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“I know what you need.” My friend’s face brightens. “Goat yoga. We can go right after work. They walk all over your back. It’s supercute.”
This must be the latest in Kendall’s string of try-anythingexperiments.
“People walk all over us,” I point out. “The difference is they pay us for it. The last thing I need this week is foot-and-mouthdisease.”
“You’re thinking of hoof-and-mouth. Hand-foot-and-mouth is what Rory brought back from daycare. Don’t worry—he doesn’t have itnow.”
My gaze drags back to the framed photo on her desk. “Maybe I’ll get a charm lesson from Rory while I’mbabysitting.”
“He doesn’t charm. Hecooks.”
“Isn’t heeight?”
“Yeah. Right now he’s into French cooking. I tried to keep him on Julia Child, but he’s discovered Gordon Ramsay. Now he makes a damn good béarnaise—under supervision, of course—and swears with a British accent. My parents have decided we’re all going to hell.” Kendall sighs. “So, what’re you going to do aboutclients?”
“Find some newones.”
I’m already hunting online, using search terms for relationship products, intimacy products, evenlingerie.
“Daisy has a killer contact list,” she points out. “Did she say you couldn’t useit?”
“No. But it feels like cheating. We can do way better than any of the other advertising firms, and you know it. The campaign we did for that small lingerie company helped double their sales in a singlequarter.”
The slogan “Your man’s rough around the edges. Your lingerie shouldn’t be,” converted thousands of women into superfans and spawned a viral social media campaign with its ownmemes.
Advertising seems glamorous, but the company who comes up with the marketing rarely gets kudos, except for the few awards handed out annually, in which you’re competing with campaigns for Budweiser and Spanx and Coca-Cola.
This campaign was small in scope, but it mattered to the business. And even if no one knows I did it, I’m proud ofit.
“How about more lingerie?” she suggests, rounding to my desk as I click through a browser window. “Or counseling? Or emotional-support stuffedanimals?”
My phone rings, and it’s someone else I’ve been trying to get. “Hold that thought,” I tell her, shifting out of my seat to answer. “You’ve been dodgingme.”
“Nice to talk to you too, Rena,” comes the smooth voice on the otherend.
I duck into the glass phone booth in our open concept office, ignoring Kendall’s raised brows as I pull the door nearly shut behind me. “Jake? Just because an entire city relies on you to sell them anniversary presents doesn’t mean I can’t murderyou.”
“Anniversary presents?” he scoffs. “Not mybusiness.”
“Right. ‘I forgot my anniversary’presents.”
“Correct. To what do I owe the pleasure of your multiplevoicemails?”
“Was this your idea of a joke? Because you have two perfectly good brothers to prank. You said you were sending me on adatewith a friend you went to Badenwith.”
“I said neither of those things. You heard what you wanted to.” My gaze scans the floor of people working at our small firm. “I understand our Wesley had a wonderfultime.”
That leaves me speechless for a moment. “What did hesay?”
“Nothing. Even when I tried to beat it out of him. For what it’s worth, Wesley didn’t go to Baden, but his father was the librarian for twenty years. Right up until he died of cancer lastmonth.”
My stomach clenches. That’s why Wes was so reserved. He’sgrieving.
And I jumpedhim.
Damn it, this keeps gettingworse.
I trace a finger along the edge of the phone booth window as Jake continues. “I thought you could help him. The work you did at Wicked wasimpressive.”
