you feel the best way to move forward is to show Lily as a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man by her side. Don’t paint the men as monsters but not as saints either. Just do one interview with another strong, independent woman who will want to address the sex tape but then will focus on the issues that Lily wants to tackle as a senator instead of doing dozens of interviews, like the plan was before.”
She clears her throat. “You were listening.”
“I have an impeccable memory. Anything I hear or see, I will remember.”
She sips her coffee to keep from yawning. I know she stayed up all night, preparing for this. She’s smarter than I gave her credit for. Most of her ideas are spot-on, and she has a backup in mind for every scenario. If we didn’t hate each other so much, I would offer her a job. But her exhaustion is going to lead to mistakes. She might think she has the same level of experience as me, but having to spend all night formulating a plan shows me just how little experience she actually has. She’s talented, but she needs someone to harness that talent.
“What do you think?”
I lean forward in my chair until I’m close enough to smell the coffee mixed with her perfume. “I don’t think you care what I think.”
She leans forward in her chair as well. “What do you think?”
“I think your ideas are good.”
“Just good?”
I grin. “Better than good. But you have some flaws that you still need to work out.”
“Yeah? And what are those?”
“You haven’t slept in two days, so you aren’t thinking clearly.”
“What are the flaws in my plan?”
“You’ll figure them out after a good night’s rest.”
She rolls her eyes. “Tell me now. We already screwed up once with Lily. We can’t do that again. We are supposed to be working together to ensure that we don’t mess this up anymore. That means, there can’t be any secrets. We have to tell each other everything.”
I lean back in my chair as I rub the back of my neck. She watches me.
“I’ll make sure that we don’t fuck up again. My reputation is on the line, too. But I want to help you grow. And you will never grow if I just tell you what you fucked up. I’ll guide you, but you have to figure it out for yourself.”
“Why are you trying to help me?”
I get up out of my chair and walk over to get my laptop. Then, I plug the projector into it. I’m trying to help her because I don’t know how to turn my emotions off now that I’ve turned them on. I don’t know why, but I actually enjoy listening to her voice. She talks so confidently about what she wants. It’s nice, hearing her. It’s nice, being near her.
“It’s because you feel guilty for spilling coffee on me, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s because, when I see someone with talent, I can’t help but nourish that talent.”
“Was that a compliment?”
Victoria bites her lip, and I ache to have that lip in my mouth. I don’t know what’s come over me, but right now, my brain is obsessed with her.
Lily chooses that moment to walk back into the room. I knew she was coming back soon. She’s been gone for hours, and I have an instinct when it comes to clients. This isn’t the first time a client has walked out on me.
“Do you have a plan, or am I firing you both?” Lily asks. She folds her arms across her chest, and her face is stiff and rigid. Gone are the tears from earlier. Gone is the anger. She’s all business now.
I can feel the nerves oozing off of Victoria as she sits at the table. She has a thorough plan, but I know it makes her nervous not to have visuals and a written plan for Lily. She wants to look as professional as she can. She thought she would have more time.
I click on the projector, and my plan pops up on the screen. I should be nice and let Victoria talk about the plan while I show the visuals. Our plans are similar enough that it doesn’t really matter anyway. But I’m not nice. And the longer I pretend to be nice to Victoria, the more likely it is that she is going to get hurt later on. I’m the kind of person who would fuck her and leave her