Page 30 of Size Doesn't Matter

A rueful smile tugged at Jack’s mouth. “I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m not exactly their favourite person right now.”

“Why not?” Anna asked.

“In an attempt to rein in their overspending, I cut the department’s budget last year. Maxine has been pissy with me ever since.”

“Still, you make some very valid points,” Danielle said. “I can work with that, even without dropping your name into the conversation. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, hon, and let you know where we’re at. In the meantime, lie low and get some rest.” And then she hung up.

Sophie’s mouth twisted to the side and she scowled at the now-blank phone screen. “Even if Danielle works her magic and I do win the contract, people are going to think I only got it because I slept with the boss.” Then she hung her head and groaned. “And if I don’t get it….”

Jack frowned. “What?

“If she doesn’t get it, people will think she’s a dud lay,” Ethan supplied.

“Huh?”

Sophie rolled her eyes at his obvious ignorance. “If I couldn’t secure the contract after fucking the boss, then I must be completely useless in bed. Because if I wasgoodin bed, then….” She left the statement hanging, her eyes widening as she waited for Jack to take the hint.

He closed his eyes and groaned as the hint smacked him in the face. “If you were good in bed, you would have won the contract.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, so it’s not the photo of us kissing that’s the problem so much as the whole infidelity thing,” Sophie said, her anger resurfacing. “And the aggressively campaigning thing and the being accused of sleeping my way to the top thing.”

Jack noticed Ethan and Anna share a look. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Ethan shrugged.

“That look between you two,” he said, flicking his gaze from one to the other. “What aren’t you telling us?”

Anna suddenly looked very guilty, gnawing at her bottom lip and constantly switching her weight from one foot to the other. “Ethan, we should tell them.”

“Tell them what?” Sophie asked slowly, her voice dropping, her eyes narrowing under a stern brow. She looked fierce. Scary. Sexy.

“We set you up,” Anna blurted.

“Anna,” Ethan groaned, dropping his head forward.

“I’m so sorry, Soph. I really thought we were helping you.”

“Helping me how?” Sophie said through gritted teeth.

“You’ve been so miserable lately, so quiet, and that’s not like you. I could see how lonely you were,” Anna explained, then shrugged. “You’re not as good at hiding it as you think you are.” She shook her head. “Listen, I knew you weren’t happy with Ethan. You two are just too different. And between work and your family, you never seem to have the time to date anymore. So when Ethan came to me a few weeks ago with the same concerns, we hatched a plan to set you up with his brother.” She waved her hand at him.

“Admit it,” Ethan said, smiling at Sophie. “Jack’s a much better fit for you than I ever was.”

Jack fisted his hands on the table, the urge to beat his brother senseless nearly overwhelming. “Why the fuck didn’t you just tell us?”

“Because you wouldn’t have come,” Ethan said, the unspokenduhhanging heavily in the air. “Neither of you would have shown up if you’d known what we were planning.” He crossed his arms. “You’re both as stubborn as mules when it comes to leaving your comfort zones.” Then he looked directly at Jack, his gaze softening. “And you’re just as bad as Sophie when it comes to the whole work-life balance thing. I see how lonely you are, Jonathon. You can’t hide it from me.”

“I hate it when you call me that,” Jack said quietly, choosing to ignore his brother’s insights into his personal life. He’d always hated how easily his big brother had been able to see right through him. The man wasn’t as stupid as he would have people believe.

Looking up at Sophie, he saw the sheen of tears swimming in her dark eyes, her gaze unfocussed and distant. Her hands were bunched into fists by her sides, and her shoulders were rigid. But then she lifted her chin and all emotion melted away from her face.

He’d thought she’d looked scary before.

Standing before them now, she practically vibrated with fury.

“Sophie?” Anna said cautiously, inching towards her friend. “Babe… say something.”

“What would you like me to say?” she said, halting Anna in her tracks. She looked at each of them in turn. “In the span of a single evening, my best friend lied to me, my ex humiliated me, and the man I actually—stupidly—thought I had a connection with has turned me into the one thing I swore I’d never be. My integrity has been called into question, and my dream modelling gig, the one I’ve worked myarseoff to get,” she said, her voice growing louder with every word, “the one I was so close to winning I could fucking taste it—” She shrugged, then threw her hands up in surrender. “—is gone. Buried in a shit heap of gossip and innuendo.” Her bottom lip quivered before she pulled it between her teeth and bit down hard, turning the plush little pillow a deep red. “So I’m going to go now, before you three think up any more ways to screw me over.”

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