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“That’s not something you ask a grown man to help you with,” he said, feeling the bulge in his shorts growing. He rolled off the hammock and used the book to cover his crotch. In a huff, he stalked back to the house. He heard her laughing behind him as he went.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Are you asleep?”
Lucas opened his eyes up and saw her standing there, the real her, not the one in his memory. She had only gotten more beautiful over the years, more alluring, more difficult to resist. His erection attested to the fact. He leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk. “What?”
“Sorry, were you asleep?” She had a sheepish grin on her lips.
“No, just resting my eyes. Migraine,” he said, tapping a finger to his right temple. He blinked at her. He hadn’t even heard her come in. He rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat.
“Can I get you some aspirin?”
He shook his head. “Next time, please knock.”
“Your door was open,” she said. “I was wondering if you had anything for me to do? I finished proofing the ad copy and gave it to Desiree. Try as she might, she couldn’t find anything wrong with it.”
“You work fast,” he said, finally offering a smile. She does everything fast, the little voice in his head mocked.
She’d been interning for him two weeks, and it was anything but smooth sailing. He tried to keep her as busy as possible, but it seemed more important to keep her at arm’s length than to make her useful. Mostly, she’d been fetching coffee, lunch, and acting as a go between for him and his team. Now they were almost caught up and he had absolutely no idea what to do with her.
Well, he had some ideas, but bending her over every surface of the workroom didn’t seem like a great way to keep his job.
He pushed the thought out of his head and studied her. There were dark circles seeping through her make-up, and he watched the way her shoulders slumped.
It made him think of his last semester at college where he was also juggling an internship and school. But he hadn’t worked nearly as hard in school as Christina did. Her mother boasted every chance she got the past few years about how well Christina was doing in school.
She looked overworked and tired. Lucas wanted to tell her to take the rest of the day off and get some sleep. Actually, he wanted to put his arms around her and hold her while she slept.
“So…” she said, singing the word.
“So, let me think,” he muttered, clearing his throat. He took a minute to consider his options. He reluctantly dismissed the ones that involved burying his face in her crotch.
Finally, he said, “Let’s see how much you’ve been paying attention in all those design classes at school.” He clicked open a file and an ad layout came up on the screen.
“This is one our advertisers, an online retailer called Tracer’s Boutique. A few months ago, they launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their new line of designer bags and satchels. Within three weeks, they’d reached their goal and then some. The product and the demand were huge because of the bag’s versatility. It’s a purse, it’s a diaper bag, it’s a computer bag. We’ve offered to help with their ad design and this is what our team has come up with.”
Christina’s eyes were glued to the screen, and she seemed to have no idea that her hair was brushing along his shoulders or that if he moved his head up just a few inches, he could press his lips to her neck. “It’s nice,” she said finally.
He chuckled. “You say nice because you know it’s missing something. I know it’s missing something, but I’m just not quite sure what it is.”
She leaned in toward the screen with one hand resting on the back of his chair. He could smell the light trace of perfume on her neck. She smelled of soap and deodorant and desire.
“Let’s see,” she said, taking the mouse and moving it around. It was a simple design meant to show the clean lines of the leather bag combined with the elegant beauty of the color and styling, but Lucas was right, the ad itself just seemed flat.
“It’s kind of boring,” she said, thinking out loud. “The writing is great. It’s meant for women of all ages, it’s affordable… I think it’s the image of the bag and the girl holding it that’s falling flat.”
Lucas tried to focus on the screen. “Think so?”
“The image doesn’t do justice to the product. I think there needs to be something more to show its versatility rather than just stating that it’s versatile. You know; show, don’t tell.”
Lucas smiled. She was right on point. “They tried doing three different images, but it ended up being too much imagery for one page. What do you think of one picture with three different women all wearing the same bag?”
“I think that takes away from the uniqueness. I don’t want to buy a bag that my Mom has,” Christina said, wrinkling her nose.
“Why not? Your mom’s cool.”
“My mom’s also twice my age,” she said, making her forty year old mother sound ancient. He smiled when she rolled her eyes. He loved picking on her.
