AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll be in touch with you soon,” I said and turned away so as not to give away any thoughts I have in my facial expressions. “Thank you for accepting my offer. We will iron out all the incidentals later. Oh, when can you start?” as I walked down the steps.
“I’ll come in next week if that will suit you,” she responded.
“That’ll be fantastic. I am ready to get started.” As I got in the car.
We drove back to the office. What was the point of going home? It wasn’t like I could sleep now.
Chapter Fifteen
Jamie
Laterthatnight,afterI’d brought Cassie home from the movies and tucked her into bed, I stayed up late in the kitchen. I told myself that I was excited to be working on such a big project. That it was the chance of a lifetime—that it was the perfect opportunity to boost my career and take my work to the international market. But what was really keeping me up? It was Eric.
I’d seen him looking at Cassie. Did he know that she was his daughter? That was impossible, I told myself. But then, nothing was impossible where Eric was concerned. He did find me in hundreds of square miles of storm-wracked coast. And he was a technology genius, an entrepreneur, and an investor, besides the fact that he served in the military as a Navy SEAL, who could make just about anything happen. If he wanted to find out, he could. But I gave him no hints. I thought I was probably in the clear.
But I also knew that it wasn’t just my relationship with Eric I worried about. In truth, I wanted him as a friend. At his best, he was kind and empathetic. He protected me and took care of me when I needed him the most.
He was also arrogant. And inscrutable. If only he’d called me. If only he could think about my emotional security as much as my physical safety. If only.
But I guess he wasn’t built that way. I mean he is a man and they think differently than women already, and he was a Navy SEAL. I believe they are trained to put all emotion aside and to focus on the tasks at hand.
So,aweeklater,when I arrived at his offices with a handpicked team of social media maestros, I stuck to my promise. And for a while, Eric and I kept a relationship that was nothing but professional.
After a week of research, marketing, and running statistics, I compiled all the information I needed into a beautiful presentation document. Julia was an enormous help. She might be a little behind me in terms of years, but she was savvy. Working with her was like working with a friend. And boy, did I need a friend. Especially if I was going to deal with Eric’s moods.
At our first meeting with his chief executives, I realized he was back to his old ways.
“You can’t expect me to take you seriously, do you?” he said when I pitched them my proposal.
I looked at Julia. She was terrified. But unlike her, I knew that underneath the growling, simmering ogre at the head of the meeting table, there was a big fluffy bear. Eric might be an asshole, but he was also somewhat of a softie.
“It’s a big new move for your company. I do understand,” I said. “Believe me, I understand that.”
“You want a photoshoot? Of people wearing diamond rings?”
“Of course,” I said. “After all, think about it. How does a business like this acquire most of its customers?”
There was some thought from the boardroom, and then Karen, the Head of PR, spoke up. She was already a big supporter of my ideas.
“Weddings?” said Karen.
“Right,” I said and flicked back to a dashboard showing some stats about people who sought out lab-grown diamonds. “At the moment, eighty-five percent of your market is composed of people who want wedding rings. They’re the central product you’re going to want to push.”
“But we don’t manufacture wedding rings,” said Eric. “Not yet, anyway.”
“But you will,” I said. “And when you market yourselves to jewelers and craftspeople who want to use your diamonds, who’s going to be interested in buying them? The evidence—” I said, patting my fat proposal, “is that they’re going to be females aged 18-39 who want to get married.
“She’s right, Eric,” said Karen. “It’s the smart move. Even if it’s a little—unconventional.”
I smiled. I knew what Karen was doing. Eric loved to divide people into teams in his meetings. He pitted people against each other and waited for a natural successor to emerge. He thought black-and-white about the world. But I could see the spaces in between.
“Great,” I said. “So, it’s settled. We’ll head downtown tomorrow with a couple of prototypes and get them fitted. And then we can do some tryouts for a social media rollout. After all, you’re branding right now. The sky’s the limit in terms of how we want to sell these stones.”
There was a murmur of agreement in the boardroom. I was helped by the fact it was a hot day on a Friday afternoon. People wanted a solution, wanted actionable goals. Therefore, I knew that after a while Eric would have no choice but to cave in and agree.
He rolled up his sleeves and put his elbow on the table, glancing down at the stack of documents I’d provided him with. I saw his shirt collar slide and reveal his prominent collarbone, and felt the temperature rise a little. I couldn’t deny that since I declared myself and Eric off-limits to one another, I was suffering with more than a little remorse. After all, what a waste. His luscious lips and thick stubble drew my attention, and suddenly I felt myself get a little flustered … like everyone in the room could see my thoughts pinned on the whiteboard.
“Anyway,” I said, sitting down. “That’s my idea. Don’t like it and we’ll get back to the drawing board. But I think this is the best chance you’ve got.”
