I want to throw the file right at her head, but assault with a deadly heavy file would get me fired, and I won't give her the satisfaction. She can't get me fired unless she has a reason to. As long as I ace this one, I'm in the clear.
"I don't sleep with clients."
"So only professors then? Please close my door when you leave."
I walk out. I want to slam the door, but I don't. The minute I do, Molly, my best friend who works in legal, comes racing up as if she'd been waiting for me.
"I heard what happened in the meeting. Did Carey really try not to give you a file? Everyone's talking about the assessments and how people might lose their jobs."
Word gets around here fast. I’m not surprised that she’s already heard what happened in the meeting.
"It looks that way," I say, heading toward my office with her at my side.
"Well, we figured cuts might be coming when she showed up. Did she give you a file?"
"I had to chase her down to her office and beg her to give it to me, but I got it. Only, I'm not so sure I want it."
"Luka Popovich," she says.
I snap a look at her. "Wait… how do you know who I got?"
Her eyebrows stitch together with concern. "I heard Tony from the legal team say that he heard that Luka’s already scared off two PR agents. Neither of them lasted more than a week. I guess Tony is a big Seattle Hawkeyes fan and has some intel."
"Two agents?"
"Yep. Tony heard that Luka is starting to get a reputation for being difficult to work with. No one else will take him on. Bonus: he's a scary Russian with rumors swirling that his father is some mafia boss. Can you believe that?"
Mafia boss? But he’s a hockey player. I shake the thought from my mind. I’m not going to concern myself with rumors. I need this win, whether Luka is some kind of Russian mob prince or not.
"Perfect," I say sarcastically, flopping into my desk chair and opening the file. I skim the quick rundown about him. "Now I see why Carey wanted me to fight for this one."
"You're really going through with it?" Molly asks.
"I don't have a choice. I have to if I want to keep my job."
"Do you think you can get him to talk to you?"
"I don’t know. I’m going to head out to Seattle to see what I’m working with. Carey thinks it’s a must, and now I see why."
"Seattle in January?" Molly lifts an eyebrow in concern. "You hate the cold. That's why you moved out to Arizona for college."
Among other stupid reasons. Like going to the same alma mater as my father, trying to be just like him, hoping that graduating from the same college with the same degree in public relations would entice him to pick up the phone over twenty years after leaving.
That was a stupid dream.
"True. I don't love the cold, but this is one of the most prestigious firms in the country, and I've worked too hard and too long to let Carey come in here and ruin it all for me."
"I get it. So you're heading to Seattle when?"
"I have to get started right away. Gabriella is only giving everyone four weeks to turn these accounts around before an assessment to decide who stays and who gets fired," I say as I pack up the new file that feels more like a venomous snake aboutto strike than a file that will save my career. "I shouldn't be there too long, though. I give it two weeks, tops, to get him to see it my way, and then I should be able to come home and tie up loose ends here. I've dealt with clients like this before. He’s nothing special. Just a cocky athlete that thinks he knows better."
"Good luck. I have to get back to work, but call me when you get back. We can try that new yoga studio that opened down the street."
I smile at her. "Good. If he’s as bad as everyone says, I’ll need to work out some serious tension in my body when I get back. Don’t go far from your computer this week. I have a feeling I’ll need you to send out more cease and desist emails to the media than ever before on this project."
"I’m your girl. Whatever you need," she says and then walks out and back down the hall towards her department.
I flip open the client's file for the first time.
