4 : Sign on the dotted line

                                    

                                          
Penthouse, Manhattan
Talia woke up after her excursion to Brooklyn at the Karaoke bar and immediately opened up twitter. Sure enough, her timeline was flooded with screenshots of her and Noah from everyone else's stories. 
The two main ones that people were going crazy over were a low quality one of Noah and her sitting closely and laughing with each other, and another of him smiling while watching her perform her solo. She laughed when she remembered his comment the previous night about him watching her in awe in the background, and people surely enough went crazy over just that. 
She studied his facial expression. He was already good at playing the part, she thought. He looked positively smitten, and in the moment it seemed effortless. 
"So, are you doing this PR thing or what?" Layla asked as she waltzed into Talias' room. 
"I don't know. I said I would, but now I'm not sure again. What will Mum and Baba think?" Talia asked, although it was somewhat rhetorical. "He's gonna be so disappointed that im lying to everyone about something like this." Her father would no doubt be upset at the fact that she would be deceiving the world. 
"If you think about it, it's just another role. Another part you're gonna play," Layla offered. She was right, Talia thought, but that didn't stop the nagging feeling in her mind. 
A hotel room, Somewhere in Manhattan
Noah heaved a deep sigh as he plopped back down on his bed with a towel around his waist. He ruffled and dried his hair with another smaller towel. 
He thought about the previous night, about how much fun he had with Talia. He would give anything to be able to spend more time with her, even if it was under the guise of a false relationship - it was better than nothing. 
First and foremost, he simply enjoyed her company. He genuinely did not mind if it never amounted to anything other than a friendship. 
As he threw the towel aside, Nicholas swiped the key card and entered their shared room. 
"You ready to go to the office?" He asked, walking over and setting a white paper bag on the table. "I got croissants and stuff from that bakery down the road for breakfast."
"I just need to get dressed," Noah replied and stood up, walking over to the baked goods. He took a large bite out of a pain au chocolat and muttered a 'thanks' to Nicholas. 
As Noah devoured the confectionary, Nicholas stood there with a smug smirk on his face. 
"What?" Noah asked, his mouth muffled by the mouthful of food he still hadn't swallowed. 
"So... you had fun last night, yeah?" He asked. It was a simple question but it sounded loaded, the way he said it. 
Noah furrowed his brow. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"
"Just asking. Come on, then, we don't wanna be late. Your potential new girlfriend is waiting."
Noah dressed quickly in a pair of black shorts and a simple white t-shirt, and the two of them met Jolly, Folio and Matt in the  lobby. 
"The content from last night is doing well," Matt mentioned as they walked out to their ride. Noah felt his cheeks burn but he stifled the grin that threatened to form on his face. 
"Yeah? I'm glad. All the more reason to do this."
"You know, you could just ask her out. Actually date her. It doesn't have to be like this - I know it's not your vibe, Noah," Matt said softly to him. Noah turned his head and looked him in the eye.