From Boardroom to Bedroom

by Jules Bennett

  So, since there was nothing she could do right now to dig into Miranda’s dirty secrets, she decided to stay in the marketing headspace and pull together some ideas and suggestions for the show. Sure, she wouldn’t be staying long, but it would still look suspicious if she didn’t have any work to show for her time on the clock. She couldn’t just ignore the fact Nigel believed her to be legit. So long as she kept up this charade, she could possibly find everything she needed.

  Sophie had a spreadsheet she’d used when first getting started on YouTube—basically the dos and don’ts and what worked and didn’t work when it came to brand promotion. The marketing field was like a strategic game and if the players didn’t know what move to make next, the entire plan could be for naught.

  She realized there was an entire team here, but Nigel had wanted fresh eyes and that’s where she came in.

  The moment Sophie stepped inside her office and circled her desk, she glanced toward the doorway and let out a yelp.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Nigel leaned against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his broad chest. His hair was just a bit mussed, as if he’d raked his hands through it after the meeting.

  Clearly she’d been so focused on her own thoughts, she’d missed the fact he’d practically been right behind her when she’d come in.

  “No, it’s fine,” she replied, laying her things down. “I’m actually glad you’re here.”

  “Is that right?”

  “I have some things I want to run by you regarding a few marketing suggestions,” she replied, ignoring the way he just stood there, staring, like he’d rather be doing anything else than talking about work.

  “Why didn’t you voice your thoughts during the meeting?” he asked, his brows instantly furrowed.

  “Well, my job is to listen to all of the material before tendering my opinion,” she informed him. “Plus, it’s my second day and I wasn’t sure your employees wanted to hear that I think most of their ideas are wrong.”

  Nigel studied her for a moment before he let out a bark of laughter and dropped his arms. “I do appreciate all of this honesty you provide. But, if we’re going to talk, I say we should do so over lunch. Meet me in the penthouse in thirty minutes.”

  “I need about forty-five,” she stated. “Trust me. I’ve got something to share with you.”

  He stared at her for another minute. Sophie didn’t miss the crackle of tension. Even if she was here as a ruse, she had to be up front because she’d never been good at hiding her feelings. There was only so much lying she could handle.

  “Listen,” she started. “The attraction here is...”

  Nigel quirked a brow. “Yes, it is,” he agreed with a smile. “But, I would never get involved with an employee. I’m strict about that. Especially now when my sole focus needs to be on the show.”

  Sophie nodded. “Okay, good. Because I didn’t come here for a fling or anything else. I just can’t stand tension and I had to talk about the proverbial elephant.”

  “I appreciate your bold honesty.”

  With a shrug, Sophie sighed. “It can put off some people.”

  “Men?”

  She nodded.

  “Then they’re fools.”

  There it went again...that crackling tension. She waited on him to say more, but he wouldn’t. He’d already made it clear he didn’t socialize with employees. Too bad he didn’t know she wasn’t a legit staff member. Though he probably wouldn’t be too thrilled with her if he knew why she was really there. Maybe it was better this way. They couldn’t be together, but at least she knew he wanted to be.

  “I’ll see you upstairs in forty-five minutes,” she told him, needing to shut this moment down.

  Nigel offered her a grin and nod, then he turned and was gone. Sophie blew out a breath the moment he stepped away from her office. Revisiting the attraction issue wasn’t going to get either of them anywhere they needed to be. She had to remain focused and so did he. They both had outside issues that needed their full attention...though he didn’t realize that.

  And had she seriously considered getting into something—a fling—with her fake boss? Sophie was either sleep deprived or else she had completely lost her self-control when it came to Nigel because she’d gone this whole time without giving herself to a man. Was she really ready to jump into it all because of a sexy accent and some sexy stares?

  No, she wouldn’t lose sight of why she was here. Her job was to find what she needed to secure her and her brothers’ family legacy. Nothing more.

  If maintaining her cover meant that her business ideas helped Nigel and she assisted in making any part of his team stronger, that would just be extra.

  Sophie figured by the end of this charade everyone would win.

  * * *

  Nigel was still smiling when Roslyn arrived at the penthouse suite. He should’ve kept this meeting in his office, all professional, but that was not what had come out of his mouth, so here they were.

  The woman was quite intriguing. He didn’t know her well, but everything he’d uncovered so far seemed so fascinating. The fact she’d basically called his staff incompetent both irked and amused him. He couldn’t wait to see what she thought she knew that could beat the carefully crafted plans from the well-educated, experienced team he’d personally vetted for these positions.

  Maybe her ideas held merit or maybe she was just full of herself. Either way, he admired her for having the confidence to speak up...as if he needed more reasons to find her attractive.

  Today she wore a fitted pair of black ankle pants with a black jacket and red pumps. Those damn pumps matched her lips. She looked like a ’50s pinup come to life and, like an idiot, he’d purposely put himself alone with her. But he had a feeling she could have shown up wearing sweats and sneakers and he’d still have found her just as striking because his attraction wasn’t just to the exterior... She was damn smart and bold. Qualities he couldn’t ignore.

