kept it loose and juicy. He made the host look good.
Sabrina felt herself responding to his winning manner. He was so warm and intimate. He made you feel like you knew him. Even better, he made anyone listening feel like he knew them .
He was irresistible.
Even she was falling under his spell by the time they cut to commercial. She caught Nick glancing at her while he chatted with the host and sipped a bottle of mineral water. His gaze felt hot- almost palpable. She looked away, pretending to be doing something with her phone.
Coward.
She didn't know what was getting into her. She worked in the business for god's sake! She'd met tons of stars. Brilliant, talented men and women. None of them had ever made her feel like this.
Particularly not after acting like such a pig. No, a goat. He was a stubborn, horny old goat.
Damn it.
The commercials were over relatively quickly and the interview continued. Then Conan brought up something that hadn't been on the talking points. Warning bells went off in her head.
Uh oh.
"Nick, you are famous for not doing interviews. What changed your mind?"
"Well, I hope I'm famous for something other than that."
"Yes of course. Your music has influenced a whole generation of artists. But, seriously, you've never made any appearance like this before. What's going on with that?"
"Well I have a new rep at my label. She wanted me to do some interviews here and there. Get the word out about my upcoming tour."
"She just asked you? That's all it took after all this time?"
"She's very persuasive."
He wiggled his eyebrows at the host, obviously implying that Sabrina was giving him something else entirely. She felt like a fist had landed in her stomach.
Jesus Christ.
He wouldn't.
He couldn't.
"She must be very convincing."
"Conan, she could convince a sheep out of its trousers. I mean- wool."
He laughed and covered up his supposed mix up. But Sabrina wasn't fooled. He'd done it on purpose.
He was getting even with her.
The rest of the interview went by in a haze. She stood there, feeling utterly naked as people stared at her, whispering. And this was nothing compared to what they would do when she got to the office tomorrow.
He'd just ruined her career with a casual comment.
He'd destroyed her.
Everything she'd worked for was gone.
Conan was giving his closing remarks and plugging the next show while Nick sat there, looking supremely relaxed.
Finally the clasped hands and it was over. He came off stage and smiled at her.
"Well love, how did I do?"
**********
Nick was feeling rather pleased with himself. He'd managed the interview well- much better than that in fact. He'd nailed it.
And he'd managed to get a little dig in at Sabrina by implying she'd slept with him. Staring at her in that dress off camera during the commercial had given him the idea.
Never mind that he was starting to desperately wish that it was true. The girl had some sort of hold over him. That never happened. All his prior relationships had been ones of convenience. Hot sex, yes. But