Page 20 of Vixen's Guide to Christmas
"Sounds like my kind of girl. We should hire her.”
“You’re not helping, and fuck no,” I say, horrified, which only makes Melinda laugh. "This isn't funny.”
“Oh, but it is.”
“Care to tell me how?”
“Because, this woman is going to make you better.”
I’m a little thrown by her words. “And how is that?”
Melinda stands up, but doesn't make her way to the door quite yet. “We all have our rivals when we're coming up in this industry. Some are in-house, some are competitors. Does it suck losing to them? Absolutely. But you do one of two things: You can pout that you lost and act like a toddler, or you can use it tomake yourself better. Because at the end of the day, that's all a rival does, is make you better. If you let her.”
I don't respond, but let her words sit, because she's right—though I am going to pout for just a minute. But after I’m done pouting, I refocus on what my Christmas plan was. Yes, I’m going to figure out who Katherine Smith is. I’m going to figure out her pitches. What she’s doing. How she does it. What she’s doing that I’m not.
Because she’s not going to get the best of me forever. And today’s win was the last one she’s going to have.
“Timberline Inn.”
I’m very confused, because I’ve never heard that name before. “Excuse me?”
“Timberline Inn. That’s what you can work on over Christmas break. Get your mojo back. Start the new year off with a bang. The owner, Howard, has worked with us for years and was asking if we had anyone available for a project starting after the first of the year. How about you go up there for a few days, clear your head with that Smoky Mountain air, and then meet with him next week before you take off for the holidays?”
That…sounds absolutely perfect. “Thank you.”
Melinda gives me a warm smile. “Anytime.”
She starts to walk away, but there’s one other thing I need to ask her. “Melinda. You said you had a rival. How did it end?”
She cracks a smile. “I married him.”
With those words, Melinda turns to leave my office, and she’s not even two steps out the door before I am searching up the Timberline Inn.
It's an old hotel in East Tennessee, right in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. It’s giving a lodge and cabin vibe, but without actually being in a cabin. There seems to be a nice-looking restaurant, a decent bar, and plenty of activities that guests canregister to do. And look at that, they have a room open for the next few days.
Yes, this is exactly what I need. A new client. A few days away to regroup and actually relax before I go to see my family. And far enough away that Katherine Smith isn’t going to be anywhere near me.
guide to christmas (and love) rule #79
A true friend always knows what you want for Christmas. And when you’ve hooked up.
6
kat
“Are congratulations in order?”
I look up from my desk at the newly built headquarters of GameTech, to see my best friend and occasional boss, Logan Matthews, leaning against my doorframe, a cautious look of hopefulness on his face.
“That would be a yes,” I say, unable to keep the smile off mine. I feel like that’s all I’ve been doing today. Then again, when you start your day with an orgasm, it’s hard not to smile like a fool. Add in the phone call I just got from Hazel, and that means this smile isn’t coming off my face for a long, long time.
“She loved my ideas and thinks I’m going to bring a completely different approach to their media campaign than they envisioned, but one they are very excited about. Once the holidays are over, she wants us to schedule a meeting to officially get things going.”
“Bravo,” Logan says, his British accent coming through. “Though, was it even a question that you’d get it?”
“I mean, it always is,” I say plainly. “The day that I assume I’m going to get every client is the day I need to take a hard look in the mirror. Nothing’s guaranteed.”
That’s the public relations statement coming out in me.
