Wonderful. This insufferable woman twists my balls so tight I抦 accidentally giving the entire office gossip machine plenty of grease for the next year.
揙kay, everyone, let抯 hear some updates on the wedding line. Let抯 start with you, Martha,?Anna says, pointing her pen at the easygoing brunette in the corner.
I try not to glare at the slender blond next to me. I should be avoiding Nevermore, not sparring with her out in the open.
One by one, the team checks in, and they抮e all making progress. Several people have completed new ad sequences with samples for us to review on the screen.
The designs are mostly promising.
Jimbo抯 comes up somewhere in the middle. It抯 a passable image, but the man can抰 write his way out of a paper bag. I haven抰 seen sales copy so bland since I bothered to read Chicago Transit billboards at the airport.
Dakota even corrects his grammar twice.
When it抯 my turn, I offer the best feedback梩he blunt kind.
Fifteen minutes later, I抦 far from done, but I wait while a couple others pass around my comments. I抦 not expecting two tiny fingers pinching my arm. My head whips toward Dakota.
揥ill you stop??she whispers.
揥hat? He抯 my employee. He has to produce content I抦 happy with. This is shit.?
揧ou only gave one or two bits of advice to everyone else. You抮e singling him out,?she whispers.
揌ardly. If he wants to write, he needs to learn.?
揂nd you need to learn a little patience with the people you hire, Burns,?she says harshly.
I kick back in the seat, rolling over her words in my head.
揅ome to think of it, he came in here on an internship. You抮e offered a job by default at the end if you don抰 fuck up. I don抰 even remember interviewing this guy,?I say.
Fine.
Maybe I am being overly critical because I didn抰 like the way he undressed my woman梞y assistant and best copywriter梬ith his beady little eyes. Or maybe he just feels like a waste of resources.
揥hen I抦 done playing EA, I抣l review his writing and work on coaching him up to snuff,?she says politely.
I shake my head like I抳e just been kneed in the stomach.
揟hat抯 Anna抯 job. I抣l mention it to her after the meeting,?I bite off, staring her down.
When I look at the front again, there抯 someone else抯 work on the projector now.
The image shows a glowing bride with her well-dressed groom holding her hand. They抮e besotted with each other. Everything about the shot bleeds luxury through rosy filters and fine-tuned colors.
?..here, I think you抣l agree this is a lovely mockup. Perhaps we should outline the words in a brighter hue so your copy shows up clearly, Dakota,?Anna says.
That抯 what I catch, anyway. I抦 sure the rest of whatever she said went right out the window, blurred into a Charlie Brown grown-up monologue of toots and whistles.
Fuck me. Where is my mind?
I抦 afraid to answer that when one glance at Nevermore tells me.
When Anna stops speaking, everyone looks at me.
Shit.
揑 agree wholeheartedly, Miss Patel,?I say, like my brain isn抰 grounded on Nevermore and the way her dress is riding up every time my eyes flick to my side.
Her muffled laugh pulls my eyes right back to her as Anna plows on.
揧ou weren抰 listening, were you??she asks.
揑 didn抰 care to elaborate. Key difference,?I whisper back.
揑s that everything??Anna clears her throat loudly as she watches us across the long table. 揇oes anyone else have any parting questions or concerns??
There抯 a low chorus of 'noes' and 'what抯 for lunch?' comments flying around.
Anna抯 face pulls tight, her lips flattened in a straight line.
I抳e worked with her long enough to know she抯 not happy, and I hate to think I抦 halfway responsible. She seemed content with everyone抯 progress this week.
No sense in bottling it up.
揝omething wrong, Miss Patel??I call loudly.
She hesitates, glances down, and then back at me with worried eyes.
揘o,?she mouths, and it抯 not the people beginning to stir and file out with their own conversations that抯 drowning her out.
It抯 quiet and not convincing.
揂re you sure??I press.
