“Yes, Kate?” He stopped in the middle of the open floor office. All the surrounding copywriters and editors stared at us, waiting to see what they might eavesdrop on. “What is it?”
“Could I speak to you in private? I won’t take much of your time.” I tried to act calm and professional, but I knew my eyes were wide and desperate.
“Alright, but make it quick,” he huffed, leading me into his office.
I shut the door behind us just to make sure no one could go squabbling back to Chuck about what I was going to propose.
“I’ll be straight with you,” I said curtly. “I’m disappointed that the deciding factor of the Vice President position is based on a project I’m not working on. May I ask who the contenders for the promotion currently are?”
“Well, you and Chuck. Of course. You’re my only two top executive team members.” He plopped down behind his desk and glared at me with a bored expression.
“That’s what I thought,” I nodded. “So then … what might I need to do to still be in consideration for the position? Regardless of Chuck’s performance on this account you’re handing over to him.”
He laughed under his breath. “Look. Kate. I’d be more than happy to give you both a stab at Nesters and promote whoever came up with the best pitch. But the fact of the matter is, these clients are going to want someone who can speak from personal experience. That’s just how they are. Sometimes getting ahead is about more than just work ethic and performance. There’s a level of politics and personal things that come into play, as much as I hate to admit it.”
I clenched my fists, biting my tongue to keep from pointing out that it was his present behavior and decision making that made things that way … even if he did try to claim it wasn’t.
“But there’s testing groups. And surveys. And a number of other tactics we use for products we have no personal experience with,” I defended.
He threw his hands in the air. “Give it up, Kate. I’ve talked to the CEO of the company, and I know what they’re looking for. They want someone with kids of their own on this account, and that’s that. There’s nothing I can do. Don’t worry about the VP position. You’re working your way up. It takes time. I’m sure another promotion opportunity will come along soon. Now, if you’ll excuse me … we both have a lot of work to do.”
Sure, there’d be other promotions. But not the Vice President position. There was only one of those, and whoever landed it would likely hold onto it until Greg’s retirement. He was young for being the president of the firm. He had no health issues or any other signs that he’d be letting go of his title a minute before he turned sixty-five. Which meant that VP position was my only chance of making a substantial move up, unless I went to another firm entirely. And with Cherry Falls still being in a development phase, there was no other local firm that could even begin to compete.
Knowing all of this led me to blurting out one of the dumbest things I have ever said in my life.
“Actually … Greg. There’s something I need to tell you,” I said slowly. My mouth grew dry, making it hard to swallow - the way it always did when I was telling a lie. “I’m dating a guy who is a single dad.”
It was a small stretch of the truth. But we had been on the one great date and would be going on another. That constitutes as actively dating, right?
But Greg hung his head in condescending laughter. “Oh, Kate. I’m happy for you. But we’ve been working together for … how long now?”
“Over eight years.”
“Eight years? I have never once heard of you being in a serious relationship. I can’t pass you off to these clients as a parent just because your boyfriend of the month happens to have a kid. It’s just not the same.”
I could see him preparing to kick me out of his office. I had to think fast.
“We’re engaged!” I exclaimed in desperation. Greg looked just as shocked as I was about the words that just spilled from my mouth.
“Engaged?”
“Yes!” I fired back. “Engaged. I have … a fiancé. And … he is a single dad. His daughter will be...my step-daughter soon.” I swayed a little, trying to muster up enough confidence to make it all sound more believable. “Does that qualify me as a parent?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “What’s this guy’s name? And how old is his kid?”
“Ben. And his daughter, Olivia, is …” I racked my brain. I couldn’t remember if Ben had ever told me her age. And I didn’t know the first thing about kids, truthfully. Other than they were cute. Especially his kid. “She’s … eight months old,” I guessed cluelessly.
He considered it for a moment, mumbling through his thoughts. “Chuck’s kids are in highschool now. You raising a young one in today’s market would put us at a huge advantage. And as she gets older, the first-hand insight would be extremely helpful.” He scratched his chin for a while before turning to me with a bright expression. “Alright, Kate. You got it. I’ll let you and Chuck compete on this one. I expect both of your proposals in three weeks before we make our pitch to the client. But listen … until then, I’d like to meet this fiancé of yours. There’s a company dinner this evening. Chuck is hosting. Bring him along. Would you?”
“Uh … absolutely. No reason why I couldn’t, right? My fiancé, Ben. I will bring him along tonight.”
I smiled and thanked Greg, then raced out of his office as quickly as I could. I needed to lock myself in my own office and hyperventilate.
Obviously I was thrilled that I was in the running for the Nesters account and for the VP position. The only problem was … I only had one coffee date with Ben. And now I had less than five hours to find some way to get him to appear at Chuck’s dinner as my fiancé.
2
Ben
Joey’s maid showed me and Olivia in, informing us that Joey was in his home office. Olivia was half-asleep with her head resting on my shoulder, but the moment she realized we were going back to her dad she perked right up.
“Baby girl!” Joey’s face lit up as we walked in. She practically lept into his arms as he held them out. “How’d it go? Did you two have fun?”
“Bait,” Olivia smiled.
Joey’s eyes darkened over me. “I knew you were shamelessly flaunting my child around as your chick magnet, but I didn’t expect you to clue her in on the game.”
“Kids say the damnedest things,” I shrugged innocently.
“Did it work? Did you lure in your next fling?” He dug through Olivia’s bag, pulling out her favorite stuffed rabbit.
“Sort of. We had coffee with a real hottie, but … eh.”
“Eh?” he puzzled.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, prompting me to check the screen. “Speak of the devil.”
Kate: I enjoyed meeting you today. When can I see you again?
“I knew it,” I clicked my tongue, shoving the phone back into my pocket. “It hasn’t even been an hour since we left and she’s already texting me. She didn’t even give me a chance not to call her. I had a feeling she was one of those women.”