Third Time's a Charm

by Virginia Smith

  “That would be good.” Mom’s voice sounded pinched, a sure sign of worry. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in months.”

  Tori tossed the keys into her purse. “We saw each other yesterday.”

  “That doesn’t count. There were too many people around to have a real conversation.”

  “Like about selling Gram’s house and buying a condo?” She tried to keep the irritation out of her voice, but failed.

  Mom’s sigh sounded in her ear. “Joan said they told you after I left the party yesterday. She said you seemed upset. I’m sorry, honey. I wanted to talk to you about it myself in person, but you’ve been working so hard lately there hasn’t been a good time.”

  Tori’s irritation evaporated and she wilted against the seat. Mom was too nice to say it was her own fault for ignoring her family. “I know. It’s hard to have a conversation with me when I’m never around.”

  “I’m worried about you. You’re working too hard. You need to find a balance.”

  A yawn took Tori by surprise. Through sleepy eyes, she stared up at the concrete ceiling where, six floors up, Kate was already in her office. Balance? Tori had worked until after five in the morning to finish the Harmon report. “I don’t think there is such a thing as balance in marketing, Mom.”

  A movement drew her eye to the rearview mirror. Another familiar car had just pulled into the parking garage. Mitch had arrived.

  “I’ve got to go. Tell Joan and Allie not to be mad at me for skipping church.”

  “I will, honey. See you this afternoon.”

  “Bye.”

  Tori slipped the phone into her purse and gathered her briefcase. The heels of her new boots touched the pavement as Mitch’s car glided to a stop beside her. His head appeared over the roof almost immediately, and a low whistle cut through the June warmth.

  “Look at Miss Victoria Sanderson, all dressed up for a Sunday meeting.” His admiring glance traveled the length of her new slacks and blouse.

  Tori paused in the act of punching the lock button on her remote to turn a dimple his way. Mitch flirted outrageously and without partiality, but at least he appreciated an attractive outfit when he saw one. They’d hired on at the firm within a month of each other two years ago and performed the same function, though for different clients. He was extraordinarily handsome, and she’d seen enough of his work to know he was smart, but both attributes were spoiled by an ego that blotted out all else the moment he opened his mouth.

  He fell in beside Tori on the walkway, his hands swinging freely at his side. “Any idea what this meeting is about?”

  She glanced at him sideways. “I was about to ask you the same question. It must have something to do with her trip tomorrow.”

  Mitch shook his head. “She’s going to a conference, not a client meeting. This is something else.” They walked on a few steps. “Since she wants us both there, I figure it must be a new account with a tight deadline.”

  That made sense. On a few occasions, Kate had assigned Tori and Mitch to work on a rush project together. They worked well in partnership, especially when the work required long hours at the office when the rest of the staff had gone home and Mitch had no audience but her. After a few hours alone, she’d actually seen that smirky mask slip once or twice as he got into a project.

  “Great.” Tori aimed a winsome scowl at him. “And to think, I was looking forward to a week without a boss breathing down my neck.”

  “Are you kidding?” They arrived at the door, and he leaped ahead of her to open it. “You know Kate can breathe through the phone just as well as in person. Even her emails reek of Tic Tacs.”

  Tori giggled as she swept by him through the doorway.

  The hum of the elevator motor began the second Tori pushed the button. Another good thing about working on Sunday: no waiting for the world’s busiest elevator.

  Mitch followed her inside and pressed the button for the sixth floor. As the doors closed, he leaned a shoulder casually against the polished metal wall. His gaze swept her once again, and the admiring gleam returned to his eye. “So, after we’re let out for recess, you want to go out and play with me?”

  His tone held just enough insinuation to be flattering without being offensive. Tori’s stomach gave a delicious flutter in response. She never really knew how to take Mitch. Was he seriously asking her out, or just flirting like he always did? They’d grabbed the occasional lunch together, but only as co-workers. She always wondered how he’d respond if she accepted one of his playful invitations. She’d even gone so far as to check the policy manual for rules about dating, and discovered that as long as one of them didn’t report to the other, nobody cared. A relationship between the two of them would probably cause tongues to wag, but at least neither of them could lose their job.

