“Hey, Donut Girl,” Destiny called from across the aisle. “I’ve edited the copy and sent it back. Can you go over it ASAP? Victoria’s after it.” She rolled her eyes because there wasn’t a time that Victoria wasn’t chasing something, even if she was demanding to see it two or three days before it was due on her desk.
“Can do.” I smiled and went straight to my inbox.
It had been a week since I started at Knight Advertising, and I hadn’t seen stern-faced, firm-pecced Curtis again, which was both a disappointment and a relief. He must have thought I was such an idiot. The embarrassment and anger hadn’t worn off, and it didn’t help that when I was telling Destiny what happened, other people heard, and now everyone was calling me Donut Girl. I wondered if Garth (I finally remembered his name) had told people as well. I would have if something like that happened in front of me, even ifI’d sworn to myself that I wouldn’t partake in office gossip. I was only human.
It took me half an hour to go through the edits and make changes, after which, I worked on the shorter ad copy for social media. The design team had sent through all the artwork as well, so I had to place my text in the boxes provided. I was proficient with design, but I wasn’t going to complain that someone else was doing it. And the design department was easy to deal with. A couple of times, I’d suggested minor changes to a graphic, and they’d agreed with me and been happy to change it.
Other than the potential for embarrassment in front of my boss’s hot boss and Victoria’s authoritarian management style, I was really enjoying working here. Destiny was slowly becoming a friend, and my opposite desk neighbor—Kali—was a sweet, shy woman in her thirties with big, round, emerald-green glasses that brought out the green flecks in her brown eyes. She didn’t say much, but when she spoke, she was supportive, and she was quick to smile at me whenever Destiny said something derogatory about Victoria. We were all on the same page. There was nothing like a mutual dislike of someone to bring people together.
I worked through lunch and finished my part of the marketing for Bonny’s Bakeries, a US-wide bakery chain. We were part of their growth strategy. They were looking at franchising their brand, and for that, they needed solid numbers to entice prospective franchisees. It was a saturated market, and they were trusting us to elevate their brand above all others. I was pretty confident that we’d done a great job. I couldn’t claim much credit though, seeing as how I’d come into it at the tail end of the job.
“Final copy coming back at ya, D.”
Destiny gave me a thumbs-up. “Thanks, DG.” Argh, DG—Donut Girl. Initials probably were a step up from the actual words.
I gave her a look and raised a brow. She laughed. I couldn’t be too annoyed at her, though. Since the “incident,” I hadn’t beengame to return to the scene of the disaster and accidental boss groping, so every day, Destiny had brought me a donut and coffee back from her trips. I’d taken to wearing my Docs and jeans to ensure I stayed upright while moving about. Amy had joked that it would end anymore accidental hottie gropings, but I was okay with that. Mostly.
The rest of the afternoon went smoothly—I was working on a new campaign for an existing client, and then we had a meeting with Victoria at five. That’s right—she loved to schedule meetings before or after work hours, just to stick the knife in. That was my opinion on it anyway. So when it was a minute before five, Destiny, Aaron—who managed the design department—Flora, one of his lead designers, and I were waiting outside her office for Amber to give us the green light to go in. Now I knew why Amber was so serene—if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have lasted working for Victoria. It took a special kind of person to work that closely with the woman who was more queen wasp rather than queen bee. Funnily enough, the team’s dislike of Victoria was the glue that held us together. Who would’ve thought it was a positive?
Amber’s phone rang. She answered it, and after a minute hung up and looked at us. “You’re all to go to conference room two. Miss Worthington’s expecting you.” Some of the bosses here were fine if we called them by their first names, but not Victoria. I guessed it gave her a false sense of respect. Maybe I was being too judgy after just one week, but after my last experience, respect and trust definitely had to be earned, and Victoria hadn’t bothered to try and foster either.
Destiny and Aaron shared a look. It wasn’t quite fear. More like, oh no, what now? We went to the elevator, which took us up one floor. No one spoke. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but maybe it was better not to know. I also wondered why I’d been included in this meeting since I’d done only a fraction of the work.Maybe Victoria wanted me to see how things worked at Knight Advertising from beginning to end?
Destiny stopped outside a door with a brass-colored2on it. The glass walls facing us were totally frosted with a big Knight logo. It was a fancyKwith some frills around it, all encased in an upright oval. For some reason, goose bumps peppered my arms, and I shuddered. What was waiting behind that door?
Destiny knocked, and Victoria said, “Come in.”
I was last in the door, and I almost tripped, even though I wasn’t wearing death shoes. My stomach somersaulted when Curtis Knight’s impossibly blue stare landed on me and held fast—he wasn’t meant to be in our lowly meeting. I involuntarily sniffed, hoping to pick up the subtle scent of whatever aftershave he was wearing the other day. I took in his features—straight nose, smile lines on both sides of his mouth, and a square jaw embraced by dark stubble. Everything was arranged to perfection, and I wanted to kick myself for noticing. I also wanted to kick him for being so cold toward me and maybe kick Victoria for making me come to this meeting.
