by T. K. Rapp
“What are you talking about?”
Consequences be damned.
“Faith, I may have been drunk, but I wasn’t that drunk and I’m certainly not stupid. Do you really think I don’t remember you or what happened between us that night?”
The look of sheer panic in her eyes is only topped by the anger in them.
“Are you trying to blackmail me?”
Well, this is not at all the direction I was headed with the question.
“What? Are you kidding me? Why would I do that?”
“I wonder,” she mocks.
“Get over yourself. I’m not an asshole, and I don’t resort to underhanded means to win what I want.”
“Then why are you bringing this up?”
“I’m just curious why you’ve acted like nothing happened or why you disappeared in the middle of the night.”
“Isn’t that every man’s dream, a no strings attached one-night stand? It was a nice night, can’t we leave it at that?”
“Nice? I remember it being a little more than nice.”
“Trey, we have to work together -”
“Yeah, and you have - whatever this weird shit that you have with Emerson.”
“Are we going to be able to do this?”
I look at Faith and think about the hell she’s put me through in the short time she’s been in my life. As a competitor, lover, and now colleague, I’ve been challenged and had more fun with work than I’ve had in a while.
“Yeah.” I shrug and offer her a smile. “We can do this.”
* * *
I dropped Faith back off at Fire it Up and confirmed our plans to meet tomorrow. There was a shift in our partnership, but I’m not sure what any of it means. I admire her dedication to her job, especially her clients, but something about her sticks with me, and it has nothing to do with business. I’ve never cared about how I come across to anyone, and I’ve never changed to meet anyone’s expectations, but I find myself hoping she sees a better side of me.
Me: Details for #4?
Kayla: She can’t make it
Me: I’m done?
Kayla: How was #3?
Me: We need to talk
No sooner do I send the text does my phone ring notifying me of a call from Kayla.
“Romeo?” That’s what I say when I answer the phone.
“Juliet?” she asks timidly.
“What?”
“I thought we were doing some word association thing or something.” She laughs.
“You told your cohort to call me Romeo. And they told you to call her Winter.”
“And the problem is?” she asks with an annoyed tone.
“Her name is Faith,” I announce.
“Okay, is this supposed to mean something to me? You lost me.”
“I wish,” I mutter through the line.
“What’s wrong with you? I set you up with some amazing women.” I can picture her sitting somewhere with her arms crossed over her chest in finality. But we are far from finished.
“The first one was looking to settle down as soon as she met me. Number two, she was a rude, superficial, and an airhead.”
“Callie is great!”
“How well do you know her?”
“I’ve met her once,” she admits.
“And that one time you meet her you give her “great” status?”
“Okay, fine,” she concedes. “What about number three?”
Number three. Winter. Faith. Whatever you want to call her, it still causes conflicting things to swirl in my head. I don’t like the questions that keep coming to mind, but I think I’m more caught off guard by the answers.
Do I trust her? Maybe.
Do I find her attractive? Without a doubt.
Do I want to see her again?
“Faith,” I announce. “She was your cousin’s roommate,” I inform her through gritted teeth.
“Yeah, and?”
“Fling, competition - Faith. Ring any bells?”
“Oh shit! Are you kidding me?” She bursts out laughing.
“Nope.”
“But. Wait - what?”
“I found the one wearing a black cap like you instructed, and it was Faith.”
“Well, how was it? Are you going to see her again?”
“It was actually fun, until I asked about that night,” I confirm.
“You didn’t!”
“Yeah I did. I knew there was no way she was that drunk.”
“So then I did good?” Her voice peaks at the last word.
“No, because first off, she’s the competition, and second, she’s got a boyfriend.”
“Okay wait, I’m confused. How are you going to see her again if she’s got a boyfriend?”
“We have to work together on a project so she’s coming by the office.”
“But I don’t understand, why is she going on dates if she’s already with someone?”
“Some bullshit about an ‘open’ policy since they’re not in the same town.”
“Yeah, that’s total crap,” she agrees before pausing and asking something else. “But you like her?”
“I find her frustrating, annoying, smart, sexy, and confusing as hell.”
“So you do like her,” she confirms, stating the obvious. “Where does this leave you?”
“Friends.” I say with annoyance, feeling shocked that it actually bothers me so much that she’ll be my partner on the job and not in my bed.
Chapter 19
Me: Are we still on for this evening?
Faith: Yeah. Six? Your office?
Me: Just text when you get here and I’ll let you in.
The date, if you can call it a date, was something of a surprise, and it didn’t turn out as I expected. Faith hasn’t been to my office yet, but since she’s the one asking to share ideas, I feel it’s better to have her on my turf. I feel like there’s a chance, despite the nature of our pairing, that the partnership might work out.
Jett walks into the doorway and slaps his hand against the frame. “I’m walking Hottie out.”
“I heard that,” she says from behind him. “Thanks but no thanks. I’m pretty sure my fiancé would hurt you beyond repair.”
“Fiancé?” I ask, smiling at her, and notice my brother who looks like he’s shitting his pants because he was caught.
