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Chapter Twenty-Nine
First, they said it would be just the weekend. Then they said two more days. And before Jackson knew it, he’d been working 18 hour days for a whole week, with no end in sight. It wasn’t just the lack of sleep that made him miserable, it was also the lack of Oleander. It would be so easy to hate his job if he didn’t like the pitch they were working on.
A group of women were launching a brand new IPA. Afocus Design was not only in charge of the branding, they had to come up with names for each beer. They had six flavored brews and every single one was great.
For Jackson, as a designer, being able to work on a project like this was a big deal. So he put a team together, they brainstormed and produced a bunch of sketches and presented them to the client. They picked the ones they liked and now the team needed to get together and crack the labels and the colors while the other team worked on names.
He knew this pitch was important simply because it was a brand and a marketing strategy that would change the face of their company. But it was also sucking up all of his time. The only time he got to talk to Oleander was before he went into work for another long day or between her dance lessons when he snuck off to the bathroom. They tried phone sex again, but it was clear Oleander couldn’t multitask with the phone and her vibrator and they stopped trying. Instead, they spent the few minutes they could talking about what they missed.
There was one night when he thought the team would be able to take their work with them to the Barrel and he’d get to see Oleander. But the minute the project leader found out about thisgrand plan, they were forced to stay at work. And that little incident led to another working weekend. He’d been home once in that whole week and he’d been asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. So any hope of him sneaking over to Oleander’s apartment or inviting her to his for a late night cuddle session was pointless.
“We should definitely callthis Berry Awesome,” Trevor announced from where he was seated, tossing a baseball up in the air.
Jackson groaned and tossed a pencil at his friend. “They specifically said they don’t want the flavor in the name.”
“I know, but we should reallyconvincethem to change their minds.”
“Trev, go back to your desk and do this without driving me insane.” Jackson barely looked up from his screen, but he heard Trevor walk away, mumbling to himself.
Jackson was exhausted. They’d finished the designs, the branding and they had a basic plan for the strategy. The problem was, all the names they were coming up with were too cliché and boring, and Jackson was trying not to get involved in that process since he always ended up being the one who did most of the work—from basic design to name suggestions.
His phone buzzed and Jackson reached for it blindly as he scribbled more notes.
“What?”
“Is that any way to greet your girlfriend?” Oleander’s husky voice put a smile on his face.
“Pray tell, how does one greet their girlfriend?”
Oleander cleared her throat. “By telling her you miss her and can’t wait to see her…soon?”
He sighed. “I do miss you, terribly. But, I don’t know whatsoonmeans.”
“I know, I’m glad I got to talk to you before I went for my shift at the Barrel.”
Jackson felt sad that he couldn’t see her, so he repeated himself. “I miss you, Oleander.”
“Aw, baby, I miss you too.”
“What are you wearing?”
Oleander laughed and Jackson’s heart raced at the sound of her voice, wishing he was wrapped up in her arms right then.
“At this very moment, I’m wearing nothing.”
“Oleander…”
“Okay, I’m kidding, I’m wearing my usual—jeans and a tee.”
Jackson groaned, because even that was enough to get him going. “What tee?”
“Today is Led Zeppelin.”
“I’ve never listened to any of their non-popular songs.”
Oleander gasped and Jackson got to his feet, attaching his earphones so he could put his phone in his pocket and go for a walk.
“I’m going to send you some of my favorite tracks and you’re going to listen, so when we see each other again, we can discuss them.”
