“So, you said you and Dylan are just friends,” Cody asked as he took a sip from his wine.
Thea nodded, frowning.
“I’m not trying to interfere with your personal life, Thea. But working in this business, you need to be smarter than that,” Cody said, “You just started your career, but your foundation in this industry is not solid. If Dylan’s fans catch you and expose you, at the end of the day, you will suffer so much more damage than Dylan Makovsky would ever do. The exposure will impede the careers of both of you, but the scales of influence are different. Do you understand?”
“But…” Thea explained weakly, “We’re only friends.”
“Those journalists surely wouldn’t write that way. They don’t care about the truth. They just want big news. Isn’t that something you’ve already known?” Cody asked coldly.
Thea dropped her gaze, eyes fixed on the dish she hadn’t touched yet. She could do whatever the company asked her to do. If Cody and Zara didn’t like her seeing male celebrities, she could be careful with things like this in the future.
What she cared about the most was another thing. She felt she would slowly suffocate if she couldn’t figure out the truth right now.
“Why don’t you eat?” Cody asked, “You’re losing weight lately, Thea. I know Zara is strict with your diet. But you need to put your health first.”
“You left the cinema so abruptly.” Thea suddenly mustered the courage to open her mouth as she looked at Cody’s face straightforwardly, “What about your girlfriend? She must be left alone as you followed me. Won’t she be so mad?”
Cody blinked, putting his fork and knife down, “What girlfriend are you talking about?”
“Ah…The girl I saw with you when I was in the line,” Thea dropped her gaze, stuttering as her face went furiously red, “I saw her with you, clinging to your side. You guys looked good together.”
Cody stared at the girl across the table, wiped his lips with a napkin a bit, and leaned back in his chair.
And then, a smirk crawled on his lips as he scoffed.
Thea was so nervous sitting across the table. She didn’t even dare to meet his eyes again. She felt so awkward and uncomfortable.
What would he take her question for? A little get-back after he questioned her personal life?
Would he be mad that she was sticking her nose into his personal life without any business terms or financial interests to base on?
Did she look like a creep right now?
“No,” Cody’s deep voice suddenly sounded across the table, “That girl is not my girlfriend. I don’t have a girlfriend, and I don’t have any plans to get one soon.”
“Oh…” Thea answered awkwardly. Even she didn’t notice that her shoulders slumped a bit.
“That girl is a family friend. Her dad is my old man’s best friend,” Cody somehow continued.
Thea looked up.
Umm… Boss, you don’t have to explain everything so detailedly, actually. She wanted to state but choked back her words.
“We’re also friends growing up. The girl probably has some naive crush on me. But I don’t think things will work out between us,” Cody didn’t stop explaining.
“Wait… Cody… I didn’t mean to probe something,” Thea’s mouth went a bit dry, “You don’t have to explain everything to me.”
Cody didn’t seem like he cared, “Her parents also think we should get married, but I don’t like her that way. For me, she’s just a little sister. Dating your little sister sounds gross. So, Thea Todd, she’s not my girlfriend… And she will never be. Clear?”
Cody was looking into her eyes intensely across the table.
Thea couldn’t take her eyes away from his face.
God… This man was beautiful.
“Clear?” Cody smiled charmingly and asked again.
“Of-of course…” Thea cleared her throat and leaned back, hiding her blush with the cup of her wine.
The dinner was nice and a bit embarrassing as they were in silence. That was probably only on Thea’s part because Cody seemed like he was not as angry as before. He was urging Thea to eat her food all the time, occasionally complimenting the view outside.
It was a pleasant dinner overall. After that, Cody sent Thea back to her apartment. The sprain on her ankle was not that serious and gradually disappeared.
Thea could almost walk when he took her into the elevator. She believed that it would all be fine tomorrow morning.
“I’ll send a doctor here to check out on you tomorrow morning. Stop practicing dancing at home. If I hear Zara say one word about you putting your health at stake to dance better or get skinnier, Thea, I will drive here and paddle your ass black and blue myself. Clear?” Cody said pretty seriously.
“Okay, Dad,” Thea rolled her eyes as Cody put her down before her door, “Just not the doctors… I will take a day off tomorrow. You can trust me.”
Cody smiled and squeezed her into a hug before walking away, “Take care of yourself.”
Thea stood there and watched until Cody got into the elevator. It seemed like she just couldn’t help to put off her blushing face while her eyes followed Cody’s fading back.
****
Thea had a sweet dream that night. She was woken up by Zara’s call the next morning, telling her that her photos with Cody were trending on Twitter right now.
Thea panicked. But Zara said that she had sent the PR team of the company to handle the situation.
Zara also mentioned that Cody was a bit weird today. Usually, Cody would act fast when it came to things like this. But today, he was silent and didn’t bother to call her.
He didn’t get his men to delete all those photos until those photos were all over the internet.
Thea frowned a bit as her brain ran wild.
It couldn’t be what she guessed it would be… could it?
Thea thought about what Cody told her last night in the restaurant, and she went blushed again.
After hanging up the phone, Thea buried herself into her bedding and groaned.
Was she delusional?
Cody Bradley was her boss, for Pete’s sake!