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Aspire may be firmly planted in the minds of businessmen around the world, but I know the numbers. We’ve pushed back against the current with these new advertising platforms for too long, and right now, I’ve got all of my hopes pinned on an intern to turn things around for us. The same one I can’t stop thinking about.
Our numbers are dropping for the first time since Aspire was built, and the only thing keeping it propped up is our customers’ trust in me to get them the sales they expect.
If I change, if my persona goes away, then that trust will go with it. They don’t know Em. They only know the man I’ve shown them, the man I created to be the face of Aspire.
Madison Carter is a risk to all of it.
When I see her walking toward my office, I want to lock the door and close the blinds. I can’t see her now when everything inside me is in knots. But Emery Brooks doesn’t close the blinds or lock the door unless someone is in his office.
I have to wait.
When Madison pops her head into the doorway with a big smile on her face, I smile back on instinct. “What can I do for you?” I ask.
She walks in and is about to close the door behind her, but I stop her. “Leave it open, please.”
She gives me an odd look. Obviously, she wanted to say something about last night, but I can’t deal with that right now.
Instead, she pauses for a moment before saying, “I was checking on how things are going with the trip to Barcelona. We’re supposed to go on Friday, right?”
I nod, leaning back in my chair as though everything’s fine. I try to pretend that my clarity of purpose isn’t cracking, that nothing has changed since yesterday. “Everything’s set up. The models have been given their scripts, and we’ll film it all on Saturday.”
She glances behind her before moving to the chair in front of me. My heart skips a beat as she whispers, “Any way you want to have another repeat of last night?”
The one thing I can’t handle. Everything inside me craves a repeat of last night, another chance to experience something real with a person I feel so drawn to. But that can’t happen.
I drop the smile and whisper, “This is not the place to talk about that, Madison.” The words come out harsher than I mean them to, but they have the intended effect. She pulls back, the smile fading from her face, and it takes everything in me not to sigh with relief.
It takes her a moment, but she stands up. “Is there anything else my team should do before we leave?” I can see the pain in her eyes, and it eats at me. How can I care so much about a woman I barely know? How can I want to cave and put everything I’ve built at risk just to keep her from experiencing that pain?
“Make sure everything is perfect and start making plans for how to set up your demographics.”
She nods to me, and I can see all the excitement on her face is gone. I hate that I had to kill it, but part of me rationalizes that regardless of how I feel, we can’t talk about it here. Even with that in my mind, it’s still hard to let her walk out of the room feeling the way she does.
I wanted there to be something between us, but it was a curiosity thing before. Now it’s real, and I know that the deeper I fall for Madison, the harder it will be to correct my course. I’m not curious anymore. Instead, I’m sure if I let myself fall even a few more steps, I’ll find out exactly how wonderful she is. Already, I can’t seem to think about anything else.
What will happen if I give in and let myself fall down that rabbit hole? Will I still be able to maintain the image that I’ve so carefully built?
Definitely not.
Unless everything changes for Aspire, it will end with losing our top tier business. I can’t let that happen.
Like I’ve done before, this may be one of those times that I have to let my true passion override my momentary desires.
“You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.”
Chapter 19
Madison
Is this Emery’s way of tossing his intern aside like he does with all the other women in his life? Last night was special, wasn’t it? I sure as hell know it was for me, but I don’t know if it was for him.
For a man who can have anything and anyone, why would making pasta and having sex with a nobody intern be special? It shouldn’t be. It should have been an utterly forgettable night for him. Then why do I have a feeling it wasn’t?
I remember how a single touch or conversation from him leaves every other person in the office smiling. Sandy nearly blushed when he told her she deserved flowers.
Is that what happened? Did he somehow break down all my defenses and convert me like he’s done with nearly everyone else? All it took was the single hottest twenty minutes of my life.
I turn away from the idea room, needing my space. Everything’s done with work for the next two days, and Brandon and Shonda are busy talking about shopping in Barcelona. That’s the last thing I want to think about.