“Yeah, I wanted to tell you when I got in this morning, but it’s been so busy.” She walks around Jett and holds her hand out to show off a huge engagement ring.
“Well, congratulations! He’s a lucky man.”
“Thanks,” she beams. “I had no idea he was thinking of asking. I mean, football season is starting, and he’s been so busy-”
“Wait, hold up.” Jett finally joins the conversation, his eyes narrowed at me. “So you weren’t joking when you said she’s dating some pro guy?”
Hattie laughs and flashes her ring at him. “Does this look like a joke?”
“Who?”
“You don’t read newspapers, do you?”
My eyes narrow at Hattie when I cock my head and laugh. “That’s funny - you thought he read?”
She looks from me to Jett and fills him in. “I’ve been with Evan Baker for two years.”
“Holy shit.” He drops down into the seat across from my desk in shock.
“So when’s the wedding?” I ask, smiling at her.
“We haven’t figured any of that out yet. But I’m so happy. He’s amazing, and I want to tell the world, but I can’t yet.”
“I’m sure you won’t have to wait for long.” I laugh. “Once the media gets wind of the engagement, the stalkerazzi will be out trying to get a glimpse of the ring.”
“I better get going.” She walks toward the door. “Jett, wanna walk me out?”
He doesn’t chance a glimpse at her; he simply shakes his head, and she laughs as she walks away. Jett doesn’t wait too long before he leaves, saying something about meeting with Cheyenne.
When I started this c
ompany, I had myself and two employees. I spent every waking hour here in the office trying to get things off and running. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the building alone, though the cleaning crew will be by later. The people who work with me are as passionate about their work as I am. We are all so busy, heads are down, getting the work done, and it isn’t until now I realize I haven’t looked around the office in a while.
My routine every morning is set. Walk in. Get the mail. Coffee. Office. Email. And the rest of the day is spent answering emails, working on campaigns, or signing new clients.
Walking around the office when no one is around feels strange but also relaxed. The conference room lights are on and the white board still has the drawing up someone was working on for the Rialyn project. Feedback has been great from my team, and I think they’re on track to have a presentation ready for the end of the week. I can tell the ideas are flowing.
My phone buzzes in my hand and it is Faith letting me know she’s here, so I turn off the conference room light and walk toward the entrance to let her in.
“Have any problem finding the place?” I hold the door open as she walks past, and I’m hit with a sweet scent. I don’t know what it is, but it’s nice.
Her arms are loaded with folders and a few books so I offer to carry some for her. The hallways are lined with various campaigns we’ve created over the years, and I notice her pause to look at one for a florist we completed a few months ago.
“You won the Flower Vixen campaign?” she asks in awe.
When I don’t respond immediately, Faith turns to me and I shrug. “Yeah, why, did you bid on this one too?”
“I did,” she scowls and is damn cute doing it. “I wanted that one so bad. Janie seemed like so much fun to work with.”
“They were great. Actually, she contacted me the other day because they want to extend their contract since the response to the ads has gotten them so much business. They’re actually looking to expand the company.”
“Wow.” She nods. “Congratulations, that’s amazing.”
“C’mon, let’s go to my office.” I incline my head in the direction we need to go, and we continue to make our way down the hall.
“I’ve actually been here before.”
“You have?” I ask as I lead her toward my office.
“Yeah, I dropped a resume off when I graduated but never got a call.”
“No you didn’t,” I argue as I start leading her toward my office.
“Sure did.” She smiles. “Check your HR files, I’m sure it’s still floating around in the reject pile somewhere.”
There’s a large dark cherry conference desk in my office that we set everything on, and I study her trying to determine if she’s joking about the resume. She turns on her laptop and takes a seat as if she’s perfectly comfortable in my space.
“So yesterday -”
I stop her before she can continue. We talked about it, or didn’t, and there’s no point in reliving anything.
“You know, I talked to Kayla last night. I don’t think you’ll be getting anymore blind dates anytime soon.”
She dissolves into laughter at the face I make when I finish.
“What? I didn’t do anything wrong. I mean it’s not like anything happened…” she trails off when she recalls the lie in her words.
“So you were expecting something to happen?”
“No, I didn’t say that.” She laughs. “Stop putting words in my mouth.”
“Yeah, and you’re really here for ‘work,’ right?” I ask, using air quotes.
“Listen, I thought you’d like my advice on this -”
“Hold up,” I interrupt her and sit on the edge of the table so I’m sitting over her. “About that; I feel like I know you well enough to ask, what in the hell was up with the email you sent after we got back from Texas?”
“What are you talking about? I was trying to be helpful.” Her eyes grow wide, and she shakes her head innocently.
“No you weren’t,” I argue. “You were trying to get in my head, and it almost worked.”
“Whatever.”
“Nice comeback,” I counter. “So are you going to flirt with me all night like you did yesterday or are you going to show me these campaigns you created?”
“I wasn’t - oh screw it, yeah, I’ll show you.”
“Don’t get any ideas, Faith. I’m only trying to see your screen,” I joke while bringing a chair next to her. She is waiting for the file to come up and nudges my side.
