by Ali Parker
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“Thanks,” she replied. “I don’t want to keep you long. I know there’s a lot going on upstairs, and we need to get going with this project. I take care of my mother. Well, the hospital does, but she is my responsibility. She’s in a coma on life support from a brain hemorrhage. I take care of her bills, and I would love to move her to a home of sorts where she would be more comfortable, but the cost is outrageous. When my dad died, she’d moved in with us, and we were happy to have her. Anyway, that isn’t really relevant to what I’m trying to say. I want to make a better life for my son and my mother. They deserve so much more than what I’ve been able to provide for them.”
“I can understand that,” I said.
She sat there for a second, collecting her thoughts. “You don’t really know what it’s like to not care about yourself until you have no choice but to take care of the people you love,” she said. “That’s how I feel about my son and my mom. I love them, and I want them to have everything, even if I don’t have a lot.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t even know you had a son,” I said.
“Yeah,” she chuckled, looking down at her coffee. “He’s ten, my twin except for the wild side I had as a kid. He really doesn’t have one of those, not yet at least.”
I sat there watching her face as she talked briefly about her son. Her eyes twinkled when she said his name, and I could see the caring mother on her face. I hadn’t paid enough attention to this woman to even know that she was a mom. It was amazing the things you realized when you really paid attention, something I was trying to do with everyone. Amanda, though, she intrigued me, and I enjoyed sitting there listening to her talk, probably more than anyone I had ever met. She was even more beautiful to me then she was before. I had to remind myself that she was my ad manager, not some girl to pick up on, and definitely not someone I would want to lose at that time, with the ad coming up and everything.
“I’m really a very private person,” she said. “Not many people know about my life, even the ones I’m friends with here at the office. Dalton is my best friend, so he knows everything, but that’s about it.”
“I like Dalton. He makes me laugh,” I said. “Its good to have someone like him in your life. I don’t really have many good friends.”
“I think if I didn’t have Mikey, my son, I would work so much that I wouldn’t really have any friends either.” She chuckled.
“So, what can I do to help?”
“I am really good at my job. I always have been,” she said. “I know I can help you blow this ad out of the water, but when I do, I want to ask you for something in return.”
“All right,” I said, tilting my head. “What is it?”
“A bonus,” she said. “Something substantial enough to help me get my family back on track. Something that will make it worth me staying with the company. It’s obvious this ad is more important than any we’ve done before. I haven’t figured out why yet, but I can tell it is. I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen you sweat, but you’re all kinds of anxious over this thing.”
I was intrigued by the thought of a bonus. I knew that when I had first started the company, I had a bonus structure in place, and it definitely pushed the employees to meet their goals better. Somewhere along the way, the board had removed the structure, and I was starting to think it might be time to get it back or at least give it a chance. I knew Amanda was good at her job. Otherwise, the board wouldn’t have paired me with her. If a bonus was what it took to keep my company and to keep Amanda happy and on board with the project, I didn’t see why it wouldn’t work out.
“I know times have been slow with the economy the way it is,” she said. “But I also know how much this company netted last year as well as how much everyone makes. I know there’s room in there to put an incentive on this project. Obviously, it would stay between us because I can’t ask you to do it for everyone, but it would definitely be helpful for me.”
“You’re an interesting and brave woman.” I smiled.
“If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place,” she said.
“You’re absolutely right. I like that.” I chuckled.
“I can’t take credit,” she said. “Nora Roberts said that.”
“Still, a smart quote,” I replied. “Amanda, you’re very valuable to me, uh, to the company is what I mean. You’ve done some outstanding work over the years, and I knew when I decided to be part of this project that I would need you there with me every step of the way. I would be more than happy to give you a bonus for the successful completion of this project. If it means you’ll be there with me, pushing this project to the next level, then there’s no way I can say no.”
“That’s great news,” she said.
“We can discuss the amount later this week and come to an agreement on paper between the two of us,” I said. “I have learned over the years that good employees, people who care about their jobs and their futures, are very hard to find, and when you do, you need to meet in the middle in order to keep the business running. If you’re one of those people, I want to make sure you’re not stressed or unhappy along the way. I may be an asshole, and I know what people think about me, but I haven’t always been like that.”
“Well, if you keep up what you did yesterday, then you won’t have a problem changing people’s minds,” she said with a smile.
“You think everyone is happy?”
“I think they are starting to be,” she said. “It’s not an overnight thing, but you definitely got their ears.”
“Good,” I said. “That was what I wanted out of it.”
We sat there talking, trying to build a better working relationship between the two of us. If we were going to be a team, then I needed her to be on my side. We bounced some ideas back and forth until it was time to go to the meeting.
“Everyone’s going to be waiting for us,” she said. “We better get going.”
“Yes, let’s get this show on the road.” I stood up and followed her to the elevator.
