by M. Malone
Breathe, Mya.
“Nervous flyer, huh?”
My eyes pop open at the deep baritone in my ear. Milo has switched seats with Wallace and is now entirely too close for comfort. The last thing I need is my competition seeing my weakness.
“What makes you say that?” I’m going for nonchalant but my voice sounds about three octaves higher than usual.
Milo inclines his head toward my lap. “The death grip you have on Miss Moo there.”
It takes some effort but I managed to loosen my fingers so I can show him. “This is Chelsea, the stress cow. Lots of people use them.”
His eyes dance with amusement. “I don’t see anyone else squeezing the life out of a plastic farm animal, do you?”
I sit up straighter ready to let him have it but just then the plane hits a pocket of turbulence. My stomach feels like it’s now in my esophagus.
“OH MY FUCKING GOD! THIS PLANE IS GOING DOWN.”
This comes out way louder than I would have hoped. Milo chuckles under his breath as everyone turns around to stare at us. After a few moments, they finally turn around but James raises his eyebrows as if to say Are you okay?
I wave and force a smile so he won’t worry. When he finally goes back to his magazine the breath I’ve been holding releases in a gasp.
“I’ll be lucky if I still have a job by the time this trip is over,” I mutter under my breath. Obviously not quietly enough because Milo laughs again.
“Imagine that. Spent your entire life on the straight and narrow and it all ends on a private plane sitting next to the devil himself.”
When I glare at him, he shrugs in that nonchalant and completely hot way that totally does not get my panties wet.
“Just saying. I’m a big fan of irony. It just proves what I’ve always known.”
“And what is that, oh wise one?”
“That the universe fucks us all in the end.”
Dirty words coming from his mouth should not be so arousing. Especially when he’s completely right about me. Not that I’ll ever tell him that.
“Well, the joke is on you. You’re assuming I’ve spent my entire life on the straight and narrow. I could have been a real bitch in my past. Maybe this flight from hell is my karma for deeds done wrong.”
“Maybe,” he concedes with that infuriating smirk that means he actually believes the total opposite.
“You think you know so much about me. You think I’m just this boring, workaholic who goes home at night and curls up with a million cats. Admit it.”
His eyes focus on me then, like two electric blue lasers. “No, I don’t think that at all. But it sounds like someone else has made you believe that’s true.”
My last argument with William rolls through my head like a movie on repeat. Our relationship was never perfect, not even when things were new and interesting. But I’m not the kind of woman who looks for perfection anyway. I don’t care about socks left on the bathroom floor or who took the trash out last. All I’ve ever wanted is someone who gets me.
Milo is watching me again, this time with something that looks suspiciously like pity in his eyes. He’s intuitive, I’ll give him that. But damn him for using that on me.
“I heard about your breakup. Sorry. That sucks.”
I look out the window at the clouds passing by. Normally I don’t do this. Looking at clouds from this angle just reminds me of where I am, in a tin can hurtling through the sky. But contemplating the likelihood of total engine failure is preferable right now to Milo Hamilton looking at me with pity.
“Thank you. But I’m fine. All I want is to focus on why we’re flying to Las Vegas in the first place. To impress this client and snag the hottest ad account in the country right now.”
Milo nods. “I’m not sure if James even went home last night. He was in the office early doing research.”
I’m not surprised by that at all. Andre Lavin is the preferred designer of all of Hollywood’s leading men. Although he’s known for menswear, after designing both the bridal tuxedo and the wedding dress for Hollywood’s reigning power couple he was rumored to be launching an exclusive bridal line. This account could launch the Mirage Agency into the upper echelon of advertising overnight.
And if James is looking for a partner, whoever locks down this account is on the fast track.
“Let me guess, so were you?”
His tight smile confirms it. Milo hates to lose and no doubt he was in the office almost as long as James. But he might as well get ready because I’m going to be the one to lock this account down.
“I wanted to talk to you about earlier,” Milo leaned closer. “What did you mean when you said I stole an account from you?”
My blood froze in my veins. Had I said that? My thoughts raced back to that day when he’d first told me about the Lavin account. Clearly I hadn’t been thinking straight. I’d just been so excited.
Over the past few years, I’ve worked on some extraordinary campaigns. I put my heart and soul into each one and I know I’ve done great work here. But so far, most of the accounts have been mid-level. Even doing great work on them isn’t enough to show James that I have what it takes to be promoted. I’ve been waiting on the type of project that would really let me show off what I can do.
This is it. Lavin Bridal is what I’ve been waiting for.
So when I’d marched into Milo’s office, my head had been swimming with visions of the future. That’s the only explanation I have for why I’d tell my nemesis that he’d ever gotten the leg up on me.
“Not sure what you mean. You must have misunderstood.”
Milo narrows his eyes and a beat passes in tense silence. Then he smiles, showing both rows of teeth. Like a barracuda.
“Okay, you want to play it that way. Fine. But I don’t poach accounts and when I convince Andre Lavin to sign on the dotted line, I want it known that I did it fair and square.”
“When? Hah. You really think you’re going to win a bridal account? The king of one night stands is suddenly an expert on weddings?”