She taps her pen off the conference table. 揑 know everyone is working hard. The ads are coming together nicely, but there抯 a segment of the market I still think we抮e missing. I just want a little more oomph behind the ads for A/B testing棓
揌ow about a personal endorsement from our fearless leader? That抯 enough oomph to be oof,?Dakota suggests with a laugh.
I lash her with a cutting look.
揥hat??I抦 never involved in the ad campaigns. I certainly don抰 put myself in front of cameras willingly. Not even cameras I control.
She shrugs like she抯 serious.
揅抦on, boss. You have the looks. I bet you抎 sell this new line to women who are already married if you just asked nicely enough. You have the whole lady-killer vibe,?she says matter-of-factly.
I rake my eyes over her, unsure if this is a real suggestion or more of her unfunny bullshit.
揟here抯 exactly one lady I抦 aware of killing,?I whisper harshly.
She glares at me.
揇ude. Why do you think the press and people after easy views on Insta follow you around? Attraction is a marketing superpower棓
揑抦 no model,?I grind out. 揑f you抮e serious, Miss Poe, we can always explore hiring talent.?
揥e could. But if you really cared about the wedding line, you抎 model the men抯 line yourself,?she says with a flick of her hand, wearing a grin I want to bite off her face.
揝lam dunk, Poe! Way to throw down the gauntlet,?our college intern says, flashing some ridiculous hand sign.
揟hat kid annoys me,?I whisper to Dakota.
揋ood. You annoy most of us, but we just bite our tongues because you抮e the boss. And he抯 hardly a kid. He抯 almost as old as me,?she says.
I don抰 like being reminded how young she is, even if my cock strongly disagrees.
揧ou抮e far less annoying,?I say.
She beams, stifling another laugh.
揥ow. I think that might be the nicest thing you抳e ever said to me.?
揘ot true. I抳e told you plenty of times you抮e as talented as you are beauti棓 I choke off mid-word and slam my yap shut.
Too much.
Too late.
She stiffens slightly, biting her bottom lip, and then she edges over, making more space between us.
I want to laugh at the effect I have on her that抯 impossible to deny. A twisted part of me enjoys it, but I hold in my amusement.
We抮e still in a meeting with several stragglers around, and I need to be professional.
揥ell then, Miss Patel, what are your thoughts? Since Miss Poe says I抦 such an irresistible ladies?magnet, should I consider modeling the groom抯 wear??I抦 joking, of course.
When Anna nods with a wide smile that shows her teeth, I almost fall out of my chair.
揘ot a bad idea. It抯 very original. Possibly the next best thing to suiting up in Haughty But Nice attire for your own wedding棓
The room goes silent. Everyone who抯 still here has their eyes glued to us.
Anna抯 gaze becomes laser-focused on桰抦 not sure what. Her mouth forms all kinds of shapes, but nothing comes out.
揗iss Patel? Anna??I prompt.
She holds up a finger and remembers how her mouth works.
揌oly crap. That抯 it!?
揥hat抯 it??
揧our wedding.?
揥hat damn wedding? I抦 not getting married,?I say with a snort. 揌as my mother been here again? Is this some high-pressure prank to make me settle down??
A couple of the older employees laugh knowingly.
They get it. My sweet-as-pie mother becomes an unpredictable assassin when it comes to my love life梠r lack thereof by choice.
揘o, but you and Dakota hit it off pretty well, right??Anna says, her dark-brown eyes glowing with something I dread when she speaks again. 揝o, call me crazy, but what if you two staged a wedding? What if you got all dolled up in a photo shoot in Haughty But Nice wardrobes? It抯 a unique, interesting angle that could send our sales through the roof.?
Goddamn. It抯 worse than I thought.
揧ou抮e crazy!?I snap.
Dakota jerks up in her seat. I almost think she抯 more horrified than me.
揂nna, that抯, um梐 big yikes,?she spits. 揟hat抯 just...a bridge too far.?
That抯 putting it mildly.