Her eyes met mine, neutral and assessing, before sliding back to her tablet. “Most of them are asking about the staffingchanges. Specifically, they’re inquiring about how to retain Nina Reyes’s services independently of our firm.”
Natasha’s nails clacked against her mug. “She’s not worth the trouble,” she muttered, rolling her eyes.
My jaw tensed, a flicker of irritation sparking in my chest. A curt response danced on my lips.No, she isn’t, Natasha, but you fucked up and gave her power she doesn’t even realize she has.Instead, I bit my tongue and sipped my coffee.
The rest of the attendees trickled in. I paid no attention to their small talk. Carmen’s brown eyes pierced mine from across the table, a ghost of a smirk playing on her lips. I was about to tell her to spit it out when Curt, the CEO, walked in.
Everyone quieted instantly, waiting for his instructions.
“Good morning,” he said, taking his seat. “Today, we’re discussing progress with Infinity Weddings and any additional areas of concern. Carmen, please begin.”
Carmen launched into a succinct yet effective presentation about remedying our relationship with them and outlined next steps for their marketing strategy. Questions followed about how the graphic design team would collaborate on the campaign. As creative director, I provided concise responses outlining next steps, including delegation and subteams. Curt nodded along, expression unreadable as always.
“Alright,” he said. “Anything else?”
Carmen scanned the room before speaking again. “I believe there is something else we should address.”
All eyes focused on her. Most missed the slight tilt at the corner of her mouth. Everyone except me. I did that same gesture when someone fell into my play.
“The finance team may have more details on the broader implications, of course,” she said, blonde hair cascading back as she tilted her head toward George. The balding man practically lit up under her attention.
“I’m concerned by the number of local accounts inquiring about internal moves in the past six weeks,” she continued, pausing to let it sink in. Heads swiveled, whispers stirring, but she pressed on, undeterred. “All of them contacted me personally to share they were most distressed by Nina Reyes’s sudden departure and would be interested in working directly with her.”
Curt coughed awkwardly. “Well, if that’s what they prefer, Reyes’s noncompete clause expired when her employment ended. Provided she isn’t actively soliciting our clients…, there’s nothing we can do. Especially if they want to work with someone who’d mess up so catastrophically.”
Carmen scrunched her nose, then smiled, tilting her chair sideways to face Curt fully. “All due respect, sir, but Nina Reyes is currently driving the highest conversion rate in a brick-and-mortar store in the city. She’s managing content for Reality Bites. Their reels tripled foot traffic last week alone. Smart strategy, minimal spend.”
Curt huffed, unconvinced. Honestly, I knew Nina was good, but even I struggled to believe it.
Carmen wasn’t done. “I’ve been inspecting her work on the drive. Including a partial presentation I recovered from the Infinity project. Seeing what I have, it’s inexplicable why she’d present that final product. That woman isn’t a dummy.”
My jaw ticked. “How do you explain it, then?”
She fucking snickered. “Oh, I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t here. But I’d imagine she had an explanation.”
Curt set his coffee mug down with a sharp knock. “That is of no importance. What’s done is done, and it brought us to you, honey. So be grateful.” Carmen’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she nodded. Curt turned to George. “Monitor the client attrition rate. This meeting is done.”
Everyone began filing out. I stayed, watching Carmen linger. Natasha waited for me, but I asked her to meet me downstairs for lunch. When the room was nearly empty, I leaned back, trying to sound amused. “You’re in touch with her.”
She shrugged, calm as ever. “I wouldn’t say that. Just… women in marketing, right?”
Her face remained smooth as glass, but her words burned under my skin. She knew exactly what she was doing—asking questions, planting leads. Without a word, I left. If anyone looked into it, Natasha was the one with the digital footprint, but my promotion would be tainted. It’d look as if I’d stolen it from Nina rather than earned it fair and square.Fucking Natasha.
I’d lost my appetite. Tasha would eventually figure out I wanted no company, and head back to her desk. It still didn’t prevent her from cornering me in my office half an hour later, leaning against the door with practiced ease.
“She’s becoming a problem,” Natasha said, examining her perfect nails. “We can’t have her building traction in small business marketing. What if a competitor gives her a chance and someone starts looking into her presentation?”
I sipped my now-cold coffee, unbothered. “We?”
Her mouth fell open. “Lincoln, sweetheart, this was your idea.”
“First, not your sweetheart,” I said, voice cool. “Second, you won’t find anything tying me to any of Nina’s slides. This isyourdoing.”
Her cheeks went crimson. “You cannot say that.”
I hitched one shoulder. I couldn’t care less about her feelings, and she should know where chips would fall if this exploded. “Just stating facts. Next time, use your head. You’re supposed to do more than suck dick with it.” Her eyes rounded before I added, “Andhandleit, Natasha. Because, if you haven’t noticed, someoneisalready poking into it.”
Her mouth curled into something bitter. “I was hopingyouwould. You have such… impact.”