  And that was not smart of him. Not if he wanted to retain control over his emotions. He had to push aside his desires and the way his body responded when she looked at him. He already had one mess on his hands with the rankings of Secret Lives, he didn’t need a scandal by having a fling with his consultant.

  “I had lunch brought up,” he told her as she stepped from the elevator. “There’s quite a variety. I assume you don’t eat sushi all the time.”

  “I do like other things, you know.” She carried her laptop and cell and walked to the chrome-and-glass desk in the corner to put her things down. “But I skipped breakfast, so anything sounds great at this point.”

  While they made their plates, he took note of things she liked, things she overlooked. He found he wanted to know everything about her...and please her with this knowledge in the days to come.

  “So, tell me, what do you know that my very well-trained staff doesn’t? This is what I needed when I searched for a consultant. I need that fresh look on things from someone who isn’t in the industry, but who still pays attention to all details.”

  They took a seat at the desk across from each other. Instead of starting on her lunch, Roslyn pulled up her computer and swiveled it around to show him a graph she’d created.

  “This is fairly rough, but I plugged in a few numbers to give you an example of what I’m about to explain.”

  Intrigued, he ignored his lunch, as well. He watched as she pointed from one colored area to the next. She’d clearly pulled numbers from the latest rankings that had been just discussed at the meeting. How the hell had she been so fast?

  “You can see that the targeted viewers are mainly on social media during these times. But your posts are going up during different times and missing their mark.” She noted the difference, then clicked onto another screen and another graph. “The posts are good—but most of them are getting lost in everyon
e’s feeds.” She pointed out a few posts that had come the closest to hitting the time slots she’d highlighted. “Look at the difference in engagement—the uptick in likes, retweets, responses. If you put up the juicier posts—the ones with more exciting content—in these time slots, I think you’d see huge results.”

  Nigel stared at the screen and listened to everything she said. All of her thoughts made perfect sense...which made him wonder why his very well-paid team hadn’t considered this strategy before. This was the first he’d seen anything like this.

  “You did all of this in the few minutes since we spoke?” he asked, turning his attention back to her.

  “Well, I admit I jotted most everything down, but I also made some mental notes, so I may have missed a few of the opinions,” she admitted. “But, it was merely a matter of plugging numbers in. I’ve taken quite a few online marketing classes, so I just used what I’ve learned. It’s a rough draft, like I said, but I can get more concrete examples before the next meeting if you’d like.”

  Sexy, sophisticated and smart. He was in a hell of a lot of trouble here.

  “You’ve taken marketing classes?” he questioned after a moment.

  She nodded and shifted her computer aside, then pulled her plate and bottled water in front of her. “I love design but I knew I wouldn’t be able to grow and reach more clients if I didn’t understand how the whole social media system works. I needed to know how to interpret all the ins and outs. No matter how good I believe my ideas are for decor, I won’t get anywhere without understanding the dynamics of every aspect of business.”

  The more she talked, the sexier she became. She adjusted her glasses, not in a coy flirty way, but out of necessity as they started to slip. A wayward strand of blond hair landed across her forehead and she swiped it back, tucking her hair behind her ear.

  “So basically you want to practice the 20/20/20 method, as well,” she went on, oblivious to the fact the more she discussed business, the more turned on he became. “Not only posting during the right times, but also actively engaging with various followers. The rule is twenty new followers, twenty new comments, twenty new likes. Now, with Secret Lives being so successful, we can bump that number up. Viewers want to feel important, like they have that personal relationship or connection to the ladies.”

  She plucked a juicy strawberry from the plate, studied it and popped it in her mouth. Nigel had never been so jealous of a piece of fruit.

  “I would recommend the cast of the show following the same method,” she added. “They’re your ticket to new viewers. If they aren’t hyping up the show, nobody else will.”

  “They post quite a bit during the season,” he replied.

  “But what do they do in the off seasons? And are they posting the right content?” she countered. “Are they getting viewers intrigued for another episode? Hinting at scandal or something teasing to pull more people into watching the new shows?”

  Nigel pulled up various social media accounts from the cast and scrolled through. He quickly saw that she was right—their content needed to be more tailored, more focused. He had his marketing team divided into specialty groups, each one focusing on one specific area. Yet in less than two days, Roslyn had managed to nail down exactly what they needed and even had a damn graph to prove her point.

  After several moments of silence, Nigel placed his phone on the desk and pulled his own plate over. He picked at his food, rolling around all the information inside his head.

  “If I overstepped—”

  “No.” He stared across the desk. Roslyn didn’t seem insecure as she met his gaze, which just raised his admiration another notch. “You didn’t overstep. These are things I need to know and you’re going above and beyond in such a short time.”

  “Good. I didn’t want to step on toes, but I was hired for a reason.”

  His respect for this new hire continued to climb. Maybe she wasn’t too good to be true. Maybe she was just this amazing and he’d hit the jackpot.

