AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lacey nodded. “First, thank you for appreciating my concept. Second, my primary goal as your advertising executive would be to develop a program that will not only bring Carson Enterprises to the forefront as a community leader but will also increase profits. We will not only be utilizing print advertisements, which will gear toward the older demographic, but that will be minimal in comparison to our online presence. It’s more efficient, of course, but also more cost effective. I’d be more than happy to provide you with examples. That being said, when you hire me, you will see for yourself what I can do with any budget.”
Pete grinned, and David looked appeased by her response. By the time she walked out of the conference room, everyone congratulated her on her outside-the-box thinking.
Flashing a bright smile at the scowling receptionist just as the elevator doors closed, she let out a breath. Drew was right, Pete wasa nice guy once you cracked through a few icy layers. Lacey wondered what Mr. Willem or Mr. Vance would say once they found out she’d ambushed a potential client. She hoped they would be impressed with her initiative. Of course, that would also depend on whether she had impressed Pete enough.
Adrenaline coursed through Lacey’s body. She should have been cold as she stepped out onto the busy sidewalk. She should have been fighting the other New Yorkers for a cab, and hungry from skipping lunch, but she wasn’t. She strode down a few blocks, elated, appreciating the vibrant city like never before. Though once she reached a point where it was dangerous to be walking in heels on the snowy sidewalk, Lacey hopped in a cab and headed back to her office.
Lacey tried to practice patience as she sat at her desk, trying in vain to focus on other work. She thought for sure she would have heard from Pete, but six o’clock rolled around without a word from him. Maybe his staff wasn’t as impressed as she thought they’d been. Perhaps their questions didn’t have cost-effective solutions.
Not feeling as confident as she had when she’d left Pete’s office, she packed up her things and headed home.
Two hours and a pint of ice cream later, Lacey was sitting on her couch channel surfing. Frustrated, she tossed her remote on the coffee table and hugged a throw pillow close to her chest. She closed her eyes and hoped she hadn’t made a mistake barging into Carson Enterprises.
Her mind raced a mile a minute with what-ifs…What if I went the traditional route? What if I didn’t just barge into the man’s office? What if I stuck to the original plan and gave myself more time? What if I didn’t go in such an offbeat direction? What if I had the answers to all of his staff’s questions?Lacey knew Zeke’s presentation was more standard and streamlined toward the business end of the spectrum, but wouldn’t everyone’s be that way? No. She couldn’t second-guess herself.
There was one person who would make her feel better. Looking at the clock, she figured he’d be home by now. Despite the measly one-hour time difference between New York and Chicago, it was still difficult to nail down a time to talk. Either Drew was working late or Lacey was. Or one of them had a dinner meeting. Their calls had started to come later and later. Most of the time, she’d be dozing off and yawning into the phone, but right now all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and call him.
After the third ring his voice mail picked up. Lacey let out a frustrated and disappointed sigh. When the last beep sounded, she spoke, “Hi, it’s me. Nothing urgent, I just wanted to talk to you.” When she clicked off her phone, her head landed on her feather-soft pillow. She did her best to drift off, but that was easier said than done.
Just like most January mornings, the sun was nonexistent. After a restless night’s sleep, she put on a gray pantsuit to match the ominous sky… and her mood. Lacey grabbed her to-go cup, filled it with coffee, and headed to work.
She must have checked her phone twenty times on the short subway ride between her apartment and her office building. The only message she received was an apology text from Drew letting her know he’d had a late meeting, then went out with a few people from work.
Lacey got off at her stop and made her way to her office. The cold air felt like sharp blades against her exposed cheeks. She tugged the lapels of her coat together as she dodged commuters hurrying to their destinations. Small clouds of air escaped with every breath she took, and she wished more than ever that she were still on the island, soaking in the sun. Maybe if she bombed her pitch, she’d ask Ethan for a job at Spero. Finally reaching her building, she pulled the front door open and hustled to her office.
Lacey was thankful she had a few proposals she needed to work on for other clients and a meeting with a dog food company in the conference room down the hall to pull her away from her phone. Itmade time pass and got her mind off Carson Enterprises for a short while. On her way back to her office, she heard her phone ringing and had to walk-run to answer it. She grabbed it so fast she almost tripped over her own feet. Without looking at the caller ID she answered, “Hello, this is Lacey Winters.”
“So formal.”Drew.
“Oh hi, sorry about that. I didn’t realize it was you.”
“Are you all right? You don’t sound like yourself.”
“Yes, I’m fine. I don’t bring my phone into meetings and was headed back to my desk when I heard it ringing.”
“How are you? Sorry I missed your call. It was late by the time I got home, and I figured you were sleeping.”
“I was probably up. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I met your friend Pete yesterday.” Lacey closed her office door and sat behind her desk.
“You did? I thought your meeting wasn’t for another week or so?”
“It wasn’t. I decided to launch a surprise attack.” She let out a laugh. “I guess that’s been my MO of late.”
Drew chuckled. “Worked well on me.”
“Yes, it did.” Lacey began to relax just hearing Drew’s voice and thinking back to their first kiss. “Except my stomach didn’t get all fluttery with him. I mean, in a way it did, but that was just nerves.”
“Your stomach got fluttery with me?”
Among other things.“Yes, how could it not?”
“True. Iama spectacular kisser.”
Lacey sighed. His kisses made everything better. “Yes, you are, and I miss them… a lot.”
