It wasn’t an act. It was just how she was. She shut down in the face of any strong emotion. Honestly, she was lucky it hadn’t happened earlier with him. Emma moved toward the door and skirted around Alex, who was standing her ground. She looked up at the other woman impassively but acknowledging her as the alpha female in the room. “Nice meeting you,” she said as she passed. Alex didn’t reply.
Nathan followed Emma out of the room and gently spun her to face him. “Emma?” She stared up at him. “We good?”
“Of course. I’ll see you Friday,” she stated without inflection.
He sighed.
“Okay, good. If I got one more ‘all right’ out of you I was going to stab myself in the thigh with a letter opener.”
“All right.” She smiled wickedly, coming back to herself. He laughed; it was relieved and genuine. His assistant, Aggie, looked up, briefly stunned. She took in the two of them and quickly returned to her work. Emma stepped toward the elevator and looked softly at him. He shook his head and headed back to his office. After his door closed, she pretended to fiddle with her phone until a harried-looking man in a rumpled suit approached, and they rode down together.
Out on the street, a black Range Rover idled at the curb. An extremely muscular, bald, black man in a suit approached her. Instinctively, Emma searched out JT, who was standing nearby and seemed at ease.
“Ms. Porter?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Andrew. Mr. Bishop requested I take you home.” Obviously, JT had checked out the car and figured out what Nathan was doing. Nathan would never suspect she had her own car and driver. She was making twenty-three grand a year as a reporter. He was being incredibly thoughtful. She climbed into the back of the car and thanked Andrew. He winked and Emma thought he was charming. As they pulled into traffic, her phone pinged and, when she glanced at the contact name Nathan had entered into her phone, she burst out laughing.
Mr. Wonderful: Don’t flirt with my driver.
Emma: No promises, Mr. Wonderful.
Mr. Wonderful: Well, you’re crap at it anyway, so go for it.
Emma: There are plenty of guys who disagree.
Mr. Wonderful: I see through you.
Emma: I guess I need to work on my act.
Mr. Wonderful: Please don’t.
Emma: What’s my contact name on your phone btw?
Mr. Wonderful: Emma Porter.
Emma: Liar.
Mr. Wonderful: That information is “need to know.”
Emma: I’ll worm it out of you. I’m very persuasive.
Mr. Wonderful: You know I’ve been interrogated by the Taliban, right?
Emma: Seriously???
Mr. Wonderful: See you Friday.
Emma: That’s just mean.
Mr. Wonderful: It’s a teaser. I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept. Gotta go.
She tossed her phone into her bag and checked over her shoulder. JT was following in the Suburban at a good distance. Andrew was none the wiser, although surely as Nathan’s driver he would have been trained to watch for a tail. If he was aware of JT, he didn’t react. In fact, he didn’t say another word the entire drive home. Emma rested her head on the soft black leather and closed her eyes. She briefly thought of the interview and noted with mild surprise that Nathan had not once mentioned his father. It was no secret that the late Henry Bishop was no gem, and Emma herself had witnessed his coldness toward his son, but Nathan had taken over his father’s company. Surely there was some sense of, if not affection, loyalty to his father to step into his shoes.
Emma gave herself a metaphorical pat on the back for thinking like a reporter. She made a note to follow that thread. More importantly, she needed to shut down this emotional magnet drawing her to Nathan. She had charged into a situation that neither her mind nor her body was prepared for. It was all well and good to love Nathan Bishop from afar. She was good at loving him from afar. She was devoted to him. Up close? She wasn’t emotionally equipped to handle “up close” with anyone. Fourteen years of therapy and countless first dates had taught her that. No. She needed to get the story, write a great piece about a fascinating man, and go on her not-so-merry way. For the next six weeks, she was going to focus on work and love Nathan Bishop from afar, up close.
That’s what she kept telling herself.