I shouldn’t have said that. Not only because it makes it sound like I’m keeping track of his personal life outside of the office but because it opens the door for him to bring up my own failures. Namely, being dumped six months before my own wedding. He could argue that my personal life makes me a bad candidate to pitch for this account, too.
He looks like he’s thinking about taking the bait but surprisingly, his face softens. “I think that we’re both willing to do whatever it takes to win this client. No matter which one of us gets to the finish line first, in the end Mirage benefits.”
I look to the front of the plane where Kevin sits next to James. He’s a nice guy but a bit of a suck up. He brings in clients at half the rate Milo or I do but for some reason, James still promoted him to be a team lead.
“What if Kevin is the one to convince them to sign?”
Milo follows my gaze up front. “Seriously?”
“Okay, I admit that’s unlikely.”
“Look, for the next twenty-four hours let’s call a truce. We can go back to being sworn enemies when we’re back in the office but right now, we need to work together to win this. Let’s lock down the account and then we can duke it out later as to who is going to take lead.”
As much as I hate to admit it, it’s a fair plan. This account is a boon for the entire company and working together we have a better chance of convincing the Lavin team that we’re the right fit.
“Agreed.”
“So, truce?” He holds out his hand and we shake quickly.
The plane hits another bout of turbulence and I squeeze the hell out of his hand. “Truce,” I manage to squeeze out.
He carefully extricates his fingers from my death grip. “Seriously, it’s all going to work out. As long as we don’t encounter any other problems, we’ve got this in the bag.”
By the time we land in Vegas four hours later, I’m a quivering mess. Chelsea has been mangled between
my fingers so often the plastic looks permanently deformed and poor Wallace, who had the misfortune of sitting in front of me, heard every four letter word in the English language.
But Milo has been strangely quiet the whole time. After his truce declaration, he put on his headphones and closed his eyes for the rest of the flight. Watching him sleep so peacefully while my heart was in my throat was extremely irritating.
It was also fascinating to watch him when he wasn’t sneering at me or trying to steal my clients. When he’s asleep, he almost looks… nice. Like the guy I thought he was before I found out how far he’d go to win.
Milo has his phone out as soon as we leave the plane.
“Calling your girlfriend?” I applaud myself for keeping the disdain out of my voice when I ask. Truce, remember?
“My mom,” he replies, deadpan. “She’s not a fan of planes either so I always like to let her know when I’ve landed safely.”
“Oh. Well that’s actually sweet.”
“Considering how much she likes poetry you think she’d be a bit more open to adventure. How does it go? For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come.”
“Is that… Shakespeare?”
He eyes me. “Why do you sound so surprised? My mother named me after John Milton. My younger brother is named Tennyson, for fuck’s sake.”
I pantomime zipping my lips. “I didn’t say I was surprised.”
But I can’t deny that I’m shocked. Then I remember this is Milo. He’s probably memorized sonnets to help him hit on women.
“Wait, your brother is named Tennyson? Why don’t I remember that?”
I met his mom and brother at last year’s company Christmas party. His mom is beautiful, not shocking considering what Milo looks like. His younger brother is a quieter, more gruff version of Milo. He introduced himself and then didn’t speak again for the rest of the night.
Milo grins. “He hates his name as much as I hate mine. He goes by Ten. Most people hear it wrong and assume it’s Tom. He doesn’t correct them.”
Mr. Lavin arranged for a car service to pick us up which takes us directly to the hotel. I squirm in my seat with excitement. I’ve always wanted to see the Bellagio. It’s a beautiful hotel and makes me feel like a character in a Hollywood heist movie. James heads straight to the front desk to get the keys to the block of rooms he reserved for us, so I take the opportunity to look around. It’s too bad we’re only here for a night. I’d love to have a chance to explore more, maybe even catch a show.
“Okay, here’s your keys. Most of us are on the tenth floor, but Milo you’re on the twelfth floor. Everyone please be on your best behavior. The Lavin team is also staying at this hotel and you never know who might see you. Keep that in mind.”
Everyone breaks off and heads for the elevators. Most of us just brought carryon size bags but Kelly, the junior associate from Kevin’s team has a huge rolling suitcase more suited to a month’s vacation. James follows my eyes and then shakes his head.
“You two, I need to have a word.”
Milo and I exchange glances before following him as he walks off to the side of the concierge desk. I wish I could have gotten a chance to talk to James alone before we go upstairs to get ready for dinner. I have a few ideas for the Lavin account that I wanted to run by him. But I squash my competitive side as I remember that tonight is about securing the account more than anything. This isn’t the time to crush my competition. Milo and I have agreed to a truce and I intend to honor it. We’re going to be charming at dinner tonight and show the Lavin team all the reasons why Mirage is a perfect fit for a luxury brand. Milo’s words on the plane come back.
As long as we don’t encounter any other problems, we’ve got this in the bag.
James finally finds a space next to a rack of luggage that’s private enough. He glances around before speaking.
“We have a problem.”
To his credit Milo keeps a straight face. But inside he has to be thinking the same thing I am. What now? How could there be a problem when we’ve just arrived? Luckily James doesn’t keep us in suspense too long. His words come out in a nervous jumble, like he’s in too much of a panic to take breaths between sentences.
