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.And she wanted to eat that bacon sandwich, so much, but she was afraid she’d look weak and lose the game and he’d hand her a P45 and wave her on her way without a second thought.On the other hand, perhaps she needed to woman up here and show him she wasn’t intimidated by his game-playing.To convince him she wasn’t a liar or a manipulator like Jez.Her reputation was on the line.Resting her elbows on the arms of the chair and clasping her hands together in front of her, she considered her next move.The sensible thing to do was to brush aside her little white lie last night and bring the conversation back to her issue with Jez.‘Look, can we put aside what happened yesterday for now and focus on the reason for this meeting?’ she said with as much composure as she could muster.Tristan sat back in his chair and stared at her for a moment, one assessing eyebrow raised, before gesturing for her to continue.She nodded her thanks and took a deep breath to try and even out her erratic breathing, fixing him with what she hoped was an emphatic-looking gaze.Don’t let me down now, brain.‘Jez has been subjecting me to sexual harassment for months.Recently he withdrew his promise to give me the Breakfast Show—which he currently hosts and should have moved me onto ages ago—because I wouldn’t sleep with him.’There was no need to mention the little ‘slip-up’ of already having slept with him—just because she’d given in once, it didn’t mean she was obliged to again.She had a horrible feeling it might weaken her position if Tristan knew she’d already succumbed to Jez’s advances, but most of all she was embarrassed to admit how weak-minded she’d been.She didn’t want Tristan to think she was just some easy lay.It would taint the memory of the incredible night they’d had together.She leant forwards in her seat.‘I deserve to be given that show on my own merit.I’m damn good at what I do, but when I made it perfectly clear I wasn’t going to be blackmailed into sleeping with him he took me off my Drivetime Show too.’ Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence and she cleared her throat and looked away from him, blinking away the hard pressure behind her eyes.This was no time for tears, but the mixture of stress, lack of sleep and confusion about how she felt about seeing Tristan again were playing havoc with her state of mind.She longed for him to smile at her like he had last night.Just the quirk of a lip would do—anything, to break the icy atmosphere that had formed between them.But Tristan only nodded, his face devoid of expression.‘How long have you wanted the Breakfast Show?’ he asked, his gaze averted as he picked up the tablet next to him and tapped something into it.His sudden lack of attention made her go cold.She was losing him.‘Since I started working here.Hell, since I first started working on the radio.It’s the best gig at the station.At any station.’ Her voice sounded panicky and she took another calming breath before continuing.‘Jez promised me he’d stand aside and let me take over six months after I joined Flash, but he’s hung on and hung on.He loves the status it gives him, but he can’t run a show for toffee.He makes the station look amateurish.’ Her voice had become louder and harsher the more she talked and she ended in a rush, her brow furrowed in a painfully tense scowl.Damn her runaway mouth.The way Tristan was silently studying her now was unnerving.There was no longer any sign of the playful, trusting man she’d been so intimate with only hours ago.A tic jumped in her eye and her temple throbbed in time to its beat as she waited nervously for his response.‘I can see that you’re very ambitious, Tallulah.’The way he said it made it sound so seedy.The slow sinking feeling in her stomach told her he’d already made his decision and it wasn’t to her benefit.‘The trouble is, Jeremy seems to be doing a good job here and he’s made it perfectly clear he’s not prepared to work with you any longer.He thinks you’re disruptive and apparently you regularly turn up for your shift late.He suspects you’ve been drunk on at least one occasion whilst performing on-air.’‘What?’ Her utter disgust that Jez would lie like that couldn’t have been more clear, but Tristan seemed unmoved.‘I’m never late and I’m practically teetotal!’ She flushed as she remembered the enormous glasses of wine he’d seen her drink the night before.Of course he didn’t believe her side of it; he’d met Louise last night.Damn it.If she hadn’t played that stupid pretend-to-be-someone-else game she wouldn’t be in this mess right now.‘I know it looks bad right now, Tristan, but Jez is the liar here, not me.’‘Really, Louise
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