Chapter Twenty-Three
Sloane settled into the chair behind August’s desk at Sugar Blitz Two. He’d loaned her the office for her upcoming meeting since his was the only one that had a desk and would offer a halfway decent backdrop. He hadn’t done too much decorating, but elements of his personality were clear to see. A few tools on the bookshelf. One of the hair ties he used for his locs. A framed photo of a woman holding the hand of a toddler August. His mother, presumably. A few empty boxes cluttered the space, but it was far from a disaster zone.
She imagined she could smell his scent lingering in the office. Her computer dinged. No time for fanciful notions. Time to get this job.
Emily from SDT appeared on the screen. “Sloane, I’m glad you could meet with me today. I don’t have a lot of time and I’m sure you’re busy, which makes Zoom calls the best. Neither of us has to fight traffic for a fifteen-minute meeting.”
Sloane’s smile came easily. “Absolutely.”
“As you know, I wanted to talk to you about your progress with your social media campaign.”
Sloane nodded and kept her eyes on the screen. She’d memorized her notes. “We’re making good progress. Our follower count is up thirty percent on Instagram and forty percent on TikTok since my original meeting with you. Sales at the open location have risen by fifteen percent in the same time period. I’m really pleased.”
“That’s great.” Emily pursed her lips. “But sales aren’t what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Sloane pinned the smile to her face, relieved the camera was focused on her face and not her bobbing foot. Nerves were skateboarding up and down the inner walls of her stomach. “They’re not?”
“No. I saw a story in the Union-Tribune about some neighborhood residents not being pleased about the new location. They aren’t happy you’re moving in and are making a ruckus.”
Shit. The nerves did a twisty 720 in her belly. Shaun White would be proud. Sloane injected an upbeat tone into her voice. She even added a slight chuckle. “I’m not sure ‘ruckus’ is the right word.”
Emily lowered her glasses to peer down her nose at Sloane, an impressive maneuver given the medium. “Whatever word you choose to use doesn’t change the fact that they’re not happy.”
Sloane spoke as calmly as she could. “It’s just a few people. It’s all under control.”
“Are you sure?” Emily asked.
Sloane clenched her hands into tight balls in her lap. “Yes. This is a minor speed bump.”
“I was talking with Preston and he’s lined up a celebrity endorser to tweet and make a few TikToks about the exercise bike he’s marketing that he assures me will go viral.”
Yeah, because the ass-kisser liked talking out of his ass. “That sounds great.”
See, she could be professional when the situation called for it.
Emily chuckled like she didn’t fully believe Sloane’s words of praise. “It is, but you don’t want to get too far behind the eight ball. I like you, Sloane, but you’ve got to show me something. I’ve checked out the social media accounts. You’re quick-witted. I really love what you’ve done with the whole SugarBae thing, but you could be doing more.”
Sloane nodded. “I’m doing my best to show that August, aka SugarBae, and by extension, Sugar Blitz, are more than a viral speech.”
“I understand, but the fact is you were handed a golden opportunity when SugarBae went viral. People really responded to it and him. They’re really interested in him and his personal life. Give the people what they want. I’ve noticed the follower uptick has slowed a bit the past few days. Yes, I keep my own stats. Is there a way he can get the protestors on his side? They’re fairly quiet now, but that doesn’t mean they will stay that way.”
The nerves in her stomach completed five straight 360 flips. “I… ummm…”
Emily sighed. “You want this job? You’ve got to earn it.”
Right. No biggie.
“Sloane?” August entered his office, but no erstwhile social media manager was waiting. Her abandoned laptop and notebook on the table were the only indications she’d been inside. Where was she?
His phone chimed with a text. He dug the device out of his pocket and read the message from Sloane.
I needed some air. I’ll be back this afternoon.
August blew out a breath. Damn. Had her meeting not gone well? He hoped not. He knew how badly she wanted that job. So bad she’d agreed to work with the man she typically avoided. But maybe she was fine, and he was overreacting. He’d ask when she returned.