  On the other hand, Mitch always made insinuating comments like that, and not just to her. Best not to stick her neck out and be embarrassed by him backing off.

  She turned her dimple grin toward him as the doors slid open. “Sorry, but my play date calendar is full for the rest of the day.”

  They passed the empty reception desk with the shiny metallic logo for Connolly and Farrin on the front, and wound their way around a row of cubicles. Tori slipped inside her own cube long enough to drop her purse in the bottom desk drawer and pull the Harmon report out of her briefcase. She took an extra moment to glance through the neat stack of papers, careful not to bend the edges beneath the paper clip. The colorful pie charts the client liked didn’t give enough detail to make a financial decision, in Tori’s opinion, so she’d supplemented the analysis with a couple of line graphs and summarized the supporting data in easy-to-read charts that had taken her hours in front of the computer screen. Kate would appreciate the extra effort when she discussed the results with the Harmon people.

  Kate’s office was one of the few that overlooked Triangle Park, the beautiful wedge-shaped grounds nestled in the heart of downtown Lexington. Every time she entered the room, Tori’s gaze was drawn to the stunning site of the cascading fountains that curved along Vine Street. This morning the sunlight sparkled on the line of water that shot high into the air and plummeted to the churning pool beneath while cars circled the park on all sides of the triangle. One day, Tori intended to have an office with a view like this.

  Apparently the view was lost on her boss. Kate sat facing her computer on the heavy credenza against the wall, her back to the wide desk with the neat piles of papers and magazines placed evenly across its surface. Mitch stood in front of the desk, trying to look casual as he strained his neck to read the screen over Kate’s shoulder. He jerked when Tori stepped up beside him, then gave her an unrepentant cocky grin.

  “Close the door and have a seat,” Kate said without turning. “Be with you in a minute.”

  An odd request. Typically a closed door at Connolly and Farrin indicated a confidential conversation was taking place, but they were the only three in the entire office. There was nobody out there to overhear. But Kate was like that—overly paranoid when it came to discussing client information. Tori did as requested and then slid into one of the two padded chairs while Mitch took the other. The tap-tap-tap of Kate’s keyboard filled the room.

  After what seemed an eternity, the printer on the corner of the credenza hummed to life. A series of papers emerged from the front, and Kate snatched each as soon as the machine released it. When she had six in her hands, she swiveled the chair around.

  Made up to perfection, as usual. She’d pulled her dark hair back this morning, the line of her white scalp stark where she’d parted it in the center. She laid the papers face down in the center of her desk.

  Tori held her report toward her boss. “Here’s the Harmon analysis you asked for.”

  Kate took it and tossed it on the top of a pile to her right without a glance. Tori swallowed a flash of resentment. After she’d stayed up all night to get the thing done, the least Kate could do was look at it.

  Instead,
her boss planted her elbows on the desk and entwined her fingers. She slid a sharp blue gaze from Tori to Mitch. “Dan handed me a new prospect on Friday.”

  Tori straightened in her chair. Dan Farrin, one of the firm’s founders, had intimidated her since her second day on the job, when he reamed out an executive in front of the entire staff. She was pretty certain he liked her, or at least she’d never given him a reason to dislike her. Actually, she stayed out of his way as much as possible. Not hard the past few months, because Mr. Farrin had spent more time out of the office than in. Rumors had been doing the rounds about health problems, but Rita, his longtime administrative assistant, remained tight-lipped.

  “That’s great,” Mitch said.

  Tori nodded. “Terrific news, Kate.”

  The account must be a really big one. Potential new clients weren’t all that unusual at Connolly and Farrin, certainly not enough to justify a Sunday meeting. The firm handled a large number of marketing campaigns for various businesses around Kentucky. When a business owner wanted to run an ad, or film a commercial, or design a new logo, Connolly and Farrin almost always got the job.

