Page 99 of Scoring Chance

“Never fall in love with your own work. Never lose that objectivity,” I tell him.

“It’s good. I’m really proud of this. I’d buy Silq for my daughter,” Lisa says. “How about you?”

Right. I have daughters. My daughters will be wearing makeup. Lena already is. “Me, too. I never want them to feel like they have to wear makeup to look like someone else.”

I can’t protect them from all the horrors of the world; I just have to hope that Tanner and I can give them the necessary armor so they can protect themselves.

“You know, Des. I don’t think you would’ve come up with this campaign before you had kids.” Lisa knocks her elbow against mine. “Isn’t it funny how those little critters can change you?”

“Yeah.” I chuckle to myself, letting my eyes drift to the family photo debacle.

I have kids! And they’re wonderful! I mean, they’re pains in the asses, but also wonderful!

“Let’s huddle.” I signal for them to come close. “Look, we’ve worked our asses off for weeks on this. I am impressed at everything we’ve done. Know that whatever happens, we left it all on the field. We have a great pitch, a great insight that their company will jump at if they’re smart. That’s all we can do.”

One of the unexpected highlights of my job is getting to mentor my junior staff. I love watching them grow and develop. Craig could barely string a cogent sentence together when he first interned here, but over the past year, he’s become a great copywriter.

“Knock, knock.” Stan enters the office, twisting my stomach into a tighter knot of nerves. “How are we feeling?”

“Good,” I tell him. “Silq would be fucking idiots not to hire us. They’re not going to find a pitch like this from other agencies.”

“I love the confidence, Des.” Stan fixes his bowtie. “I’m going to be there with you.”

Stan supports his teams, and I know he’ll only interject if he really has something to add. He’s not the kind of boss that loves hearing himself talk. But I also know he’ll be judging me. This pitch is make or break for my career. He wants to see if I’m creative director material. If I bomb in front of a huge potential client, that’s it for me.

But no pressure, right?

“You got this,” he says to me, and it almost sounds like a warning.

Speaking of people who love to hear themselves talk, Kyle struts into my office. He’s never good news, but the way he’s smiling puts me on high alert.

“I wanted to wish you good luck, Des,” he says.

“Thanks.”

“It’d be a shame for you to bomb this presentation because you’re a liar.”

Sweat pricks at the back of my neck. My heart pounds in my ears. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Kyle, they have a big pitch today. They need to focus,” Stan says.

“I’m sorry, Stan. I know this isn’t the best time, but I’m very concerned that we have a con artist working here. Wouldn’t you want to know if someone you worked with, someone you were thinking of handing the company to, was conning you?”

My mouth goes dry, my limbs stiff. There’s a certainty in Kyle’s glare that makes me want to throw up.

“What do you mean?” Stan asks, sounding a teensy bit receptive. “Des is a con artist?”

“Yes. His ‘marriage’…is a SHAM. It’s all a lie he’s using to project this family man image in the hope you’ll promote him.”

“Kyle, get the hell out of my office,” I say with a low voice to intimidate him, but my words sound hollow, and he knows it. “Tanner is my husband.”

“Legally yes. You went to the courthouse and got a quickie wedding. How funny that right around when Stan announces his retirement, you became a husband and stepdad.”

“You checked on my marriage license?”

“It’s public record.” He shrugs.

“Why are you digging into Des’s marriage?” Craig asks. “That’s creepy AF.”