Page 12 of The Close-Up
“So,” Simon says as he stands. “How did I do?”
“Brilliantly. My boss is gonna love this. Viewers will go gaga over you.”
He flashes a flustered smile before his expression turns tender. “How are you holding up?”
It takes me a second to realize he’s referencing my breakup.
“Honestly, fine overall. It sucks to be cheated on, of course, but now that I’ve had some time to process things, it’s a good thing we’re through. We weren’t right for each other.”
“If you ever want to chat about it more in depth—”
“Are you offering to be my therapist?” I almost chuckle.
“Actually, I was going to refer you to a colleague.”
“I don’t think I’m ready to now, honestly. But eventually I think it would be good for me to talk to someone.”
He says he’ll text me his colleague’s contact info.
“Gotta say, I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable with you as my therapist given how we...met,” I joke.
Simon laughs. “That would be pretty unethical for me to be your therapist.”
“Really? I guess I’d think it would be more weird than unethical.”
He raises an eyebrow. “It would be unethical because I’m attracted to you and I’d never take on a client who I felt that way about.”
“Oh.”
Simon is into me. Cue a million fluttering butterflies in my stomach. But a disappointing crash follows. There’s no way this can go further. There’s no official policy at Dash preventing employees from dating interview subjects, but a lot of higher-ups aren’t fans of mixing business with pleasure, including Fiona. I’ve heard her make disparaging comments about other staffers who fraternize with their interviewees. I personally don’t hold the same standards she does, but she is my boss. If I want to wow her, it’s best that I stay as straight and narrow as possible. She would undoubtedly disapprove if she found out that I was doing anything romantic with Simon.
“Look, I won’t lie. I’m attracted to you too,” I say. “But it’s important for me to be professional. We have a work relationship now. I don’t want the lines to blur, so we shouldn’t pursue anything.”
Simon’s cool, calm smile doesn’t waver. “I respect that.” He walks me to the door. “It’s probably for the best since you’re in the middle of a relationship ban.”
I turn to look at him. “How did you...”
“You were talking kind of loudly at Spud’s the other night.”
“Well. That’s embarrassing.”
I brush aside a loose chunk of hair that’s fallen from my ponytail.
“It was funny hearing you go off a bit.” His tone is as soft and comforting as his smile. “I’m still not sure what a fuck-it list is, though.”
I cover my face with my hand. “It’s just a silly thing my cousin and I came up with years ago. A list of ridiculous things we’d never be brave enough to do. One of mine was hitting on a hot stranger. She figured it would help me get over my breakup.”
I notice his cheeks redden as he looks at me. “That’s pretty cute.”
“Cuteness aside, I’m a disaster when it comes to relationships. This ban is long overdue.”
His head falls back as he chuckles. The space by his front door is narrow so we stand barely a foot apart, our eye contact alternating between each other and the floor.
“So!” I say through a breath while shuffling my feet. “I’ll send you a link to the interview when it airs.”
“Sounds great.”
I stick out my hand for him to shake. He glances down, amused.
