by Kali Argent
She’d never met anyone so bloody infuriating, and she’d cursed his name all the way back to her office. Their second meeting hadn’t gone much better, but by the third, she’d begun to understand. Turner didn’t purposely set out to make her job complicated. He simply didn’t have an opinion one way or another. She could have pasted pink unicorns into a rainbow background with glittering text, and he’d have approved it with a nod and a laugh.
“I know what you’re doing,” she admitted, finally looking up to meet his gaze. “While I appreciate it, this was my mistake, and I’m prepared to take responsibility.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Standing, Turner waved a hand dismissively. “I want swords. Let’s put swords in the new ad.”
“I’m afraid that’s a tad violent if you intend to market towards parents and children.” She played along, but really, she knew he didn’t mean a word of it. “If you want a pirate theme, perhaps ships and buried treasure would be a suitable replacement?”
“Yes.” He smacked his palm against the tabletop, making her jump. Then he pulled back and tilted his head to the side. “And blue.”
A wholly inappropriate giggle escaped her lips, and Starla pressed her fingers over her mouth to muffle the sound. “If that’s what you want.”
Crouching down beside her, Turner swiveled her chair until she faced him. Then he took her hands again, his eyes softening as smoothed his thumbs over her knuckles. “Better now?”
“Yes.”
Her heart beat a little too fast, and she thrummed with nervous energy that had nothing to do with her lost files. Heavens, he was handsome. Dark stubble adorned his square jaw, giving him a devil-may-care look that was at odds with the impish grin stretching his lips. His broad shoulders lifted with each, slow breath, and she had no trouble picturing the lean muscles that likely hid beneath his fitted T-shirt and baggy jeans. With the light reflected in his eyes, it gave the illusion of a twinkle in his warm, chocolate-brown irises as he watched her intently, waiting for her to say more.
Pulling her hands back, Starla tucked them into her lap, praying he hadn’t noticed the goosebumps that raised the skin on her exposed wrists. “I am truly sorry. I’ll work overtime to make sure your new campaign is ready to launch on time.”
“When was that again?”
Sighing, she shook her head. “The mid part of February.”
Turner’s eyebrows drew together, and he frowned. “No, that doesn’t work, either. The first of March is better.”
“It’s no trouble.”
Recreating everything in the limited timeframe wouldn’t be easy, but she could do it, even if it meant she’d miss a few nights of sleep. She still had almost three weeks until she needed to present the digital billboard ad, along with the advised marketing campaign, for consideration to her boss. Of course, she had completed other advertisements she could present, but nothing like what she’d envisioned for Neverland. She wanted that promotion too much to leave anything to chance, and damn it, she deserved it.
Unfolding from his crouch, Turner pushed to his feet and stared down at her for several, uncomfortable seconds before he spoke. “We should have dinner.”
Sure she’d heard him wrong, Starla blinked. “Dinner?”
“Yes, dinner. It’s this thing that happens every day, usually around the same time, and I hear there’s food involved.”
“I’m aware of how it works.” She couldn’t have dinner with Turner McCord. It would be incredibly unprofessional. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea. You’re a client…” And something else she couldn’t remember when he smiled at her like that. “You’re a client,” she repeated.
“Okay.” Folding his arms over his chest, Turner pursed his lips and nodded. “You’re fired.”
Anger, swift and forceful, snapped Starla out of her daze, and she launched out of her seat, advancing until she’d backed him deep into the corner of the room. “Excuse me?”
“If your only reason for not having dinner with me is because I’m a client, then fine. You’re fired.”
She’d worked her ass off to create a respectable, family-friendly image for Neverland, and she planned to use that hard work to launch herself right into a promotion. If he thought he could take that all away from her, she had news for him.
“No,” she bit out through clenched teeth. “I am not fired.”
Turner didn’t back down, and he didn’t even have the decency to wipe the ridiculously charming grin from his lips. “Okay, you’re not fired. So, dinner? Let’s say tonight at seven.” Slipping past her, he picked her laptop case up from the table and returned to slide the strap onto her shoulder before ushering her toward the office door. “Should I pick you up, or would you rather meet me at the restaurant?”
“I…well…stop that!” Whirling around, she slapped at his arm when he tried to push her through the open door. Her five-foot-nine stature put her at eye-level with his Adam’s apple, forcing her to tilt her head back to glare up at him. “Turner, this really isn’t a good idea.”
“Okay, I’ll text you the address, and we can meet there.” He nudged her out of the office and closed the door behind him. Bending to accommodate for their height difference, he brushed a kiss against her cheek. “I look forward to it.
Straightening, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then turned and sauntered away, whistling under his breath.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born with a silver tongue and a pen in her hand, Kali spends her days crafting scandalous romances filled with flawed heroes and kick-ass heroines. When she's not writing, she can be found curled up in her favorite chair with a good book and a steamy cup of coffee.
Self-proclaimed introvert and supporter of the selectively social, Kali currently resides in North Texas with her insane family, including two lazy dogs and one tragically misunderstood cat.
Seriously, though, the cat is evil.