Page 1 of A Hard Sell

Chapter One

The Big Bad Wolf

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open and Luka Moreno bounced out, a ray of sunshine flooding the dim reception area. He paused when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirrored ‘Breakpoint Advertising’ sign on the wall, straightening the collar of his checkered dress shirt. It peeked out from beneath his purple sweater and matched his navy trousers. His honey-toned skin was glowing. He grinned at his reflection. Sometimes, he just killed it.

A rhythm thrummed through his veins as he strutted down the hallway, drumming the beat on his thigh. His first stop was his best friend’s office. He poked his head in. “Morning, gorgeous.”

Tawney looked up from her desk where she was highlighting a report, markers in three different colors clutched in her hand. “Hey, cutie.”

He blew her a kiss and continued down the hall, throwing a smile at the adorable rumpled sandy-haired hottie from IT. He didn’t pause to say hi, though, because Luka was fairly certain that particular hottie was straight, and, even if he wasn’t, Luka was not going to date anyone from work. Not again, anyway.

Luka waved at the colony of interns scurrying to and fro in the bullpen and exchanged pleasantries with the other designers as he passed their desks.

“Did you get my email, Luka? I’m dying to know what you think!”

“Moreno! I saw your new soft drink spot last night. You killed it!”

“Luka, I’m making an iced coffee run, you want?”

He grinned and winked and demurred his way through the pack until he reached his office and sank into his chair. The storyboards he was working on sat waiting for him in a neat pile. He’d have plenty of time to finish those up today, with hours to spare. Maybe he’d even get ahead on a few other projects, do some sketching or even inking if he was lucky. He could hardly believe he got paid to be creative all day, to turn his ideas into little packages of art for the world to see. It was a dream.

* * * *

Thud.

Luka looked over from his computer screen to the stack of files Tawney had just dumped on his desk.

“Sorry.” She smiled apologetically. “For the new account.”

Luka was unable to stifle a groan. “Ugh.” He rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Almost eight. You should get out of here.”

He pouted at her. “I’m not the only one still at work.”

“I’m on my way. Wanna grab some food?”

The panels on his screen blurred as he blinked at them. His stomach was growling, but… “I said I’d have these storyboards finished today.”

“You’re still working on those? You were almost done this morning!”

“Well…” Luka gave Tawney a sheepish look.

“Oh, no. Don’t tell me.” Tawney folded her arms and glared at him.

Biting his lip, he nodded, unable to say the words.

“Luka! Why do you keep helping him?”

Luka moaned and flopped his head onto the desk. “Because I’m pathetic.” His reply was muffled.

Tawney nodded in agreement, her tight brown curls bouncing emphatically. “Yes. Yes, you are. But so is Morgan. You need to stop.”

“I know,” Luka admitted. God, did he ever know.

“Because, once again, you spent the entire day doing his shit, and now—”

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