Unwilling to be late for his meeting with Pryce, he hustled over to the man’s office. The door was open, and when he rapped his knuckles on it, Pryce greeted him with a smile.
“Come on in.”
Mason almost wanted to look around and see if there was someone behind him. A friendly greeting from Pryce Lipton was completely unexpected.
“I’m here to talk about the Mojo account.”
“Yeah, of course, sit down.” Pryce pointed to the small conference table, where coffee and bagels awaited. “I figured we’d be working through lunch, so I ordered in some food for us.”
Had the office been invaded by aliens? Mason hated being suspicious, so he decided that Pryce understood the necessity of them working together and getting along, and food was his peace offering. One Mason was more than willing to accept, especially when he spied the lox spread.
“This is really nice. Thanks.”
“Not at all.” Settling into the seat across from him, Pryce watched him make his bagel. “How’re you getting along? Enjoying the job?”
He’d taken a huge bite of the bagel and held up a finger until he stopped chewing.
“I am. Definitely a change of pace from what I was used to, but it’s exciting.”
Pryce poured himself a coffee. “I’ll bet. Living on a superyacht must’ve been incredible. Did you sail all over?”
Mason nodded, relieved that Pryce seemed to have put his initial mistrust behind him. “The South Pacific, yeah. I’ve never seen such beautiful fish, flowers, and birds. Look.” He scrolled through his phone and pulled up an album he’d made, then slid it to Pryce.
“Wow. It’s like a dream.”
“Totally. Every day I’d wake up and want to pinch myself. I felt so lucky.”
“You sure were. How’d you meet someone like Warren Colchester?”
“I was a bartender at a hotel he stayed at overnight when bad weather hit. I did him a few favors, and I guess he remembered me because the next time he came into port, he offered me the job as his assistant.”
“Those must’ve been some good favors.” Pryce winked, and Mason grew hot.
“Nothing like that.” Mason had no desire for his relationship with Warren to make the rounds. And at that point ithadbeen strictly business. “He needed high-speed Internet and a way to access files from the cloud. Warren is a brilliant businessman but not the most high-tech.”
“And you helped him?”
“I’m pretty good at figuring out stuff like that.”
“Good to know I can call you if I ever need some late-night help.” Pryce smiled at him.
“Sure. Always happy to lend a hand.”
“So let’s talk Mojo. What are the influencers telling you?”
Before Mason got into it, he wanted to make sure he and Pryce were on the same page.
“You’re okay, then, with my ideas for them? I don’t want you to think I’m into using them like infomercials. We can target the right people by running various ads and hitting up different demographics to see what works best.”
“I like it. I’m sorry I was snappish with you. I wasn’t prepared to have someone I thought didn’t know anything come in and question my authority.”
“And now you don’t mind?”
A surprisingly charming smile tugged at Pryce’s lips. “Well, your input can help me get the account for The Company. So I’d have to be stupid not to take all that’s offered to me, right?”
Unease settled in Mason’s chest. Why did he feel as though Pryce’s words held a double meaning? He took another bite of his bagel and chewed to give himself a chance to think. Was he being overcautious?
“Yeah. I’m happy to show you everything.”
