“My father’s will left everything to Miranda,” Sophie started. “My brothers and I got nothing.”
“So you’re seeking revenge as some sort of poor little rich girl?”
Sophie swallowed and blinked back unshed tears. “I know that’s what it looks like, but the money has nothing to do with it. Miranda doesn’t deserve anything from my father. She just married him for the fortune—the ranch and all of its history mean nothing to her. She has my childhood home and everything else that should remain in the Blackwood family.”
Nigel stared at her from the slit in his lids. “So you came here to what? Find dirt on Miranda and then blackmail her into giving you back what you want? That sounds petty and childish.”
“No, it sounds like my brothers and I want our home back. We want to be able to keep that in the family,” she cried. “Miranda doesn’t care about Royal like we do. She has her own life, her own empire. My brother and his wife are expecting a child and we want to carry on the Blackwood legacy.”
Sophie stared at him, waiting for some sign that he understood where she was coming from. That he might get her loyalty wasn’t a bad thing even if she’d made a bad choice.
“And did you find what you were looking for?” he finally asked.
Sophie crossed her arms over her chest. “No. I didn’t find anything negative on Miranda. And I certainly wasn’t looking to fall in love.”
Nigel let out a humorless laugh and turned from her. “Don’t throw that word out, not now. You don’t know what love is. You don’t lie to the people you love and you sure as hell don’t deceive them.”
Sophie took a few steps forward, close enough that she could reach out and place her hand on his rigid back. He stiffened even more, but he didn’t turn to face her.
“I never meant to deceive you,” she stated. “When I applied for the job at Green Room Media, I wanted to talk to people, get some scoop against Miranda. I never ever thought I’d be working that closely with you.”
“Yet you did.” Now he did turn, causing her hand to fall away. “You got close to me. You slept with me and for all I know that was part of the plan.”
He shook his head and raked both hands over his messy hair. “Once you realized you’d be working one-on-one with me, I’m sure that just fit right into your deceit. I mean, who better to get gossip from than the CEO? No one in the company has spent more time with Miranda than me. Giving your virginity was above and beyond, though.”
“Stop,” she ordered, the pain slicing her heart too deep. “I never wanted to be with a man until I met you. I knew in the end you’d find out who I was, but by the time I realized I loved you, it was too late for there to be any easy way to come clean. I was afraid of ruining things between us, so I didn’t know how to tell you the truth. But you have to know that I couldn’t have given myself to you had I not fallen so hard.”
“All of this is so convenient,” he mocked. “You just land a job with me, have access to nearly everything regarding the show and you get a free trip to Cumbria. I can’t believe I was so naive not to trust my gut when I wondered if this was too good to be true.”
“We don’t have to be over,” she said, her voice softening as the gnawing ache threatened to constrict her. “I know you’re angry and confused and hurting. I also know I don’t deserve to ask anything of you, but I’m asking that you take time and think before you just throw me out of your life.”
“You think any of this is up to me?” he snarled. “I’m not the one who threw this all away. You did. You could’ve told me at any point over the past weeks who you really were, but you opted not to. Or, hell, at the very least you could’ve told me when you claimed you started falling in love with me.”
“Looking back, I see that,” she admitted. “But that would have meant letting down my family—choosing you over the promise I made to them. I told my brothers I would follow through and find the information we needed. I didn’t want to let them down.”
Maybe appealing to the side of family loyalty would get him to see she wasn’t a complete monster.
“I’m the same person you were with in Cumbria,” she told him. “I never lied to you about my feelings.”
“You’re not the same person at all,” he countered. “I didn’t even know your name.”
Shame consumed her and she nodded. “But you know my touch and you know I love you. If you think back to our time together, you’ll see that. You remembered what I said about that single stem, you know my food quirks, you know how well we mesh on a business level. We work together perfectly from every angle. Once you get beyond the shock and the anger, I hope you’ll realize that no matter what happens, I’ll always love you.”
He said nothing, just continued to stare at her. Sophie wanted so badly to reach for him, to have him wrap his arms around her and tell her that he didn’t hate her, that they would work this out.
But that was foolish thinking. His forgiveness was something she didn’t deserve.
“I don’t need to meet your brothers,” Nigel finally said. “Needless to say, you’re no longer welcome at Green Room Media and you’re no longer part of my life. So go back to Texas and deal with your family drama there, but leave me out of it.”
Without another word, he turned and headed to the elevator. Sophie watched as he stepped in and didn’t even look back at her. She kept waiting, hoping for something else, but there was nothing. He’d literally cut her out just that fast.
The moment the doors slid closed behind him, Sophie let the tears fall. She’d brought all of this upon herself. There was nothing to show for her efforts—no dirt on Miranda and no relationship with Nigel. She was literally going back to Royal empty-handed, alone and in worse shape than when she’d arrived in New York.
Sophie turned toward the kitchen and stopped when she noticed the broken plate. Clearly the only thing she was good at lately was destroying everything around her. She only wished her heart would be as easy to clean up as this dish.
Sixteen
In the five days since he’d seen Sophie, Nigel still couldn’t bring himself to go up to the penthouse of his own office building. The one space he’d always gone to for solace now held memories too painful to revisit.