Page 19 of A Gift of Time
Chapter Six
The following Monday, I sat in my office, staring out the window. So much was on my mind. Work. Caden. The ticking of the damn clock, which reminded me again of Caden.
The project with the coffeehouse was underway and the creative team had been working their asses off getting everything in order. Christmas was fast approaching, so it was cutting it close with the commercial, but I knew we could pull it off. The commercial also mentioned how the coffee was perfect for those cold, winter nights, so although it centered around Christmas, it could air weeks after it as well.
I’d given the team my suggestions, and they’d intently listened and jotted notes each time I spoke, as if I were God or something. More likely because I could fire them if they made one wrong move.
Not that I would. But I had that power.
“Uh oh,” Logan said after poking his head into the room. “What’s wrong?”
I motioned for him to come inside and close the door. He did.
“I saw Caden Saturday,” I said, threading my hands through my hair.
Logan plopped down in the chair and froze. “Like,theCaden? The one you think is your fiancé?”
“I don’tthinkit. He is… or was. Anyway, that’s not the point.” Exhaling, I angled my face toward the desk.
“Then whatisthe point?” Logan asked, drawing my attention back up. “You need some dating advice or something?” He laughed after he’d said it, but then got serious when he noticed my unwavering, somber gaze. “Wait, really?Youneed dating advice?” Cupping his hands, he put them over his mouth, as if pretending it were a megaphone. “Attention ladies and gentlemen, Hell has frozen over. I repeat: Hell has frozen over.”
“Be serious,” I said, but my amused tone contradicted the words. “Caden is unlike any other guy. I can’t just flash him a flirty smile and hop in bed with him. No offense.”
“None taken,” Logan said with a thoughtful expression. “Honestly, what we had wasn’t romance, Jack, so I’m not much help. I know I didn’t fully believe you before, but after seeing you this past week or so, I really do see a different guy. You’re not the self-assured, cocky, sonofabitch you used to be.”
What type of guy was I in this life?
“Was I that bad?” I asked instead.
“You used people to get where you wanted to be,” he answered. “You weren’t mean or anything, but you cared more what people thought of you than what you thought of yourself.” His brown-eyed gaze lifted to meet mine. “But you aren’t that man anymore. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is… I believe you. You’re not the same Jack Taylor who used to boss me around one minute and ask to fuck the next. Yeah, that might make me crazy, too, but it’s hard not to see something that’s right in front of your eyes.”
“It’s easier than you think,” I said from experience. “Caden was in front of me for years, and I’d let myself slip away and become blind to what really mattered in life.”
A knock on the door made both of us jump.
“Come in,” I said after clearing my throat.
A dark haired guy walked in with a sheepish expression. He was younger than me and part of the creative team, and if I remembered correctly, his name was Greg or Gage. Something with aG.
“Sorry to bother you, sir,” he said, standing about a foot in the room and holding a poster board and disc. “We have the story board for the commercial, plus the unedited footage, and we needed your input.”
“Bring it over.” I tried to sound as friendly as I could, not wanting to frighten the guy even more. “Your name is Gage, right?”
He nodded and approached the desk.
Logan looked up at him as he passed, and I didn’t miss the way his brown eyes lingered on Gage’s ass.
Taking the poster from him, I lay it flat on the desk and stood up to see it better.
It was sketched out in squares, with each square being a frame of the commercial. Santa placed gifts under the tree in one, and turned to see a plate of cookies and a mug in the next. He took a drink of the coffee before smiling and giving a jolly laugh.
I then grabbed the disc and popped it into my computer. As the commercial played, I scanned the story board, nodding when they touched on everything I’d requested.
Of course, the footage lacked the special effects, cinematography, and music that the final version would have, but it was a start.
“This looks great, Gage,” I told him. “The only thing I’d suggest is on this last scene when it shows the coffee bag and Brew Emporium label, focus the camera on the bag and blur the surroundings, so the coffee is what the viewer sees, with the tree and fireplace as background.”
“Will do, sir! Thank you.”
