THREE
KELLY
With Zac sent away with a flea in his ear, I head back to the kitchen. I need to deal with the leftovers, if I'm to avoid facing a mess in the morning.
There's nothing organized about my clean up though, with me slamming the tops back on the containers and piling them haphazardly in the fridge. I've got too much work to do to worry about how Instagram-worthy it all looks.
From the little I've already done to fix my woefully out-of-date website; I'll be pulling an all-nighter to get it in good enough shape for visitors in the morning.
At least this is what I hope will happen, because I'd chickened out somewhat on the watermark on the pet food ad. In the end, I'd made my name subtle enough it'll be missed by all but the most eagle-eyed observer.
With luck on my side, that won't include Jason Ralph, my talentless ECD, and the one who'll take the credit for my work. All I can hope is that the client is more observant than my boss.
As I take another look at the design, I can't help but feel proud. While it might be a simple ad, I like to think it'll also work its socks off. All too often, Jason would push for an 'award-winning' design. It'd also be one that was useless in doing what the customer had asked for.
And if it won an award, it'd be one that had Jason pushing you to one side to be up on stage to collect. And he'd hold it high while he was about it.
A last critical look at the design and I close the file. "Burt, it's up to you." Of course, there might not be a 'Burt' behind Burt's Pet Food. The client could have named the product range after their kid, or even their dog, as was often the case.
As I painstakingly update my website, part of my brain is stuck on the meal I'd shared with Zac.
"Why did he have to ruin it with that stupid wink?"
My working with alpha males had turned me off flirting of that sort. Perhaps any flirting. When I'd first started in advertising, I'd found the bravado so sexy.
These days it irritates me. Are they flirting because they like me? Or do they want me moving their job to the top of the pile? Experience had shown that ninety-nine percent of the time, it was the latter.
As Zac and I had talked about the renovations over dinner, his creative ideas had me thinking he might have hidden depths. Hah, as if. That wink proved he was one of those handsome—okay, drop-dead gorgeous—guys, who expected every woman to fall at his feet.
So—not—happening. Not with a guy as cocky as Zac Thomas.
Despite going to bed around four o'clock, I didn't sleep well. My mind crowded with what I see as the slow and steady decline of my career. A call to Deb after I'd sent Zac on his way, and I knew we wouldn't be applying for jobs as a team. Not with her giving up agency life altogether.
I wish it was something I could do, but without a husband to support me, I need to keep earning and advertising is all I've ever known. I'm also stubborn as a mule and, having committed to the industry, I'm not giving up on a whim, and not because of Jason.
Fed up with tossing and turning, it was a relief to clamber out of bed when the alarm on my phone sounded. Yet, despite a blistering hot shower, and even hotter coffee, I'm no better when Zac and the others turn up for work.
That he looks well-rested and as handsome as ever has me feeling even less kindly toward him. While he's not the one responsible for the challenges I'm facing, he's on hand, making him an easier target than Jason Ralph.
If Zac so much as has a twitchy eye in my orbit, I'll ring Ethan and tell him I want Zac to be taken off the job. A final glare in his direction and I head back to my office to see if there have been any visits to my website.
Not a single one.
There isn't even an email from Jason acknowledging that he'd received my design, although I know he did because I'd requested a read receipt. I wasn't getting caught that way again.
It was for this reason I'd also copied in the account executive assigned to Burt's Pet Food. Fool me once…
More concerning than no response from either of them is that there aren't even any creative briefs in my in-box. Is that Jason's next plan? Telling me there's not enough work, so they're taking on a junior? That I'm not wanted? That I'm obsolete?
Three days with nothing from Jason and no hits on my website, and I'm getting antsy. No, that's an understatement. I'm freaking out, big time. Rather than give him a chance to say I'm not chasing work, I email him at eight every morning and again mid-afternoon.
Rather than leave it up to chance, I also copy the head of client service, making it harder for Jason to say I haven't been in touch. I've been in advertising too long and seen others targeted with constructive termination too often, not to know how to play the game. The first rule being, put everything in writing and screen-grab the jeepers out of stuff.
However, now that it's my career on the line, and not someone else's, I don't find it as fascinating as it had been when I was an observer. Rather, my heart is in my mouth as I consider my options.
While I'd been annoyed when Zac first removed all the kitchen cabinets, it hasn't bothered me since. With my stomach in knots, I've been living on soup and toast when I can gag it down.
Two more days pass during which I continue adding yet more examples to my website. I've even surprised myself with the quality and quantity of work I've produced during my time with MC&S.
