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But I need Madison Carter to deliver the key to the ChitChat kingdom. She has it, whether she thinks she does or not. She’s important, and much of Aspire’s future rests on that twenty-two year old’s shoulders.
After she’s given me the key, things will change, though. I will not have someone working for me that refuses to give me the respect that I deserve whether she’s valuable or not.
Chapter 6
Madison
Emery Brooks is the biggest liar I’ve ever met. His entire persona is a lie. From the way he smiles at everyone to the way he acts like he knows what he’s doing, it’s like watching an actor playing an advertising and marketing mogul. He knows the right terms, and he dresses for the part, but I don’t think he’d know a good ad if it bit him in the ass. Especially on ChitChat.
I lean back in my chair, my feet propped up on the desk with my laptop closed. I haven’t used it since I filled out my onboarding paperwork. My first day was mostly freaking out, but the past two days have been dedicated to this project.
I had to make a second ChitChat account to train the algorithm to view only beauty products and reviewers, and I’ve probably analyzed a few thousand videos at this point. My mind is mud as I try to take this industry in, but I feel like I’m finally understanding what people want. Maybe.
But right now, all I can be sure of is that I need to do something other than watch videos of people putting on makeup and painting themselves with spray tan. I’m sure there are people out there that could watch this stuff for days on end, but it’s not me.
It’s almost three o’clock, and I sigh. I’m supposed to talk to my team in fifteen minutes. They’ve been sitting around doing the same thing as me since Monday, but I don’t know if they’re going to understand what they’re looking at. I can’t really trust them to get it since none of them have ever created content like this.
The door opens, breaking me from my thoughts, and I look up to see Emery in my doorway. “You’re making yourself at home, I see,” he says, his eyes on my heels that rest on the desk.
Part of me thinks I should rush to sit up straight and proper, but I’ve seen the way people lounge in the idea room. This isn’t a place for proper. It’s a place for whatever works to get your mind right, and for me, I’d be lying in bed or lounging in my oversized chair. Those aren’t possible, so I’m doing the next best thing.
“Doing my best,” I reply as I turn off my phone and set it on the desk.
“Are you going to talk to your team members, or have you forgotten that your first deadline is Friday? Brandon told me you instructed them to all watch stupid videos for the last day and a half.”
I sigh as I pull my feet off the desk and sit normally. “I’m meeting with them in fifteen minutes, and yes, I told them all to watch videos for a day and a half. They’re supposed to be trying to understand which videos go viral and which die.”
He walks into my office and closes the door behind him. He doesn’t sit down in the chair across from me like a normal person. No, he just stands in front of it, leaning forward and smiling down at me.
I know he’s using subconscious cues to say that he’s in charge, never letting himself sit in the “client” chair, and never putting himself at my level. Everything he does is cold and calculated, even if his demeanor is warm and inviting. He’s the worst kind of boss, the kind who never helps and constantly keeps you guessing where you stand.
But he’s stupidly hot, and it’s hard to think of him as the cutthroat businessman. Everything about him invites me in. His smile is infectious, and the lightness to his step makes me think he couldn’t be more carefree. It’s as if everything he does tells me that if I listen to him, I could be just as perfectly happy as him.
I have to remind myself that he’s a wolf in rainbow-colored sheep’s clothing. “Brandon says that he’s watched plenty of ChitChat videos, and it’s a waste of everyone’s time. I trust his opinion. You’re going to need time to plan these videos, and after Friday, you’ll be stuck with the logistics you order.”
I try to turn his false-confidence back on him. Smiling like I know exactly what I’m doing, even though I’m still more than a little lost, I say, “If you trust Brandon’s opinion more than mine, I’ll be happy to let him run the campaign. You know, like what most interns do.”
His smile fades for a moment. “That’s not what I meant.”
Mine doesn’t fade at all. “Good, then you’ll let me do the job that you’ve assigned me, just like you let everyone else do their own thing. You agreed to that in our meeting the other day.”
Emery lets out a huff as he stands up straight, his back showing his tension more than I think he means to. “I’m glad you’ve gotten some confidence. It was only two days ago that you told me you couldn’t do it.”
“I didn’t have a choice, did I? Was there an option I missed? Because I’d love to learn how to do my job for a minute before having to run the company’s first ChitChat campaign.”
Emery grits his teeth before saying, “After your meeting, please come to my office.”
Typical. He’s losing control, so he’s going to hide in his office where no one can see him get emotional. I don’t let him get under my skin, though. I could have said no to this job twice now, but I didn’t. He convinced me to do it, and I have no idea if I’m going to be successful, but I’ll see it out to the end. Unless he forces me to change my plan, I’m going to trust myself over him or anyone else. As he said, I’m the expert in this.
“Sounds great. I should be able to give you a little more information on what we’re doing then.”
He nods, and I know he’s frustrated, but I don’t care. I open my phone again, but I don’t start the videos. I need to center myself because I’m about to have to explain my idea for this campaign to people I’ve barely met.
As the door closes, I set my phone on the desk again and lean back in the chair. I thought an internship was supposed to be about proving your value rather than doing something no one else in the company can do. If this is relaxing compared to the other positions, then I’ll die of a heart attack before I turn twenty-five.
At least this doesn’t feel as hopeless as it did two days ago. Emery might be a liar, but I can’t say that he’s an idiot because this might actually work.
***
