wilder side hidden from everyone
at Prescott and Hayes for the five years she’d worked there, her
irritation with Jefferson removed all her reservations about
letting him see it. He was invading her downtime, so he could deal
with it. The worst that could happen was that she had to look for a
new job in the morning, but even that likely wouldn’t be too
difficult. After all, Gordon Marketing had been trying to lure her
away from the position she’d loved until the disastrous meeting
with Jefferson this afternoon. The only reason she hadn’t switched
firms yet is because she had worked hard to reach her current
position and earn the respect of her colleagues and clients. She
didn’t want to have to start over at a new firm with new
clients.
She grabbed her cell phone and keys on the way out
the door. Her one concession to her “weekend personality,” as her
cousin called it, was the black Jeep sitting in her driveway. She
had spent more than one Sunday evening washing off mud and
returning the paint to a high shine in order to prevent anyone at
work from guessing she spent her weekends out in the middle of
nowhere and helping her cousin’s band transport equipment to venues
at fairgrounds, warehouses, and the occasional barn.
Fifteen minutes later, she rode the elevator to the
fourth floor of Hildegard Tower. The huge steel-and-glass building
housed multiple corporations, but Prescott and Hayes owned the
entire fourth floor. Layla’s office sat in the middle of the main
hallway, near the bank of elevators and reception area. She
bypassed it, ignoring the stunned gazes of her coworkers leaving
for the day, and strolled to Jefferson’s corner office.
He responded to her knock with a curt, “Enter.”
Layla fought down her temper and opened the door.
“I’m here as ordered. What couldn’t wait until morning?”
Jefferson sat behind his desk, his eyes wide and his
mouth open slightly. He quickly snapped it closed and rose, coming
around to meet her. “Is this part of a new ad campaign or part of a
new campaign to drive me nuts?”
She crossed her arms and glared. “Neither. This is me
when I’m not working. I would have changed, but I got the feeling
you would rather I didn’t take the time.”
“Touché.” He stepped around her and closed the door,
and then he returned to his desk chair. “Have a seat.”
She dropped into the chair he indicated and sprawled
comfortably, tired of playing the part of the perfect little
businesswoman. Obviously, it had been a mistake to completely hide
her tomboy tendencies, since Jefferson apparently couldn’t stand a
show of femininity.
He twisted his leather chair back and forth, and a
quiet, soothing creak filled the air. After studying her a moment
longer, he stopped and leaned forward, steepling his fingers in
front of his chest. “Layla, I’ll be honest. Our working together
isn’t going as well as I had hoped when I asked you to assist me
with the New Man Cologne account.”
“That’s hardly my fault, since I did as you asked by
taking care of the photo shoot. You forgot to tell me that you had
a different vision for the photos than I did.” She lifted an
eyebrow, hoping like crazy he wasn’t on his way to demoting her to
the position of gofer. “By the way, did you notice how much the
client loved those images, even though you hated them?”
“I did.” Jefferson worked his jaw, and Layla realized
she’d better quit pushing him before he grew so exasperated he
fired her. He took a deep breath and slowly released it before
speaking again. “Look, Layla, I didn’t have you come here to
restart our earlier argument.”
“Oh?”
“I want to make amends, work out our differences.” He
crossed his arms on his desk and leaned closer. “Somehow, you and I
have to learn to work together peacefully.”
“And why is that? Unless the client is suddenly
unhappy with the New Man campaign, I don’t see why we need to worry
about it.” She gave a
at Prescott and Hayes for the five years she’d worked there, her
irritation with Jefferson removed all her reservations about
letting him see it. He was invading her downtime, so he could deal
with it. The worst that could happen was that she had to look for a
new job in the morning, but even that likely wouldn’t be too
difficult. After all, Gordon Marketing had been trying to lure her
away from the position she’d loved until the disastrous meeting
with Jefferson this afternoon. The only reason she hadn’t switched
firms yet is because she had worked hard to reach her current
position and earn the respect of her colleagues and clients. She
didn’t want to have to start over at a new firm with new
clients.
She grabbed her cell phone and keys on the way out
the door. Her one concession to her “weekend personality,” as her
cousin called it, was the black Jeep sitting in her driveway. She
had spent more than one Sunday evening washing off mud and
returning the paint to a high shine in order to prevent anyone at
work from guessing she spent her weekends out in the middle of
nowhere and helping her cousin’s band transport equipment to venues
at fairgrounds, warehouses, and the occasional barn.
Fifteen minutes later, she rode the elevator to the
fourth floor of Hildegard Tower. The huge steel-and-glass building
housed multiple corporations, but Prescott and Hayes owned the
entire fourth floor. Layla’s office sat in the middle of the main
hallway, near the bank of elevators and reception area. She
bypassed it, ignoring the stunned gazes of her coworkers leaving
for the day, and strolled to Jefferson’s corner office.
He responded to her knock with a curt, “Enter.”
Layla fought down her temper and opened the door.
“I’m here as ordered. What couldn’t wait until morning?”
Jefferson sat behind his desk, his eyes wide and his
mouth open slightly. He quickly snapped it closed and rose, coming
around to meet her. “Is this part of a new ad campaign or part of a
new campaign to drive me nuts?”
She crossed her arms and glared. “Neither. This is me
when I’m not working. I would have changed, but I got the feeling
you would rather I didn’t take the time.”
“Touché.” He stepped around her and closed the door,
and then he returned to his desk chair. “Have a seat.”
She dropped into the chair he indicated and sprawled
comfortably, tired of playing the part of the perfect little
businesswoman. Obviously, it had been a mistake to completely hide
her tomboy tendencies, since Jefferson apparently couldn’t stand a
show of femininity.
He twisted his leather chair back and forth, and a
quiet, soothing creak filled the air. After studying her a moment
longer, he stopped and leaned forward, steepling his fingers in
front of his chest. “Layla, I’ll be honest. Our working together
isn’t going as well as I had hoped when I asked you to assist me
with the New Man Cologne account.”
“That’s hardly my fault, since I did as you asked by
taking care of the photo shoot. You forgot to tell me that you had
a different vision for the photos than I did.” She lifted an
eyebrow, hoping like crazy he wasn’t on his way to demoting her to
the position of gofer. “By the way, did you notice how much the
client loved those images, even though you hated them?”
“I did.” Jefferson worked his jaw, and Layla realized
she’d better quit pushing him before he grew so exasperated he
fired her. He took a deep breath and slowly released it before
speaking again. “Look, Layla, I didn’t have you come here to
restart our earlier argument.”
“Oh?”
“I want to make amends, work out our differences.” He
crossed his arms on his desk and leaned closer. “Somehow, you and I
have to learn to work together peacefully.”
“And why is that? Unless the client is suddenly
unhappy with the New Man campaign, I don’t see why we need to worry
about it.” She gave a
Similar Books
