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I want to vomit. The misogyny is strong with this one.
Leaning back, I cross my arms. “Mr. Wexford, I was under the impression you wanted to speak about our digital marketing proposal that my team and I have worked extensively on.”
“Ms. Keller, while I admire your tenacity, can’t we enjoy a nice dinner first?” When I’m about to protest, he throws in, “We at Dexico are like a big family. We like to fortify our interpersonal relationships before we do business with a new company. Especially one as young and fledgling as Ever Heart.”
There’s that word again—fledgling. Has he been talking to Pingman? I want to lunge across the table and strangle him. We might be new to the high-rise block, but we’re not neophytes in the industry.
“All work and no play makes Paul a dull boy.”
I’m sure he thinks his smarmy smile is charming, but I’m losing my patience here.
And did he just quote The Shining? Creepy.
“Yes, well, Jack ended up going insane, so maybe he should have focused more on work.”
“Touché, Miranda. But he also blew up with the hotel.” He raises an eyebrow.
I’m about to make my exit, when the waiter walks over. “Would you like to order, sir?”
The waiter only looks at the suit sitting across from me. He hasn’t acknowledged me at all.
“Yes, William. I’ll have the Porterhouse, rare.” Putting a hand on the side of his mouth, he makes a joke. “I like my meat red and raw.”
Fucking seriously? Does he think this shit turns women on? My skin ripples in skeeve.
“Be careful. I wouldn’t want you to catch a parasite.” My smile is saccharine. It is a valid warning, after all.
Undeterred, he addresses the waiter once more. “The lady will have the halibut with the arugula and frisée salad.”
“The lady can order for herself,” I snap. “Unfortunately, I’m feeling unwell. I’ll have my assistant reschedule this meeting during office hours.” I give Paul a pointed look as I stand.
I am well aware I’m not being nice. But nice has never gotten me anywhere. Bitches get shit done, and I happen to be the queen.
Poor William looks like he’s about to shit himself.
“Sit. Down. Miranda. We have business to discuss. Unless you want to tell your partner that you single-handedly lost your company’s biggest deal.”
As if on a carousel, the faces of our devoted team dance around in my head. I sigh, sit back down, and address the waiter. “I’ll have the filet. Medium. And two of your best desserts to go.” Leaning forward with a glint of defiance in my eye, I cup the side of my mouth. “I hate fish,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “Too slimy for me.”
Paul lets out a hearty laugh. “You are a sharp broad, I’ll give you that.”
Broad.
I finger my salad fork, imagining the various ways I could mutilate him with it, but otherwise remain calm in the face of this pompous asshole. When the waiter leaves, I take control of the situation. “We have our best team dedicated to Dexico for as long as you’re contracted with us. We’ve studied your competition and—”
“Dexico has no competition,” he interjects.
He’s delusional on so many levels. “I only mean to say that we will keep you on the front page of Forbes for years to come. This is why you came to us, is it not?”
The change of his face is subtle, but so is my smirk. Forbes is his Achilles’ heel. The front he can use to distract his shareholders so they don’t realize the company is slowly falling behind their competitors.
“It is. Go on.”
Thank God he’s dropped the whole “woo the little woman” act. “With Ever Heart, we will build a strong brand identity and reach your target audience. We’ve done the research. Your profits have been steadily decreasing since last year. I’m afraid you are falling behind the up-and-comers of the industry. Especially the ones with on-trend branding.”
Paul stares at me with a bemused look on his face. “You are adorable, you know that?”
A hazy red falls over my vision. I’ve worked hard to be where I am. No one has ever given me anything in life. I have earned the throne I sit on, and I will not tolerate such blatant, disrespectful behavior. The ass tap came out of nowhere, and I didn’t do anything about it then. I admit, that was my first mistake, but I’ll be damned if I let another egregious violation slide.
