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“Really?” he teased. “You like a golfer because of his looks? Shallow much?”
Lacey giggled again, sending a surge of desire through his body. “He’s also a good golfer.”
“Fine, I’ll let it slide. Do you play?”
“Does miniature golf count?”
“Sure.” Drew chuckled. “I didn’t know your father was from Texas. I figured your whole family was from New York.”
“His family moved here when he was six, and my grandfather loved Dallas. So it just stuck, I guess. And whenever a game was on, we were watching. But baseball is still my favorite sport. What about you?”
“Football is my favorite. Of course, I’m a Bears fan. As far as baseball, I like the Cubs. I actually caught a foul ball last year and gave it to my nephew. I do play golf, mostly with clients, but I get an occasional round in for pleasure.”
Just being on the phone with her and hearing her voice made him happy. “How’s your pitch coming along?”
Lacey let out a sigh. “I’m staring at my storyboard as we speak.”
“I still can’t believe you use them. Isn’t everything done digitally?”
“It is, and I’ve done that, but this works better for me—it helps me make sure nothing is missed. I like to be prepared. Zeke has been in the editing room for days, creating hismasterpiece.” He laughed at the sarcasm in her voice. “Sure, laugh, but this guy struts around the office flaunting his degree as though he’s the only one ever to receive it.” She let out a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m getting antsy, and the meeting with Pete isn’t for another two weeks.”
“I’m sure it’ll be great. Like I said, Pete isn’t awful. I was just talking about him at lunch with a friend of mine who was in our fraternity. He was such a goof back in college.”
“Well, I just worry about how he is now.” Drew could hear her shuffling papers. “I think if I stare at this any longer, my eyes are going to cross.”
“Then you should step away. Take a look at it tomorrow and you’ll get a better sense of what you want to do.”
Lacey and Drew stayed on the phone until both were ready tofall asleep. They agreed to get together before February, since Drew hated the idea of waiting another month. But Drew had other ideas brewing. Since he hadn’t ironed out all the details, he decided to keep it to himself. All he knew was it would make both of them happy… or at least that was what he hoped.
Chapter 21
Today was an important one, but Lacey was prepared. Being back at work and suffering Zeke’s presence for the past week had given Lacey even more incentive to acquire the Carson account. Now Zeke entered the conference room and took a seat across from her, looking as smug as ever. He gave her a smirk and a wink, which Lacey returned with a cheeky grin. It was either that or shoot daggers at him.
Zeke made it known to anyone who listened that he’d graduated top of his class and had an MBA in marketing and international business. Anytime she was in his office she was forced to see his accolades displayed on either his wall or his bookcase. Lacey had a couple of awards as well, but she didn’t shine a spotlight on them. To her they were the driving force that reminded her she had what it took to make it in this business.
“Have a nice vacation?” Zeke asked, opening his laptop. “Looks like you got some sun.”
Thank you, Captain Obvious,Lacey thought to herself. Instead of being snarky she just smiled and opened her laptop. “Yes, thank you. Did you have a nice holiday?”
“Very. I went to my family’s estate in Martha’s Vineyard.”
“Sounds lovely.” Lacey held back an eye roll.
Just then Mr. Willem, co-owner of Willem and Vance, walked in and took his place at the head of the table. Lacey straightened her spine and gave her boss and managing partner a smile. “Good morning,” he said. “Who’s ready to knock my socks off?”
Before Lacey could utter a word, Zeke was out of his chair and starting his presentation. She berated herself for not going first but figuredsave the best for last… or at least that was what she was going with.
Zeke pressed a few buttons on his laptop, illuminating hispresentation on the dropdown screen at the far end of the room. “Carson Enterprises is one of the leading corporations in the city…” Zeke went on and on about the many clients Carson had and highlighted them in his presentation. While impressive, it wasn’t new news, nor would it bring in new clients.
Of course, this was Lacey’s opinion; where Zeke described Carson’s impressive history, Lacey’s presentation took an entirely different direction. She let her eyes flicker between Mr. Willem, the presentation, and Zeke—his confidence amped up even further as he finished.
“If I was Mr. Carson’s point person, I predict his business reaching new heights and landing him the top spot of every business magazine.” Zeke sat down and closed his presentation. She could almost picture him stretching out his legs and crossing them at the ankles under the table—he was in a game, set, match mentality.
Well… not so fast, Mr. Arrogant,Lacey thought.
“Thank you, Zeke. That was very impressive and, might I add, quite hard to beat.” Mr. Willem looked at Lacey. “The floor is yours, Lacey. Let’s see what you came up with.”
She could feel her pulse beat in her neck. If her boss thought that was impressive, what would he think of her pitch? Rather than put her nerves on display, she steadied herself, controlled her breath, and stood with as much confidence as she could muster. She heard Drew’s voice in her head, saying he believed in her.
