s a promise either of us can keep.
“Good. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
My heart sinks.
He steps away, leaving too much space, and despite the warm July night, I’m suddenly cold.
I nod numbly, wishing I wasn’t so confused by this man.
I hoped we were on the same page, that we wanted to take our relationship to the next level, but maybe that’s not possible for us.
Maybe if we did more together, we’d want more together, and someone would get hurt.
I’m pretty sure I’d want more, and that’s terrifying. And risky.
He must know that, and this is his way of letting me down gently.
“Have a good night, Cooper,” I say with a big, fake smile, and then I get in the car, and I drive home in disappointed silence.