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The hand that held hers tightened. Their arms no longer moved in the up and down rhythm that made a handshake. Poppy gazed unflinchingly into William's deep, dark eyes.
"I concede when I know I am beaten," she replied icily. "And I'm not often beaten. I would think you and your agency know that better than anyone, Mr. Jameson." She extracted her hand from his; at the last instant, when she thought he wouldn't let her go, he allowed her to slip free. Her skin tingled with the memory of his grip. Poppy hoped it wasn't a sign of nerve damage.
She hoped the tingling didn't signal something else, either.
"Good day, Mr. Jameson."
"Good day, Miss Hanniford."
They parted ways coolly, in stark contrast to Poppy's skin, which still burned fever-hot hours later where William Jameson had touched her.
Chapter Three
William
William never thought the day would come that he would see his younger brother Sam boasting a tan. Eddie had always been the outdoorsman of the three of them, but even William managed to see enough sun to give himself some healthy color. In the past, Sam had always appeared as icy on the outside as his personality and business dealings were within. He never used to leave the office if he could help it, and his skin had been an almost vampiric white.
Such was not the case now. Now that he was back with Trinity, Sam had thawed—and the couples' time together working in Australia had outwardly tanned them beyond recognition. If William found the look jarring on his brother, it certainly benefited Trinity; she positively glowed, from within and without.
"Wow. So you're really taking this individual pitch personally, huh?" she asked him now.
The three of them were holding an impromptu meeting over instant coffee in one of the Jameson boardrooms. William had briefed the two of them on his presentation to the publishing house; he had hoped to breeze past it as just another business update, but Trinity's sudden laser-focus was making it difficult for him to move onto other topics.
"It's unlike you," Sam noted. As if Sam was in any position to point out other people not acting like themselves these days. William fixed him with a critical look, but his brother seemed unfazed. At least that much hadn't changed.
"You're not usually so hands-on," Trinity continued. "What's so different about this one, William? You're the CEO. Why don't you just delegate?"
Why don't you just delegate? "Because Poppy Hanniford didn't delegate," William said. True, she may have given one of her underlings a chance to flex their design ideas in the first round—a mistake that should have cost her the running—but she had shown up, and taken personal responsibility for the product her agency put out. Not only that, she had highlighted her own weakness quite winningly. Even William couldn't deny how endearing, how appealing, her bald-faced sincerity had come across. It was unlike anything he had ever encountered in the business, and he had spent most of his life learning the negotiation techniques and counter-attacks required to send his rivals packing.
No, this prospective client required a personal touch. His personal touch. It was time for Poppy Hanniford to see firsthand just how formidable he was.
"I prefer that a Jameson represent Jameson Agency in this case," William continued. "And with the two of you in Australia and Eddie on paternity leave, that leaves only me."
"Seems like you're on the fast track to winning the contract with your one-man show," Trinity observed. "Or at least you were on-track—until you let Poppy Hanniford get under your skin."
William opened his mouth to argue. He wasn't a man who normally allowed himself to get into conversations where he had to play defense. At the last minute, he caught the sly look in Trinity's eye, and clamped his mouth closed. Any protest he could form—and he could think of a hundred different ones he might throw her way—would only confirm…whatever it was that she was thinking.
"You spin narratives as expertly as the authors I'm tasked with wrangling," William said.
"Don't you mean the authors you and Poppy are tasked with wrangling?" Trinity smirked.
Sam glanced between them. He crossed his arms. He was less quick picking up on the undercurrent of the conversation, but now looked as if he had noticed enough to come along for the ride.
"There's no way Jameson is going to lose this client to Wildflower," William said confidently. "The right track you perceived us following before is the same one we're on now."
"Jameson Agency has always been a family business," Trinity said. She sat back, tapping her pen, and dropped a glance in Sam's direction. "…but it's only recently that you guys really started to come together and show the world—and yourselves—that the best way to succeed is to put family first. You've finally made your interpersonal relationships the focus, and the business has only profited from it. I'm just afraid of seeing all your hard work fall by the wayside if you choose to make this your number one priority. You've already cancelled meetings with Eddie multiple times these past few weeks. He'd never admit it, but he was really looking forward to spending time with you. I just don't want to see you put your family second again."
"You're wrong," William said dismissively. "I appreciate your take as always, Trinity, but putting the business first is putting family first. It's a family business, as the name implies."
"But that doesn't mean there has to be a patriarch!" Trinity said in exasperation. "You don't have to rule everything with an iron fist, William!"
"Trinity." Sam's voice took a tone of warning, but William put his hand up.
"Please, Samson. Let her finish. I meant it when I said I value her unfiltered input."
"It's just…" Trinity glanced between the two of them, her determined ex
pression folding into concern, "…all three of you brothers work so well together. As a team. I'm afraid all the emphasis on taking down Wildflower sounds more like a personal vendetta, William. That's all."
