Trey gave a warm “Hello” to Carole and a friendly wave to the other people in the room who were keeping the paperwork in order.
Trey’s assistant trailed him silently to their seats at the head of the table.
“All right, well, we don’t want to keep you, so let’s get down to business, shall we?” Carole asked.
At Trey’s nod, the team began reviewing everything that needed to be addressed.
Jake and I sat and quietly observed the proceedings, but I felt a certain detachment from it all, and it made me…angry.
I should’ve been prouder at that moment. This was a high-profile client using an idea I came up with. And while I knew I’d never get massive accolades for that as an intern, I should’ve at least gotten the fucking credit.
My anger felt palpable and oppressive, as if everyone should’ve been sweating from the denseness of it. I swallowed thickly in an attempt to push it down until I could release it all over a drink or twenty later when I was with my friends.
But I was unable to completely push it away and began to fidget.
Thankfully the meeting was ending and I’d be able to escape soon.
Just as Trey signed the last document, his gaze roamed the room again and landed on Jake. “Jake, my man! Thanks again for all your help with the name. Absolute game changer.”
“He’s been a wonderful asset,” Jeff said. “Come on over, Jake, and shake hands with Mr. Daily.”
Jake rose so quickly, it was as if he’d had springs attached to his ass. In two large strides, he was at the table, leaning across it to grasp Trey’s hand.
I took a deep breath, tore my eyes from the nightmare in front of me, and caught sight of Carole.
She wasn’t watching the exchange between Trey and Jake. She was watching me, her countenance almost like a dare. What did she want from me? She’d told me not to make a scene, yet the longer I sat there, the more she looked…disappointed in me.
Or maybe it was I who was disappointed in myself.
The weight of the past year pressed down on me. Lying to everyone for Brody, running for president of my sorority, falling for and then losing Drew, taking care of him when he’d been hurt, getting back together with him, almost getting kicked out of school, supporting Brody in his fake marriage so I could support Drew in his dream, and now…now I had this douche canoe taking credit for something I did.
I knew that in the grand scheme of life, this was no big deal. But it felt like a big deal. It felt like one more time I did something to keep the boat steady when that bitch really needed to be capsized.
And seriously, screw that noise.
“It wasn’t his idea,” I said abruptly as I rose from my chair.
It seemed as if the room screeched to a halt at my outburst, and I kept my gaze straight ahead, trying to breathe through the moment before I had to face everyone.
“What was that, Sophia?” Jeff asked, his voice confused and annoyed.
I forced myself to meet their stares. “The name for the bar. It wasn’t Jake’s idea. It was mine.”
Jake laughed, the sound brittle and uncomfortable. “That’s not true. I don’t know why she’d say that.”
His words held a bite to them, a slight threat that warned me to reverse course before I screwed us both over.
Too bad for him, I didn’t give a shit anymore.
“It is true. And unlike Jake, I can prove it.”
Jeff took a deep breath, his face turning a mottled red as he crossed his arms over his barrel chest. “Sophia, I don’t think this is really the time—”
But Trey held up a hand in front of Jeff, silencing him even though Trey didn’t take his eyes off me. “How can you prove it?”
Here went nothing. “I can take you to the bar a few blocks away and show you the attached deck my boyfriend runs. It’s called the Yard. The name our friends and I came up with when we were brainstorming ideas in the spring.”
Jake scoffed, but it was forced. “That doesn’t prove anything. You could’ve stolen that name after I said it.”
I looked at Trey, imploring him to see the truth. “I’m sure my boyfriend would show you his files. He put in orders for signage, merchandise, and promotional materials featuring the Yard well before we had that meeting when Jake suggested it. I also have dated marketing plans on my laptop.”
Everyone’s eyes were on me, and each set held varying emotions. Jake looked ill, Jeff looked like he was plotting where he could dump my body, Carole looked…proud—God, I hoped she was proud—and poor Trey looked irritated.
“I— I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. I know this makes me look careless and irresponsible and maybe even selfish, but I can’t be a team player on this. I can’t let someone else steal my ideas. And I apologize if my not saying something impacts your business, but my boyfriend’s deck is only open for the summer, and the bar it’s attached to is a small, neighborhood place. Your bar is opening across the city and will have much wider appeal.”
I took a breath and organized my thoughts before I plowed on. “I’ve done some research. There are twelve sets of restaurants and bars in this city that share the same name, and when I reached out to the owners, they reported no known business impact from sharing a name with another establishment. I have all of this information on my laptop if you want to see it.”
Trey shook his head. “That won’t be necessary.” He took a deep breath before he continued. “Though I’m appreciative of the initiative you took to make sure my business wouldn’t be negatively impacted. Thank you.”
My cheeks burned at his words. “You’re welcome.”
When the thought struck me last week to search restaurants in the city and see how many shared a name, I’d been relieved to find that it didn’t seem to be a death sentence. I hadn’t told anyone about it because Drew and I had finally moved past all that drama and I didn’t want to dredge it all up again. But I was thankful I had that information to put Trey’s mind at ease. Hopefully it also kept me from getting fired, though I highly doubted there was a chance of escaping that fate.