Up until that point, I had thought of Amanda as a beautiful woman who was a giant pain in my ass. After sitting there with her, listening to her talk about my ideas, having an open mind about hers, and watching her face as she talked about her life, I was starting to see her in a different light. She was an intelligent, well-spoken, and passionate woman, and I was definitely taking major notice of that fact. I liked being around her, and the fact that she was hotter than hell didn’t hurt.
Chapter 14
Amanda
As Elon and I rode the elevator back up to the offices, I couldn’t help but feel good about the conversation we’d had. He had agreed to give me a bonus at the completion of the project as long as it was something the client liked. It was a start toward a better future for me and my family, which was the reason I had gone to him in the first place. I had reservations about asking him for anything like a bonus, figuring he wouldn’t want to take money out of the company’s deep pockets, but he seemed to be okay with it. On top of that, for the first time since I’d started working there, he actually acted like I was important to the company, listening to my ideas, hashing them out with me. I wasn’t going to jump to any conclusions, but I really hoped this type of attitude from him continued. It would definitely make it a lot easier to come to work every day during this project if he loosened up a bit. He let me out of the elevator first, and I went to my office to grab my notes before we headed over to the meeting.
When we walked into the conference room, everyone sat down and got quiet. I walked to one end of the table and Elon to the other. He sat down and looked up at me, waiting to get the meeting started. I cleared my throat and addressed the team.
“I hope everyone had a really great afternoon off yesterday,” I said.
“I know I did,” Jim, one of the editors said. “I got a nap and at le
ast a six-pack of beer.”
“Good,” I laughed. “I’m going to change things up a bit and let Mr. Truitt take control.”
I sat down looking up the table at Elon, seeing a smile cross his face. I wanted him to take control of the meeting since he had begun to build a good rapport with the team. He needed to continue that to get them back on the bus with him, and I figured he’d earned it since he had actually put time and effort into bringing them over to his side. I was still there, still important, but I was more than happy to take some of the stress off my shoulders for once. I was still on edge, watching him like a hawk with his changes, but at least I knew he wanted me there for the project.
“All right,” he said, clapping his hands together as he stood up. “While you guys were out taking a very much needed rest, I stayed behind in the office and got a few things together with the ad. In front of you, you will find folders that have all the information about the client. They are rich, high-end, and want a miracle. Just like most of our other clients.”
I looked around the room at everyone as they laughed. I smiled to myself, realizing he had really changed his mindset on how to see the clients. He was one of the rich guys. We all knew that, but standing up there in front of us, it almost felt like he was just another guy on the team.
“Do we get some of this jewelry when the ad is closed?” one of the artists yelled out.
“No, but I’ll make sure to negotiate for that next time and maybe a couple of Mercedes.” He laughed. “They are no different than any other client. They want as much for their money as possible, and they have padlocked pockets. Still, if we knock this one out of the water, it opens the door for seasonal ads with them, and that means more money in our pockets. I haven’t brought this up to the board yet, so I can’t promise anything, but I’m hoping if we land this client long-term, I can convince them to bring the bonus plan back for you guys. Which, of course, I have to give credit to your fearless leader, Amanda, for putting back in my head.”
He smiled over at me, and I could feel my cheeks blush. I watched him talking and moving around the room, throwing out ideas to the staff and listening to their thoughts. Dalton was right. He was incredibly handsome and became even more so when he dropped the cocky attitude and really listened to people. His suit was nice, but I was curious as to what was underneath. He looked like he took very good care of himself, and I never really saw him with anything other than a coffee, a water, or a granola bar. Even when he catered the meetings, he had his own healthy snacks. I was starting to become attracted to him, and I didn’t even see it sneaking up on me out of nowhere.
It had been a really long time since a man’s smile or the way he moved his body gave me the shivers, but sitting there in the conference room, I could feel the goosebumps on the back of my neck. What was I thinking? He was my boss, my very sexy boss. I shook the thoughts from my mind and pulled out my pad of paper, taking notes while everyone discussed the project.
“So, good,” Elon said, nodding his head. “We have a really solid starting point. Let’s get on the initial markups for it, and then we’ll go from there. Thank you, everyone, for bringing your beautiful brains to the table today. It’s really going to be fun working with all of you on this.”
Everyone clapped, standing up and walking out of the room. Elon looked over and smiled at me before leaving, obviously proud of himself for how well he’d handled everything. I packed my bag and headed out of the office with Dalton by my side. We walked down to my office, and I stopped, looking out over the pit. Everyone was rushing around, an excited air to the room.
“I haven’t seen these guys working so hard in a long time,” I said. “Elon really lit a fire under their asses. It’s good, though. We all needed a little motivation to get things going. Things had become stagnant, and with his change of attitude, at least right now, everyone will be able to breathe easily and start getting these ideas down on paper.”
“Mmhm,” Dalton said, turning to me.
“What?” I replied.
“Oh, nothing,” he said. “You just might want to think about hiding those lustful eyes during meetings.”
“What?”
“Don’t play dumb,” he said. “I saw you gawking at him as he stood up there all sexy, waving his hands around. You don’t have to play coy with me.”
“You are crazy,” I said, glaring at him.
