“It looks like we’re going to grow old together, Sebastian.” I rubbed his head. “That isn’t a bad thing, right?”
After a few hours of wallowing in self-pity, I started to think of work. I was supposed to prepare for the meeting. I didn’t know a whole lot about the company we were meeting with. I picked up the portfolio and started flipping through it. When I got into advertising and marketing, I thought life would be filled with creativity, but before the creativity ever got started, we had to convince them we deserved to pitch them ideas. The company sold energy drinks and catered to a higher-class crowd, mixing various vitamins into their overdose of caffeine. As I dug through their catalog, I noticed that they were losing ground to the more popular brands with their target audience, but gaining ground with the college crowd. I felt like I could use that to my advantage at the meeting, so I closed the portfolio and rubbed Sebastian’s head.
I WALKED INTO THE OFFICE on Monday morning with a coffee in my hand and a fresh idea in my head. I was ready to dazzle everyone in the room with my new business strategy. I stood by my desk and sipped my coffee while the cliques formed around me. I hadn’t yet found my place in the company. They used me as a Jill-of-all-trades. That was going to change when I completely revolutionized our client’s business model, won the account, and secured the admiration of everyone in the office. I tried to forget Mr. Mistake and the moment we shared, but every time the room got silent, the what-if scenarios ran through my head. I sipped my coffee and tried to shake off the thoughts.
“Hey, Abby.” I heard a nervous giggle and turned to see one of our tech guys behind me.
“How’s it going, Paul?” I turned to him with a smile.
“Is the software update working well for you?” He pushed his thin-framed glasses up his nose and smiled.
“Yeah...” I nodded with a raised eyebrow. “It’s working great; is there something I should be concerned about?”
“No, I just wanted to check in with you.” He stared at the floor. “So, I had a question...”
Before Paul could ask his question—I already knew what it was—the boss walked in and motioned for everyone to join him in the conference room. I quickly said my goodbye to Paul, saving him the embarrassment of being declined for a date. I was impressed he had found the courage to finally ask me since I had known for a while that he was interested, but he just wasn’t my type. He was thin, nerdy, and awkward—his genetics were not his fault, but I couldn’t help it if I didn’t have any attraction to him at all. I was glad the meeting had started before I had to break his heart. I hoped it would take him a few more months to work up the courage again—it would be better for us both if he never did.
“Okay, I’d like to welcome the representatives from Energy Enhanced.” My boss, Mr. Hawthorne, turned to them. “Gentlemen, I hope you’ll like what you hear.”
“Before we begin.” One of the men from Energy Enhanced held up his phone. “We have an investor that wanted to join us for the meeting. He’s in the elevator, if you don’t mind waiting...”
“No, not at all.” Mr. Hawthorne nodded.
The doors opened and in walked Max—Mr. Mistake. He was the freaking investor. He walked in like he owned the damn room, oozing charisma when he scanned the audience. I could see Mr. Hawthorne swallow a lump in his throat and several of the people from Energy Enhanced started muttering to each other. It seemed I was the only one in the room that didn’t really know him, yet I knew things about him I was sure none of the people around the table had a clue about. I felt my throat drying out and my tongue going numb as I stared at him. He pulled up a chair and took a seat. When his eyes met mine, I had to immediately look down at the floor.
Chaos.
“My time is limited. Pitch it to me.” He folded his hands on the table.
“Mr. Martin owns eighty-five percent of the company.” The representative from Energy Enhanced presented Max like he was the living embodiment of Jesus Christ sitting in our conference room.
“Right.” Mr. Hawthorne nodded. “We appreciate you joining us.”
The next ten minutes were agonizing. My boss pitched his best ideas, completely laid out with charts, graphs, and everything we would normally use to woo a client. Max just ignored it for the most part, looking at his cell phone and grunting when potential sales figures went up on the screen. I could see the frustration growing on Mr. Hawthorne’s face, even if he managed to avoid verbalizing it. The Energy Enhanced representatives seemed to look towards Max for approval each time a new idea was put on the table and when he didn’t react, they followed his lead. The meeting was going south. Ideas were flying from every direction and crashing before they hit their target.
