Page 9 of The Frock Up
The organization wanted us to bid to develop a full launch campaign for a new fully recyclable water filter
"Holy shit, Kei. This is…." I trailed off, unable to complete my thought.
Kei nodded, her dark hair bobbing in time to her movement. "Right? Millie, this could be huge for us."
"But why us?" I looked up, a horrible thought crossing my mind. "Shit, do you think we're being catfished? Is this legit?"
I quickly googled the company's name, blinking as their logo appeared on the screen. "Oh, wow. That's horrible."
Keiko came around my desk, wincing at the image on the screen. "Mm, they definitely need our help."
She leaned over my shoulder, her familiar lemongrass perfume tinting the air. "Look at the email." She tapped a finger on my screen. "It's the same address as the email."
A flock of pterodactyls took flight in my belly, my body growing damp. "Shit. This is real."
Keiko squeezed my shoulder. "Yeah, it is. This is our chance, babe. We could take this company to the next level."
"You mean meeting our monthly payments?"
She grinned. "I mean growing to domestic. No longer relying on local businesses. No more fighting for every little scrap. If we land this, they might even be interested in a retainer. This could be huge for us."
I looked around my little office, attempting to calm my mind.
"Well, we better get to work. We have a pitch meeting next week."
Chapter Five
Ash
My phone was blowing up.
Journalists, friends, and family were all trying to reach me—none so desperately as Sally, who'd threatened Dylan with bodily harm to get an appointment with me.
"What—" she started; her tone glacial. "—did you think you were doing?"
I shrugged, feeling a little like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. "Trying to find a missed connection."
"Do you have any idea how much damage this could have done? You're not a regular twenty-year-old, Ash. You're a CEO! You need to act like it."
I'd tweeted about the missed connection—three little lines. Nothing crazy.
You wore burger print. I helped free you from a faulty zipper. DM me, I'd love to take you to coffee.
Apparently, as romantic gestures went, this was a doozy. The media had latched on to the story and were frothing to find the mystery woman. I'd been told by a good friend in retail that sales in burger print clothing had jumped through the roof overnight.
"I know I'm not normal, Sally."
But for once I want to be.
Burger babe had ruined me. I'd found myself back in the boutique, fingering the dress that had started this whole mess, wondering if it still smelled a little like her.
I mean, I'm pathetic but it's sadly romantic at the same time. How every gothic of me.
"Then why did you do it?"
Because I can't get her out of my head.
I blew out a breath. "I don't know. I guess I forgot for a second."
