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Her eyes flick from her boss back to me. “Of course, Mr. James,” she says simply. “I’d be happy to do so.”
I want to correct Ramona and tell her to call me Carlton, but I’m enjoying her submissiveness too much. I almost start to laugh but quickly catch myself, shifting my weight so that my body doesn’t give me away.
Then, Melody’s shrill voice interrupts my pleasant musings. “Mr. James,” she begins. “Let me start by saying how incredibly pleased we are that you requested a meeting with our firm. I know you have several offers on the table, so I’m very excited to sit down with you today.”
Ah yes. Despite the lovely surprise of my blast-from-the-past, I shift gears to focus on the task at hand. I’m a businessman first and foremost, and I won’t let a woman distract me, even if that woman is delightfully beautiful.
I smile tightly, nodding. “Concord Design’s reputation precedes it. Your products and my company’s vision appear to align at least so far,” I offer carefully. In truth, I am impressed with the Chicago-based firm, but with a company my size, I am always cautious when taking on new partnerships.
“We believe so, too,” Melody is flirting and is doing little to hide the fact. I raise my eyebrows slightly, recognizing her behavior as over the top and oddly unprofessional, considering what I’d heard about this company. From the corner of my eye, I can sense that Ramona is watching our interaction carefully.
“You’ve seen the mockups on my end. What do you have to show me on yours?” I ask the blonde woman, hoping that my tone conveys annoyance.
To my relief, Melody switches tactics from obnoxious flirt to competent professional. “Right, Mr. James. So if you’ll turn your attention to the portfolio in front of you…”
For the next hour, Melody walks me through project design, expense expectations, mock-ups, and the estimated timeline. It’s a solid presentation with excellent details, but I continue to be distracted by something far more appealing, despite my attempts to focus on work.
Throughout the meeting, I sneak furtive glances at Ramona whenever I can, unable to keep my eyes off of her for too long.
The tempting young woman is so focused on taking notes that she never seems to notice my occasional glance. But from time to time, I sense that she, too, might be peeking in my direction. There’s no doubt in my mind that she recognizes me – her expression when I first walked in told me that – but I find myself curious to know what’s going through her mind now that we’re sitting only a few feet apart for the first time in more than a decade.
“So that about covers everything.” Melody beams an absurdly wide smile in my direction. I return her expression with my own tight grimace.
The flirting is back on, I see, I observe contemptuously.
Outwardly, I maintain my professionalism, however. “The projections are solid, and I can see that Concord took my directions seriously when it comes to requirements. Who put this presentation together?” I ask with interest, knowing full well that Melody couldn’t have accomplished all of this detailed work on her own in so short an amount of time.
“Oh, well I led the charge,” she croons, “with some help here and there.” I raise my eyebrows slightly but the flirty blonde doesn’t seem to notice my skepticism.
“Very good work. My compliments to the team,” I offer easily instead.
The skinny blonde bats her lashes. “So, I know you’ll need some time to think through the information presented here, but please, if there is anything else you might need, please, please reach out.” She hands me a business card, her hand lingering in mine a little too long. “That’s my personal cell number on the back. You can call me, any time of the day or night.”
Her flirtatiousness is so over-the-top that I almost want to laugh aloud. Nothing about Melody Prince attracts me – from her poor hair dye job to her stick-thin figure. But I manage to be polite, and accept the card graciously. I slide it into my jacket pocket without looking at the details.
At this point, Ramona is covertly watching the exchange between her boss and me while biting her lip. From my periphery, I think I see a flush on her cheeks, and wonder if it’s because she’s embarrassed for her boss. After all, the little girl has always had a way of reading my moods, even when I don’t speak.
I stand up quickly, nearly causing Melody to trip backward. She composes herself and then flutters her lashes once more. Before I leave, however, I go around the table to where Ramona is still seated. She pops up immediately once I draw near.
“Were you able to capture the highlights?” I ask, enjoying her slight discomfiture due to my proximity. Her breasts really are magnificent and I lean in slightly. “All of the important points?”