  When a new account came along, the competition among the firm’s three account executives to sign the client could get fierce. For Dan to hand Kate a new prospect was a feather in her cap.

  It also meant a lot of work for her staff. Tori couldn’t imagine how she could squeeze one more client into her workload. But she did have a couple of projects that were nearly wrapped up. As long as the deadline wasn’t too tight, she’d find time.

  “Tell us what we can do to help,” Tori said.

  A secretive smile hovered around Kate’s mouth. “You two are not going to be helping me this time.”

  That made no sense. Kate had no other staff. “But you just said the prospect was yours.”

  “It is.”

  Mitch cocked his head, his expression cautious. “Are you transferring us to another AE?”

  “No.” Her lips twitched. “Well, in a way. One of you will be transferred.”

  Tori refused to meet the startled glance Mitch shot in her direction, but kept her gaze fixed on her boss. Irritated words rolled around in her brain, and the only way she managed to keep them from shooting out of her mouth was to clench her jaw. She was not in the mood for Kate’s games today, not when she’d only had a couple of hours’ sleep working on a report that apparently wasn’t as important as she thought it was. But she knew better than to express her frustration in front of her boss. Instead, she folded her hands in her lap, leaned against the padded seat back, and waited.

  Kate held her gaze for a moment, then relented with a brief dip of her forehead. “This is confidential, so please keep this news close to your chest. Dan is going to announce his retirement next month, and I’ve been asked to take his place as a full partner in the firm.”

  Tori managed not to gasp, while beside her Mitch’s head jerked upward, his eyes round. Kate Bowman, a full partner with Mr. Connolly. This news would rock the office to its foundations. Most wouldn’t be happy about it, either. Kate’s single-minded focus and workaholic tendencies hadn’t made her a favorite of the office staff.

  “Congratulations, Kate,” Tori said when she could speak without stuttering. “A partner. That’s terrific.”

  “Yeah, wow.” Mitch actually rubbed his hands together. “Just imagine what Osborne’s going to say.”

  Kate’s promotion would be a public slap in the face to Phil Osborne, one of the other two AEs. He’d been around from the early days, when the firm was just a start-up company with offices in a strip mall, or something like that. Without a doubt, he would assume he’d be tapped to step up if one of the founders left. Tori felt sorry for him when he found out.

  “That’s one reason you need to treat this news with the utmost confidentiality.” Kate’s gaze hardened as she held Mitch’s. “Dan and Stephen want to sit down with him and explain the situation.”

  “Do you think he’ll quit?” Tori asked.

  Kate shook her head. “He’s been with Connolly and Far-rin since the early days. He’s got too many years in with this company to bail out now.” The secretive smile returned as she rocked backward in her chair. “But my promotion presents an interesting opportunity for one of you.”

  Tori widened her eyes as the impact of Kate’s words hit her. The firm had more than enough work to keep three account executives busy. They’d have to replace Kate, and there were two ways to do that. Either they’d hire someone from outside the company to take over her accounts, or they’d promote someone inside. Tori stole a sideways glance at Mitch. The only two who knew Kate’s clients inside and out were sitting right in this room.

  Mitch had obviously reached the same conclusion. The narrow-lidded glance he gave Tori held a note of speculation that hadn’t been there a moment before. She returned it without flinching.

  “Either of you would make an excellent AE.” Kate’s words drew their attention back to her. Tori straightened, her senses suddenly more alert. “Which is why I’ve decided to give you an equal shot at the promotion. I want you to design a campaign.” She picked up the papers she’d printed a moment before. “You’ve heard of Maguire’s Restaurant?”

  “Sure. Who hasn’t?” Mitch’s voice held more than the usual level of suck-up, the weasel.

  Tori ignored him. “It’s an upscale restaurant over in Twin Creek Center. They have a small menu that features mostly steaks and signature sauces. Prices are moderate to high.” She’d been there on a date last year with an attorney she met through a client.

