All of a sudden I felt dizzy. I stumbled for a second in my heels and reached out a hand to steady myself on the podium. “They’ve …”Oh God, am I going to pass out?“They’ve been up there meeting for almost an hour already?” I was seeing spots behind my eyes.The text from Meredith said seven thirty!
“I’m afraid so. What is your name?”
“Savannah Mitchell.” My voice quivered. I cleared my throat and tried to get a grip. I couldnotburst into tears. That would make everything even worse.
“I’ll take you up so you can join them.”
I followed him up the thickly carpeted stairs and into the lounge. The walls were textured with a deep gray material that almost looked like suede. Iron sconces with fat candles lit theway. Above us glittered one of the biggest crystal chandeliers I’d ever seen.
The host led me all the way past the bar to the back of the lounge, where I saw a group of five people, including Meredith and Sam, sitting in a high-backed velvet booth.
As we approached, Meredith looked up. Her eyes flashed for just a second before she pressed her lips into a tight but professional smile.
“Ms. Mitchell has arrived.” The host presented me, gave a brief nod to the group, then turned and walked away.
I plastered an overeager smile on my face. “It’s so nice to meet you. Please forgive myatrocioustardiness. I ran into some … unexpected trouble. But I’m very glad to be here.” Sam gave me a small smile and scooted farther into the booth so there was room for me on the end.
Meredith’s smile definitely did not reach her eyes, but at least there was no immediate reprimand. “Savannah—glad you could join us. This is Marco, Patrice, and Santiago from Pedro Torres’s team.” The man closest to me, Marco, reached out to shake my hand politely while the other two nodded. “We were just talking about the type of buzz they are hoping to create ahead of the restaurant’s grand opening, which is scheduled for November fifth.”
I felt a knot in my stomach as I realized that was three days before my due date.That’s tomorrow’s problem. Right now, you have to wow them.
Marco turned to me. “I hear you were part of the team that helped promote the launch of the Tavern at Telegraph Hill a couple of years ago. Can you tell us about that?”
Meredith shot me a pointed look that seemed to say,You’d better damn impress them.
I summoned every last shred of confidence I had as I explained how the team at my previous agency had managed the Tavern’s social media accounts, ran a contest with early followersfor a complimentary dinner for four at the soft opening, hired the city’s top photographers to take tantalizing photos of the menu items and décor, landed interviews for the owner and head chef with local lifestyle shows and blogs, and shot a series of videos for paid social media ads showcasing the bar staff’s impressive mixology skills.
I was relieved to see that Marco, at least, was nodding appreciatively at everything I said. Patrice, however, looked unimpressed—perhaps my experience didn’t excuse my tardiness in her book. Santiago’s stone-faced expression was impossible to read.
About fifteen minutes later, the host reappeared and announced that the next agency on their schedule had arrived. Our time was up.
Marco smiled as we all stood up. “Well, I like your ideas. We have a few more agencies we’re meeting with, but we’ll be in touch soon, once Pedro makes up his mind. Thank you all very much for coming.” He shook all of our hands, but Patrice and Santiago merely nodded as they walked past us to the bar to refresh their drinks.
Meredith led the way downstairs to the public bar, then turned around to face me with a scowl. “Savannah, you begged me for a chance, and I gave it to you—on one of the most high-profile accounts we’ve ever had a shot at. And then you show up more thanforty-five minutes late?”
I pulled my phone out of my purse. “Meredith, I’m so sorry, but I don’t understand—I got your text earlier today that the meeting had been pushed back to seven thirty. I thought I was early.” I swiped my home screen to pull up my text messages.
“What text? What are you talking about?”
“But—” I scrolled through my messages, looking for the text … and scrolled, and scrolled.
Gone.Again.
My breathing went shallow as a wave of dizziness rolled over me. “I—I’m so sorry. I must have misunderstood.”
“Thankfully you did a good job of discussing your work for the Tavern up there. But I swear to God, Savannah—if we don’t get this account, we’re going to have to have a serious discussion about your future with this agency. I took a chance on you, after hearing about the way you left your last position. I had hoped your … difficulties last year were an isolated incident. But I’m starting to wonder.” Meredith swung her purse onto her shoulder. “Sam, thank you for coming, and for being on time.I’ll see you both at the office tomorrow.” She turned and stalked out of the bar.
Sam shot me a look of sympathy.
Now that Meredith was gone, the stable façade I’d put on was crumbling. Then a horrible thought occurred to me.
Madison. Just like the balloon and teddy bear delivery. She’s trying to ruin my career. Has she somehow figured out a way to send me fake texts from people in my contacts?
“Don’t get too upset,” said Sam. “You did a really good job talking strategy up there. I think you impressed them, even if you were late. But … forty-five minutes? What happened?”
I kneaded my forehead with my right hand. “I got a text earlier today that said the meeting had been pushed back an hour. Iswearit came from Meredith.”
“What? That’s crazy! Let me see.”