  With each moment he spent with her, he found her beauty taking a backseat to her brilliant mind. Looks would only get someone so far in life and Roslyn was proving to be a great asset on many levels.

  Damn shame he didn’t get personal with employees. Since his position was so prestigious and everything he’d wanted when he came to New York, he wouldn’t jeopardize that for anything. He wanted his family in England to be proud of what he’d done. He didn’t want them to think he just came here and bounced from one beautiful woman to another. Yes, he dated quite a bit, but he also didn’t flounce it all over the media, and he never ever dated someone from the show...or his office staff.

  Roslyn was exactly the type of woman he hadn’t known he was looking for. If she weren’t working for him, then he wouldn’t have minded getting to know her on a more personal level and building trust. Trust was so hard to come by in this industry when most people were only looking out for themselves and how they could get ahead.

  But while a more intimate kind of trust wasn’t an option between them, that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy Roslyn’s company, perhaps more than he did with any other employee.

  “If you start with Seraphina’s account, for example.” Roslyn pulled up the page and turned her phone toward Nigel. “Even her bio could be catchier.”

  Nigel felt the brewing of a headache and shook his head. “Seraphina may not be part of the show much longer.”

  He hadn’t meant to let that out, but his instinct told him Roslyn could be trusted. She’d gone to great lengths to prove herself and if he wanted someone to help him grow in the rankings, she would need all the pertinent information.

  Roslyn’s dark eyes widened. “Oh, um... I wasn’t aware. Not that you needed to tell me.”

  “It’s okay,” he replied. “I actually just found out recently that she was considering leaving—though of course, we don’t want her to go. I was on the phone with her this morning offering her another option. That’s why I was a few minutes late to the meeting.”

  “Does she want to leave?” Roslyn asked. “What will she do?”

  Nigel had kept asking her that very question. “She’s moving to Texas with a cowboy she met while she was filming down there. She and Clint are getting married.”

  Roslyn smiled. “Well, that’s great news for them and for the show. That’s a huge marketing tactic and an angle that every viewer would love. A happily-ever-after for one of your favorite ladies is like gold.”

  “Which is why I want her and Clint to do a spin-off,” he confided. “I’ve talked to her about it, but she’s not sure Clint would be on board.”

  Roslyn’s gasped. “Yes. A spin-off would be perfect. There’s nothing more valued than a real-life love story and people put so much faith in such fairy tales.”

  “Fairy tales?” he questioned. “You don’t believe in true love?”

  Roslyn shrugged. “It’s not often I see it in action. I mean, I love my brothers and they love me. Actually, my oldest brother has found love, but that’s a rarity, in my opinion. I can’t say I had love from my father and he certainly didn’t have it for my mother. He cheated on her and made no qualms about it even after she passed away of a stroke. I guess I’m just jaded on the whole thing.”

  Interesting. For someone so passionate about her work, it seemed that Roslyn went the complete opposite way when it came to her personal life.

  “So if a man showered you with bouquets of your favorite flowers, you wouldn’t be tempted to fall a little in love?”

  Roslyn laughed as she sat her phone down and reached for her bottled water. “A bouquet of flowers is so clichéd. If a man brought me a single stem with heartfelt words, that would mean more than an entire expensive bundle.”

  “So you need pretty words?” he asked.

  “I don’t need anything,” she corrected. “I deserve someone who is honest and wants
to open his heart to me alone. I just don’t think that man exists.”

  Nigel processed her words, understanding pain masked by a wall of defense.

  “And what about you?” she asked. “Do you believe in true love?”

  “I don’t think it’s some type of unicorn myth, but I haven’t exactly had time to devote myself to looking. Though my grandmother is more than ready to marry me off and start another line of Townshends.”

  “That sounds a bit archaic,” she scoffed.

  “You don’t know my grandmother. The woman is a force to be reckoned with. I’m terrified of her.”

  Roslyn laughed. “Well, maybe you should be looking for Mrs. Townshend.”

  Or maybe he should work on figuring out how to get Roslyn out of his every waking fantasy. How could he even think about another woman with the way he wanted her?

  And what Nigel wanted, he always got.

  Now if he could figure out how the hell to get around his own rule of not getting involved with his employees all while saving his show, he could retain his sanity and stay in control.

  Four

  Sophie pushed away from her desk and came to her feet, adjusting her shirt over the top of her black pencil pants. She really wished she hadn’t gone all out in the transformation. She missed the comfortable yet fashionable dresses that had become her trademark. A good maxi and flip-flops sounded perfect right about now.

  But with it being winter in New York, she was happy for the extra layers. Mercy, that wind could be brutal. She certainly missed the warmth and sunshine back in Royal, but she truly felt like she was getting somewhere here...and she didn’t mean with just Nigel.

  A tap on her door frame had her lifting her head to see Craig. “Hey. Mr. Townshend called and wants you to meet him for dinner. He texted you the address and time, but he wanted me to follow up with you.”