“Elizabeth is here. My Elizabeth,” he continues as if either of us didn’t know who he was talking about. “She found out about the Lavin deal somehow and her company is talking to Lavin, too. Tonight. One of the associates she took with her when she left still talks to Anya. Apparently they’re pitching the Lavin team over drinks right before they meet with us. We might lose the job before we even get the chance to meet.”
I put my hands up to catch his attention because he looks like he’s on the verge of hyperventilating. “Take a breath. Let’s take a step back and look at the whole situation. Andre Lavin sent his plane for us. He wouldn’t have gone to all that trouble and expense if he wasn’t going to listen to our pitch as well.”
James’s face is bright red but he’s listening to me intently. After a brief pause, he nods briskly. “That’s true. He wouldn’t have done that.”
“So that means that no matter what Elizabeth says to him at drinks, we still have a shot at making him forget about it at dinner. And we will. Milo and I are already working on something that’s going to blow him away.”
“You are? Of course you are. That’s why you were talking on the plane ride.” James closes his eyes and finally his color starts to return to normal. Or at least not one shade away from a tomato.
“I should have known you two were prepared. Anya’s message didn’t come through until we landed so I think I just panicked for a moment.”
Milo claps him on the shoulder and then steers him toward the elevators. “Everything is going to be fine. Why don’t we go to our rooms and take a load off before the meeting? We don’t want to be jet lagged and cranky later.”
“Good idea.” James nods and pulls his small suitcase behind him. “Are you guys coming?”
Milo hesitates. “No, you go ahead. I want to talk to the concierge. I think I forgot my toothbrush.” He gives me a look that I immediately interpret as we need to talk.
“Yeah, I think I’m going to check out the gift shop before I go up,” I add.
We stand together and watch as our boss gets on the first elevator going up. At least he doesn’t look nearly as crazed as he did at first. Before the elevator doors close, he waves. Then Milo turns to me. The affable smile he wore for James’s benefit is gone.
“What the fuck are we going to do?”
6
Mya and I stand in the lobby in shock for a few minutes. Finally she blinks and then blows out a long breath.
“No pressure, huh?”
The tension breaks and we both laugh. Jesus, as if the stakes aren’t high enough already we have to add in our boss’s feud with his ex-wife. Juggling this many balls, something is bound to break. The thought gives me renewed determination to impress the Lavin team tonight. James is a good guy if a little intense. I wasn’t here when the whole thing with his wife went down but I’ve seen enough of the aftermath to know how important this is.
We cannot let James down.
“I can’t believe Elizabeth is here,” Mya remarks as we walk toward the gift shop in the hotel.
“What’s the deal with her? I wasn’t around when she left and I definitely don’t want to ask James.”
She shakes her head. “It happened a few months after I was hired. So this was about three years ago. Elizabeth and James started Mirage together. But then after a decade of running the business as a team, she leaves him for one of their clients. Gareth Whittington.”
I wince. “The guy who puts on all those wild Slumber Parties in Hollywood?”
“That’s the one. The porn king himself. James wasn’t excited about taking him on as a client in the first place but Elizabeth convinced him it was a good idea. It was a big account for us but James was worried about all the moral implications of working with a borderline legal brand. I mean,
you’ve heard about some of the stuff that happens at those Slumber Parties, right?” Her face conveys her disgust.
Oh yeah, I’ve heard about it. Not only that, but I’ve attended one. Not that I’ll admit that to Mya. Besides it wasn’t my scene. Everyone there was either drunk or high and while I have nothing against wild times, I would like to at least remember what I did and who I did it with.
“Um, yeah I’ve heard they can get pretty insane.”
She scoffs. “Not just insane. Violent. There have been multiple court cases already about underage girls who’ve been drugged and abused at those parties. He was in the news just last week because some actor overdosed and no one around him even noticed until it was too late.”
Oh shit. “Okay, I didn’t know all that,” I admit.
“Anyway, the guy is bad news. But it turns out James shouldn’t have been as worried about our image because it was his marriage that actually took a hit. Three months after we took on Gareth as a client, Elizabeth filed for divorce. She left and formed her own company, taking half the Mirage client list with her. She even had the balls to send him an invitation to her wedding to that guy. James still hasn’t gotten over it.”
I feel an instant kinship with James. We may not know each other that well but we’re part of the same brotherhood, men who once bought into the idea of true love and got kicked in the teeth. We should have membership cards.
“So if she’s the one who left, why is she so determined to get back at James?”
None of this is making sense to me. I mean I get the Elizabeth is a cheating bitch part, because… obviously. Fucking a client behind your husband’s back and then trying to tank the business you built together is a dick move. But what I don’t get is what she wants now?
Mya sighs. “Because apparently part of the reason why they broke up was because he didn’t like her ideas. She wanted to take the firm one direction, and he wanted to go another. I’m sure this is her way of proving to him that he was wrong.”
We’ve reached the gift shop now and I step back so Mya can enter before me. She has her small duffel bag thrown over her shoulder and looks like a college co-ed in her black yoga pants and long T-shirt. She makes a beeline for the right wall where all the toiletries are.