he had rules about who he’d sleep with and who he wouldn’t. Not many rules, but some.
He focused on the conversation, the plans to meet with the entire team later after he’d been taken around and introduced.
The rest of the introductions were a bit of a blur. He was usually good with names and faces but it was going to take a while to get everyone straight. He did make a mental note of Account Manager Noah Cavanaugh, who he would be working with directly. He met a bunch of guys, copywriters and art directors, forgetting who was who…Isaiah, Owen, Hunter, Ravi, Dash and Renzo. Two cute media buyers, Bailey and Phoebe, and Kaleb, media planner. Producer…what was her name again? Ah well, he’d get it eventually. And Scott McCrae, who shook hands with him.
“Welcome.” Scott gave him a coolly assessing look.
“Thanks. Happy to be here.”
He and Scott had met during the interview process, and Levi knew Scott had been consulted on whether or not he wanted to work with Levi. The agency would never pair them together without Scott’s blessing, since the success of their partnership was so vital to the agency’s success. So Scott had to have been positively impressed…but that didn’t show at this moment.
Levi studied the guy. Not bad looking. Shaggy blond hair gave him a laid-back surfer dude look. Well, they’d have to get to know each other and see how things went.
Later, after he’d been shown to his office—yes, he had his own fucking office—and he and Mason had talked more, the other creatives took him for lunch at a nearby restaurant, Bon Vivant, which turned into two hours of interrogation and extensive sampling of their clients’ products.
“So you worked at AdMix,” Hunter said. “Why’d you leave?”
Levi grinned and slid his cold glass of Ammen lager closer. “Got a better offer.”
“They’ve got a good rep,” Owen said.
“Yeah,” Levi agreed. “Small boutique agency. There are pros and cons.”
“You won a shit ton of awards there,” Owen commented with narrowed eyes.
His chest swelled a little. “Yep.” He might be the new guy but he wasn’t a rookie. Good for them to all know that.
“We’ve won awards too,” Ravi said with a chin lift.
“True that.” Levi acknowledged that by raising his own chin.
A cute waitress arrived to take their food order. They sat at two tables pushed together in the bar, on high stools. Most of the guys ordered the classic burger. Levi observed Dash requesting his burger done medium, grilled onions instead of raw, horseradish Havarti cheese, Dijon mustard instead of yellow, no tomatoes. The waitress patiently noted his requests. Scott requested sweet potato fries instead of regular, and Owen ordered a bunless burger, which had the other guys gaping.
“Dude.” Hunter’s forehead wrinkled. “No bun? How is that even a burger?”
“Shut up,” Owen muttered. “I’m cutting back on carbs.”
Levi wasn’t going to judge the guy. Cutting carbs sucked, but you did what you had to do to stay in shape. Then the waitress looked at Levi. Her smile changed, going warm and flirty. “What can I get you?”
He smiled back. “Classic burger also, with bacon.”
“You got it. Do you need some ice water?”
“Uh, sure, that’d be great.”
She collected the menus and he watched her walk away, swinging her ass in a short, tight skirt.
He turned back to see all the guys staring at him. “What?”
They exchanged frowns and shook their heads. “She didn’t offer any of us ice water,” Owen said.
Levi laughed. “What the fuck ever.”
Owen sighed.
“So who does what?” Levi asked, looking at them around the table.
“Copywriter,” Ravi said, putting a hand up. “So are Hunt and Dash.”
“Renzo, Owen and I are art directors,” Isaiah said. “And Scott, of course. Renzo and Dash work together. Me and Hunt, Owen and Ravi.”
“What’s it like working for Mason?”
“Great,” Scott said. “Mason’s the shit. I mean, he has his moments, who doesn’t. Can be a bit moody, but he gets over it and he’s fair. He’s great at knowing exactly what clients want.”
“And Sloane Granderson?” Levi casually traced a finger through condensation on his glass.
A couple of the guys made appreciative noises. “Smokin’ hot,” Owen said. “But totally hands off.”
Levi rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I already got that. I mean, what’s she like to work with?”
“She’s smart. Knows her clients really well.”
“The type to throw you under the bus when the client doesn’t like your work?”
“Fuck no.”
Levi nodded.
“She and Mason are pretty tight,” Owen said.
Levi frowned. “What does that mean?” Sloane and Mason? Fuck.
Owen shrugged. “Who knows? They’re