Chapter 19 Eighteen
Eighteen
Sophie
Papers and campaigns hit her from all sides, but Sophie would never ask them to stop. She was Account Director at Covey LLC. She made it.
The moment she got the green light, she called her mom and all but screamed the news in her face.
As expected, Sophie’s mom was ecstatic and planned a celebration the following weekend.
“And maybe you could bring James,” her mom had suggested.
Sophie’s eyes rounded. “You knew he wasn’t just a friend?”
“Please, I’m your mother.”
She had laughed. “Alright, maybe, then.”
Her feet ached as she left the office on Friday, and she wanted nothing more than to collapse on her bed and sleep forever. But her friends wanted to go out and celebrate, and she was never one to deny free alcohol.
“Sophie!” Oliver stuck his head out the sunroof of the private town car idling by the curb. “Over here!”
Lina rolled down the back window and waved. “Surprise!”
Sophie blinked, delight zooming through her veins as the other woman hugged her and pressed her cheeks against hers.
“What are you doing here?” Sophie asked. She buckled her seatbelt as the car left the curb. “I didn’t expect to see you until after the wedding.”
“Chloe asked me to come, and besides,” Lina shrugged, “I had time. Adam is handling a meeting with the decorators and planner tomorrow morning, but I will be back by the afternoon.”
“Really? Is that a good idea?” Sophie asked. “From what James has said, Adam doesn’t strike me as someone who’d do that well.”
Lina laughed, scratching her arm. “Surprisingly, he is. He is addicted to HGTV and The Food Network.”
Sophie snickered. “Okay, I did not see that coming.”
Lina’s hand winked in the passing streetlights, and Sophie lifted it, examining the flashing engagement ring. “My God. I’ve seen it before, but it always impresses me. Adam really didn’t cut any corners, did he?”
“I know,” Taylor said. “I’m surprised she can still walk around without getting robbed.”
Sophie laughed, but queasiness whirled through her stomach. The caliber of money people in James’s circles possessed was dizzying.
“Oh, I saw the pictures of the engagement party, and it looked amazing! How’d it go?” she asked.
Lina smiled. “It was beautiful, thanks for asking. Do you like the bag?”
“I love it, thank you!” Sophie exclaimed. When she wore it, the deep burgundy Dior bag accented her outfits just so.
“Are you alright with the color? I can exchange it for a different one,” Lina said. “You like a dark green, yes? I think that color was a limited one, but I can pull some strings and—”
“No, it’s fine,” Sophie interrupted. “Getting me a designer bag was more than enough.”
“Vale … those earrings look great, by the way.” Lina leaned in and examined the jade pendants. “I have to hand it to James, he really did know what he was doing.”
“You didn’t help him pick these out?” Sophie asked.
“He asked me what I thought about getting them, but picking them out was all him,” Lina confirmed. “He knows you well.”
If you ran the numbers through any processing software, Oliver had a ninety-nine percent success rate of fainting.
That last bottle of wine was a mistake.
She readjusted her hold on Lina, who straddled a drink-induced blackout. The elevator slid open and her heels tapped against the marble tiling of James’s apartment.
“Through there,” Sophie said.
“Holy shit,” Taylor muttered. He stared at the penthouse as he dragged Oliver toward the couch.
“Lose your mind later,” Sophie coached. A strangled cry flew from her as Lina pitched forward, her arm tugging down on Sophie’s collar.
Philip strode out of the hall, leading deeper into the penthouse. “Hey, cabrón, did the doorman say someone was coming—Sophie? What are—Lina?!”
Philip rushed to help Sophie and guided Lina toward the couch.
“What are you guys doing here?” he asked.
“I should be asking you that question,” Sophie said. “Don’t you only live a few floors away?”
Philip shrugged. “James and I were hanging out, and I overate at dinner. Didn’t feel like going home.”
Oliver yelled something in Korean and lurched dangerously, his cheeks far too flushed.
Taylor let out a shout of alarm as he was thrown off balance.
Philip caught Oliver around the middle and walked him to the couch, too.
“Sorry, you are?” Philip asked, looking at Taylor.
“Oliver’s boyfriend,” Taylor replied. “Philip, right? Nice to meet you, Sophie’s told me a lot. All good things.”
