by Logan Chance
“Let’s do this, Rita,” I nearly squeal, ping-ponging around the room where I’ll be serving the King and his court various items I’ve created. “I’m going to win them over with my baking skills.”
“You ok?” she asks, at half the speed I seem to be talking.
I give her two very animated thumbs up, feeling like my arms are going to shoot off to the ceiling.
“Yes.” I smooth my hands down the long length of my hair, from root to bottom. The usually heavy brown locks feel like they’re standing on end. I need to calm down, but I can’t. I feel electrified. Times one hundred.
She moves to the corner of the room as Tobias Longwood, grey-haired owner of Mayhem Marketing, enters, followed by two men in suits. My heart rate accelerates to an unnatural rhythm. I’m not sure if it’s the energy drink or the fact I’ve been dreaming about this opportunity for such a long time. If I can land this account, I’ll finally have the extra money to expand my cafe. Thanks to Max Energy, that thought makes me extra excited.
“Miss Thomas, hello,” Tobias greets me. “Thanks for coming.”
“Nice to meet you,” I respond a little too loud over the pulse in my ears, giving his outstretched hand several vigorous pumps.
His brow furrows just like Rita’s did, and I try to dial it down a notch, but my dial is broken.
It can’t be normal that my lips tingle when I smile as Tobias introduces me to the two execs who will help decide my fate about whether or not I’ll be hired.
While the people I’m here to impress take a seat at the rectangular table, I chatter, uncontrollably, about my creations and with jittery hands remove the rich chocolate cake adorned with the Mayhem logo from its box.
“Looks delicious,” Tobias compliments me as I move closer at warp speed.
My feet walk faster than my heels can keep up, and instead of placing my showpiece in the center of the table, the cake somehow teeters amidst a chorus of gasps to end up a ganache mess... right in Tobias’ lap. All three layers.
“I’m so sorry,” I apologize, staring at the broken lump on his groin.
“Are you on drugs?” he asks with a pinched face, looking down at the red Mayhem logo smeared on his pristine white shirt.
“No,” I deny, “I can explain.” My eyes dart at a rapid pace to the shocked expressions on the other faces seated at the table.
“You get one shot here. That was yours. Thank you for coming in, Miss Thomas.”
“It was an energy drink—Max Energy—by that famous baseball player,” I tell him, because like he said, this is my one shot. “Listen, whoever marketed that as success in a can should be fired.”
As he removes a lump of cake from his soiled trousers into the garbage can Rita retrieved, he informs me, “We designed that campaign.”
The room is silent as I pack my things and go. All of my dreams follow me out the door. I'm too high on Max Energy to be depressed.
I have no one to blame but myself. And Maxwell Hunter, the man behind the drink.
When I get home, I drop my purse on the kitchen counter and beeline straight for the fridge. On the top shelf, next to the milk, sit the remaining cans of Max Energy. I tilt one of the tall cylinders and read the tiny black font:
Max Energy will give you that extra you need to reach your goals. It’s winning in a can.
Share your success.
Leave a review.
The words taunt me before I toss it in the trash. The four cans left in my fridge follow it into the garbage before I move over to my laptop on the island in my kitchen. I type in the web address to the Nile site listed on the can and search for Max Energy, clicking on the tiny thumbnail, and then, scrolling through all the five star reviews.
Delicious! I finished a project for work that earned me a bonus.
Homerun. Finally, put together the bookshelf I’d been dreading.
Review after review raves about this drink.
7 stars!
I'd give it 100 if I could! I've never tasted anything like this or had so much energy. You will love it!
Seven out of five?
I can barely refrain from commenting to ReviewQueen that her rating is impossible. You can not give more than you have.
I click on ‘My Review’ and select one star. Annoyance flows through my veins and spills out from my fingertips as I type.
Let me share my story with you. It doesn’t have a happy ending, just like the book I had stayed up all night reading didn’t. I was tired the next morning, and my coworker had given me these from her PR package, so I thought, ‘Sure, I’ll try it.’ I drank one before the most important meeting of my life. Big mistake.
This is not success in a can. Don’t drink the kool aid, people. Or actually, do. Maybe you won’t bounce off the walls and lose your dream client. Thanks, Max. Thank you for my failure. I hope you have a losing season.
And then, I press the submit button. Take that, Maxwell Hunter.
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About the Author
Logan Chance is a USA Today and Top 20 Amazon Bestselling Author with a quick wit and penchant for the simple things in life: Star Wars, music, and smart girls who love to read. He was nominated best debut author for the Goodreads Choice Awards in 2016. His works can be classified as Dramedies (Drama+Comedies), featuring a ton of laughs and many swoon worthy, heartfelt moments.
Also by Logan Chance
The Playboy Series
PLAYBOY
HEARTBREAKER
STUCK
LOVE DOCTOR
The Me Series
DATE ME
STUDY ME
SAVE ME
BREAK ME
Sexy Standalones
TAKEN
WE ALL FALL DOWN
The NewlyFEDS
GRAHAM
COLD HEARTED BALLER
THE BOSS DUET
LIKE A BOSS
LOVE A BOSS