As he turned to exit, his eyes fell on the open notebook. He jerked back in pure shock as he registered the words on the page. What the hell? He circled around the desk and collapsed into the chair. With shaky fingers, he picked up the red journal.
When the front door opened thirty minutes later, August set aside the chair he’d been attempting—and failing—to put together due to his inability to concentrate and quickly rose from the floor. “Hey. You okay?”
Sloane came to a stop a few feet away from him. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“Your text said you needed some air.”
Her left shoulder lifted. “We’ve been cooped up in here. I wanted to take a walk. Stretch my legs.”
“That’s it?”
“Yep.” Her poor attempt at an upbeat tone did nothing to hide the turmoil swirling in her eyes. Damn, he hated seeing her this way.
“Okay. Well, I’m glad you’re back. I wanted to talk.”
“Why? You never talk.”
A grin tugged at his lips. Being around Sloane was good and bad for his self-esteem. He… appreciated a plainspoken woman. “Today is different.”
She crossed her arms. “What’s going on?”
“I changed my mind about going out with a SugarBaeby.”
Her eyes blinked rapidly, her mouth falling open, but she recovered quickly enough. Because she was Sloane and could never be kept down for long. Another thing he… appreciated about her.
“Wow,” she said. “That’s… not what I expected you to say. That’s great.”
Yeah, great. He was going to help her get that job if it was the last thing he did. This was the least he could do for her. Even if it was the last thing he wanted to do. But they were never going to be a “we.” Hell, could he blame her? The past still swirled between them. She hadn’t disagreed with him about their kiss being a mistake. He’d blown another chance and it was time he accepted that. Besides, if he wanted to be bold like he said he did, there was no time like the present. Even if the thought of it made him want to throw up.
Now, her face turned suspicious. “Why?”
She did know him, more than he’d realized. More than anyone other than Donovan and Nicholas. He decided to play dumb.
“Why what?”
She hit him with a don’t-play-that-shit-with-me look. “Why the change of heart?”
Telling her he felt bad for her and wanted to help her out would go over about as well as telling her she wasn’t a good social media manager. He’d lose a limb or two in the process. He rather liked having limbs.
The truth was he’d seen her “Pros and Cons of Getting August to Date a SugarBaeby” list in her notebook.
Pro: Nail the SDT job down.
Con: Coerce August into doing something he doesn’t want to do.
Pro: Pay rent and student loans.
Con:???
Pro: Great social media content!
Con:
She’d actually written something there, but had scribbled it out, so he hadn’t been able to read it. He’d tried to think of what it could’ve been, but ultimately it didn’t matter.
He couldn’t let her lose an opportunity because he was uncomfortable doing something people did every day—date. He’d be damned if he was the reason she didn’t get the job of her dreams. He wanted the best for her. He cared about her. Always had. Always would.
“I realized you were right.”
“How?” Suspicious eyes let him know she was still smelling bullshit.
“I need to step out of my comfort zone if we want this social media campaign to be a success. It will make great content, and maybe I’ll meet someone special.”
“By going on a date with a SugarBaeby.”
“Yes.” He still refused and always would refuse to use that term. “It makes sense. They’re active on social media. They live in the neighborhood. Paige thought it was a great idea.”
“You—you already set up a date?” Astonishment covered her face and filled her voice. He would hazard to say she’d never been more shocked in her life.
“I have.” He’d done it before he lost his nerve. “I wanted to broach the idea with her first since there would be the expectation that the date be chronicled on social media. That’s still the plan, right?”
Now she looked like she’d swallowed a whole lemon. “Yep, that’s still the plan.” She went silent for a beat. “Paige doesn’t have an issue with the social media part?”
“No. We agreed we’d go on a date, see if there’s a connection. Even if there isn’t, her follower count will get a boost.”
Her face smoothed into a bland expression. “Great. Seems like you two have everything figured out. It’ll be a little weird spying on your date, but I’ll be there with bells on. In the background, of course.”
“Silent bells?” He smiled. “No coaching me? I was looking forward to you giving me instructions through Bluetooth like you’re my personal Cyrano.”
Finally, a spark of humor lit her eyes. “You’ll survive.”