Within an hour of arriving in New York, the two of them were sat down in a meeting with their managers and the directing team. Sophia knew it would happen, it only made sense for the higher-ups to lay some ground rules after what took place back home.
Thankfully, they were all 100% on her side, and Walker assured them that her father was solely responsible for what had happened to him. The guidelines were more so given in the hope of getting the fans to like Sophia again.
It was simple. Her and Walker would be stood or sat next to each other in each interview. They'd laugh. They'd banter. They'd talk about how they were able to overcome such a serious roadblock in their friendship.
Yeah, friendship. After all, it wasn't like Walker had ever asked her to be his girlfriend. They'd just kissed...a few times.
Most feelings were left unsaid, and she bet that it was going to stay that way until everything smoothed over. So once again, they were caught in an in-between phase.
Sophia was really starting to hate the in-between phase.
Later that evening, they all went out for dinner. It was a nicer restaurant, one that was dozens of stories in the air, located on a rooftop overlooking all of NYC. It was breathtaking, especially against the sunset.
The dress code was dressy-casual, and Sophia didn't have the faintest idea what to wear. But lucky for her, being back on the job meant being back with her stylists. They settled on a brown sweater and cream colored mini skirt, complete with tall black boots.
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Stepping out of the elevator, she found their table and slid into the seat next to Leah, who was the only other person to arrive so far.
"You look so cute!" Leah gushed. Her smile was extra bright, so dazzling that it matched the diamond earrings she had paired with her vibrant pink sweater dress.
"Well, pink is definitely your color." Sophia grinned. They chatted for a bit, waiting as people trickled in one by one. First Aryan, then Dior, and Charlie coming in soon after.
"Woah, I did not get the dress code memo." He sighed, looking down at his jeans and simple white tee. Dior giggled, pulling out a seat for him beside her.
"No worries, us girls are just a little extra." She winked, flipping her hair over her shoulder and making her casual red dress more visible.
A few more minutes of chatting went by before Aryan, who sat on Sophia's other side, tapped her shoulder. She turned to him, setting down her drink that she was taking a sip of.
"When's Walker getting here?" He asked. Sophia's brows furrowed, noticing the one still empty seat across from her.
"Oh weird, I don't know. Let me call him, hold on." She stood up from the table, walking over to the edge of the roof and leaning on the railing. Pressing his contact, she held the phone up to her ear as it buzzed lightly. He picked up after the third ring.
