Page 68 of Ask Me Something

He was right. I had been working late nights. “When did you fly in?”

He raised a brow. “This morning. Why? Would you rather I’d come in last night?”

“If I said it didn’t matter, would you believe me?”

He leaned forward. “I wouldn’t. But I figured today might be uncomfortable enough without the thought of me having been inside of you first thing this morning on your mind.”

My cheeks heated. “Well, thanks for not making it uncomfortable, Bri.”

His eyes lit up with amusement. “Do you want to get some lunch and then head over to Josh’s office?”

I stood up, grabbing my coat and laptop. “Lunch would be good.”

Sharing a meal with Brian before a meeting was typical. It was what we’d done a thousand times before. So why was I worked up and wanting to rip off his clothes because of the simple touch of his hand on the small of my back? Swallowing hard, I squared my shoulders and smiled toward Nancy while letting her know where we’d be.

* * *

Lunch had proventhat Brian was able to remain on good behavior and keep the two worlds separate, at least for a couple of hours. I’d worried about how I’d be able to balance the personal and professional when we were working, especially when we were alone. But over lunch we chatted about the mock pitch, Juliette, and other office things, allowing me finally to relax.

Upon arriving at Josh’s office across town, the headquarters for Gamble Enterprises, we took his private elevator to the penthouse and were shown right into his spacious office. As I mused that the last time I’d seen Josh was at his wedding, I realized that I was surrounded by personal and professional worlds colliding on multiple levels.

“Sasha, nice to see you. Brian, how was the flight up?” Josh welcomed.

We made small talk and then got down to business. I’d emailed Josh the mock pitch deck ahead of time and was prepared to take notes. Taking out my laptop, I assumed he’d have some changes.

“I read through your presentation and have to say it’s solid. I don’t have any changes at this point,” Josh commented.

I was somewhat surprised. “Okay. Thank you.”

If he didn’t have any changes to my pitch deck, then what did he want to talk about? My confusion turned to trepidation quickly when he and Brian shared a look. Sighing, I decided to state the obvious. “I’m assuming by the glance you two just shared that there’s something you’re reluctant to discuss with me?”

Josh nodded, amusement flashing in his eyes. “Yes, specifically I want to talk to you about Vanessa, the client contact for Tryon. I’m assuming Brian provided you a brief overview?”

“He mentioned she’s difficult,” I returned.

“That’s putting it mildly. One of my colleagues worked with her at a previous job. He gave me a little background or, for lack of a better term, a ‘warning’ about her.”

Terrific. Because I was such a people person as it was. “Okay, what do I need to know?”

“I’m told you have Charlie and Logan on the team presenting with you?”

“Yes, it’s the three of us on the pitch. I plan on bringing Carly in to observe as well.”

Josh threw another look toward Brian.

“It would be better if you left Carly out of this one,” Brian suggested.

I narrowed my eyes. “It would be helpful to know why. It’s common practice to bring a junior person to carry the boards and get a feel for what a pitch is like.”

Both men appeared uncomfortable. Finally, Josh put it out there. “Vanessa is threatened by women. Especially younger women. I don’t know what Carly looks like, but if she’s like most younger ladies in the advertising industry, then she’s attractive, and that could be an issue for her.”

What. The. Hell? They weren’t seriously discriminating who could be in this pitch based on looks. It wasn’t in my nature to make this easy on them. “I take it that I’m not a threat with either my looks or my age, then?”

As predicted, neither man knew how to answer that question without insulting me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy their discomfort.

Brian finally decided to try his hand. “Look, Sasha. Like I said, you have this pitch. This is your client, and we both know that you’re going to do a terrific job. But we need to give it the best chance we can, which may mean dictating who attends and what is worn.”

I’d always understood that business came first. Hell, if they didn’t want Carly there because Vanessa got her nose out of joint with a younger woman, fine. Advertising 101 dictated that the pitch was about the client, not about us. But I didn’t like the direction this was heading. “Is this the point where you tell me how I should dress?”

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