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“That’s generally the case.” He laughed and she shook her head. “If I was there, do you know what I would do?”
“What?” Lacey leaned against her desk, worrying her bottom lip.
“I’d pull you into my arms and hold you. I’d pepper your skin with soft kisses, starting at your temples, down your cheek, neck,and back up until our lips met.” Lacey’s tongue peeked out of her mouth at this. “I’d let my right hand wander until it cupped the back of your head, holding you against me. Then my left would head in the other direction until it reached the small of your back, where I would let it rest until I kissed the breath out of you.” He paused; Lacey’s eyes were closed, and her breathing hitched. “That’s what I would do.”
Lacey hadn’t realized she wasn’t saying a word until Drew’s deep voice pulled her out of her semierotic trance. “Lacey? Did I lose you?”
She blinked her eyes a couple of times and let out a sigh. “No, but you just made it more difficult for me to concentrate for the rest of the day.”
Drew chuckled, but she could sense he was a bit frustrated as well. “Will you call me after the meeting and let me know how it goes?”
“Yes, I definitely will. Grace and Janine are coming over later tonight, but I promise to call. Thanks, Drew.”
“You got this, Lacey. I just know it.”
“What would I do without you?”
“You’ll never need to find that out. Now go knock ’em dead.”
Their call ended, and Lacey hoped Drew was indeed right. If she only had the confidence she did when she’d met with Pete.
Lacey could feel her knees shake as she walked to the boardroom. After three deep breaths and a silent prayer, she knocked on the door before entering.
Her eyes widened when she saw not only Mr. Willem and Mr. Vance sitting at either end of the table, but also Zeke, who leveled a glare at her. Why would he even be there? She pushed her questions aside, forced a smile, and greeted everyone.
Mr. Willem reciprocated with zero inflection to his tone, “Lacey, please take a seat. There’s something we’d like to discuss with you.” She sat across from Zeke and tried to look calm when she was anything but. Mr. Willem continued, “About twenty minutes ago, we received a call from Mr. Carson.”
Well, she realized, it was now or never… she opted for now. She rolled her shoulders back. “Actually, gentlemen, I wanted to talk to you about Pete. I mean, Mr. Carson.”
Mr. Vance cleared his throat, drawing Lacey’s attention. Her boss’s lips curled up slightly, making her feel a bit calmer. Maybe he was proud of her? “Were you going to tell us about the meeting you had with him?”
Her eyes caught Zeke’s. He looked as though he wanted to reach across the table and strangle her. But her bed was made; it was time to pull up her big girl panties. With the same confidence she’d shown at Carson Enterprises, she replied, “Yes. I realize that it was impulsive, but if I could explain…”
“No need,” Mr. Willem interrupted, opening a file in front of him. Lacey hoped it wasn’t her termination paperwork or even a demotion letter. The only thing that gave her hope was Zeke’s attitude. He hadn’t yet said a word, but if looks could kill, her friends would be planning her funeral instead of their girls’ night.
“It appears Mr. Carson, orPete, as you call him, was quite impressed with you. So much so, in fact, he has canceled all other pitch meetings.”
A sigh of relief whooshed out of her. “Really?” Her voice reached an octave foreign even to her ears. She cleared her throat and drew her shoulder blades together, as her knees knocked under the table. “That’s wonderful.”
“Yes, well, what you did was completely unorthodox,” Mr. Vance said. Zeke mumbled something that sounded like “and underhanded,” but she didn’t pay him any mind. It was her bosses she needed to be concerned with.
“I’m sorry, sir, but the opportunity presented itself, and I took it.”
“Opportunity?” Zeke snarled. “Did you just happen to bump into him in his office and have your pitch materials with you?”
Now Lacey was the one with narrow slits for eyes. “No, you’re right, Zeke. Since I’ve never golfed with him, I created my own opportunity, and it sounds like it paid off. Why are you here, anyway?”
“Okay, you two. If you’re going to be working together, then you need to get along. I know you’re upset, Zeke, but if you want to grow your client list, then you need to learn to be a team player.” Mr. Willem turned his attention to Lacey. “Zeke will be taking three of your smaller accounts in order for you to concentrate on Carson Enterprises.” His eyes cut to Zeke. “Zeke, thank you for your time. You’ll be receiving the necessary files.”
“Thank you,” Zeke said, his voice dripping with irritation.
Lacey felt the air in the small room lighten tenfold with her glowering counterpart gone. “I do apologize to both of you for going behind your backs. To be honest, at the time it didn’t feel that way. I just wanted to prove to you, and to myself, that I have what it takes to be partner, and I’m not afraid to go after what I want.”
“Lacey,” Mr. Willem said with a smile. “We love your initiative. Although, it would’ve been nice to have been privy to the information when Mr. Carson called the office, but he actually said he was happy to have you on his team.”
Relief whooshed through Lacey. “That’s wonderful.”
“As you know, the person who retained Carson as a client would be promoted to partner.” Mr. Vance’s voice brimmed with pride. “Congratulations.”
