Joshua makes a dramatic sound from his desk.“Ouch.”
I resist the urge to kick him.
Opening the email, I feel a surge of irritation when I realize he’s telling the truth.He did send me the file at dawn.Grinding my teeth, I open the file and go over it.
It’s concise, to the point, with pie charts and bar charts scattered all over, drawing attention to the necessary details.
It’s fucking perfect.
And it pisses me off.
When I don’t say anything, Caleb scoots his chair over.“Well?Did you find something to yell at me over yet?”Joshua lets out a bark of laughter, and my head whips around to glare at him.He immediately puts on a somber expression.
Turning my attention back to the report, I mutter, “It’s fine.Good job.”The last part is torn out of me, a reluctant acknowledgement.
“Is that praise I hear, Lopez?”Caleb blinks, pretending to look shocked.
I purse my lips together, knowing I might say something nasty in response if I don’t.“Don’t let it go to your head.It’s competent work, not a miracle.”
“So it is good.”The man seems intent on having me blow a fuse today.
“I said it’s fine, not the divine word of god,” I snap.“Stop hovering over my shoulder.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says lightly, sliding his chair back to his own desk.
“Joshua, I’m sending you the file.”I look towards the man sitting to my left.“Add it to the cloud drive, and send it to Iris.Where are we on the finalized campaign?”
“We’re going with both your ideas.”Iris’s voice is crisp as she enters.“I liked your proposal of hosting the event on the yacht, Caleb, but I agree with Eve’s ideas about the tagline.”She sets down her bag on Caleb’s desk, which is closest to her.“‘Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow.’I like the colors of dark wood and gold.Excellent choice, Eve.”
It’s hard not to turn around and stick my tongue out at Caleb who had shat over this idea just a few days ago.Suck on that, Wilder!
Flora and Steven have just come in when Iris drops another bombshell.“Which is why I want the two of you to head the Serastra 70 relaunch.Flora, Joshua, and Steven will support you on this, but I need them to focus on the feedback of the Aerion 108 national launch and its international launch.”
My stomach falls.“You want me and Caleb to lead the campaign?Together?Are you sure that’s wise?”
“That’s what I said.”Iris nods.
“B-but, he’s new!”I protest.“He literally joined, like, yesterday!He probably doesn’t even know where the bathroom is yet!”
“Sure, I do,” Caleb interjects with that infuriating smile of his.“You showed it to me, remember?”
“He has experience, Eve,” Iris says calmly.“And he’s presented some excellent ideas.The two of you combined will be a much stronger team.”
“But—”
Iris stares at me.“Are you questioning my decision?”
I open my mouth to say yes, but the glint in her eyes has me crossing my arms over my chest and muttering, “No.Of course not.”
“Good.”Her eyes swivel towards Flora and Steven.“I want you two to work alongside Frank’s team.The results are coming in for the campaign.I’ve already talked to Frank.He’s going to share all the data with you.It’s going to be coming live, so keep tracking the progress.”
“What about me?”Joshua points to himself.
“You’ll be with Veronica.I was going to have Steven work with her division, but you often work late, and that’s ideal for the digital campaigns.Veronica asked for you specifically.”
Joshua shrugs.“Everyone wants a piece of me.”
I roll my eyes at him.“If you thought I was bad, Veronica’s going to eat you for breakfast and use your bones as coffee stirrers.”
