Sophie's Playboy

by Natalie J. Damschroder

  Which meant her mother hadn't been alone, either. Sophie pri

  The knot in her stomach loosened entirely and slipped away.

  "Okay, Mom. We'll stop hovering."

  Brianna looked back and forth between them. She didn't look

  "Now, dear, tell me all about Parker/Biff."

  Sophie stared at her. "Mom, you just said—"

  "But I'm your mother. It doesn't apply to me. I have to worr

  The only way to escape would be heading back to Boston. Soph

  * * * *

  Two weeks went by, and Parker didn't call the show. Sophie s

  She tried to come up with a plan. She couldn't find him at T

  Calling wasn't an option, either. She'd looked up Cornwall i

  "You betrayed me," he complained, "and now you want me to he

  That, she couldn't do.

  She didn't have much better luck with the name Parker. An In

  She'd just about given up—and given in to the restlessness t

  "The show's gotten a little flat." Stevie seemed to have bee

  Make them say it, she thought, though her motor mouth wanted

  "You're fine," Stevie said, holding a hand up in her directi

  "What expectations?" The only thing different was that they

  Stevie started to speak, but Melina stopped him with a hand

  "What, another puppy?" Sophie threw her hands in the air. "M

  They nodded. The station manager remained as stone-faced as

  Melina, who held the door for Sophie as she walked out, had

  Sheesh. She'd had no idea radio people could be so mysteriou

  Luckily, she didn't have long to wait for her surprise. Half

  The next day he filed suit against her.

  "The jerk is suing for half-a-million dollars. Half-a-millio

  The door opened quietly, but she didn't look up from her art

  "The evil attorney—and I know, that's a redundancy—has been

  She heard the click of the switch that turned on the second

  "Come on, Sophie, you can't put all the blame on the lawyers

  Sophie stared at the man on the other side of the console. H

  She doubted the station had realized just what a surprise th

  The man in front of her was Biff Cornwall.

  CHAPTER 5

  "Stupid people," she murmured, still staring. He grinned bac

  "What does that mean?" he asked.

  Sophie snapped back to herself. "Sure, juries give big award

  "So you think juries are stupid?" he asked.

  "Well, think about it. Attorneys don't want to pick people w

  "You're harsh, Sophie."

  "Well, there's one reason juries are equally to blame."

  "What's that?"

  "They hope to set a precedent so when they steal someone's T

  She closed her mike and leaned back in her chair. Melina was

  "How on earth did you find him?" She waved a hand at Parker.

  Stevie tugged at his shirt collar. "Well, we had to search—"

  "That's not important, Stevie," Parker interrupted. He didn'

  Sophie stared at Parker. Biff. Whatever. "You are so arrogan

  Biff had the nerve to look surprised. "Arrogant? About what?

  "Never mind." She waved her hand between them. "What the hel

  "You can call me Parker."

  "Where did Biff come from?"

  Melina tapped on the glass and motioned five seconds.

  "I'll explain later." Parker/Biff slid his headphones back o

  "Okay. Biff. Parker. What is going on? Start with your name—

  He somehow managed to maintain his air of arrogance even whi

  "My name is Parker Cornwall. My father was Biff Cornwall, an

  Sophie sat next to him. She was still frowning, and Parker w

  "Your father is dead?" she asked.

  The question seemed to come out of the blue. Parker forgot h

  "You said he was Biff Cornwall."

  "Oh. We're not that close."

  "So, should I call you Biff or Parker?" She tilted her head

  And maybe more.

  "Parker," he said, deliberately injecting intensity into the

  * * * *

  Sophie shivered every time she remembered Parker saying his

  "Stop it," she ordered, marching up the steps to the station

  She, Parker, Stevie, and Melina were meeting to discuss the

  That dating was out of the question.

  Sophie doubted that one was on the official agenda. If anyon

  Not again.

  The other three met her at the top of the stairs and turned

  "Am I late?" She glanced at her watch as they went down the

  "We thought it would be easier to talk at the diner," Melina

  "Ah." Sophie got it. When a big new advertiser came on board

  The diner, however, was quiet between the lunch and dinner r

  "Make sure you don't talk over each other," Stevie cautioned

  "We need a new hand signal," she joked. "Break it up." She p

  "Never insult the listeners, Parker, that's one of Sophie's

  "One of my biggest pet peeves," Sophie said. "You'll hear it

  Parker turned his attention to her. Sophie suddenly felt lik

  "Why do you care about insulting the listeners?" he asked. "

  "I want a little higher-class audience than the so-called 'b

  "We have a promo to record for one of the clients," Stevie w

  Uh, oh. "Build on what?"

  Cough. "Well, on the theme, so to speak, of the nature of th

  "What, exactly, is the nature of the advertiser's business?"

  Stevie flushed, then named a local hotel famed for its getaw

  More than uh, oh, Sophie thought. "And the nature of the ad

  Stevie shuffled his papers and avoided her gaze.

  "Stevie. The ad?"

