“Then it’s a good thing I’ll have her to protect me. If some dangerous bachelorette approaches me, Fiona can fake-kiss me,” he snarked.
“I wouldn’t offer that. She may take you up on it,” Dex answered, unperturbed. “No one since Tish?”
“Here and there,” he answered vaguely. He pulled a contract from a pile of papers and began flipping through marked-up terms and conditions. “If you’re here to discuss my dating, the conversation will be short.”
Dex eyed him for a long moment. “Listen,” he finally said. “Business was nonstop during our start-up years, but now we can relax a little. We’ve got some great clients, we’re winning awards, and getting our name out there. You’re allowed to have a life again.”
Phoenix looked up. Yeah, a life sounded good. He’d forgotten how to have one. For a while, the agency and staying fit was everything, to the point where his ex-girlfriend, Tish, couldn’t wait and left.
“You break women until there’s nothing left,” she’d said tearfully. Later, she admitted that she’d been overly dramatic, and forgave him. Yet even after they broke up, the accusation haunted him.
“Bruh, think of someone, anyone,” urged Dex. “Whirl through your contacts and just call someone. C’mon, if I threatened you with thirty hours of bad commercials, who would you pick?”
“Orchid Paige,” Phoenix answered without thinking.
“Who?”
Damn, where’d that come from?“Orchid. She works at Estee Lauder.” Was it Orchid’s vulnerability, beauty or smarts that made him unable to stop thinking about her? Whatever it was, she was different. Something about her had captured his imagination.
“Great, call her. You’ve only got a week. Give her time to buy a dress.”
“I doubt she’d need to buy a thing,” he said, thinking of the funky, flirtatious, and outrageous pieces that suited her uniquely.
“Even better,” Dex said, standing, his job done.
“I’m not calling,” he said, looking down at the contract’s red lines without seeing them. He’d taken on his dad’s wish as his own. He wanted to grant Orchid something good. His growing feelings of care for her would complicate the purity of that intention.
Dex sighed. “Why for God’s sake not? I don’t care if she’s an alien, or mom to sextuplets.”
Phoenix felt one eyebrow rise in amusement. “Oh, am Iyourcause now?”
“It’d be good to see you happy,” Dex admitted.
Friends who cared.“I’m agency head; I’m not supposed to date clients. I know her boss. I’m not even supposed to think of her, other than to drum up business.”
Dex brightened. “Perfect, invite her, and drum up business with Lauder.” He left the office whistling.
What had prompted the thought of Orchid? He pictured her punked-out beauty at the club. Then, her surprised expression when she’d slipped into the room for their agency presentation. He assessed the way his pulse thumped at the thought.
Phoenix was still grumbling to himself when Liv popped her head in his door. His petite assistant’s gaze pierced through angled glasses.
“Liv, how are you doing? How are things going with your developmental assignment?”
That relaxed her tiny shoulders. “Thank you for the opportunity. You were right that learning the production side of the business would be eye-opening.”
“It always comes down to execution,” he said.
She adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “I didn’t come here about my work. I wanted to pass along some messages.”
All business, as usual. It’d only been seven months since she had joined the agency. Give her latitude. He’d intuited her loyalty and wanted to fulfill his promise to develop her potential. Some people needed more than months to settle in and warm up. Time was a great healer.
Like the stray pup who’d stumbled into his college fraternity house late one night. Phoenix had read the dog’s skittish nature, reassured her with proper distance, and patiently nursed her back to health. When the school explained they disallowed pets, he’d found her a country home with one of his fraternity brother’s parents.
Liv glanced down at her steno pad and recited the reasons for her visit. “Sam called to cancel. His dad passed. I’ve already placed a bouquet order.”
Phoenix sucked a breath. “How sad. I knew he’d been sick. Flowers are a good idea, thank you. I’ll give him a call later.”
He shook his head. What comfort could he offer? His own life was haunted by reminders of the day his father had collapsed and never recovered. One of their last conversations filled him with shame. “Really, Phoenix? All that education and you just want to hawk antacids?” This judgment of his hard work and his passion cut him deeply.
