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“You know, what you like. Favorite color, favorite flower, favorite jeweler. Things like that so I can stay ahead of it for when—”
“Did Collin tell you to do this?” I interrupted her, since I was very busy and important.
“No. Just something I’m grabbing in advance of important holidays, milestones, anniversaries and things of that nature.”
So he hired a smart girl. I appreciated her proactivity, but I didn’t appreciate the assumption that I would be available at her leisure. It was improper.
“All right. Blue—cobalt, royal or navy, generally, but neveranything resembling turquoise or teal or a robin’s egg. Peonies, especially the blush tones. Never a tropical varietal of any kind. If there is ginger or heliconia to be found in an arrangement, I’ll throw it out. My taste in jewels can range from Catbird to Cartier, I’m open-minded. Dainty and delicate usually, but the gem itself can be obscene. That said, I don’t do statement necklaces—my neck is too thin to carry one so I make statements in other ways. I have a meeting now myself. If you need anything else, please send a calendar invite to my assistant for a future discussion.”
And I hung up on her.
I wanted Syl the Assistant to fear and revere me in equal measure, so that would be a good start. I immediately wondered what she looked like and if she was younger than me. I started to poke around on the internet, but I was only finding Sylvias that were women of a certain age. She didn’t sound like she was in her golden years, and before I could dig any further, I was startled to see my boss come into my office without even a knock.
Len.
Len Arthur was the picture-perfect archetype of an adman from days gone by, who yearned for the eighties, when Campari and cocaine reigned supreme on Madison Avenue. He exclusively wore gray sport coats, when black or blue would have been much more flattering on his near-translucent skin tone. He looked very stern when he entered, his eyes were nearly crossed as they zeroed in on me, and I had no earthly idea what the pressing issue could be, much less one that warranted such a rude entrance. I had no choice but to greet him with my tits up and legs crossed, assuming the position to be admired.
“Hello, Len. How’s your day going?”
“Bea. I’m just going to come out and ask you.” Oh God. Was hegoing to ask me out? A true nightmare, for me and HR. Sure, Len could be on the lascivious side at a work-mandated happy hour, but he knew the boundaries as well as I did, at least while we were in the office with everyone in full view. No one could have an affair in that office with all of the glass windows and doors.
“Are you engaging in an intimate relationship with a client?” he asked me.
“Excuse me?” I was incredulous. How the hell did he know that?
“I received a phone call from Collin Case’s assistant. She was updating his files and contacts and mentioned she had spoken to you earlier today as the other point of contact on the Case Company account. I thought nothing of it until she mentioned she was ‘killing two birds’ by updating her professionalandpersonal records for Collin as his vendor and, ahem, his girlfriend.”
“Len, I completely understand your alarm, but I can explain the situation. And please know that this isn’t how I wanted you to find out about—”
“I’d guess you didn’t want me to find out at all,” he barked. Len’s salt-and-pepper mustache danced around in a manner most grotesque when he was upset, like it had a mind of its own. Appalling.
“Collin and I have been see—”
“This type of conduct isverymuch frowned upon at our agency, Bea.”
“I realize that, but I can assure you—”
“I will have to make a recommendation that HR—”
“Len, please.” I stood up now, using every tactic I had to snap him out of the constant interruptions. He looked me up and down, he couldn’t help it, and I knew that would be the case. I finally had his full attention. “Like I was saying, Len, I can assure you that this isn’t some silly little tryst between client and vendor. Collin and I are in a very serious relationship.”
“Well, I should hope so, Bea. The Case Company is one of our highest profile clients. The optics of this are, well, frankly, they’re indecent.”
“Indecent,” I scoffed at him, briefly indulging in the insubordinate. “Len, I apologize that I didn’t disclose this to you before, but I can promise you that there will be no conflict whatsoever—”
“No conflict?!” The man was red in the face. I couldn’t stand it. I excelled at my career, and it was important to me, because it was my very own that I had built and always had under control. Now a simpleton like Syl had put it all at risk. I took a deep breath, choosing to be direct, so I could prepare for the worst.
“Len, is my future at the agency in jeopardy?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that further until you’ve spoken with HR.”
“Len, are youterminatingme?”
“Bea. That’s enough. You’ll be receiving an invitation shortly to meet with Rhonda, and we’ll get this all sorted out.”
When he left, I spotted Jessica McCabe in her cube, quickly looking back at her computer, acting like she had been the whole time, but I saw the corners of her mouth turn up in delight. Surely her only triumph for the entire week.Good for her.
To say a meeting with Rhonda in HR was less than ideal would be an understatement. She had never been a fan of mine, all decked out in discount designer outfits from outlet stores with a heinous perm she’d likely been sporting for thirty years, grimacing at me whenever we crossed paths. She’d been in HR at the agency probably longer than I’d been alive. This was all so frustrating. Surely Collin had communicated to Syl that our relationship was not for public consumption at our respective workplaces? How could she make such an enormous mistake in her first week? And who else might she haveblabbed to on the phone while “updating her files” that day? I called Collin immediately, all while keeping a watchful eye on my inbox for Rhonda’s forthcoming wrath.
