Page 128 of As a Last Resort
I took that as my cue, nodded toward Ivy, and we both stood up and left.
“Holy crap, you just killed that.”I could still hear the chatter from the boardroom outside in the hallway.She grabbed my arm and pulled me farther away.
My chest felt light and my fingers tingled.“I can’t believe we justrailroaded Glenn and presented directly to the board without his approval.I’m most definitely getting fired for this.”
“If they hated your idea, I’d agree with you.But theylovedit.Did you see their faces?They were completely bought in.There’s no way they’d let Glenn get rid of you now, even if he wanted to.”
“Your idea about the retail element.That was huge.I had no idea you had such a knack for that kind of thing.”
“More of a hobby.Oh, and by the way, don’t think I didn’t notice how you lit up when you talked about the island.We are tabling that conversation for later.”
My mind was still stuck on the fact that for the first time in a long time, I was thinking of Rock Island as home.
I had a clear view of the boardroom door as it swung open and a few people walked out.
“Hey, Richard Gere is coming straight for us,” I whispered to Ivy.
“Who?”
“Flamingo Tie.”
“Oh.Yeah, I’m sure he is,” she mumbled under her breath.I watched as he beelined in our direction.He had his eyes locked on us.
“Samantha, I’ve heard a lot about you.It’s good to finally meet you.”He extended his hand toward me.
“You too, sir.”
Finally?
“Call me Richard.”I choked back a smile.“Richard Jones.That was a pretty compelling presentation.I’m thoroughly impressed by what your team pitched.”
“Thank you, sir.They did a phenomenal job pulling it all together.”
“Now I see why Ivy is hell-bent on staying by your side.You just reinvented our whole approach with one presentation.I don’t think I’ve seen the board so frazzled and excited at the same time.”He looked right at Ivy and beamed.“Well done.Ivy, did you help pull together those retail numbers?”
Ivy crossed her arms and just smirked at him without saying a word.
“She absolutely did,” I answered after a few seconds of awkward silence.What in the hell was she doing?“Her ideas were pivotal to the plan.”
“That’s great to hear.Ivy, will you send me those numbers?I want to play around with a few things.”
“Will do, boss.”Then shesalutedhim.
“We’ll be in touch, Samantha.”He turned, giving Ivy a side-eye, and walked back toward the conference room door.
“Did you justsaluteRichard Gere?”I asked.
“Yeah, don’t think too much of it.He gets a kick out of it,” she brushed it off.
“How could you possibly know that?”
“He’s my dad.”
My mind came to a screeching halt.“I’m sorry, what?”
“He’s my dad… And he’s been super pissy about the fact I’m just yourassistant, but I think he might kind of get it now.”
I looked at her with my jaw on the floor.“How did I not know your dad was on the board of directors?”
