Page 121 of Ask Me Something

I tried not to bristle at her inability to say hello like a normal human being. “Unfortunately, he can’t make it today. He had a family emergency come up last night.”

I didn’t know anyone who wouldn’t have been sympathetic to that statement, but clearly I’d underestimated her.

“And that excuses him from missing this meeting how? I flew all the way down from New York. If this so-called emergency turned up last night, I should’ve received a call last night letting me know. Did someone die?”

What a callous bitch. “I’m not at liberty to discuss his personal situation except to say that it’s obviously very serious. And since I’m the lead on the account, and we worked together on this proposal, we wanted to go forward with this meeting so we didn’t delay phase two.”

“Yes, I suppose you are the lead, technically, aren’t you?” She tapped her long red nail against her lip like she was considering something and then flopped down into one of the chairs.

I swallowed down any retort I could’ve made. Messing up this campaign was not an option.

We settled in and went over the PowerPoint slides in depth. Vanessa was relentless with her questions.

“I don’t think I care for your first proposal, Sasha. What’s the alternative?”

She damned well knew there wasn’t an alternative. Furthermore, the first one was perfect for the direction her company wanted to go with television ads. “We are confident that this first proposal will boost your market share, not to mention set the company up for its long-term strategy.”

“In other words, you put all of your eggs in one basket. For shame not to give a client multiple options, but then again, I’m not surprised. Perhaps Brian will have more ideas.”

It took all that I had in me to utter my next sentence. “This proposal was his, but I’ll be certain to relay your dissatisfaction with it when I speak with him later. If you give me until tomorrow, I’d be happy to come up with some different options.”

Amazing how fast she changed her tune. “You know what? It’s growing on me. But it does make me wonder: if this was Brian’s idea, what does he keep you on the account for?”

“We work as a team, brainstorming and coming up with ideas to keep the client’s best interests at heart instead of our individual egos. Brian will be very pleased to hear that you’re comfortable with the proposal.” I got up out of my seat and flipped on the lights before handing her the proposal for signature. I tried to act nonchalant, as if the two-million-dollar phase two contract was a drop in the bucket.

After she finished signing, I stood with her. “I’ll see you out.”

“No need, I know my way. Please tell Brian that I missed him and look forward to our next meeting.” She made her way to the door.

“Certainly.”

I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but she turned.

“Tell me, Sasha, are you currently fucking him, or is it in the past?”

The shock of that question floored me. I knew she glimpsed the surprise on my face before I could cover it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, I think we both know. A man doesn’t look at a woman like Brian looks at you without having had intimate knowledge of her at some point. You know what, I answered my own question. The look is definitely one of been there, done that. Take care, now.”

She strutted out of the office in her killer four-inch stilettos and too-tight leopard-print skirt while I envisioned a scenario in which I could tell her to go to hell and not lose my job.

After going through the motions of getting the signed contract over to the accounting department, I scanned a copy for Brian, and then set up the meetings to get the ball rolling on the actual commercial shoot.

Finally, after everything was in order, I settled into the visitor’s office and refused to think about Vanessa’s comments. I was on the fence about whether or not to tell Brian but reasoned he didn’t need my shit on top of everything else he was dealing with. I was effectively stomping my emotions down, refusing to acknowledge how they were making me feel. You’d think I’d be better at it by now. Pushing thoughts of Vanessa out of my head, I proceeded to plow through my day.

As I was driving back to Brian’s house, the number from the New York office flashed up on the car’s Bluetooth. I answered and heard Nancy’s voice on the car speaker.

“Sasha, I know you told me to screen your calls regarding that attorney, Michael Frank. I’m really sorry to bother you, but the message he left today I thought you might want to know about.”

I steeled myself, already knowing deep down it wasn’t good news. “Yes, of course, Nancy.”

“He wanted to let you know that she passed yesterday. He didn’t give any details but did leave his number again and that of the county morgue.”

My veins felt like ice water, and I didn’t know what to say.

“Do you want me to email you the details?” she asked.

“Yes, please,” came an automatic voice I didn’t recognize. I was numb.

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