Page 5 of The Fix Up

“Did he say who he’s with?”

“He didn’t, but he asked to speak with you directly. Would you like me to put him through to your voicemail?”

“That’s okay,” Holly said, reaching for the receiver. “It’s probably one of the guys from that lemonade company. They keep adding new people to tomorrow’s meeting agenda.”

“Got it. Here you go.” Lucy clicked off, and Holly hit the button to take the call.

“Hello, this is Holly Colvin.”

“Holly Colvin,” he repeated as though tasting the words, and Holly’s brain flashed on an image of the guy in the furniture store. His voice was as warm and broad as his hands on her back, and her spine tingled at the sound.

“This is Ben Langley, the new CEO of Langley Enterprises. We met at the furniture store?”

“Ben, of course. Lovely to hear from you.” She crossed her legs under the desk and plucked a green ballpoint pen from the ceramic mug on her desk. “What can I do for you?”

“Quite a lot, actually,” he said, his voice low and rumbly. “I need you. Iwant you.”

CHAPTER2

Holly dropped her pen. It bounced once, then rolled off the end of her desk as Ben’s words echoed in her head.

I need you. I want you.

Her traitorous heart pulsed in her chest, though it wasn’t the only thing throbbing. She uncrossed her legs, then crossed them again, her palms slick at the memory of Ben’s mouth on hers.

“Pardon me?” she said, smoother than she felt, but she wasn’t a pro at this PR business for nothing.

“I need a PR firm,” he said evenly. “And I’ve done a bit of research on your website in the last twenty minutes, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I want it to beyou.”

“Me, right, yes—First Impressions,” Holly said, scrambling to pick up her pen as she chided herself for reading too much into his words. “Of course. What is it you had in mind, Mr. Langley?”

“Ben. Call me Ben, please.” He cleared his throat, and she remembered the feel of rough stubble against her cheek.

“Okay, Ben,” she said. Hey, she’d call him whatever he wanted her to. Rule number one was putting clients at ease, letting them know they could trust her. If being on a first-name basis was what did it for Ben, so be it. “What is it you’d like us to do for you?”

“I’ve been instructed to attend a corporate function at seven thirty this evening, and in the words of my father, ‘mingle, schmooze, hobnob, and chinwag.’ I had to google two of the four terms. In case you failed to notice, I’m not exactly a people person.”

She couldn’t figure out if he was joking or not, but he didn’t seem like the sort to make wisecracks. “So you need help with your professional networking skills?”

“Among other things. It was suggested to me by my best friend, Parker, that I have the charm of a porcupine with the flu.”

Was he really this unaware of his own appeal? The man had charm oozing from his pores, but she couldn’t outright argue with him. He didn’t seem the type to be helped by that sort of thing. At least not now.

“I see,” she said.

“I pointed out that the North American porcupine is actually well-known for its adaptability to unfamiliar habitat, superior swimming capabilities, and relative longevity among most species of rodents. Apparently those aren’t selling points for a CEO.”

Holly laughed. “You don’t say.” She tapped her pen on her desk, not certain if the guy had the driest sense of humor on the planet or the most awkward social skills she’d ever encountered. Either way, it was clear he had a few rough edges to smooth. “So let me get this straight,” she said. “You want to rebrandyourself?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. We’re trying to land a new client whose business could catapult Langley Enterprises into a whole new realm of operations. I have until the end of the month to demonstrate I’m prepared to take us there.”

“The end of the month?” Holly swallowed and glanced at her calendar. Nothing like a deadline to really up the stakes. “What’s happening at the end of the month?”

“The biggest sales presentation we’ve ever done, preceded by a whole lot of wining and dining between now and then.”

“I see.”

“Look, I’m confident I have the brain to be a CEO,” Ben said. “I just lack the charisma. The ability to speak my mind and make people listen to what I say. But my father is insistent the time has come for me to take the helm of the family business now that he’s shifting to a new role.”

---