Love Irresistibly

Twenty-six



ON MONDAY AFTERNOON, Brooke spent the fifty-minute drive from Chicago to Lake Forest getting in the zone.

She was focused, determined not to be distracted by anything going on in her personal life, as she ran through the various points she wanted to make with Curt Emery. While her pitch varied somewhat depending on the potential client and their food service needs and facilities, what always remained constant was the fact that she one hundred percent believed in Sterling and the business they were growing.

Nevertheless, she remained pragmatic about the likely outcome of this meeting with the Bears. While Curt Emery may have been interested enough to hear her pitch, it was still a long shot given the team’s long-standing relationship with Spectrum.

While driving, her phone chimed repeatedly with a stream of chatty text messages from Ian.

ARE YOU THERE YET?

HOW’S THE DRIVE?

THINK YOU’LL GET TO SEE THE PRACTICE FIELDS? TOO BAD THE TEAM IS AT TRAINING CAMP.

I’M ALREADY PICTURING THAT SKYBOX ON THE FIFTY-YARD LINE. HA.

Clearly, Ian wasn’t as down with the let’s-remain-pragmatic approach.

Just before three o’clock, Brooke walked through the main entrance of Halas Hall, the modern glass and steel building that served as the Bears’ headquarters. She checked in at the front desk, where the security guard handed her a visitor’s badge and directed her to the elevators.

Curt Emery’s office was located on the fourth floor, along with the rest of the team’s front office. Brooke stepped out of the elevators and was greeted by a receptionist whose desk sat before a large, panoramic photograph of Soldier Field. Only a minute or so later, a man in his midforties, wearing khakis and a button-down shirt, approached.

He held out his hand and introduced himself. “Curt Emery. So nice to meet you, Ms. Parker.”

“Please—call me Brooke,” she said, shaking his hand. “Thank you for meeting with me.”

He guided her down a hallway. “We’re in a conference room this way.” He smiled at her tentatively. “So about our meeting . . . this is rather unorthodox for me. As you know, we’ve contracted with Spectrum for nearly twenty years for the food service at Soldier Field. And in the interests of full disclosure, I have a good relationship with the senior manager there who handles our account.”

“I understand,” Brooke said. “I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to tell you about the things we’re doing at Wrigley Field and the United Center—and the things we can do for your organization as well. But I promise, you won’t get a hard sell from me. Not yet, anyway,” she added.

Instead of laughing at the joke, Curt stopped in the doorway of the conference room and shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah . . . see . . . that’s not exactly what this meeting is about.”

Brooke cocked her head, having no clue what that meant. “Okay, what is this meeting about, then?”

“Here’s the thing. I sort of mentioned to my contact at Spectrum that you’d called me. I was just joking around with him, saying that if he didn’t keep me happy I might have to consider giving Sterling Restaurants our business, that kind of thing. But then I received a follow-up phone call from Palmer Green himself, the CEO of Spectrum North America. He was very interested in the fact that you were trying to pitch Sterling to me.”

Brooke waited, trying to figure out where Curt was going with this. So Spectrum’s CEO knew she was going after another one of their clients. So what? It was hardly a secret that Sterling was aggressively building its sports and entertainment division. “And how does this relate to our meeting?”

Curt gestured to the conference room. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

Confused, Brooke stepped inside and saw a man wearing a tailored navy suit sitting at the conference table. He stood up when she walked in.

Curt made the introduction. “Brooke Parker, this is Palmer Green. CEO of Spectrum North America.”

Palmer looked her over with a sharp gaze. “So you’re the one who’s been stealing away my favorite clients.”

Well. This was indeed a surprise.

Brooke looked back at Curt, beginning to understand why he’d insisted that she come alone. “Unorthodox? In your business, Mr. Emery, I’d think we’d call this a blindside.”

Nevertheless, she walked over to Palmer and held out her hand. No clue what this was about, but if Spectrum’s CEO had thought he could fly out here and intimidate her into backing off his company’s business, he was in for a rude awakening. “What an interesting surprise, Mr. Green,” she said while shaking his hand. “Let me guess. This is the part where you ever-so-charmingly suggest that I stay away from Spectrum’s clients.”

He smiled at that. “No, Ms. Parker. This is the part where I ever-so-charmingly offer you a job.”