  He sighed and slapped his papers onto the table. "The annive

  Sophie rolled her eyes. "If we just met, it can't be the ann

  "Well, it wouldn't be the real Sophie and Parker, you'd be a

  Sophie finally agreed to do the ad—and there would be more,

  "Sophie, the audience heard Parker courting you over the pho

  "But he's been quiet for two weeks!"

  "I was out of the country," Parker said. "I couldn't time th

  "The listeners won't notice it," Melina said. "They won't re

  Sophie folded her arms. Then she realized something and turn

  "None of the callers asked me about Parker during those whol

  Melina tried to look innocent. Stevie defended her. "We need

  "Fine." Sophie slammed her coffee mug to the table, not both

  Parker's tone was light when he said, "Ouch, Soph."

  She tried to hide her panic. Most people wouldn't understand

  Stevie fought valiantly to the end. "Sophie, if restaurants

  Sophie stood and started gathering her things. It was almost

  "Those are work. Not dating. I'll do what I need to for work

  "If we start really dating, then break up, one of us might h

  * * * *

  That afternoon's program went incredibly well given all the

  And toy he was, Parker couldn't deny it. Sophie played with

  If he didn't know better, he'd think she was flirting with h

  They'd wrapped the show and left the building before she spo

  "The show was good, wasn't it."

  Though she'd made it a statement, he answered anyway. "It wa

  Sophie chuckled. "You think he gets a bonus if ratings go up

  "Could be. It would be good business."

  "And you know all about good business, don't you?"

  Her derisive tone was back. Parker didn't know why she disli

  "I know about fun, too. Want to go get a drink?"

  She hesitated, eyes narro
wed, lips pursed just enough to mak

  "Where?" she asked.

  "Victory."

  "What?" Her head jerked up and her eyes blazed in the late d

  "No, I mean Victory is where we're going." He took her arm a

  * * * *

  He'd been right, of course. Sophie hated that about him. But

  "Left! Right! Left!" She couldn't help yelling as she spun t

  Parker slid his paddle just a bit too far to the left and th

  "Yes!" Sophie jumped up and punched both fists over her head

  Parker sat back in his cushioned chair and lifted his whiske

  "So what?" Sophie gulped some of her rum and Coke and scanne

  "Come on." She tugged Parker out of his chair, which was imm

  "Come on, where?"

  He resisted her tugging so she pulled harder.

  "Come on let's play volleyball. We'll be on the same team an

  They did, but Sophie learned quickly the value of thinking a

  She could hear Parker breathing, grunting a little as he sla

  "Yes!" The computer team missed Parker's slam and they pause

  "Great set, Soph."

  Parker turned his head and she looked up into eyes that seem

  "Sophie." Her name was a whisper, almost unheard. The music

  "Ready!" the machine called to them and they swung back to t

  She missed the ball and the game ended.

  "Enter us for the high score," she told Parker and ran off t

  This would not do. Being here could be construed as breaking

  She stepped to the sink and turned on the water to wet a pap

  "He's not your type," she told her reflection. The words ran

  * * * *

  You moved too fast. Parker cursed and downed the last of his

  Which, admittedly, he really wanted to do.

  It had been over a hundred degrees in the shade today, and S

  What was he going to do? He worked with her now. Okay, so he

  Sophie was a challenge, and even the lightest-headed women k

  The bartender put a bowl of pretzel sticks in front of him a

  He reached across the guy next to him at the bar and grabbed

  When his thoughts began to slip into long-term consideration

  Sophie emerged from the bathroom and happiness rose without

  He was in deep trouble.

  * * * *

  Sophie was in trouble.

  She saw it coming across the main room the day after her out

  But her heart didn't care about definitions. It didn't care

  Hell.

  She hit the intercom button. "Melina, want to get dinner wit

  Double hell.

  Not only was she getting all worked up over a playboy, she w

  "Sure, Sophie. I'd enjoy that."

  Sophie figured she'd manage to get through the show, but she

  As the jingle took over, Parker removed his headphones. "Sop

  "Ready, Sophie?" Melina's entrance interrupted Parker. Sophi

  "Thank you. He was going to ask me to dinner and I was going

  "And that would be bad because...?" Melina slung her oversiz

  "Because I don't want him."

  Melina hooted. "Yes, it's very clear how much you don't want

  Sophie grimaced. "I hope he doesn't see it."

  "I doubt it. It's all over his, too."

  They turned the corner at the end of the block and Melina ge

  "Personally, I think it is wonderful. You two have a flammab

  Sophie eyed her. "If you think it's so great, why did you re

  Melina laughed. "It is also good to keep men guessing. A cha

  The aroma of exotic spices permeated the air and Sophie's st

  "Give me your honest opinion," Sophie said. "Is the show imp

  Melina chuckled at her analogy. "It is most definitely impro

  Sophie looked at the spicy food on her plate and suddenly di

  Melina shook her head as she swallowed. "Decisions are not m

  Sophie perked up. "What kind of schedule?"

  "Supplementals. You have three solo ads to tape this week, t

  "Already?" Sophie pictured the little production booth and h

  Melina winked. "Quite comfortably. You also have your first

  Sophie grinned. "Really? A live action broadcast? Stevie sai

  "Apparently the new independent movie house thinks you and P

  Sophie toyed with her curry and nibbled a slice of naan. She

  Well, the hangup was easy to explain. She'd start there.

