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“What exactly is she doing in those dreams?”
“The first time, she just appeared. Like a ghost. The second time, she barged through the door right when I was leaving with Claire. She yelled at me.” Darrel stares thoughtfully at the table. “Hm.” ...
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“It’s only her. Only since I hired her.” He strokes his ch...
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“Miss Jones keeps showing up in your nightmares. She stops the memory of that night from playing over and over again. She takes the control you don’t want to give. She forces you to step away from regret. She’s prying your cold, hard fingers off the self-destruct button.”
“I’ll wait to make sure you don’t die and then I’ll have it.” Ezekiel’s eyes widen. Then he starts laughing. I glare at him. “What’s so funny?” “Nothing, sir.”
“Why?” My angry eyes dart over the hallway. “Where’s Kenya?” “Attending to matters for the in-store promotion.” “She’s not here?”
is Miss Jones’s responsibility to attend all matters regarding Belle’s Beauty. Inform her that if she doesn’t show up, she can contact my lawyer to negotiate for the damages regarding the Baby Box pitch.” “Sir?” “Did I stutter, Ezekiel?” I hiss.
she upsets you, Alistair, I don’t have a problem attending the meeting in her place.” “I need your attention on Fine Industries. There’s been another hiccup with the licensing contract.”
“You acting like this makes me wonder if you believe I’m the bad guy.” “Miss Jones entered this company under suspicion. The employees are questioning what she’s doing here and what connection she has to you.” “Is that a problem? So she isn’t a class favorite. We don’t show up to work to make friends.” “Maybe not.”
“Not once. And, as far as I know, Miss Jones has handled all rejection with grace.”
“Well then…” “Yesterday was different.”
“Yesterday,” Ezekiel says, “she was outright confronted by one of your admirers.”
“My admi...
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“I’m afraid Miss Jones will be further harassed.” “She acts like nothing can harm her. Why are you suddenly concerned?” “It’s a tense time, Alistair.”
“I’ll inform her.” “Ezekiel.” He turns, disapproval in his furrowed brow and the set of his whiskered chin. “Yes, sir?” “I don’t care how much you favor the woman. Don’t question me again.” His eyes darken. “Yes, sir.”
“You all know why we’re here. Baby Box was a disaster. Before Miss Jones’s… untimely interruption, Sutherburg was not biting.” No one speaks up. Not that I expect them too.
“We have other deals we can pursue, but that’s not the point. Losing the Baby Box pitch jeopardizes our company value. When trying to expand our markets, we need companies jumping on board. Rejection will make the rest of the pack cautious.”
“So,” I glance at my team in turn, “what were the holes in yesterday’s plan and what can we do to salvage this?”
“Kenya.” “I know.” She climbs to her feet and cradles her notebook and laptop. “Milk, cream and ‘enough’ sugar.”
“Where’s my coffee?” “Coffee is only going to make it worse.” She folds her arms over her chest and jerks her chin down. “Didn’t I tell you to go about your duties quietly?”
“This isn’t quietly.” “There are nicer ways to say thanks.” “I didn’t say thanks.” I knock the pills back and swallow.
“By the way, I had something to say during the meeting, but I didn’t want to embarrass you.” My eyebrows hike. “Why didn’t you bring up your delivery as a part of the evaluation?”
That might work in some cases, but not when you’re trying to convince someone to buy from you.” My eyes narrow to slits. “Did I not make myself clear yesterday?”
“You made yourself clear and I’d like to do that too. I’m here because I want to be. Because it’s a good job with the kind of salary and benefits I couldn’t dream of receiving, even if I was fifty years old with thirty years of experience.”
apologize again for bringing your family into the pitch. That wasn’t right and I accept the consequences of that decision.”
“But I don’t like being threatened and manipulated. I’m not your possession. Keep that in mind the next time you want to force me to do anything.”
The landline rings. She turns to go. I lift a hand. “Wait right there.” Her back stiffens and I can feel her annoyance spreading out like spikes in the room.
“Hello?” “Mr. Alistair, sir,” the receptionist at the lobby screeches, “you have a visitor.” “Who is it?” I bark. “It’s Mr. Sutherburg from Baby Box.” My eyes widen and I speak hoarsely. “Send him upstairs.”
“Sutherburg is here.” “Really?” My palms start to sweat. “Is that normal?” He shakes his head. Weird.
“Wait. Ezekiel is out right now. I’ll need you to bring refreshments.” His eyes focus on me and sharpen. “Can you handle that?” It’s a question, but the fury behind it tells me there’s only one right answer. “Yes.”
“Hurry. They’ll be here any minute.” If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t move until they said ‘please’. Just to remind them that we’re all humans and that manners haven’t gone out of style.
“Miss Jones!” Our new intern sprints into the room. Her eyes are wide and her red-stained lips are parted. “Miss Jones!” “What? What’s wrong?” “Mr. Alistair is calling you.” “Me?” My eyes dart to the coffee. “But I just—” “I’ll do that.”
“Hurry,” she says. “It sounded urgent.”
Alistair grunts. “Sit here, Miss Jones.”
didn’t get to bring the coffee.” “Oh, we don’t have time for coffee,” Sutherburg says. His hands move so animatedly that he might fly out of his seat. The ruddy flush in his ears spreads to his cheeks and neck. “I see,” I murmur, still confused.
“He insisted on having you here,”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about Miss Jones’s proposal. It was inspired. Printing real stories on the flaps of all Baby Box packages? It’s branding. It’s personal. It’s out of the box.” He chortles, flashing big teeth. “Forgive the pun.”
“You gave the impression that you weren’t pleased at the meeting.” “Oh, it wasn’t that. I couldn’t sign you on immediately because I had to talk to Walsh.”
“He’s ultimately in charge of big promotions like this. And since the boxes will need to be altered, we’d need his okay. This kind of change involves the production team as well as our PR team.” I lean forward. “So… you liked my idea?” “Loved it.” Sutherburg beams. “I thought it was fantastic.”
“You could have informed us over the phone.” His eyes move to Walsh. “Why visit in person?” “We need to clarify some things.” “What things?”
wanted to read the proposal, but there was none at hand. I was informed that you, Mr. Alistair, had a problem with your wife’s story being printed. Given the matter is so sensitive, I came to speak to you personally about it.”
“We’d prefer that none of the stories feature his wife. That’s how we came up with the angl...
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“The problem,” Alistair says, his tone hard and scorching, “is the amount of information displayed. I don’t have a problem with Claire’s story reaching more people. I simply want no mention of our daughter.”
“That’s a difficult request given our boxes are for mothers.” “Nothing is difficult when you’re the one calling the shots. Claire’s story might inspire mothers to reconnect with the dreams they gave up when they had their children.”
“You make a good point, ...
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“Let me take this,” I say, grabbing the tray. “Thanks,” she whispers, her cheeks flushed.
“call me if you ever get tired of Alistair’s frosty mug. I think you’ll be very satisfied with my terms.” I throw up in my mouth.
Alistair plucks Walsh’s business card from me. In two quick snaps of his fingers, the business card is in three pieces. Two more snaps and it’s in five. I blink in shock. “The hell is wrong with you?” Yes. He’s my boss.
“Did you plan on taking him up on his offer?” “That has nothing to do with you.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that. You. Don’t. Own. Me.” “And how many times do I have to tell you.”
