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He reaches down and I hear the lock click again. God, I hope no one else heard that outside.
“It has nothing to do with you. I thought I’d maybe be promoted to junior ad exec or something. I didn’t think it was going to be a ‘when you have free time between catering to Lorenzo Mancini, think of some great ad concepts, will ya?’”
He crosses his arms and tilts his head as though he’s rolling my words over in his head. “Everyone pays their dues. When I started, it took a long time before I made junior and a ridiculous amount of time to become a senior exec.”
“You’re thirty-one,” I deadpan.
He shrugs. “True, but there were lots of late hours and no sleep. I didn’t get to where I am without sacrificing.”
“Really?” I cross my own arms, matching his stance. “Were you someone’s assistant for two years only to get to pitch to the firm’s biggest client, and then be told, ‘oh guess what, you still get to be an assistant, but you can do a lot of the work of a junior ad exec too?’”
He rounds his desk, stares out the window for a second with his hands in his pockets, then turns back to me. “Okay. I get it. This is the opportunity you’ve been waiting on pins and needles for.”
“You’re right. It is. I just thought…” I let out an exasperated breath. “Women are constantly overlooked in this office.”
He says nothing, but from his confused expression, he’s either never thought about it or he’s recounting how many women he’s demeaned in his own career.
He picks up his phone. “Shelby, can you come to my office for a moment?”
“Don’t.” I step away from the door. “I don’t want this made into a huge deal because I’ll be seen as a problem and I’ll be fired.”
His forehead crinkles. “You’re not going to get fired. I can guarantee that. I’d handle this myself, but technically Shelby’s your boss. If I go above her head, it won’t be good for either of us.”
“Why would it be bad for you, golden boy?”
“I’m allergic to cats. One sweater smother from Shelby and I’m dead.”
I laugh.
“I like you much better smiling,” he says in a soft voice.
My laugh dies on my lips and we stand there with our gazes locked, in silence. My stomach flips. Do not fall for the boss.
Shelby’s knock on the door breaks the spell, and Enzo waves her in. She takes a moment to appraise us and waits.
“I think we should go back to Mr. Jacobson and suggest that upon agreement of two or more Coddle product ad approvals, Miss Stewart is promoted to junior ad exec.”
Shelby’s eyes widen. “You want me to do this?”
“The org chart says you’re her boss. I’ll gladly fight for her, but it’s not really my place.”
Shelby blows out a big breath. “This is why you don’t want to sign?”
“I don’t want to be a pain, but with this non-compete, I can’t take my talent somewhere else, yet I’m still an assistant.”
She nods. “I see. Okay, I’ll go to bat for you. We’ll see what happens.” She points at Enzo. “You have to back me up on how much she deserves this.”
Enzo holds up his hands. “Done.”
“I’ll let you two know what happens.” She leaves, and I shift my weight from one foot to the other.
“Thank you,” I say.
He rounds his desk and sits in his chair. “Don’t thank me. I didn’t do anything. You could’ve signed those papers with no complaints.”
“I know but…”
He places his hand in the air, silencing me. “I’ll be out for lunch this afternoon. Coddle sent an email saying we’re receiving a package of their products tomorrow, so we’ll be busy most of the day with Billy. Make sure you tie up any loose ends with Mr. Beardsman today.”
The conversation is clearly over, based on his standoffish vibe. This man switches moods faster than my sister did when she was in labor. At least she had a reason.
