little more reaction, but if approval was all he got, fine, he’d take it.
Then they went through the television commercials for Cerone.
Sloane looked at Mason, then Noah. She shook her head. “I can’t take that to the client.”
Levi turned his head and gave her side eye. He hadn’t heard that right. Had he?
Scott pressed a hand to his abdomen.
“What the fuck?” The words burst out of Levi, completely unprofessional. He sat bolt upright in his chair. “Why not?”
She met his eyes with cool assuredness.
“The concept itself is brilliant,” she said. “It’s big and bold. I love it all the way to the end. But at the end…those women…” She shook her head. “I know sex sells, but we have to stop the objectification of women.”
His eyes bugged out. “Objectification? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Calm down, Levi.” Mason gave him a sharp warning look. “Listen to the feedback.”
This wasn’t feedback. This was an attack. This was personal. She was looking for any reason to torpedo his ideas because of what had happened. He fumed, pressure building in his skull, but he kept his mouth shut.
He looked at Mason. “You agree with that?” Surely to fuck Mason was going to have their backs. He’d already seen the storyboards and loved them.
“She has a valid point,” Mason said slowly. “I think we do need to take the female perspective into consideration. And we need to be responsible advertisers.”
Sloane threw up her hands. “Truth hurts.”
Levi gave her a narrow eyed look. Truth hurts? What bullshit was that? She wanted to hear some truths that hurt? He could… He shook his head, lips clamped firmly together. “Fine. We’ll redo them.”
He and Scott exchanged glances. For some reason, Scott seemed less fazed by this than he did, and Scott was the one who’d spent the last hour in the bathroom. They gathered up their materials. Sloane had already left.
“Well,” Scott said in Levi’s office. “Back to the fucking drawing board.”
“Fuck that.”
“Yeah. Christ.” Scott rubbed his face. “I knew she could be a bitch, but I didn’t expect that kind of feminazi crap from her.”
Levi blinked. A red filter appeared before his eyes as Scott’s words sunk in. “What did you just call her?”
Scott opened his mouth, then looked at Levi and snapped it closed.
Too late. Levi was reacting, adrenaline, anger and aggression kicking into high gear. He lunged at Scott and took a swing.
“Hey!” Scott yelled, trying to defend himself from Levi’s fist. They scuffled, both throwing punches, grabbing onto shirts and shoving each other around.
“Gentlemen!”
The booming voice stopped both of them. Levi’s chest heaved as he turned to look at Joseph Huxworth standing in the corridor watching them. Mason stood right behind him. Levi’s gut swooped and his blood turned to ice.
“What the hell are you two doing?” The Hux demanded. His face went ruddy. “This is a place of business, not a boxing ring.”
Levi released Scott and stepped back, straightening his shirt. Fuck, fuck, fuck. “I’m sorry, Mr. Huxworth,” he said quietly. “I overreacted to something.”
Then of course Sloane had to appear. “What’s going on?”
“These two idiots were trying to beat the crap out of each other,” The Hux said. “Thank Christ we didn’t have any clients here.”
Shame slithered down Levi’s spine. What the fuck had he done? He was such an idiot. He just felt so…raw. Strung tight. He’d overreacted in the presentation, and he’d overreacted to what Scott had said. Except the asshole had insulted Sloane, and that was not something he could stand for. Once again, he pressed his lips together.
“I’m on my way to a meeting,” The Hux said to Sloane. “When I’m back, I want to see you in my office.”
“Of course,” she murmured.
Levi’s face burned. Goddammit. He’d gotten her in trouble again.
“You two good now?” Mason asked in a low voice, looking back and forth between them.
Levi glared at Scott. “Sure.”
“I don’t even know what I did,” Scott muttered.
“Perhaps you could discuss it like adults,” Sloane said. She turned on a stiletto heel to walk back to her office. Mason followed her.
Levi faced Scott. “Apologize for what you called her.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you insulted her and she doesn’t deserve that. She is not a bitch and definitely not a feminazi, for Chrissakes.”
“She just trashed our idea!”
Levi sank into his chair and rubbed the heels of his hands over his eyes. “She was right.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mason followed Sloane into her office. She dropped wearily into her chair and blew out a breath. Sweet loving Lord. What a mistake it had been