Whatever. I’d take my lumps in the name of doing the right thing any day.
“Trey, we can probably pull some strings and get this…deck to change its name.” Jeff said “deck” with disdain, and it made me hate him a bit more than I already did.
“That won’t be necessary,” Trey responded calmly. “I’m sure everything will be just fine.” He directed the final words to me with a smile, which I returned. Then he took a long, lingering look at Jake, which made Jake squirm, before he put his attention back on Jeff. “I trust you’ll deal with the rest of…this,” he said, tossing a hand in Jake’s direction.
“Absolutely.”
“Then I guess we’re done here. Sophia, thank you for the name. I’ll try to make it out to your boyfriend’s place one night before summer ends.”
“He’d love that.”
I received one more smile before Trey and his assistant left the office.
Once the team was alone, Carole spoke. “Let’s get all this paperwork sorted and make sure copies get sent to everyone who needs them. I’ll make sure Prescott is kept apprised of the meeting today, but the rest of you need to coordinate with the other departments to make sure everything is taken care of. I’ll check in with you after lunch to see what still needs to be done.”
The rest of the team nodded before briefly delegating tasks and then hurrying out of the room.
I had to hand it to Jeff and Carole: they’d built a well-oiled machine. I hoped to one day be part of something similar to Margot Nathan, but I had the sinking feeling that I’d just blown that chance to smithereens.
A feeling that was solidified when Jeff looked at Jake and me and said, his voice low and menacing, “Can someone tell me what the hell just happened?”
I took a deep breath, ready to let the cards fall where they may.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
S O P H I A
As I stood in the confer
ence room, I tried to decide whether it was a good idea to look Jeff in the eye. It would be rude to avoid direct eye contact, but after I word-vomited a bunch of shit that made it look like he had no idea what was happening in his own company, I felt like the black-speckled carpet would be more forgiving.
Jeff hadn’t spoken since he’d asked the initial question, and standing about four feet away, I could feel the fire radiating from him.
“Someone better start talking,” he said, prompting me to finally look up.
“I apologize for all of that,” I said, trying to decipher if Jeff was murderous angry or just you should probably change your major because you’ll never get a job in marketing on the East Coast angry.
I thought his expression fell somewhere in between.
“I mean, I’m not sorry for what I said but for how and when I said it,” I added. “That wasn’t the appropriate time to discuss something like that.”
Jeff cleared his throat harshly and folded his hands. “Then why did you?”
When I didn’t answer—because I didn’t have an answer that would do anyone any good—Jeff continued.
“You could’ve told us after the first meeting with Trey or at any point in between that one and this meeting. In private. Jesus, Sophia, this isn’t like telling your RA the roommate you can’t stand stole twenty dollars from you. This is a business. A well-respected business. And that wasn’t just any client. That was Trey Daily, celebrity.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” I said again. And I was. I wished I’d said something before now and that Carole’s talk with me hadn’t been needed to prompt some sort of action.
“Well, sorry’s not good enough.”
“What do you want from her, Jeff?” asked Carole. “It’s done. She said she was sorry. What more is there to say?”
Carole had said that she’d guarantee me a meeting with her and Jeff after all this was over, but this wasn’t the meeting she probably had in mind. Though she seemed significantly less irritated than Jeff, my outburst could’ve cost them a client, and I knew Carole wasn’t blind to that.
Jeff turned toward Carole, looking a little disgusted that she wasn’t completely backing him. “Oh, I don’t know. How about how all this started and why we’re just finding out about it now? Interns kept us in the dark about something in our own office. Interns, Carole.”
The way Jeff said “interns” sounded like he was discussing some sort of mild STD he was embarrassed he’d contracted.
“I wasn’t in the dark,” Carole blurted out, causing Jeff’s head to jerk back. Whether the movement was from anger or shock, I wasn’t sure. Maybe it was a little of both.
Carole’s admission surprised me, though it shouldn’t have. Not really. From the moment I’d met her, she’d been honest and direct, blunt to almost a fault. It made her intimidating and unpredictable in a way that I’d never experienced before. And this moment shouldn’t have been any different.
“You knew about this?” Jeff practically growled.
“Oh, calm down. You’re acting like I was in on some sort of conspiracy. I’d never condone this sort of behavior from anyone, especially someone who isn’t even employed at Margot Nathan.”
“But you said you knew about it?”
“Well,” she scoffed, “I had my suspicions from that first meeting. And if you were capable of paying attention to anything other than your own thoughts and comments, you might’ve noticed Sophia’s reaction when Jake blurted out an idea she came up with.”
“Okay, that’s enough of the low blows,” Jeff said, his voice quieting as he added, “I had enough of that when we were married.”
Well, that’s new information.
It brought so many questions to mind. Were they together when they formed the business? Had working together caused their divorce? Who was on top most often?
I had no idea where that last comment came from, but deciding I didn’t want to actually get sick during this meeting, I dismissed the thought as quickly as it had arrived.