Lina babbled a question in Spanish as Sophie put her down on the other side of the couch. She nodded in content, giggling. “Because you are. My most favorite.”
A smile stretched Philip's cheeks as he raised a brow. “I’m your only brother, Lina. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but why are you not in Boston?”
“We are celebrating Sophie!” Lina exclaimed. “Ay, how is Mari into you? You look like a potato and she is gorgeous.”
Philip sighed, shaking his head. “Why do you … ay. Sophie, sorry we couldn’t go out with you guys before.”
Sophie shrugged. “It’s fine. James said you guys had that meeting you couldn’t push again. Besides, Chloe and Luc already had other plans, so they weren’t there, either.”
“Still,” Philip said. He blew a breath out of his lips. “Right, I’m assuming you guys are staying here tonight?”
Sophie nodded and gestured to Lina. “Is she going to be okay?”
The woman in question bent toward Oliver, quietly singing in Spanish, and giggling uncontrollably.
“She lied about having a high tolerance, didn’t she?” Philip asked.
“Wow, it’s that obvious?”
“Ay, well. She’ll be fine in the morning. This isn’t the worst she’s … never mind. She’ll bounce back,” Philip said. Grunting, he wrapped an arm around his sister and helped her to her feet. “I’ll put her in the guest room, and I can drag some blankets on the floor.”
“I can stay with her,” Sophie said.
“No, it’s fine,” Philip said. “It’ll make me feel better.”
A slight sheen of panic slotted through his eyes, and Sophie nodded, mouth tugging into a line.
This isn’t the worst she’s been, but what if it becomes that?
Assuming Taylor was staying with Oliver, she glanced toward James’s room, knowing what lay before her.
A hand closed around her wrist, and Oliver asked a question in Korean, his head swiveling between everyone else.
Taylor nodded. “Sure, babe.”
Sophie grinned. In addition to English, Taylor only knew Thai.
“Go, you guys. I got him,” he said.
Philip pointed out the bathroom as he and Sophie supported Lina between them.
Settling her into the blankets, Sophie tucked Lina in and turned her onto her side. The last thing they needed was her choking on her own vomit.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay with her?” Sophie asked. She eyed the blankets in Philip’s arms. “I’m sure the couch is a lot more comfortable than the floor.”
“Yeah, it’s fine.” Philip smiled. “By the way, congratulations again on becoming account director.”
Admiration hung in his eyes, but something else glittered in his gaze. In a flash, he blinked it away and shut the door to the guest room.
Sophie marched to the cracked door of James’s room and froze as his voice floated out through the slim space.
French angled his words, beautiful yet dangerous, and his tone was rife with exhaustion.
Knocking hesitantly, she poked her head in.
His eyes widened behind his glasses as his gaze locked on her, but he motioned for her to enter. The menacing wave in his timbre disappeared, though a line of intent ran underneath it.
“Parfait. A lundi.” Hanging up, he pocketed his phone and turned, a smile crossing his face. “Hi. What’re you doing here?”
She pulled him into an embrace, sighing, and resting her cheek against him. “Lina and Oliver are really drunk, and your place was closer.”
His chuckle rumbled through her, and a shudder rolled down her shoulder blades with it.
Sighing, he tightened his arms around her.
“James?” she asked. “Everything okay?”
He dropped a kiss atop her head. “Yes, but let’s just—I want to hold you for a bit.”
She laughed. “Okay, is there something I don’t know about? Because you’re being weird and before, so was Philip.”
“Everything’s fine,” he reassured her. “I’m going to London for the week—business things to take care of.
We have a client in France who would like to meet.
He was being difficult with the details, but I talked some sense into him.
” Relinquishing her, he stepped back. “I’m assuming you’re staying overnight? ”
She nodded. “Did you let Marilyn know you’re going to be gone for the week?”
Once the gala happened, James reported a significant spike in Lotus’s case load—higher than ever.
Sophie was happy for him, but her innards bunched and tangled.
How many meetings with us does he have left? Are we close to done? Do I … do I want us to be?
Stomach scrunching, she accepted the clothes he handed her, twisting the shirt in her hands.
“I did,” he confirmed. “Anyway, do you want me to stay on the couch?”
She hesitated. “No, it's fine. I think we’ve moved beyond sleeping separately.”