Bailey tipped her head. “Well, sure. That’s so nice of you.”
“I don’t like to see hard work go unrewarded.”
Sloane wasn’t exactly in a cheerful, socializing mood, but she was a professional. She could get through this day.
Because she still had that meeting with Joe.
He came to her office when he was back, walking in and closing the door. “Might as well talk here,” he said.
She lifted her hands from her computer keyboard. “Of course.”
He sat. He sighed. He looked at her with a piercing stare. “Did we make a mistake hiring Levi Wolcott away from AdMix?”
She snapped her mouth shut and blinked. There was only one answer to that question. She didn’t even have to think about it. “No,” she said firmly. “Absolutely not.”
“You’re sure?”
“I saw some of his work this morning. He’s brilliant. He has that same sense that Mason has. He knows how to read people. He knows what they want and he knows how to reflect what people want back at them.”
“Comparing him to Mason is saying a lot.”
“I know.” She held his gaze.
“What was with the fighting?”
She sucked her bottom lip briefly. This might not be the time to tell him she and Levi had just finished a brief affair. Honesty? Partial honesty? A lie?
She sighed. She was a good businesswoman and she could dissemble with the best of them when it was required. But she couldn’t lie to Joe. “Apparently Scott insulted me. I sent them back to tweak their TV commercial idea for Cerone. He was frustrated. Levi took offense on my behalf.”
Joe frowned. “Chivalry? He was fighting out of chivalry? Seriously?”
“That’s what Mason said.”
“Jesus Christ. He is like Mason.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“Mason once gave an AD hell because he’d called a female copywriter a dyke.” He grinned. “I thought they were going to come to blows.”
Sloane smiled. “Really? Wow.”
“Yep. However, that kind of behavior is still a problem. You’re supposed to be keeping those guys under control.”
Sloane looked past Joe at the framed poster on her wall, a quote from Albert Einstein.
She might be fucking up her career, but she had to take a stand. She had to tell Joe how she really felt. Coming down on those guys the last few weeks hadn’t felt good. Hadn’t felt right. It went against things she’d learned in the business, things she’d believed in. Nothing they’d done had caused any harm. And they’d produced a hell of a lot of good.
She read the quote on the poster aloud. “Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
Joe frowned. “What?”
She focused on him again and sucked in a big breath, stiffening her spine. “Creativity is intelligence having fun. Joe. I get where this new concern about optics is coming from. I understand things have been tighter the last few years. Some of our biggest clients have cut the amount of advertising they were doing. Some of them have had financial struggles through the economic downturn.”
“Yes, yes. That’s it.”
“But these guys who work for us are some of the best in the business. Including Levi. They work hard. They come through. I don’t want to trample their creativity. Their spirit. Their fun. I want them to want to come to work every day, eager to do their best. It should be fun.”
She watched his face as he frowned, considering her words. He pursed his lips. Shook his head.
She prepared to be fired for speaking her mind so bluntly. Or maybe offer her resignation. Her stomach tightened and her shoulders tensed.
“I’d argue with you,” he said slowly. “If you weren’t the best account person I’ve ever worked with.”
Her eyes popped open wide. Did he really just say that? Her heart thudded into a rapid beat.
“I know you understand our clients,” he continued. “And our staff. You have the right balance.” He pursed his lips. “I trust you to do the right thing. Keep them out of trouble. But let them have some fun. Maybe just try to keep it…discreet. We have a staff lounge. They can let loose in there. But nowhere else.”
She smiled, her heart now expanding. “Thank you. It means a lot to hear that from you.”
Joe left her office.
Wow. Just…holy shit. A bright spot in her currently black and dismal life. Relief made her muscles lax and she slumped in her chair for a few moments.
Lunch turned out okay. Isaiah and Hunter appreciated the gesture. She managed to smile and laugh at the right times. Bailey seemed happy to be included too.