Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
“I know how you feel.”
She lifted her brows. “You do?”
“Yes. I’ve been in your position before with a very touchy-feel boss who tried to hit on me my last day. It’s hard for women in the business world, even in this day and age. Don’t let it get you down.” Leaning in closer, I smiled. “When they treat you that way, it means they’re feeling threatened. Take it as a compliment.”
She smiled, and I saw her eyes light up. “Thank you, Ms. Night. I appreciate that. And for the record, Mr. Quinn has only ever been respectful and kind. Moody now and then, but never anything bad.”
“Call me Saylor, and I’m glad to hear that.”
“Okay! Thank you, Saylor. And please, if you ever need anything, let me know.”
The door to Mason’s office opened, and he walked out and over to Ashley’s desk. “Ashley, I’m afraid I’ll be in meetings all day. Would you mind picking up some lunch? Your choice today, and if you didn’t bring anything to eat, get food for yourself as well. My treat.”
My heart fluttered in my chest at Mason’s kind gesture. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t such an asshat.
He turned to me. “You ready?”
I cleared my thoughts and nodded. “Yes. Do I need anything for the meeting?” I asked, feeling completely taken aback by the kind gesture to his assistant.
“No.”
Mason’s response was clipped. Maybe he was getting into meeting mode or something.
We stepped into the elevator and he pushed the button for the top floor.
“I’m going to assume you did your homework on the company?” he asked.
Turning to him, I narrowed my eyes and replied, “Of course I did.”
He grinned.
It didn’t take long to travel up the three floors to the top of the building. Mason stepped off the elevator, and I followed behind him. It wasn’t hard to notice the countless women saying hello to him or eye-fucking the hell out of him as we walked down the hallway.
I rolled my eyes. They guy was drop-dead gorgeous, but the way some of them were gawking at him turned my stomach.
We walked into a large conference room, and I was stunned to see there was only one person in the room.
A beautiful woman at the end of the table stood and smiled. I instantly knew it was Ava Maxwell. No. Ava Locke. Shit.
“Mason, thank you so much for taking the time to meet this morning.”
He nodded and walked over to her. “How’s the little one?”
She smiled. “Wonderful! Thank you for asking. Have you spoken to Charlie?”
“A few days ago. He called to see how things are going.”
I stood there, feeling totally and utterly out of place.
Ava turned and gave me a sweet smile. “Saylor Night, I’ve read good things about you, and I’m excited for what you can bring to Maxwell and Locke.”
Extending my hand, I replied, “Thank you so much, Mrs. Locke. I’m excited as well and looking forward to jumping in.”
“Good. Please, both of you have a seat.”
I glanced over at Mason, but he didn’t bother to look at me. He pulled a seat out and sat. I cleared my throat and did the same.
“I’ve asked you here because I want to get to know you both better,” Ava said. “Derrick and I have worked tirelessly to show our clients that we’re not afraid to take risks and that we understand their current needs. We’ve been able to bring in some great new accounts, but there’s one we haven’t been able to snag yet. I want it. That’s where you both come in.”
My heart was racing. This wasn’t a goddamn “welcome to the company!” meeting. That motherfucker had set me up.
A pad of paper in the middle of the table caught my eye. Pulling it closer to me, I reached for a pen and prepared to take notes.
Ava continued. “Jameson Rum is looking for an agency to redesign their campaign on drinking responsibly. They’re also looking for someone to design their social media. They’re number two behind Bacardi, and they want to be number one. We’re the agency to make it happen.”
I wrote down a few ideas that instantly popped into my head. The first thing I’d do when I got back to my office was research the shit out of Jameson.
“Saylor, you’re busy writing away over there.”
Lifting my gaze to Ava, I smiled. “I worked a social media campaign about six months back for Blue Moon. It ended up being very successful for them, and as soon as you mentioned Jameson Rum, I had a few thoughts. My first plan of action, of course, will be to gather and analyze data on Jameson’s consumers, as well as their top competitors. Barcardi will be a hard one to surpass, but not impossible.”
Ava leaned back in her chair, looking like the cat who’d just eaten the canary. “Mason, would you mind if I spoke with Saylor alone?”