“There are a lot of things we shouldn’t do,” he reminded her. Like sharing a mind-blowing kiss backstage while half the company and a hell of a lot of the world’s press were mere yards away from them.
“So, you know why this is a bad time,” she said.
He had to strain to hear her over the sound of Linda’s voice booming into a microphone.
“There is no good time,” he said. “I want the truth. And you’re going to give it to me. Right now.”
“Simon?” Linda’s voice distracted. It was much closer now and her mic was turned off. Which meant his media relations officer had made her way backstage.
Clenching his fists in frustration, he hissed, “What do you want?”
“The press wants to do a Q and A with you,” Linda replied. “I know it wasn’t part of today’s plans, but you need to. Duty calls. It’s good coverage.”
He shut his eyes. Damn it. Baring his soul to the press was the last thing he wanted to do. He hated dealing with reporters. Hated the way they twisted his words and went digging into his life because he refused to play their game. Refused to give them what they wanted.
Simon’s eyes snapped open, and he found that Heather had spun around to face him, her eyes still wide. She opened her mouth speak, but he held his fingers to her lips, trying to quiet her. All that trouble to get her to talk to him, and now the only way to protect her was to keep her silent.
They were both still hidden by the velvet curtain. But with Linda backstage, Simon had to protect his assistant. Had to shield her from any kind of gossip or innuendo that would hurt her. The only way to do that was to get his media relations officer away from Heather.
His hand slid down to cup her face, forcing her to look deep into his eyes. “This conversation isn’t over,” he told her in a low voice.
Heather bit her lip, but said nothing.
“Simon?” Linda repeated.
“Fine,” he bit out harshly. “I’ll do it.”
“Where are you?” Linda asked. “I can hear you, but I can’t see you.”
Cursing under his breath, Simon made sure to shield Heather from view with his body. He grabbed the velvet fabric surrounding them, and held it in front of his assistant while he stepped away from her.
“Oh, there you are,” Linda murmured.
As quickly as he could, he started to guide Linda away from the curtains. Together they walked back onstage, leaving Heather behind.
THE Q AND A WAS TORTURE. Almost every question made him grind his teeth. Whenever they got even remotely personal, Simon did his best to steer the conversation back to work. Not that any of the reporters seemed to take the hint.
“So, since we’re winding down the questions,” a blogger from one of Seattle’s tech blogs started, “do you mind if I ask if you’re dating? Readers, listeners, shoot, the whole world wants to know. Is Simon Diesel seeing anyone?”
“I do mind,” he muttered.
Linda cleared her throat loudly from the seat across from him. They were still seated onstage, Simon sitting uncomfortably under the lights. Cameras flashing. Hundreds of pairs of eyes on him while he was peppered with inane questions.
The entire time he had been answering questions onstage, he had wondered what Heather was doing. Where she was. Was she still waiting backstage for him, or had she fled?
Damn, he could still taste her on his lips. Still feel the weight of her warm body in his arms. Did the kiss make her special to him? She had always been an extraordinary person. So kind. So encouraging. So driven and selfless. But what was she to him?
“I think what Simon means is that he likes to keep his personal life and his professional life separate,” Linda said smoothly. “It’s his business you’re interested in, not his business.”
The blogger grinned. “So, what you’re saying is that he has a personal life?”
Simon reminded himself that he was enduring this to protect Heather. No matter how badly he wanted to stalk off the stage, he had to get through this.
“I’m saying that my personal life is irrelevant,” he said pointedly. “What matters is the work we do at Dover.”
“But you said in your speech that nobody makes it on their own,” the blogger pressed. “If it takes help to get where you are, don’t you think the public has the right to know who might be by your side, helping to get you there?”