Before my attention strayed into noticeable-by-the-masses territory, I swallowed and forced my gaze away. I turned and shut the door, then, avoiding Curtis’s stare, picked somewhere to sit that was far away from him.
When I sat and looked around the room, Victoria was staring at me. What was she thinking? Was I in trouble? Had my work been subpar? Were they both here to fire me? Surely not. That wasn’t a group activity.
Victoria’s beautiful face was a mask—not a wrinkle or emotion dared crack the façade. Or maybe it was Botox. Until she turned to the seat next to her and looked at Curtis; then a smile made her look human again. Did she have a thing for him? Were they dating? It wouldn’t surprise me—she was the sort of stunning he’d go for, and she was rich too. Not as rich as him, but I’d seen her onsociety-related blogs, and she was worth millions. Plus, she could safely walk in heels. I suspected no one had ever called her Donut Girl. They made sense together, and I wasn’t jealous. Not. At. All. I’d lost my last job, which I’d loved, because of my poor choice in men. This job was my ticket to a better future, actual savings, and a place of my own. A chance to show my mother that maybe I deserved more good things than she thought. I wasn’t about to screw it all up.
I nervously looked across the table at Destiny, and she gave me a reassuring smile. Taking a deep breath, I tried to relax. Finally, Victoria turned away from Curtis and looked at the two managers. “I’ve gone through your submission, and so has Curt. I know this isn’t usual, but the directors would prefer he take a more hands-on approach.” Wow, she called him Curt. They were definitely dating. Although I didn’t miss his frown. Was it because of the nickname or the info about the directors? Hopefully it had nothing to do with our submission.
Destiny’s eyes widened minutely.
“Yes, I am taking more of a hands-on approach, but that’s because I don’t want our quality dropping. As you know, we’ve lost three of our core accounts since January. It’s not usually something I would discuss with staff”—he threw Victoria a look of annoyance, which she ignored—“but since you all know anyway, I’m bringing it up in context of what it means to our processes for the next few months.” He placed his hands on the glossy tabletop and linked his fingers together. His hands looked strong andcapable. Argh, why was my brain going there? “Are you still with us, Miss…?” I jerked out of my musings.
“Emery,” Victoria supplied. Welp, it was official—he didn’t even know my last name. He definitely hadn’t searched me up to find out everything he could. He couldn’t care less about me if he’d tried. It was sad that I wasn’t even surprised. But then again, it meant he hadn’t considered firing me.So, yay, I guess.
“Yes, I am. Sorry.” My body chose that exact moment to require more oxygen, and I quickly slapped a hand over my mouth to cover the yawn that was doing its best to get me fired.
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “Are we keeping you awake? Would you like to go home, and we can continue this tomorrow?”
My colleagues stared at me, probably thankful that I was sucking all the negative attention from them. They should thank me. “Sorry, Mr. Knight. I’m fully invested in whatever you have to say. I’m sure it will be extremely enlightening.” Oh God, why couldn’t I have stopped at Mr. Knight? Why did I have to keep talking and take it into sarcasm territory, even though that’s not what I intended? My brain had no sense of self-preservation.
His gaze was scorching and deadly, like a laser pointer in a Bond movie finding its target, ready to annihilate. I squeezed my eyes shut. Ridiculous, I knew, but it was an automatic reaction. I hated myself. Why was I like this?
“Oh, for God’s sake, Faith. Open your eyes. This is ridiculous.” When I opened my eyes, Victoria was giving me a death stare. “This is your first warning. We pride ourselves on being fair at this company. Minor infractions suffer a warning. Three warnings and you’re done. Please refrain from being moronic and don’t say anything else. Do you understand?”
I was about to answer “yes,” but that was a total trick question. I kept my mouth shut and nodded. Also, I’d just doubled down on my stupidity in front of Curtis and my workmates. First the donut thing and now this. I willed a hole to open under my chair and suck me away to another dimension. The secondhand embarrassment was radiating off my marketing brother and sisters.
Victoria placed a delicate hand on Curtis’s forearm. She was totally flirting. “Please continue, Curt.”
His lips briefly pressed together as if he wanted to say something but decided against it. Then he cleared his throat and focused on Destiny and Aaron. “The artwork and copy meet all myexpectations and fit the client brief. There are a couple of minor things I’d like you to include. Victoria will run you through it. I do want you to remember that our focus isn’t just on landing new clients but retaining our existing ones. Over the next few months, treat every client as if they were our most important. Is that understood?”