Carole let out an exaggerated laugh to let everyone, especially Jeff, I guessed, know that she didn’t find the comment funny. I assumed that Carole would rather have kept her personal life out of this conversation.
“Okay, you’re right,” she said. “We’ll hold off on listing each other’s faults for another time.”
“Thank you,” Jeff said, sounding almost relieved. “Okay, so let’s begin again. Jake, would you please tell me everything I need to know to understand the chronology of all this? And don’t spare any details. It’s in your best interest to be as forthcoming as possible.”
He’d obviously have to respond to Jeff’s request, but if I knew Jake at all—and unfortunately, I thought I did—he wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to throw me under the bus and then hop into the driver’s seat so he could run me the fuck over with it to make sure I was good and dead.
“Sure, I can do that.”
I could tell he was trying to sound composed, confident even, because he knew as well as I did that we were probably both done here, and hearing each of our sides of the story was more of a courtesy than an actual attempt at gathering information for the purpose of making a fair and educated decision.
“A while back, Sophia was making some flyers or something for a place called the Yard. I asked her about what it was, and she told me her boyfriend was in charge of opening a new part of the bar he worked in. When I tossed out the idea of calling Mr. Daily’s bar the Yard, it just slipped out.”
Now I was the one trying to remain calm, when all I wanted to do was jump onto him and eat his face off like a lion protecting her young. Because when it came down to it, the Yard was my baby. Or it was my baby’s baby. Whatever. And Jake had stolen that from me.
What was more, I’d let him.
“Bullshit it slipped out! That was intentional, and you know it. Not only that, but you had countless opportunities to tell the truth, and you never did.”
“You didn’t either,” he said simply.
The fuck is wrong with this prick?
“That’s not even remotely the same thing,” I tried before Jake cut in.
“It’s not? You didn’t tell the truth because having Jeff and Carole find out that you were making advertising materials for your boyfriend’s bar on company time would’ve made you look bad too. We were both looking out for ourselves.”
“Is this true?” Jeff asked.
Jake smirked like the information he’d shared was all that was needed to ensure I received the same fate as him. There was a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing that I’d be let go because of something I’d said and not because of what Jake revealed.
“Careful you don’t break an ankle in those heels when you jump down off that high horse,” Jake added.
“That’s enough,” Jeff snapped. “I’ve heard enough from you, beginning with but not ending with the lie you told to your superiors and a client. Before either of us says or does something he can’t take back, it’s probably best that you get your things and see yourself out.”
Jake looked like someone had punched him. I only wished someone actually had. He turned toward Carole, probably looking for sympathy in any place he might be able to find it. Why he thought Carole was a good option showed just what a dumbass he was.
“Okay, um, is this like for tonight, or—”
“Forever,” Jeff said. “It’s for forever.”
“Right,” Jake replied quietly. “Well, thank you both for the oppor—”
“Get out,” Carole said. Her tone was low, quiet in a way that should not have been as intimidating as it was, but Jake hustled out without another word.
And as I stood occupying a space with two people who both scared the hell out of me, I almost wished I’d been asked to leave then too.
The room was silent as Jeff and Carole watched Jake pack his things through the glass windows behind me. At least that’s what I assumed they were doing.
“He just put a pack of ou
r printer paper in his bag,” Jeff said.
“Let it go,” Carole told him.
Reluctantly, Jeff turned his attention back to me, his expression softening a bit in what looked like disappointment. “And then there was one,” he said. He tapped the pen he’d been holding on his leg as he leaned back in his chair and studied me.
I felt uncomfortable, but not because he was staring at me like some creeper while I stood on display. He wasn’t. I felt uncomfortable because I’d wanted so badly to impress these people and all I’d done was disappoint them.
“So,” Jeff said, “is what Jake said true, Sophia? Was Jake able to steal the name of your boyfriend’s bar because you were working on something for it while you were here?”
Not wanting to appear broken even though I felt exactly that, I stood a little taller. “Yes. It’s true.”
I hadn’t wanted to make excuses for why I’d used company time for a personal task, but Carole spoke up when I needed her to the most.
“And this was while you should’ve been doing work for Margot Nathan?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
Thank you, Carole.
If she were the type of person who accepted hugs easily, I would have squeezed the hell out of her in the parking lot later. Instead, I’d have to settle for composing a professional email to her once this was over. And I had no doubt it would be over any minute, because even though Carole had opened the door for me to explain, it wouldn’t make a difference. At least not professionally speaking. Maybe it would make Jeff less likely to smear my name in a pile of dog shit, but I wasn’t naïve enough to think it would mean I could finish out the summer here.
“Well, I had finished all my tasks for the day,” I explained. “I’d even helped Jake finish some of his before deciding that working on the materials for the Yard would be a more productive use of my time than playing around on social media or making dating profiles.”
Too bad Jake wasn’t here to hear the last part, though it would’ve been pointless to explicitly state that I’d been referring to him.
Two Truths & a Lime (The Love Game Book 3) Page 22