“Oh, come on now. I have seen and given my fair share of dark eyes before,” he said. “I can spot it a mile away.”
I stood tapping my foot on the ground, slightly freaking out that Dalton had called me on something I hadn’t even realized I was doing. I couldn’t hide a damn thing from him because he’d known me far too long. I shook my head and tried to ignore the stare he was throwing in my direction. I didn’t know what he wanted me to say. I was not glaring at Elon with any kind of eyes other than business ones. He was doing a good job, and I took notice of it, that was all. Dalton thought that just because he assaulted men with his stare that everyone did, but that wasn’t what I was doing. At least, that wasn’t what I was trying to do. Now Dalton had put the thought into my head, and it was starting to drive me crazy.
“You two would make beautiful babies,” he said. “I just have to point that out.”
“Dalton,” I said, turning to him.
“Yes?”
“Don’t you have work to do? Because I know I have a stack of work on my desk to take care of.” I turned to walk into my office and then whipped back around, pointing at him. “You are wrong. I was only admiring the way he made a complete turnaround and was actually making the staff feel more comfortable with him as the lead of the project.”
“Right, right,” he said with a smirk. “I mean I was admiring him, too, but it had nothing to do with what he was saying. Come on, live a little and give yourself a damn break. There is no reason why you should be ashamed of lusting after that man. Any woman would be considered dead if their heart didn’t beat a little quicker when that man walked into a room.”
“My heart is steady and regular,” I said, crossing my arms.
“Right, and I don’t think Brad Pitt is sexy as hell,” he said sarcastically. “Girl, embrace your sexuality.”
“Shhh,” I said, looking around. “None of this has anything to do with my sexuality.”
“If you say so.” He grinned.
“I have too much work to be doing to stand around here and argue with your ass,” I said, shaking my head.
He put his hands up. “All right. Off I go.”
I held back a smile as he turned, his hands still in the air, and walked off to his office. When he had turned the corner, I let out a deep breath and shook my head. That was exactly what I didn’t need, my best friend on my ass about a man who meant nothing more to me than being my boss, the man who signed the paychecks. To think anything else was completely absurd. I had no idea why it was getting to me so badly, but I did know I wasn’t lying about my workload. I had to get the last of the other clients out of the way so I could focus on this case. I walked back into the office and sat behind my desk, pulling up my email. I forwarded a couple of possible new client inquiries to Elon’s desk and then answered the others. When I was done with that, I started opening files, going through the procedure to fill out the project closing form. All of them needed to be filed.
I sighed, trying to keep my mind on the work I was doing, but Dalton’s comments kept etching through my mind. So what? What if I was attracted to him, what would that matter? It wouldn’t. That was the answer to that question. I was a professional who was more concerned with making my career and providing for my family than I was with checking out a hot guy. I stopped and put my pen down. Holy shit, I really was attracted to Elon. Between the meeting the day before, the coffee that morning, and the meeting I had just come from, I had gone from hating his guts to drooling over him in the middle of a meeting. I couldn’t remember the last time something like that had happened to me, and probably because it
never did. My life was too busy to think about dating anyone, and Mikey and my mom were my two biggest priorities. It had been that way for years.
I had come so far in my career in the last two years, and that moment was not the time to start letting that slip away because of some stupid schoolgirl crush. What I need to do was start focusing on what was important, which was keeping my job and making that bonus we had talked about. Once my life was in order and things had settled, maybe then I could think about dating. But I knew one thing, Elon Truitt would not be on the short list.
Chapter 15
Elon
“So, I like the trim on this ad,” I said pointing it out to Amanda. “It’s elegant, subtle, and doesn’t draw your eye away from the main picture.”
“I agree,” she said. “But I’m thinking we maybe try a different font back here. I think the message might get lost in all the shiny diamonds cascading down the ad. You want them to see that, but you also want them to recognize who the ad is for. It won’t do them any good if they just remember diamonds and end up at some other jeweler.”
“I can see that,” I said. “Let’s work on the technical graphics, try out a different font, and then do another review.”
“Sounds good,” she said, picking up the poster board.
“Man, this is really coming along great,” I said, looking at her. “I didn’t think we would be so fast.”
“They’re the best in the business,” she said, looking out at everyone cleaning up for the day. “If we can get this knocked out, then we should be good to go for the presentation on Friday next week.”
“This is exciting,” I said, sitting down in my chair. “I didn’t realize I would enjoy this side of things so much.”
I looked over at the clock and realized it was close to the end of the day already. We had worked straight through, and I even had lunch catered so everyone could eat at their desk. They didn’t seem to mind at all. When I left, though, I was going to have to meet up with my brother for dinner that night. It was something I was really not looking forward to. I tapped my pen on the desk for a second and then looked up at Amanda. I really didn’t want to go to the dinner alone. My brother always had a way of making my success nothing compared to his. I loved him, but it drove me a little nuts. Maybe if Amanda came along, it would give him something to be distracted with, and I would get to be around her for a little longer before I let her loose for the weekend.