“I’ve got an idea...” I finally broke my silence. My boss gave me a shake of his head, indicating I was speaking out of line.
“I’m sorry.” Max put down his phone. “Who are you?”
“I’m...” I tried to swallow the dryness in my throat. “I’m Abby Grant. I’m fairly new here but—”
As if he didn’t remember.
“You’ll have to excuse me, Ms. Grant.” Max’s voice dripped with the same sugary sweetness he had when I met him at the club. “I’m not trying to be insulting, but I’ve heard a lot of ideas and none of them have been worth the syllables.”
“You haven’t heard my idea.” My words came out quick, almost as if someone else said them—it almost startled me when I realized they came from my lips.
“The floor is yours.” Max gave me a smile and I could see that Mr. Hawthorne’s brow had erupted into sweat as he stared at me.
“Your marketing strategy.” I started to feel a bit of courage as I began to speak. “You’re trying to cater to high end clients. I’m not sure your brand is built for that. The name Energy Enhanced doesn’t exactly scream high class.”
“Abby...” Mr. Hawthorne walked across the room and put his hand on my shoulder. “Gentleman, I apologize. As she said, she’s new.” His hand tightened on my shoulder.
“I’d like to hear what she has to say.” Max leaned towards the table. “I don’t like hearing problems without a solution, so is there more to this epiphany?”
“Yes.” I shrugged off Mr. Hawthorne’s hand and opened my folder. “I know it isn’t a market share you’re really after, but Energy Enhanced is actually doing very well with the college crowd. They don’t care about all the vitamins you’re infusing with caffeine to make it more appealing than the competition. They’re just drinking it and realizing it gives them a lift. You’re growing in that market faster than any of your competition.”
“Do we follow that market?” Max looked towards the representatives from Energy Enhanced.
“No.” The man who had introduced Max shook his head. “It isn’t the market sector we’re after. Our strategy is—”
“How can we ignore it?” Max drummed his fingers on the table. “Fuck strategy. Business is all about opportunity and Ms.—I’m sorry, I forgot your name.”
“Abby.” Mr. Hawthorne stepped forward with a smile that was glowing. “Abby Grant.”
“Ms. Grant has clearly picked up on something you haven’t been paying attention to. I think they just proved that they deserve our account, wouldn’t you agree?” He stared down the group from Energy Enhanced.
“Yes sir.” Their reply was almost in unison.
W HEN THE MEETING WAS over and people started to leave, I slipped out of the conference room and retreated to the break room. It was empty. Everyone that had time to take a break was on pins and needles as they waited to find out how many advertising dollars the account was going to be worth. I knew it would be a lot. I was more confused than ever about Max—Mr. Mistake. He had to remember me, even if he just seemed to feign indifference. I fixed a cup of coffee, stirring in cream and sugar. A few seconds later, I heard someone walking into the break room. I turned around to see Max. Even a few minutes without him directly in front of me had made me forget how attractive he was. He looked like
he was sculpted from perfection, staring at me with those oh so mind boggling dark brown eyes.
“Hi, I’m Max—short for Maxwell, but please don’t call me that.” He extended his hand.
“Seriously?” I put down my coffee cup and folded my arms across my chest.
“Okay, fine.” He looked down at the floor. “Yeah, some people call me Mr. Mistake.”
“I don’t make mistakes.” I shook my head.
“Never?” He raised his head and smiled. “Not even one?”
“No.” I shook my head again. “Don’t feed me your crap. I don’t have the stomach for it. I’m not interested in being a one-night stand and I’m certainly not going to ever call you Mr. Mistake.”
“You’re very confident.” He grinned. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Don’t try to woo me. Don’t give me this sugary sweet nonsense. I already know it is nothing but a lie.” I stared at him.
