Page 17 of Dating the Boss
“Mr. Sawyer?” Reed said as I started to walk away. I glanced at him, and he gave me a warm smile. “Breathe.”
I exhaled and gave a sharp nod. “I shouldn’t be long.”
I followed Jamie around a corner and into a large office with a cream-and-gold color scheme. The floor-to-ceiling window gave a view of evergreen trees and the falling snow. Snow that was, regrettably, falling even heavier now.
“Mr. Sawyer,” Vivian said, standing from her chair and walking around to the front of her desk. She wore a pinstriped pantsuit that hugged her petite frame, and her bleach-blonde hair was styled in a pixie cut. Her red lips curved in a smile. “I’m glad the weather didn’t delay your trip. I’ve been looking forward to it.”
“I’m honored you think so highly of our company.”
“The company. Yes.” She rested a hip against her desk and crossed one leg over the other, showing a peek of her ankle and the five-inch red stilettos. “Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thank you.” I forced a polite smile and took a seat in front of her desk.
She remained where she was and continued to smile at me in a way that made me uncomfortable. I was no stranger to some clients hitting on me, but this time it caused a boulder to drop into my gut. When it came to who had the upper hand in this case, it was her.
And she knew it.
“Shall we get started, then?” I asked, steering the discussion in the right direction.
“Of course.” Finally, she walked back around and sat at her desk. “I should have you know, I’m meeting with another agency tomorrow morning. Whatever you have to say, it better be good, Mr. Sawyer.”
“That’s the plan, Mrs. Parks.”
“Ms.” she said. “I’m divorced.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Oh, I’m not. The bastard had it coming. Now. Show me why I should hire your agency. What do you have that no one else does?”
“It’s all right here,” I said, handing over the pages that outlined our plan before pulling out my laptop and opening it up to the PowerPoint Reed had helped me put together.
“I’m a busy woman, Mr. Sawyer,” Vivian said, tossing the pages onto her desk without even looking at them. “Tell me why you’re the best. I don’t want to read pages and pages of statistics and other nonsense.”
“Very well.” Damn, she was even tougher than I suspected. “We’re the best because we care about the client. Each plan is specifically tailored to fit each client’s needs. We’ve gone beyond expectations of profit and audience reach. If you give me just a moment of your time to show you the plans we have for your resort, I know you won’t regret it.”
Vivian tapped her long nails on the top of the desk, saying nothing for several moments. “You have my attention. Go on.”
I clicked to the first slide of the PowerPoint. “It begins with this…”
Chapter Five
Reed
An hour later, my ass started to go numb from sitting in the same spot for so long, so I stood and walked around the lobby.
Jamie sat at the counter scrolling on her phone, then snapped a few duck-lipped selfies.
“Do you like working here?” I asked.
“I don’t work here,” she said, not nearly as friendly as she’d been when greeting us earlier. “And no, I hate it.”
“Oh. That’s… unfortunate.”
A door opened from down the hall.
“Thank you so much for your time and consideration, Ms. Parks,” I heard Daniel say.
I quickly rushed back over to the plushy chair and popped a squat, pretending like I’d been there the whole time. I didn’t want them to think I’d been wandering around like a child who couldn’t sit still. They came around the corner seconds later.
