Page 86 of Wicked Fantasies

“What do you meanourapproach?”

“I mean, I have the angles ready to roll. All I need you to do is start to put together the materials for the?—”

“Excuse me. By angles, you mean…?” She gestured with her hand for him to fill in the blanks.

He sighed. He knew this was going to happen. This is why his partnership with Mitchell worked. Regardless of his attraction to Frankie, she needed to understand her role in the company. In this arena, he would call the shots. “I mean I’ve already decided the details of our campaign pitch. I need you to help me create the presentation.”

“Forgive me, Reed, but I think Brian specifically said we would be working together on these pitches as partners. What you’ve described sounds more like you intend for me to be your personal assistant.”

“I don’t think there’s any denying that in this area I’m simply more experienced than you. Why don’t we play it this way for the first few bids and then maybe, somewhere down the line, when you’re ready, we’ll talk about?—”

“Ready?” She rose angrily from the chair, and he was reminded of his own actions in Brian’s office. “I was offered this job by your uncle because I’m ready now. In case you failed to notice, I’m the one who landed the last two bids for The Wilkerson Team because you couldn’t bring it.”

“I was in London. Surely you know that. If I’d been here, I think it’s a fairly safe bet you wouldn’t have landed anything.”

She shook her head. “You cocky son of a bitch. Now I understand your big desk. You need something to support that oversized ego of yours.”

“I think you’re mistaking ego for confidence.”

“You’re an arrogant prick. There’s no mistaking that. We’re a team. And since it’s clear to me you don’t have a clue what that word means, I’ll put it in simple terms. You and I will confer on the pitches and we will decide together what our campaign will be. I actually already have some good ideas for at least two of those companies.”

“No.”

She stood up straighter, clearly shocked by his response. “No?”

“It’s not going to happen that way.”

Her face reflected her anger, but he refused to back down on this. Then, an idea emerged. A compromise that would get him everything he wanted…and then some.

“I see. Well, perhaps Brian would like to?—”

“I propose a unique sort of arrangement and a wager.”

She narrowed her eyes, and he knew she was trying to determine what he was up to. She had a suspicious nature. Good for her. It would bode well for her in this fucked-up career.

“A unique arrangement?”

“By hiring you, Brian sort of ensured we’d never be competitors. I have to admit I’m sorry about that.”

She released a heavy breath and nodded. “I am too. I would have loved to wipe up the floor with you.”

He grinned. “We’ll both make bids to these three clients.”

“We can’t do that.”

He stood and leaned forward. “I think we can. I challenge you to a bid-off. We’ll each make a presentation to the clients and let them decide which campaign they want.”

She frowned. “We’re supposed to be working together on the campaigns, not creating different ones.”

“I can sell the idea of giving the clients more choices, don’t worry about that.”

“Maybe so, but can you sell it to Brian? He’s the one who demanded a partnership.”

He respected how quickly she’d caught on to the workings of the company. Brian would be the wrench in the works, but Reed didn’t intend to lose this fight. “Leave Brian to me.”

“So we’re still competitors.”

“In a sense.”

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