Chapter 18
ZOE
“All right.” Zoe smiled at Nathan. “We need to get ready for the lunch. I know I mentioned breakfast, but I don’t think we really have time — you probably need to go back to your hotel to change, right?”
“I do,” Nathan agreed. He looked a little shifty, as though he was still worried about her reaction to his announcement. He didn’t need to be worried. Zoe had handled it well. She handled everything well, no matter how she really felt about it.
“Okay. How about you take a cab back to your hotel while I finish getting ready here? Then I’ll come pick you up at the hotel and we can drive to the lunch together. On the way, I can give you a quick briefing on who you need to know.”
“Right…” Nathan met her eyes. “If you want to talk more…”
“I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time in the car to talk about the event,” Zoe said briskly. Nathan must have understood that he was being dismissed, because he got up and gathered his things.
“See you in a bit?”
“Yep.”
Zoe walked Nathan to the door and waved him off with a smile.
Once he was gone, she shut the door, went to her bed, and sank onto it, tears forming in her eyes.
She should have seen this coming. She’d thought Nathan was different, but he was just like all the other guys: selfish, rude, and thoughtless.
Yes, he’d looked a little guilty when he’d broken things off, but not enough that he’d made a different choice.
The worst part was that Zoe was the one who’d really been misguided.
She’d thought she and Nathan were falling for each other.
She’d thought there had been something real between them, not just a meaningless one-night stand, but apparently she’d been wrong.
Nathan hadn’t wanted anything real with her.
Zoe took a deep, slow breath. She was upset, but she needed to be rational. The most important thing was making sure the show took off so that her career wouldn’t shatter along with her heart. It would be harder to work with Nathan now, but not impossible. She could do this.
Forcing herself to stay calm, she dressed, did her hair and makeup, and took a taxi over to the hotel. She called ahead, so Nathan was waiting downstairs when she arrived, and he got in beside her. He looked dashingly handsome in the suit she’d helped him pick out for the event.
“You look lovely,” he said as he fastened his seatbelt. Zoe looked down at her deep blue dress with small silver spots and tucked her hair behind her ear. She’d worn her hair down, not because he liked it that way, but because she knew it was more fitting with an event like this.
“The most important people to meet,” Zoe said as though Nathan hadn’t spoken, “are the other TV doctors. They can give you some pointers, maybe even help you build a following if you hit it off. I’ll be with you to help facilitate things, but essentially, you need to be friendly, find points of connection, and don’t insult them. ”
“I wouldn’t,” Nathan said. Zoe glanced at him.
“It was a joke.”
“Right.” Nathan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Listen, Zoe, I just want to say—”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Let’s just pretend it never happened, all right?”
“All right.” Nathan took off his glasses for another polishing, and Zoe stared out the window, trying to suppress her tears.
There was no way she was going to let him know how hurt she was.
And there was really no way she was going to risk their chances of networking at this event by showing up with eyes red from crying.
They soon arrived at the hotel where the lunch was being held.
The hall was decorated with large pictures of bald children smiling and giving thumbs up, which made Zoe a little uncomfortable, but she ignored it.
Nodding for Nathan to follow her, she led the way across the room to the drinks table, where she offered Nathan a glass of champagne and chose juice for herself.
Alcohol had led her into the “mistake” last night, and she wasn’t about to muddle her senses today.
“Over there is Doctor Marco Giovanni,” Zoe told Nathan in a low voice as she pressed the glass into his hand. “He makes Instagram reels about different surgeries to help people feel more comfortable with them. Let’s go introduce ourselves.”
Nathan looked a little wide-eyed at that, but Zoe had no time to coddle him. She took him by the arm and propelled him over to the doctor.
“Doctor Giovanni,” Zoe said, holding out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve seen a couple of your videos — you do amazing work.”
“Thank you for saying so,” Marco replied, taking her hand. “What brings you here?”
“I’m here with my client, Doctor Nathan Hale.”
“Doctor Nathan Hale!” Marco beamed. “The ‘Hottest Doctor Alive.’”
Nathan looked deeply uncomfortable, but he nodded. “I suppose that’s how I’ll always be known now.”
“Nonsense. My first viral video was about a racoon that had sneaked into my bedroom in the night and fallen asleep in my curtains.” Marco smiled. “Where you begin doesn’t always affect where you end up.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Nathan said. He relaxed a little, and the two doctors started chatting about patient education, which they both seemed deeply fascinated by. Once Zoe was sure things were going well, she politely excused herself and made a beeline for the bathroom.
She’d thought she could do this. She’d thought she could come and tell everyone how wonderful Nathan was without her own heart threatening to break.
But the fact that Nathan had rejected her so firmly, calling their night together a “mistake,” stung more than she wanted to admit.
He’d just seemed so different from the other guys she’d met.
He’d seemed like a genuinely good man, the kind who’d make his family pancakes on Saturday mornings and kiss her every time they saw each other after work and — Zoe almost laughed.
This was why she was so heartbroken. Even though she’d tried not to, she’d started to imagine a whole future for herself in Islingburn with this man.
A future with marriage and kids and all the things she’d thought she hadn’t wanted.
It was for the best that Nathan had ended things. If he hadn’t, Zoe might have moved off to Islingburn and made a life there, far from the city she loved and far from any real client base. She needed to focus on her career, not on a hot doctor.
Zoe met her eyes in the mirror. Her mascara was a little streaked, so she carefully fixed it with the tip of her finger, then gave herself a bright smile.
Nathan would never know how hurt she was.
She would pour all her energy into making this show a huge success — it would be hard, since he was her client, but she could do it.
Then, once the show was established, she’d never see Islingburn, or Nathan, again. It was the only way.
Taking a deep breath, Zoe headed back out into the hall.
From across the room, she spotted Nathan and started winding her way towards him, exchanging polite smiles with the other guests and taking another glass of juice on the way.
Nathan needed help with networking, and she would do exactly that.
She would pretend that he was just another client for her, instead of a man who had hurt her.
Even though pretending made her heart ache.