“Fine.” He started walking towards me.
Holy shit.
I didn’t see that one coming. I thought I was telling him to hit the bricks, but he took it as an open invitation. When he got close me and I felt his buzz—that same radiating electricity I felt the night we met—I was practically sweating. I wasn’t the kind of woman to fall victim to charm like his, but he turned the charm off and went straight into attack mode. Before I realized what his next play was, there was an arm around my waist and he was pulling me close. His other hand grabbed me by the back of the neck and tilted my head. Everything in my conscious brain built on rationale thought was saying no, but my head was spinning with the intoxication of his touch.
No. Yes. No. No. Yes...
Nothing came out of my trembling lips as I fought a war inside my head. Before I could really think it through or argue with myself anymore, he pulled me so close I could feel the heat of his breath. That only lasted for a moment. He pressed his lips to mine and my entire body melted as his tongue ravaged my mouth. It was like being suspended in bliss with dynamite going off underneath my skirt. All I could do was open my willing mouth and welcome him as our tongues intertwined. He gave me a taste of his passion, a taste of what he had to offer me, and then he pulled away. When my thoughts returned, he was walking the other way.
“You’re leaving?” I felt my breath come out in a pant.
“You said you weren’t interested.” He waved over his shoulder at me and walked out the door.
Chapter 5: Max
Of course I knew Abby Grant worked for the marketing firm that was trying to get Energy Enhanced’s account. I knew everything about Abby Grant within an hour of her being stolen from me by the bitterness of Veronica’s jilted ego. I couldn’t even remember the last time I bothered to put in a personal appearance at a company we didn’t own outright. Energy Enhanced was just another startup that sounded like they were offering something different than the rest of the products on the market. Truthfully, once I found out she worked at a marketing firm, I knew there was a damn good chance her company would pitch something to one of mine eventually. Happenstance just delivered it to me earlier than I imagined. The fact she was in the room was just icing on the cake. I definitely didn’t expect her to have the only decent idea in the whole damn room.
That fucking kiss.
I’ve used a strong kiss to tame more than one woman trying to show disinterest. It wasn’t a new trick, but it was effective. I didn’t get a fair shot at her, so there was no reason to play fair after the fact. I wanted her. There was no way around that. Her kiss started with fear, hesitation, and then it was as passionate as my own. She might not want to make a mistake, but she was damn sure going to do it anyway. I might not have gotten her at the club, but with the door once again open, I was going to charge into it like the bull I was. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed a familiar number. They answered quickly.
“Hello, this Max Martin. I’d like to arrange a flower delivery.” I waited for the young lady on the other end of the phone to pull up my account. “Yes, a dozen roses. I’d like to have them delivered to Abby Grant at West End Marketing. Make it happen today.”
I hung up the phone before I gave them a chance to confirm. I knew they would do what I said. My name had too much prestige for them not to bow down to it. A few hours later, I was sitting in my office, staring out at the city, when I got a text message confirming they were delivered.
I had a lot of work to do but it was getting late. I thought about picking up the phone and making arrangements so I could go out to another club, but I just didn’t have the energy. My laser focus had locked in on Abby Grant and until that itch was scratched, it was going to be hard to find satisfaction elsewhere. That was the problem with my ego—it had to be stroked once I got it worked up.
“D ADDY!” I HEARD A voice cry out as I stepped into my house. Tiny feet ran down the hallway towards me.
“Hi, Benjamin!” I scooped up my five-year-old son as he lunged at me.
“Guess what Ms. Ruth taught me today?” He grinned from ear to ear.
“What’s that?” I saw the older lady walking down the hallway, holding her back as she took each step.
“I learned how to divide every number by ten! You just take off a zero!” He seemed overly enthused, like he had just discovered magic.
“Yes, that works with a lot of numbers.” I sat him down and looked over at Ms. Ruth. “Everything go okay today?”
