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Chapter6
Damien
“Who was that?”
I look up from my desk to see Elizabeth, one of the other creative marketing managers, standing in the doorway of my office.
“Who are you talking about?”
“The woman that was just in your office. Forgive me, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman up here with you two.” She slides her eyes over to Jeffrey and then back to me. “For a good reason.”
“That was my girlfriend, Elizabeth, not that it’s any of your business,” I answer, my heart pounding from just having to announce that out loud.
I thought having Charlotte come into the office was a good idea, but I’m shocked by how rattled having her here has made me feel. It was like she stepped into my territory and made all of these old tendencies come alive again—especially when I think about why we started competing in the first place.
I shake that thought from my mind and then turn my attention back to Elizabeth.
“You—you have a girlfriend?”
“Yes…”
“Since when?”
“Uh, about a month and a half ago?” I say, making a note to let Charlotte know during our meeting that’s what I’m telling people around the office.
Elizabeth narrows her eyes at me. “Interesting.”
“Did you need something, Elizabeth?”
Jeffrey still stands frozen in place, watching this entire conversation play out. It’s no wonder he’s single. He can’t handle a woman that has bigger balls than he does.
“Well, I came by to wish you luck on your pitch.”
My brow rises. “Is that so?”
“Yeah, Dave told me you two wanted in on the account,” she explains, moving further into the room. “Can’t say I wasn’t surprised, but when Dave assured me you had something to offer to the table, I wanted to come over here and make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into.”
“I’m fully prepared to give the best pitch I can.”
“Is your girlfriend gonna help you?” she draws out, lifting her hand to play with the collar of her blouse. And I don’t fall for the trap in the slightest.
Elizabeth has always had a thing for me, but I’ve never dipped my pen in the company ink. And besides, Elizabeth is blonde. My eyes have only ever drifted toward brunettes. Funny how that hasn’t really been a blip on my radar until recently.
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Well, you know…” Her hand moves her blouse open further as she leans over my desk now, trying to give me a front-row seat to her cleavage. But my eyes stay firmly planted on hers. “We could always work together if you guys get stuck.”
“Is that right?”
She nods slowly, biting her bottom lip. “There might be some late nights that will need to happen, but maybe Dave has this pitch all wrong. Maybe joining male and female powers will give us all the brainpower needed to land the client instead of pegging us against each other.”
“I personally love a good pegging,” Jeffrey says before realizing what he implied, his eyes going wide. “I mean, shit…that’s not what I meant. I meant I like competition, not pegging. I’m not into that, not that there’s anything wrong with that if you are…”
“Jeffrey, shut up,” Elizabeth spits at him before turning back to me. “What do you say, Damien?”
Fighting the urge to laugh, I lean back in my chair and clasp my hands over my chest. “As delightful as that sounds, I think we’ll pass, Elizabeth.”
She scoffs. “You’re serious? You really think you can land this account when you aren’t female?”
“I don’t need to have a vagina to sell products to people with vaginas.”
Her back straightens, and then she’s glaring down at me. “Well, you’re certainly cocky enough to think you’re going to win.”
“Oh, I have plenty of confidence in us.” And cock to back up the cockiness, but I don’t say that out loud.
With a roll of her eyes, she marches away from my desk and back toward the door. “I can’t wait to beat you guys. You have no idea what you’re getting yourselves into.”
“I appreciate your tenacity, but you’ll be crying in your Cheerios when we beat you.”
“I don’t eat Cheerios, you fool. Way too many carbs.” And then she stalks off, slamming her heels on the tile as she marches back to her office and out of my sight.
“Why are all of the scary women coming in here today?” Jeffrey asks, breaking the silence. “The next thing I know, my mom is going to walk through that door.”
“Doesn’t she live in Missouri?” I ask, spinning in my chair to face him.
He nods. “Yeah, but I haven’t returned her phone call in a week, and knowing her, it wouldn’t surprise me if she’d hop on a plane just to tell me off in person before asking me if I’m okay.”
Glancing back at the door, I sigh. “Women are downright terrifying sometimes, aren’t they?”
Jeffrey nods. “I’m still waiting for my balls to come back down from when Charlotte was in here.”
Charlotte.
God, she looked gorgeous when she came in here today. Her dress was sexy, but not in an unprofessional way. Her hair looked stunning, long and shiny under the lights in the ceiling, and her eyes had nothing but a slight shimmer on the lid and thick dark lashes to frame them.
These are all things I shouldn’t be noticing about her, of course, especially because finding her attractive not only goes against every natural instinct I’ve been taught to feel about her, but it’s making my head swim with how my attraction might affect my end goal here.
I just need to keep her hating me, and everything will be alright.
“You ready to call it a day on the report?” Jeffrey asks, pulling me back to the present.
“Oh. Uh, yeah. I have a few things I need to take care of before I leave, anyway.”
He salutes me and then heads for the door. “Sounds good. See you tomorrow, man.”
“Yeah, see ya.”
“And I’ll bring over the supplies on Thursday for our brainstorming session.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
As I spin around and stare out the windows, I take a deep breath and remind myself that this will all be worth it. It has to be. No reward is possible without a minor risk.
* * *
