Claire gave a sharp nod but didn’t look at him. Her attention was solely on escape. She needed to get out of here. “I’ll email it to you for approval before I send it out tonight,” she said as she walked around him. “It will give you a better sense of how it will appear on-screen.”
“You can show me tonight,” he offered.
She froze and stared at her hand gripping the doorknob. “Tonight?”
“I can come to your apartment after I close up here.”
No, she couldn’t let that happen. She had already revealed too much to Jason. Claire knew what would happen if he came to her home. She wouldn’t be able to resist him and they would fall into bed. Her skin tingled just at the thought of it. But as much as she wanted to, she had to start protecting herself. She was already too vulnerable.
Claire turned around slowly. “Oh, not tonight,” she said, her mind racing as she tried for a breezy tone. “I’m going out with some friends.” She had made the plans before their fake fling had become real. Now she was grateful for having an excuse not to see him for a night.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” he said. Claire suspected he was surprised she would prefer the company of friends to his. Women had a tendency to cancel plans for a chance to be with him. “We don’t have a lot of time to work on your reinvention.”
“You know, that reputation is gaining momentum as we speak.” She gestured to the door. “Deanna just told me a rumor about us skinny-dipping in the Sammamish River. I mean, if she thinks I’m stupid—” she cringed and wished she had chosen a different word. Claire forced herself to keep talking “—enough to do that, then I’ll do anything.”
“We should do whatever we can to maintain the myth,” Jason decided. “Don’t you have a list of things to accomplish for this transformation?”
Her list was on her phone. She hadn’t checked it for a while because she had been more interested in going through her list of erotic fantasies starring Jason. The list for her reinvention included a few ideas that would establish her party animal reputation. So far, not one item had been crossed off.
“A list? No,” she lied.
Jason gave her a look of disbelief. “Come on, Claire. You have a list for everything.”
“Max is going to be here from Friday to Saturday night.” The prospect of Max Blair invading her town still made her nervous. “I’m not going to take him on a tour of my supposedly favorite hangouts and try to act like a regular. All I need is for people to tell him that I’ve done those things.”
“I should still see the list.” Jason slid his hands in his jeans pockets and rocked back on his feet. “Get an idea of how I’m supposed to talk you up.”
Something close to panic squeezed her chest. “You want to meet Max?”
“Yes, of course.” Jason’s eyes glittered as his features grew harsh. “I’m curious about this guy. I want to make sure he’s not pulling a fast one on you. You should bring him to the party.”
She closed her eyes as the tension seeped into her muscles. “That’s a bad idea.” She didn’t want Jason to see her with Max. She was nervous and defensive when she was with the social media expert.
Max had a tendency to talk down to everyone, but she had felt slow and stupid as he talked circles around her. But then he’d dangled this potential job offer in front of her and it had given her a boost of confidence.
She wanted to get this job and prove once and for all that she was good enough. That she could be creative and come up with great ideas. Once she got this job offer she could finally show her parents that she could be the best in something.
“Think about it,” Jason said quietly. “Having me there will only help to convince him of what you’ve accomplished.”
Claire’s shoulders sagged. He was right. Having the town’s golden boy in her corner could only help her. Her career, at least. “Yeah, sure, I’ll bring him to the party,” she said weakly. “It should be...fun.”
* * *
JASON WALKED DOWN the spiral staircase as he tried to hide his bad mood. He wasn’t blind to the cautious way his employees approached him. He also knew he shouldn’t be in a bad mood at all. He was looking forward to the reserve label party on Friday. Even better, he had crunched the numbers for the wine bar. They were performing twice as well as this time last year.
He should have a ridiculous grin on his face, but it was Wednesday and he hadn’t seen Claire since Monday afternoon.