“It wasn’t bad.” Her voice was gentle. “We did have a bit of a dispute over how many cookies he’s allowed to have.”
“I said one.” I looked down at Benjamin.
“I multiplied that by five!” He held up five fingers.
“It doesn’t work that way, son.” I shook my head and laughed.
Benjamin was my heart and soul. He represented everything good about me and didn’t get cursed with any of my awful personality traits. His mother was the only woman I had ever loved but she decided she loved pills and tanned Brazilians more than the life we started to build together. By the time I found out she was pregnant with Benjamin, I wasn’t even sure he would be mine. The marriage was over, held together only by my stubbornness at that point. We signed the divorce papers a few days after he was born, despite the offer I made for us to get counseling and try to work things out. She cashed herself out of my life and for another zero, she signed over all of her parental rights to Benjamin.
“Alright, son. Let’s go make dinner.” I took him by the hand.
“Bye, Ms. Ruth!” Benjamin waved goodbye to his teacher.
“Goodbye, Benjamin. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She returned his wave and walked towards the door.
Ms. Ruth had been a godsend. I was a bit nervous about homeschooling Benjamin because I wanted him to socialize with other children, but he was slightly autistic. If he was with people he knew and trusted, he was okay, but if he was put in a room with strangers he would shut down and become almost non-verbal.
I took him to the kitchen and made him a ham sandwich with a side of broccoli. He loved ham sandwiches and he hated broccoli. Thankfully, he was willing to endure the curse of vegetables for a ham sandwich. After dinner was over, I bathed him and tucked him into bed. He wanted a bedtime story, so I read him a story about knights and castles. That was the flavor of the week after he found out dinosaurs were extinct.
Chapter 6: Abby
Flowers? Really?
I stared at the roses sitting next to my computer. I had already ripped up the card and threw it in the trash. The kiss Max planted on my lips left me burning with desire, but after having twenty-four hours to think about it, I was once again firmly opposed to him. The words left behind by the woman at the club resonated in my ear. It didn’t matter if he was hot as hell or if he made me wet, he was nothing more than Mr. Mistake.
I opened my email and stared at the request from Mr. Hawthorne. He wanted all of my analysis and data on the pitch I made because Energy Enhanced was going to fully embrace my idea.
“Abby!”
I heard a voice and turned to see Mary-Katherine walking towards me.
“Mary-Katherine...” I blinked a couple of times. “What are you doing here?”
“We have a lunch date. Did you forget? Who sent you flowers!” She turned the vase and pulled a rose close so she could smell it.
“I totally forgot...” I sighed. “Those are from a client. They were happy with one of my ideas.”
“A client?” She grinned. “Is it a guy, because I don’t think clients send red roses unless they’re interested in more than just your ideas.”
“I don’t want to talk about it here.” I grabbed my purse and motioned for her to follow me outside.
“M R. MISTAKE?” MARY -Katherine started laughing as soon as she heard the story of what transpired outside the club. “I thought you just went to the bathroom. I didn’t realize someone tried to kidnap you!”
“It wasn’t a kidnapping...” I lifted my glass and sipped diet soda through my straw. “He was kind of charming, but come on—how do I get past that?”
“You don’t.” Mary-Katherine shrugged. “How long are you going to wait to lose your virginity? He sounds like the perfect guy for it. He’s experienced, hotter than anyone I’ve ever been with, and if the condom breaks, he’s rich as fuck.”
“So, I spent my whole life waiting for Mr. Right and I just throw myself at Mr. Mistake because I’m horny?” I shook my head and glared at her.
“It’s Maxwell Martin.” She pointed at me with both fingers. “You have a chance to fuck Maxwell Martin.”
“He doesn’t like being called Maxwell—ugh.” I let out a grunt when I realized I had just repeated what he said to me.
“See, you already know him.” She grinned. “Plus, he sent you flowers. Just take off your panties and mail them to him, because he’s getting them one way or the other.”
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