Page 63 of Brazen
Holding his coffee, he took the seat opposite us. “Am I late?”
I settled back in my chair, since I probably shouldn’t have been so obviously enthusiastic.
Charlie clearly had no idea we’d all discussed his brother and Avril in my friends' chat as he opened his folder and acted like everything was fine. Then he said, “No, just conspicuously working remotely the past few days.”
He narrowed his gaze as he folded his hands. “What did I miss?”
Charlie quirked his lips. “Hope was missing her friend Avril and wrote the company's core beliefs then came up with a campaign idea to launch that was different and completely focused on the family demographic, if you’d finished your part.”
“I always get my work done.” He turned toward me. “And it’s good to know I don’t have to pick up after you anymore.”
With shaking hands, I passed over a copy of the prospective I’d spent the week working on. He needed to present it to the board meeting he would set up soon. He read it.
Charlie asked, “So, would this plan of hers make sense to you like it does to me?”
Kir summarized. “So, we service airports that are generally domestic but vacation oriented.”
My voice shaky, I said, “This way, we can run ads like 'Take your children to see Yellowstone/theme parks/the Grand Canyon’ and have a very specific niche that’s not just ‘party in Vegas,’ though we definitely run those ads too. And we partner with tour guides and hotels to ensure everyone has options.”
He flipped the page. “These are the profit models?”
Charlie nodded. “I’d like for you to double-check me.”
“Of course.” Kir smiled.
The papers I held vibrated with me. I put them down and slid them across the table. “And this is the mockup of ads I made so far.”
Kir flipped through the creatives and smiled. “I’ll need digital copies to take for investors.”
My eyes widened. If he thought I was worth it, then maybe I had a shot. I swallowed. “So, what do you think?”
He gathered the papers. “I’m glad I joined the two of you in this venture. I’ll get us fully funded today now that we have all the plans.”
Charlie laughed. “'Soon' to my brother means he won’t sleep until it’s done.”
Kir sat back like he was done. Charlie had said he had a bit of a cold, though he seemed healthy to me. And I had a suspicion Avril had recovered just fine from her vacation illness too. I smiled and told Kir, “We won’t launch for another year. Sleep.”
He waved at us. “Thanks, Hope. I’ll see you both soon.”
I hugged Charlie, who was half standing, as I laughed. “So he liked it.”
He held me. “Are you surprised?”
I let out a sigh and closed my eyes. “I just like that someone other than you approves of my ideas.”
And now I fit into his world. I would never get used to having all the privileges of his life, but what mattered to me was Charlie.
We walked out of the conference room, and he squeezed my butt. “So, you’re ready to pick where you want to get married?”
I nodded as we headed into the elevator. We were surrounded with other businesspeople, and spilling my guts felt wrong. So I met Charlie’s gaze. “Almost. I have a meeting with Maddie and your mother tomorrow, so we really do need to pick.”
The doors opened to the lobby, and we all filed out.
Charlie said, “If you want something tropical, we can do that too.”
As we headed to the glass doors, I sighed, deciding to tell him the truth. “I always love movies set in Italy.”
He kissed my forehead. “We have an estate in Lake Como.”
