Page 54 of Wicked Flirt
He sat in the driver’s seat, too lost in thought to drive anywhere. He mentally reviewed all of the facts. Ellie had said he was the king in her eyes, and he’d felt warmly toward his favorite employee. Smiling, he’d given her a warm, “Thanks, sweetheart.” He always called women darling or sweetheart. Maybe he’d been too warm. Obviously she’d taken it the wrong way. He’d been so surprised he hadn’t pushed her away immediately.
He hadn’t realized Ellie had feelings for him. His intention with women was always a warm friendliness. Wasn’t that what mattered? Intention? He didn’t want to walk on eggshells around Lexi. He wanted her to understand that he’d only been friendly.
Maybe his love wasn’t enough for Lexi.
And when had it ever been? His whole life he’d tried to help his mom, to keep her from being sad and crying so much. It hadn’t worked. His mom got worse, having panic attacks for years.
His love was not enough.
Now she wouldn’t even leave the house.
His love was not enough.
Even his wife, who’d sworn to love him and only him, had found him lacking.
Maybe…his love wasn’t enough for anyone.
He rested his head on the steering wheel, a numb emptiness taking over, leaving him cold and tired. All of his efforts were for nothing. There was no way to fix this because it was him that was broken.
~ ~ ~
Lexi couldn’t believe she’d gotten this new gig so quickly, but she was thrilled. Nate had emailed her with some of the particulars, including a small budget, but that was okay. It was her first real client. She stepped into the Red Arrow Marketing offices not far from Marcus’s bar in the financial district. It was a cool loft-style open space filled with brightly colored chaise lounges, sofas, chairs, even inflatable exercise balls. Workstations were in the center of the space with glass offices around the periphery. Definitely a young and fun vibe in here. A young woman at the central workstation approached, wearing a cute light blue dress with daisies on it.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked.
“Hi, I’m Lexi Judson. I’m here to meet with Nate.”
She smiled. “He’s expecting you. Go right in. He’s in the corner office.” She gestured to his glass office.
Nate raised a hand, smiling at her. She waved back, crossed the large space, and joined him.
He stood and reached across the desk to shake her hand. “Great to see you again. Please have a seat.”
She sat in a cushioned red chair across from his desk. “You too.”
He folded his hands on top of his desk. “So, first things first. This is a party with food, beer, wine, champagne—all of that is already taken care of—but I’d also like fun activities and decorations like you did at Mardi Gras. Just so you know, the team-building exercise before the party is a creative one, where we have a competition to come up with the best campaign for terrible products. Just for kicks, you know, stretch the creative muscle and get some laughs. That’s the vibe we want here.”
“Sure, that sounds fun.” She gave him some of her ideas, including a photo booth using an iPad with fun signs and backgrounds they could later frame and keep, a banana-split bar, and temporary tattoos of red arrows to show team spirit since that was their company name.
“Awesome,” Nate declared. “You’ve got a real fun attitude and some very creative ideas given the budget. Ever think about doing marketing work?”
“No, actually,” she said, surprised. “I don’t have a background in that.”
“We like all kinds of backgrounds here. It’s the creativity that makes you a good fit.”
Her eyes widened. “What’re you saying?”
He tapped his chin. “Let’s see how the event goes, but I’m thinking you might be a great addition to our team.”
“But I don’t know anything about marketing.”
“You’d catch on.”
She could barely believe she’d gotten a job offer like this so fast. “That’s very generous of you, Nate, but I’m really enjoying being an event planner.”
He smiled. “Then let’s get you more of that business. I used to work for the biggest ad agency in the city, McCann-Thomas. Maybe I can pass along your name. As long as the party goes well.” He winked.
“Thank you. And I’m sure it will go well. So would the party be here, or did you want an outside venue?” That was her biggest concern with the short notice.
