Sophie's Playboy (32 page)

Authors: Natalie J. Damschroder

"Parker on line three."
"Go ahead, Parker. What's your rant?"
"Wasted time."
Even with so few words, Sophie recognized those warm tones.
"Can you be more specific? Rick just told us about all the t
"I'm talking about time wasted on the golf course. Golf shou
"Parker, are you obsessed with golf?"
He chuckled, and sparks zinged through Sophie's middle. She
"No, I'm not obsessed. But I guess I come pretty close."
"Well, if we want to talk about waste and golf, lets talk ab
"You don't think people who live near the desert should have
Sophie ignored the flashing lights that indicated callers wa
"Of course golf has a bearing on quality of life," Parker gr
"—in heat over a hundred degrees, which forces everyone to d
"Boy, you don't give an inch, do you?"
"This is rant time, Parker. We're ranting."
"Seems more to me like we're bantering."
Sophie grinned at his flirtatious tone. "This isn't dial-a-d
Sophie had a hard time concentrating on the rest of the show
"The last caller we can take tonight is.... "She looked at M
"Parker," she mouthed, and held up four fingers.
Sophie sighed audibly. "The last caller is Parker. Parker, d
"Nothing as fun as this," he teased. He wasn't on a cell pho
"I suppose you're calling to rave about golf."
"Not this time. I'm calling," his voice lowered a register a
Sophie's tongue got caught in something. She saw Melina fran
"Are you a playboy, Parker?" She grimaced as soon as the wor
"Define playboy."
Sophie thought of Biff, the purest form of the beast. "Rich,
"Well—"
She cut him off. "Dates a new woman every week, making it cl
"I guess you have something against playboys?" He was a litt
Sophie remembered this was the Rave. She glanced at the cloc
Her music started with perfect timing. Sophie sat and listen
"Exhausted?" Melina entered the booth, followed by a beaming
Sophie stood and stretched. "No, energized. How do you guys
"Great."
"Right on." Stevie added a thumbs up. "You never ran out of
Sophie shook her head. "I don't think so. He sounds familiar
"Could be a made-up name."
She hadn't thought of that. If it was a made-up name, it cou
Hmmm.
She shrugged. "I'm not sure. Is it a problem?"
Stevie's face cleared. "Not at all! There was some chemistry
The travel host came in to start his program, and Sophie fol
* * * *
Parker lounged on his suede sofa and half-listened to the fi
Chuck Whitmer had been at the club last week, whining into h
He'd had fun this afternoon, egging her on, flirting without
The phone rang and he balanced the glass of merlot on his st
"Hello?"
"Hey, love."
"Mare, hi. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to catch up with you. We're both alw
Parker set his wine glass on the table and zapped the TV wit
She hesitated. "Maybe. I was wondering if you could pick the
"You know I will, Mare, but you've got to slow down some." H
She sighed and Parker heard tears in the catch in her breath
"Let someone help you coordinate the Lowell office." He knew
Mare seemed to know he didn't need her response to that. "Th
"No problem."
"Now, tell me how things are going for you."
"Well, I picked up some stock in...."
"Nooooo!" Her screech nearly cracked his wine glass, never m
Parker smiled. "There is nothing else."
When she didn't respond, he could almost hear her eyes narro
"Nope. Vanessa took a powder."
"You dumped her."
"Wasn't anything to dump. I told her weeks ago I wasn't inte
"Ah-ha! So there is someone else!" she said gleefully.
"Mare, you've got to stop living vicariously through me."
"Nonsense. Give me the goods."
Parker tried to think of something to tell her. He didn't wa
"She doesn't like playboys," he finally admitted.
Mare snorted. "Leaves you out, then."
"Not necessarily."
"Yeah. We'll see. There are few enough women who aren't afte
"Am I that bad, Mare?" He knew he sounded wistful. She didn'
"She must be something, Park, to shake that famous Cornwall
"She is, Mare. She is."
Sophie was something, all right. He just didn't know why.
CHAPTER 3
Sophie climbed out of her vintage Mercedes convertible and t
As was her former employer, she grumbled silently as she cro
Chuck was waiting in the lobby, his trademark whiskey sour a
"Ah, my lovely, my gracious Sophie." He grabbed her hand and
"Give it up, Chuck. You aren't refined enough for that."
He grinned. "I was hoping practice would make perfect."
She snorted as they walked toward the Patriot Room. "Well, t
Chuck's response slipped past her and she froze near the ent
Sophie managed not to turn on Chuck and tried to sound disin
"Sure. Biff gets approached for money all the time, now it's
"Hm." Sophie let Chuck steer her into the room, her gaze swe
"Tell me again why you needed a date for this?"
Chuck grinned wider. "For an opportunity to talk you into co
Sophie groaned. "Chuck, I told you I was done with MMT."
"Even if your show flops?"
Something flipped in her stomach. "What do you mean? Did you
"Well...."
"Sophie!" Darlene rushed up and gave her a faux embrace. "Yo
Jason Wenrick stepped up behind Darlene. He smiled apologeti
Sophie smiled back. "It's okay. I haven't had much direct li
That was like an invitation to open the floodgates. A couple
Chuck stood nearby, his smile growing gradually dimmer until
"Poor Chuck." She sat next to him on a love seat where he po
"I guess you'll never come back, will you?"
"It's not like I haven't been telling you that."
He shrugged. "But now I've seen you in the limelight. You be
