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Dragging in a slightly shaky breath, she asked the team, “You like it?”
“Fucking love it,” Mark said.
The others concurred. Even Sarah.
Todd said, “Tiff, get the ad agency on the phone. We want them in first thing Monday morning.” To Lola, he added, “We have until then to nail the details. This is your campaign—come up with more ideas. Give us a solid plan.”
The group dispersed. All but Sarah left the conference room. She sat back in her chair, her arms crossed over her chest. She was the petite, math-club type Alex would go for. Maybe that was why she intimidated Lola, in a sense.
“Not bad,” Sarah said.
“Thanks. I had help.”
“We never call the ad agency this fast,” Sarah told her in her fast-paced, clipped tone that reminded Lola of the gravely serious, overachieving Paris on the TV show Gilmore Girls.
Continuing, Sarah explained, “They’re expensive, and they’re not as invested in our mission as the employees are. Staci believes the heart and soul of the company lies within the company. Marketing conceptualizes; the ad agency brings it all to life, producing the end result. She’d like us to have our own Production division someday, when we’re a bit more robust. I think she’s got the right idea.”
“Makes sense,” Lola agreed. “I took an admin job in Baltimore just to work for her. I moved myself when I barely had the money to do it. That’s how much it meant to me to get a foot in the door.”
Sarah actually smiled. Not a radiant one, but it was a start. “You were pretty overwhelmed yesterday. You bounced ba
ck like nobody’s business this morning. I like your new theory. It still embraces the concept of strong, independent women empowered by sexy shoes. But it also demands equality—a balance. That’s downright awesome. And smart.”
She collected her notepad and multicolored pens and stood.
Lola boldly asked, “You want to have lunch sometime?”
Sarah let out a half-snort. Shook her head. Then gave another reluctant smile. “Sure.”
She left the room.
Lola did a fist-pump and whispered, “Yes!”
Feeling particularly pleased with herself, she spent her lunch hour surfing the Net for a car to replace the rental. Then she called Alex.
“Hey,” she said when he answered in his studious, professional voice, not his sexy bedroom tone. Still, it turned her on. Perhaps because she knew there was a whole alternate universe happening in his condo…?
She asked, “Doing anything after work?”
“Pete wants us to come by for dinner. The longer you wait to see him, the more his feelings will be hurt.”
“Wouldn’t want that. But first, I’m gonna visit a car dealership. I found a beautiful powder-blue BMW that’s a few years old, but I can afford it now. Want to meet me there? I can turn in my rental on the lot.”
“You don’t exactly need someone to negotiate price, options, and zero-percent financing for you, Lo. I’ve witnessed your negotiating tactics on numerous occasions—even most recently, when you tackled me.”
A tingle along her clit made her shift in her chair. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“I’m not going to argue the tactic—I totally got off on it.”
A scintillating sensation shimmied through her. “It was the way you kissed me that got me going,” she said softly into the phone, so no one who might be in the office rather than out to lunch would hear.
“Well, yours came unexpectedly. I didn’t have time to curb my own reaction.”
“I’m glad.”
“Yeah,” he said with a low groan. “That was hot.”
“Agreed. Now… it’d be nice to have some muscle behind me at the dealership.” She gave him the address, and he told her he’d meet her there at six.
