Page 10 of The Butterfly Effect
“Why would he do that?”
“Because I didn’t let him kick me out. Men like that get off on kicking women like me out.”
We drank our wine in silence for a moment before Katie joined me on one of the barstools at the counter and opened up my laptop. “Okay, let’s focus. What do we have so far?” She lifted her eyebrows when she pulled up the screen and saw I had nothing more than the date.
“I know. I’m going to fail this presentation tomorrow and we’re going to lose this big important client before I even have a chance.” The defeat in my voice was as evident as the blank document.
She shook her head at me and pulled my laptop in front of her. “Well, clearly, we’re not going to letthathappen, Jules. I’m going to help you.”
Her nails clicked against the keyboard when she started to type. I was reminded again why I was so thankful to have one of my best friends on my team, especially as the content writer. She always knew how to word something in the most convincing way, and she slowly filled the page with ideas. A warmth spread through my body, starting in my stomach, and I questioned if it was the wine or new hope for the meeting the next day. It was definitely the wine, but I told myself it was the new hope.
* * *
The office buzzed around me all morning, but I did my best to ignore it. My head was still a bit fuzzy from the wine the night before, and I was hoping I didn’t look as hungover as I felt. In an effort to dress more striking than normal to mask the dark circles beneath my eyes, I wore a formfitting navy-blue dress. It wasn’t as low cut as the shirt that had caught William’s attention the day before, but it showed just a hint of cleavage. It ended right at my knees, and I’d paired it with gray heels. When I’d looked in the mirror this morning, I was confident, but as the meeting got closer, the nerves fluttered in my stomach.
I didn’t leave my desk, not even for lunch, and worked with my team to focus on the presentation. Katie was assertive in helping to get everything prepared, and when the time came for the meeting, even though it was introductory, I was ready to win the account. I stood from my desk when Sandra left her office and greeted the new clients at the door. Before I could get a good look at their faces, William opened his office door and gestured with just the curl of his pointer finger for me to join him.
My team mumbled their good luck wishes before urging me to go. I stood up from my desk and made my way to William’s office, more confident when he gave me a once-over with eager eyes. A smirk pulled at my painted lips when he had to force his eyes up to meet my face.
He leaned against the frame in the doorway and crossed his arms before speaking. “Are you ready, Julianna?”
“Yes, sir,” I responded, eliciting a small groan from his throat. I chuckled quietly before turning and gesturing to the front door and the conference room Sandra had just walked out of. She turned and made her way towards us with short, quick steps.
“Great Lakes Brewing is in the conference room and ready for us,” Sandra said. The look on her face made my stomach sink. I hated that she had that kind of physical control over me.
William nodded. “Thank you, Sandra. We won’t need you for the meeting, though. That’ll just be Julianna and me.”
He dismissed her with a slight wave of his hand before turning and walking to the conference room, ignoring her half attempts at a protest. Without looking in her direction, I quickly followed. I took a deep breath before he opened the door, letting me enter first. Four men in suits were in the room, and when I met the gaze of the fourth man at the end of the table, my breath hitched in my throat. His charcoal-gray suit, with the suede sports coat and a coral tie, was familiar. The kind of familiar that made you wish you’d stayed in bed that morning.
A wide grin appeared on his face as my own likely paled. “Well, well, well. Jules Thomas. Look at you…” He moved his gaze slowly over my body, from my head to my toes and back up, and I resisted the urge to cross my arms.
“Roger,” I greeted, holding my shoulders back and my head high. His messy brown curls fell over his forehead, with just enough gel for them to lie intentionally. He wore round glasses that emphasized his narrow face and high cheekbones, and his wide grin revealed teeth that had been whitened too many times. Anxiety swelled in my chest, causing my heart to race, but I put on a professional smile that hopefully looked less forced than it felt. “Nice to see you again.” The look William shot me was a blended glare of frustration and curiosity.
“It’s always nice to see you,” he purred before rising to his feet. “Mr. Carlisle, I presume. Roger Hepburn, executive marketing director. These are my associates.”
William shook his hand, staring at me from the corner of his eye. “William, please. It’s nice to meet you all. As some of you seem to already be aware, this is Julianna Thomas. She’ll be the one managing your account during this process.”
I stepped forward and shook each man’s hand before taking my seat next to William and starting the presentation. As I talked, I could feel his foul mood churning next to me, and Roger stared at me from across the table. I sat up straight with all the confidence I could muster, making sure my voice carried a commanding tone. In a room full of only men, I would be the first to be ignored or talked over.
When the meeting came to an end, the butterflies in my stomach had subsided. Besides Roger spending most of the time trying to undress me with his eyes, the meeting had been successful. Everyone, even my new moody boss, seemed motivated to work through a successful marketing strategy. When William escorted the Great Lakes Brewing team out of the office, I made my way back to my desk with a satisfied smile on my face. I was greeted by three expectant stares from my teammates, anxious to hear how the meeting went. Before I could fill them in on the details, I caught the smell of cinnamon, indicating William’s presence behind me.
“My office, Julianna.”
I hoped he was going to commend me for a job well done in the meeting, but based on his reaction to Roger’s greeting, I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a good talk. My stomach sank, and I stood up to follow him to his office, casting a look at my team that let them know I’d fill them in later.
The door to his office nearly slammed behind me before he caged me in with his arms, one on either side of my head, and glared at me. His deep-brown eyes burned into mine as butterflies erupted in my core. He brought his face close to mine and spoke in a low voice, putting a clear space between each word. “Whatthe fuckwas that?”
“I’d say it was a pretty damn good meeting.”
At the scent of bergamot and cinnamon on his breath, a warm heat rushed to my center. “You know that’s not what I meant.” He grunted, and when I didn’t respond, he spoke again. “This Roger… are you fucking him?”
“Excuse me?” I gasped, revolted by the idea. “Do you think I’m just the office whore?” I put emphasis on the word, and when he didn’t respond or move back from me, I raised my voice and spoke again. “Not that it’s any of your damn business, Mr. Carlisle, but Roger used to work with me. He asked me out countless times, but he’s not really my type.”
At that, he gave me a small smirk. “Oh? And whatisyour type, then?” He lifted his hand from the door and ran a single finger down the side of my face before tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
I inhaled a deep breath, savoring his spiced scent before cocking my head to the side and narrowing my eyes at him. My response bounced around my mind. My type. Currently, I was trying to convince myself my type wasn’t the tall, tattooed, broody man in front of me. When I didn’t respond, he pressed his body closer to mine.Apparently, my type was assholes.
His breath was warm on my neck, and when he sighed, the loose hairs tickled my skin, sending a chill down my spine. “Let me make this clear, Julianna,” he spoke quietly. “I won’t be made a fool of, and I don’t play games. Are we understood?”
