Page 22 of Book Club Confidential

“Tee times in the fall are hard to come by,” she said, earning soft chuckles from the table and an odd look from her boss. “I’ll meet with the client again soon and get new campaigns rolling for the lineup of local businesses he supports.”

At the mention of multiple leads through one client, Peyton’s smirk waffled.

“Excellent,” Xavier said. “Well done, Tessa.” His gaze moved to the next agent, and the process continued, until it was Peyton’s turn.

Seated beside Xavier, as always, he rose, pressed the pads of his fingertips against the table, and smiled. “I checked in on my past clients and set up lunches to discuss how I can be of assistance in the future. Setting in-person meetings is a card I like to play often,” he advised the group. “Folks prefer individualized attention to email.” His gaze flickered to Tessa.

She held a pleasant smile. “Yet emails are free.”

Peyton always found opportunities to use the company credit card. Reasons to leave the office. Ways to do the opposite of work as often as possible on the company’s dime. And somehow that behavior was rewarded.

Nina hiked a brow at Tessa, and amusement flashed with an unspoken question in her eyes. Are you okay?

Tessa never challenged anyone during weekly meetings. That was the boss’s job. She might ask for clarification or express concern regarding the difference between her understanding and the other person’s statement, but nothing quite so forthright as today.

A bead of sweat formed on her brow. Had she gotten lost in cosplaying a heroine and gone completely out of control? She never said snotty things at work. She rose above, took the high road. She was the bigger, more mature person. The one who went out of her way to keep the peace and not rock the boat.

So what was she doing?

“Thank you,” Xavier said.

Tessa’s attention snapped back to her boss.

He stretched onto his feet, fastening the button on his suit jacket and motioning to the screen behind him.

His personal assistant, Josephine, initiated a presentation from her laptop.

“First and foremost,” Xavier began, “I want to congratulate Peyton again on his new promotion to VP of accounts, and I’d like to thank you all for coming to last night’s gala.”

The room applauded softly.

Tessa lifted a pen to her pad of paper and waited for him to move on.

“As you all know,” Xavier continued. “We have the opportunity to work with Lilacs and Lace, a powerhouse of a company that began with two women and a dream. Not unlike this agency. There was only me and Millie back then.” He chuckled, and a few people around the table joined him.

Tessa couldn’t summon a smile. She was caught in her head, mentally wrestling with how to be herself while also becoming a heroine who behaved in her best interest. She didn’t have any experience with the latter. She’d been serving others in one way or another for as long as she could remember. So much so that she wasn’t sure what being herself even meant.

“The company is relatively local and growing at breakneck speed,” Xavier said. “They’ve found and successfully tapped into their primary audience online. Now they want a marketing firm to help them drive sales to their brick-and-mortar locations as well. That means fresh branding, packaging, commercials, revamped social media accounts, the whole nine yards.”

Peyton rose at Xavier’s side, fingers splayed, the tips pressed to the tabletop. Channeling his inner Edward Cullen, she thought wryly. Kate would hate it. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this account since the girls walked in and offered to give us a chance.”

Tessa’s eyes narrowed at his word choice. Leah and Amara were not girls. They were brilliant, educated go-getters who built a company from scratch and made more money in their second year than he would likely see in his entire career. You colossal, demeaning nitwit.

“A color scheme in pink, from pale to vibrant, something for everyone using their products,” Peyton said.

Tessa slid her gaze to Nina. She couldn’t help wondering if he’d been eavesdropping while they’d discussed a similar approach in the little conference room. Of course, if he had, he’d still gotten it completely wrong.

“Product placement in local shops and large chain stores,” Peyton continued. “Cafés and wine bars. We can coordinate with each of those places to make the items visible in their online stores as well. I think that’s all we really need to nail this one.”

Tessa dropped her pen and groaned in frustration.

Across the table, Nina’s eyes bulged. Josephine looked more curious and less bored than Tessa remembered ever seeing her.

Xavier frowned. “Tessa?” he asked. “What would you add to this?”

She said, “My initial concern is that not all women like pink, and we have more hobbies than shopping, lunching, and wine drinking.”

He crossed his arms. “Okay. Tell us more. Where else would you suggest placing targets for this campaign?”