  Kate’s forehead dipped in acknowledgement. “They’re expanding, and looking for a marketing firm to design a campaign to help them launch their new location.”

  “They’re building?” Mitch asked.

  “Renting. They’re negotiating to rent a building not far from downtown. The opening is projected at six months out.”

  Tori did a mental calculation. “Is December a good time for a restaurant opening?”

  “That’s your job—to make sure it is.” Kate’s smile stretched wide. “The Maguire people are ready to sink some money into their business, and they’re looking for a firm to help make this launch a success. So we need to wow them. I want to see a situation analysis, strategy, a multifaceted ad campaign, even branding recommendations.”

  “So, how are you dividing the work between us?” Mitch asked. “Is one of us going to take lead on this?”

  Kate tapped the papers’ edges on her desk with a loud crack. “You didn’t understand me. You won’t be working together. I want each of you to come up with a plan for Maguire’s independently. That’s the job of an account executive. You’ll make your presentations to me, Dan, Stephen, and the other AEs. Whoever comes up with the most effective and comprehensive plan will become Connolly and Farrin’s new AE.”

  Tori swallowed. She’d studied all of those things, and of course she’d worked with Kate long enough to know what the firm expected in terms of deliverables for a client marketing plan. But she’d never developed an ad campaign on her own. And branding a restaurant? She slid her eyes sideways toward Mitch for a split second. At least he didn’t have any more experience than she did.

  Only one of them would get a promotion out of this. Which meant the other one . . .

  She cleared her throat. “What happens to whichever of us isn’t promoted?”

  Kate peeled off two of the pages and extended them across the desk toward her. “That person will report to the new AE.”

  Her, report to Mitch? She turned her head to lock gazes with him, and her confidence slipped a notch. He wore one of those stupid smirks she was accustomed to seeing from him, but his eyes glinted with something new. Determination.

  Tori set her jaw and took the papers from Kate’s hand. Hard work didn’t bother her. She’d throw herself into this project and produce the best darned marketing plan this company had ever seen.

  “When’s it due?” she asked.


  “You’ll make your presentations on July 11.” Kate handed a set of papers to Mitch. “Now, let’s go over the information I’ve put together on the Maguire account.”

  Tori stared at the printed page without seeing the words. July 11 was only one month away, not much time to put together a full-blown marketing plan for a business she knew nothing about. Her mind reeled with all the work she had to do. Where to start? She might as well forget about sleep until after the presentation. It would take every minute of every day between now and then to get this project done. She wouldn’t have time for anything else.

  And then something hit her.

  Joan’s wedding was July 19. Her sister was getting married eight days after the biggest presentation of her life. The next few weeks were jam-packed with pre-wedding stuff, especially since she’d promised to help with the food and decorations. No way could she get out of those things, not and keep her place in the Sanderson family.

  Good thing she didn’t need much sleep, because she wouldn’t be getting any for at least five weeks.

  Tori bit back a sigh as she forced her attention to the details Kate outlined.

  4

  The chairs surrounding the long table in the young adult Sunday school room at Christ Community filled up quickly. Ryan sat next to an empty one, his arm casually draped across the back in an unspoken claim. When Tori arrived, maybe she’d sit beside him, and he could get the coffee question out of the way.

  When Joan and Ken appeared in the doorway, he straightened and craned his neck to see behind them. Instead of Tori, he caught sight of the oldest Sanderson sister. Allie’s head moved as she scanned the room and when she saw him, she crooked a finger in his direction to beckon him into the hall. He stepped past Ken, who entered the room to grab a couple of chairs, and joined Joan and Allie outside.

  “She’s not coming,” Joan said as he stepped through the doorway. “She called Mom this morning and claimed to have a meeting at work.”

  Disappointment deflated Ryan’s tense muscles. Disappointment, and maybe a touch of relief. Tori probably wouldn’t go out with him anyway. Embarrassing situation avoided.