Sophie looked at him, surprised. "Limelight? I wasn't in the
He gestured to where they'd been standing. "What do you call
Now she laughed. "Oh, Chuck. That's funny. I'm nowhere close
Still, she understood what he was getting at. "Chuck, you ma
"It won't be the same."
Exactly, Sophie thought, feeling giddy with the knowledge th
Chuck sighed and downed the last of his watered-down whiskey
"You can't leave before the announcement."
Sophie recognized that voice. It was Parker.
Electricity made all the fine hairs on her body stand up. Sh
So what? She shook off the stunned effects and put on her bu
"What are you announcing?" Damn if she didn't sound like she
Biff smiled smoothly, his charm at direct odds with his goof
"You'll have to wait for the announcement."
His voice was cultured, Boston Brahmin and the best prep sch
That was odd.
Sophie narrowed her eyes at his retreating back. Playboy tha
"I'm going to get a drink," Sophie told Chuck.
"Go ahead." He waved her off without looking at her, eyeing
She got her Kahlua and cream and retreated to a quiet spot o
Did she miss it? She pondered that as she sipped her drink.
One of those former partners caught her eye and saluted her
Biff stood near the front of the room and raised his hands f
When he spoke, explaining the purpose of the Cornwall Founda
Biff's voice seemed less deep, less rich. Parker's was more
She didn't know why it bothered her so much to think they co
Liar, a voice—her sister's voice—echoed in her head. Okay, s
Geez, she couldn't believe she was thinking like that! The f
Not that Sophie had heard many complaints. She could see thr
Weddings. A pang hit Sophie in the chest, hard enough to ann
The cool air was typical of the Boston spring. The sun sat j
"Kinda cool to be out here in that dress."
Sophie closed her eyes. It was That Voice, accompanied by wa
She turned, stunned to see Biff. Hadn't she just decided he
"Who are you?"
His eyebrows formed an unconvincing V over his oh-so-concern
"I know who you are. I mean, I know who I know you are. But
"Have you been calling my show?"
He shrugged. "Have you had any callers named Biff?"
It was a non-answer, but Sophie didn't feel inclined to purs
"Why won't you have dinner with me, Sophie?" His voice was l
"I told you, Biff, you're not my type." Maybe he wouldn't he
"Your date has abandoned you for a twenty-two-year-old socia
She loved Biff's scent.
His hand pressed her gently toward a marble bench. "Sit with
"Why?" But she sat.
He shrugged. "Just to enjoy the night."
The garden was silent and Sophie acknowledged that it was ni
Biff stretched out his legs in front of him. Sophie leaned h
"So tell me how you got to be a VP at such a young age," Bif
She pushed back her usual annoyance at the question. She'd h
Biff snorted and she wondered if he thought that was a dig a
"Which meant," he continued, "more and more of the same old
"Right." Hm. He was insightful. Interesting twist on the pla
"Which is why you now Rant and Rave," he finished for her, m
"Now I Rant and Rave. You listen?"
"I caught a show."
"What did you think?" For some reason, his answer was more i
He shrugged. "It has potential. Maybe people will call you i
"I hope so. I also hope the second half of the show will hel
"If they listen that long."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"People tend to listen to the carping and ignore the gushing
"My callers do not gush!"
He just looked at her. Sophie remembered one woman on her se
"Okay, one gushed. But it's not always like that."
"Too soon to tell. But it might go better if you intersperse
"I thought of that," Sophie admitted. "But I'm afraid no one
Twilight had settled firmly over the garden by then, and Sop
"You're welcome." He took the jacket, but didn't stand. "So,
Sophie considered. One dinner was no big deal. She'd done mo
"I'm sorry, Biff. It was a nice, friendly conversation, but
He stood and jerked on his coat. "Okay, fine. I won't ask ag
If he'd been anyone else, she would have said she'd hurt his
* * * *
"Good afternoon, and welcome to Rant and Rave. I'm your host
She rattled off the phone number, now memorized, and went on
"We're going to try something new today. Instead of two hour
"Joe is on line one."
"Hello, Joe, what's your rant?"
"Hi, Sophie, how ya doin'?"
She tried to keep her sigh inaudible. Every caller asked how
"Cats."
"Cats. Can you be more specific?"
"What more is there to say? I mean, cats are rude, man. They
"I don't have a cat, but isn't there anything good about hav
"Huh. Sometimes. Mine bites, though. And the stinkin' litter
"Wait. You're wife is pregnant?"
"Yeah."
"And you're letting her clean the litter box?"
"Heck, it's her cat."
Sophie wavered between lecturing and not badgering listeners
"It may be her cat, Joe, but it would be better if you clean
"'Course not." His voice turned plaintive. "Can't I just get
Sophie laughed. "That's between you and your wife. Thanks fo
"Sophie, this is Marie. I can not believe that guy. He has g
Marie was the first of many callers who had something to say
"Great show, Soph!" One of the salespeople waved at her.
"Thanks! You selling time?" One of the signs of a successful
"Slowly but steadily."
"Great."
She ran back into the studio in time to explain again that t
Sophie knew who the first caller of the hour was before Meli
"Parker, welcome to the show."
"I promise I won't talk about golf today."

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