“You’re almost as bad as your brother.”
“Less tell, more show,” I instruct as I point to the screen. I’m eager to see what she has to offer, though I’m still not sure how to go about presenting this to Cavette.
She points to the screen to show a series of themed storyboard ideas she has created. “I have mockups if you want to see those.”
I nod and move away while she gathers some papers out of her portfolio. She lays them out in front of me, and I have to stand up so I can view all of them. The one closest to me has four people camping someplace with kayaks, tents, and a campfire. One of the campers has a guitar and everyone looks happy. She has left room for tag lines, logo, and dialog, but overall I like it.
The middle sketch has a woman perched on top of a cliff, gazing into the horizon. All you see is the back of her, but she’s got on a backpack and is wearing hiking gear, all of which are items Cave carries in the stores.
“Did you sketch these yourself?” I ask as my eyes move on to the last image, and I think it’s my favorite. It’s a scenic view of the outdoors, as seen from the inside of a tent. Bare legs are entangled together as the view takes in the sight. There are so many possibilities with all of the images, but this one in particular.
“Yeah, I had been working on them while I was waiting to hear if we won the job.”
“And you never showed them to your boss?”
“I didn’t show them to anyone. You’re the first,” she admits with a confident smile.
Faith knows she’s good at what she does, and she can tell I’m impressed, even if I don’t come out and say it. “I tried to show the first one to Mr. Roberts, he had no interest. He brushed me off by saying the creative team would work something up. I knew then there was no way to get him to see what I truly have to offer.”
“Damn shame,” I scoff, shaking my head. “These are pretty good. They need a little work, but I like where you’re headed with them. Why do you want me to use them?”
“Like I said, I like Cal. And I figure seeing my work out there is better than putting these away in a drawer or trashing them, right? But here’s my offer.” Faith waits for me to give her my attention, so I take a seat and give her the stage. “If Cal likes them, we work together, but my bosses can’t know about it. Okay?”
“Agreed, but I have some ideas of my own I’ve been working on for a while. If Cal likes the ones we work on together, I will let him know it was a collaborative effort, but my designs are my own. And I’ll help you work out the kinks in these. Does that work for you?”
She pulls the chair up to the desk and looks me straight in the eye. “Yes.”
“Let’s get to work, then.”
* * *
“Alright, Miller,” Faith slaps her hand on the top of the table. “How much longer do you think we need on these? I need food.”
The clock on the wall reads ten-twenty and, until she mentioned it, I wasn’t hungry. “We’ve gotten five done. I think this last one will take a little longer, but I’ll order a pizza, that okay?”
She nods and smiles, “yeah, I’m not picky, so whatever you have is good.” Her eyes fall back to the sketch in front of her and I find myself hoping she looks at me like that again.
As I dial the restaurant I say over my shoulder and smirk, “I like to get anchovies on mine.”
“No you don’t.” She laughs behind me.
She’s right, I don’t.
Faith continues working on
the image and holds it up to show me as I hang up the phone. “Should be here in twenty minutes.” She scrunches her features, as though questioning me. “It’s almost ten thirty. I don’t think they’re too busy.”
“So, how’s it look?” She sets the paper down on the table, and I go over to check it out. There’s something about this one that doesn’t work, but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s a woman sitting alone by a campfire but she has a device in her hand with a lit screen. It throws off what should be a tranquil moment.
“I think it needs some work.” I point to the phone and sit down while Faith thinks it over.
“But everyone has their phone with them all the time,” she argues her point by holding hers up.
“When you used to go camping as a kid, what was your favorite part?”
“I don’t know, I guess playing with my brother,” she answers easily, and I feel bad for asking the question, but I’m trying to make a point.
“What did you and Lennox play?”
“Mom and Dad would bring board games, or we had a soccer ball or -” she cuts herself off, “point taken.”
“I think the woman enjoying the peace and quiet is great, she looks happy. Why don’t we replace the phone with a book, but not a reader, an actual paperback?”
“Disconnect her from technology.” She nods in agreement.
There’s a knock at the office door, so I leave her to work on it while I pay for our dinner. When I walk back into the office, she’s changing the device out, but stops as soon as she smells the pizza. We move all of the papers out of the way, and I open the box in front of us, foregoing plates altogether.
“I used to love camping with Lennox,” she says through a mouthful of food. “He was always annoyed with me because I was a pest. But when we camped, it was Len and me and he would show me so much. Mom and Dad never worried about me because he watched me like a hawk.”
“Where was your favorite place to camp?”
“One time, we went to Yellowstone. I was about nine, and I wanted to see bears. Lennox laughed and told me they weren’t teddy bears, that they could be dangerous, but I didn’t care. I wanted to see a damn bear.” She laughs at the thought before taking another bite, recalling more. “Lennox came into my room early one morning, ‘Faith, wake up. I have something to show you,’ he was all excited, and I was trying to wake up. Since I wasn’t moving fast enough, he told me to jump on his back, and he’d carry me. He ran over to the window of the cabin we were in and started pointing, ‘Look out there past the tree line.’