  "When I had been working at MMT for about four months, one o

  "Were you?"

  "No! Ick." Chuck had never interested her that way. And in t

  "Anyway, it took a long time before everyone stopped resenti

  Melina nodded and swallowed her last bite. The bus boy repea

  A momentary flash of Sophie on a date with Stevie—the guy wh

  "He's not my boss, no. But people could still say that datin

  "Therefore the perception of your success being contingent u

  "Exactly."

  "Baloney."

  Sophie stared at her. Melina shrugged. "That is an excuse. Y

  Of course there was. Sophie hadn't really cared six years ag

  The loss of Parker could be devastating.

  Sophie didn't want to dive into that analysis. It was smart

  "Are you sick?" Sophie asked. Melina just shook her head. As

  They paid their bill and wandered onto the street. Boston at

  Restlessness be damned. She was happy, and she'd stay that w

  CHAPTER 6

  "Joe, I need to call you back," Parker told his vice preside

  Joe grunted his disapproval. Never a very cheerful man, he w

  Still, Parker was having difficulty keeping his mind on his

  "Biff, I don't care what your reasons are for doing this dam

  Parker rubbed at the throbbing in the center of his forehead

  He flipped his phone closed and shoved it into his pocket ju

  At the first break he snagged Sophie on her way out the door

  "Can we meet at my office tomorrow instead of here?"

  Sophie looked down at him and raised her left eyebrow again.

  Parker leaned back in the squeaky chair and stretched. "Of c

  "Well, yeah."

  He shook his head. No wonder she thought of him as a playboy

  She surveyed him a moment, then glanced around the studio an

  Melina gave them the one-minute tap on the window and Sophie

  He was going to be alone with her this afternoon. She was co

  Despite his distraction the first meeting went well. They us

  Of course, they dared to ask him for more money. The meeting

  He grabbed her shoulders to keep from knocking her over, and

  "Very conservative, Soph," he finally said. "Haven't seen th

  She followed him into his office and went straight to the so

  "It seemed to call for it. Coming here, I mean. I haven't be

  Parker handed her a mug and noticed that no blouse was visib

  They pulled out the scripts for the ads and read silently fo

  "The first one's pretty straightforward," Parker noted. "We'

  Sophie flipped a couple of pages. "Yeah, this isn't as bad a

  "So, how do you want to play it? Playful or serious? Are we

  "Are you clueless, or crafty?" Sophie teased. She grinned at

  He was going to do it. He had to do it. If he didn't kiss he

  He leaned forward, his eyes never leaving hers.

  Sophie swallowed hard and clenched one hand around the paper

  She wanted the kiss she saw coming. She wanted it with every

  His lips were closer. She hadn't moved, she was sure, so he

  His mouth had almost, almost touched hers when she leaped to

  "Where's
the bathroom?"

  Parker slumped back against the sofa again. "Down the hall.

  She wet a paper towel and pressed it over her eyes. How on e

  She leaned on the sink and slid the wet paper towel over the

  But now that they'd had a taste of "them," she doubted the s

  More importantly, she was doing something that was hers. She

  So far, said a subversive little voice she labeled "Desire f

  Plus, she was scared spitless.

  "Okay, enough analysis," she told herself, not wanting to co

  She did. Apparently, Parker had decided to do the same thing

  Parker followed Sophie to the station in his Porsche—of cour

  "Nice," he admired, running one of his long-fingered, gracef

  "Sixty-six. It needed a lot of restoration. I finally got th

  He looked up at her in shock. "Sell her? Never!"

  Sophie shrugged. "She's expensive to keep up and I can't dri

  She led the way into the station through the back door and t

  The production manager's voice came through the headphones.

  They looked at each other questioningly and what had happene

  "Uh, guys? Do you want to do a run-through or not?"

  They snapped their attention back to their individual script

  "No, we're okay."

  "Let's just get to it."

  Sophie stumbled over her words the first two times they trie

  That plan went up in smoke as Parker followed her. She swive

  "That went well." He perched on the edge of her desk. Sophie

  "Yep." She pulled out her list for the show and pretended to

  "We have that L.A.B. in a couple of weeks."

  "Yep."

  "Can you come with me to my family's Fourth of July barbeque

  If he thought she was that dumb ... She tilted her head. "No

  Parker sighed. "Please? Mare wants to meet you."

  "Who's Mare?"

  "My sister. Her name's Mary, but she hates it so I call her

  "Why does she want to meet me?"

  "Because you're the first woman I've ever worked with like t

  Melina poked her head around the corner. "Come on, you two!

  They rushed to the studio and in the chaos of settling in, S

  The way Parker beamed when she agreed to go, however, told h

  * * * *

  Sophie's first live action broadcast—or L.A.B.—on June thirt

  Her attraction to him had grown exponentially with each four

  He intrigued her and left her feeling more alive after every

  She couldn't help but be nervous about this broadcast, thoug

  Sophie spent too much time trying to figure out what to wear