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“Okay.” I sip my drink, wondering if there’s more to discuss, like, I don’t know, me becoming partner.
He sips his drink for a second, staring off into space, and I wonder for a second if the old man died on me.
“As far as you go…”
I want to rub my hands together. Here’s the good part.
“I know we’ve talked about the possibility of you making partner. As you can imagine, this is a hard decision for me to make. Benny and I were partners from the get-go. I’ve tried to keep things going with the same vision he and I originally had for the company, and I can’t deny that the idea of you as a partner scares me a bit.”
“Why would I scare you?” I slide to the edge of my seat.
“You’re young. You’re going to want change. Teddy Beardsman, now there’s a guy who understands the rules to play by.”
I rewind his words, trying to bring clarity to them. Is he fucking kidding me? Beardsman? That hack?
I inhale a deep breath to try to cage in my anger. “With all due respect, Mr. Jacobson, I bring in double the clients Teddy does. Not only in number but in revenue.”
He holds his hand up in a placating gesture. “I know, I know, but you and this Annie Stewart thing has me wondering if…” He leans forward. “If Jacobson and Earl is eventually going to have a daycare for working mothers who will be out once a month ‘sick.’” He puts the word sick in air quotes.
It doesn’t take a genius to read between the lines. He’s afraid I’ll promote women and change the culture of the office.
“I’m getting older, and I don’t want to be here all day. But it’s a bigger decision than just making you partner because you bring in the most revenue. I have to pick someone Benny and I would’ve agreed on, and like I said, he always thought you were too cocky.”
My arrogance is what makes me so great at my job. I don’t second-guess decisions. I trust my gut, get excited about my idea, which in turn makes clients believe in me and my vision for their campaigns. I’ve given this company my entire twenties and into my thirties. I have no life other than work and now he’s decided that maybe I’m not the right fit? “Mr. Jacobson—”
He holds up his hand to stop me, and I clench my fists. “Just relax, Enzo. I’m not making any final decision right now. I just figured you were wondering where this is all going. I know you’re probably the best candidate. Teddy’s always off for some kid’s activity.” He rolls his eyes. “You’re my bachelor, no-strings kind of guy. You could very well bring Jacobson and Earl to the next level.”
Finally he’s talking sense.
“But I have to weed through it all. I really called you in here to talk about Annie Stewart. Like I said, rumors are flying because you’re finally getting along with a woman you work with, and in my experience, that usually has nothing to do with actual work.”
If my ma had raised me differently, I’d punch him and not care if I broke every bone in his face. I don’t understand men like this. I know there’s a generation gap, but saying I’m only getting along with Annie because he thinks we’re having an affair? The fact that we are in a sexual relationship aside, I have respect for her work. That’s why we work well together. But that seems to be a foreign concept to him.
“I assure you, sir, Annie Stewart has a bright future and you don’t want to pass her up. I say that based on her work performance alone.” I down the rest of my scotch and set the glass on the table a little harder than necessary.
He nods. “Okay then. Well, good luck, and I’ll have an answer on the partnership at the same time as I do for Miss Stewart and the junior ad exec position. A couple weeks max.”
I refrain from arguing that he said he’d promote her after we landed two more products for Coddle. I can’t be the prince who swoops in every time, no matter how much I want to be. “Thank you, Mr. Jacobson.”
I shake his hand and leave his office feeling as if he just shoved a massive stick up my ass.
“Have a nice day, Enzo,” Mindy says.
“Thanks. You too.” I walk out of his corner office area and down the hall to mine.
Annie isn’t there, which is probably a good thing. I need to work off all this pent-up energy, and if she were around, I might try to seduce her into letting me bang her in my office with the blinds drawn. Actually, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
I sit in my office and draw the blinds. Who the hell cares? Mr. Zilroy does it every damn day between one and two. I won’t be napping though.
* * *
To: Annie Stewart ([emailprotected]electromail.com)
From: Lorenzo Mancini ([emailprotected])
Subject: Not a Request
I need to see you in my office ASAP.
