by Lisa Fenwick
She walked slowly down the hallway past her office, through the lobby, and to the elevator. She needed some fresh air. Hitting the button for the elevator, she thought about the last few years. She had come a long way. But now she was in over her head, and she had never really had a backup plan. Who was she kidding? She wasn’t qualified to run a company. She should have stuck to just a few clients. That, she could handle. And she would still be in her old office. She loved that building and missed the restaurant that was in the lobby, Sullivan’s. It was like a second home to her and gave her a strange sense of comfort.
The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open and she stepped inside, moving to the rear of it. There were a few people standing inside it, and she just wanted to blend into the wall. She didn’t make eye contact with any of them and stood quietly in thought instead.
When the elevator cab hit the lobby, she was the last one to leave it. She slowly walked through the lobby, eyeballing the receptionist desk for a brief moment. She had absolutely hated sitting there and had dreamed every day of making it to be an agent. Now here she was the CEO of her own agency, and she was almost more miserable then she had been as the receptionist. Life sure was strange.
She pulled open the heavy glass door and stepped outside, the brisk cold air hitting her face along with the rest of her body. She rubbed her hands together for a minute, closing her eyes, and then started to walk. She had no destination in mind. She just wanted to think. The cars crept along beside her, the common pace for downtown Boston traffic. The city noises enveloped her, the sound of the corner vendors yelling, the circling seagulls overhead calling out. The city buses drove by, the signs on their sides showcasing upcoming holiday shows like The Nutcracker. Her mind wandered to when she was little, and her mother had taken her to see The Nutcracker. Her mom had saved up for a year to be able to take her, and they had both dressed up in their best outfits and made a whole day out of it. It was one of the best memories she had from her childhood. Her father had even paid her a compliment for once. “You don’t look so fat in that outfit,” he had said. She shook her head at the memory. She really wished that her mom was still alive to talk to.
She turned a few corners and realized that she had ended up at her old office building. She looked up at the tall glass-and-stone building. It looked more welcoming then the Rossi building. She told herself that was stupid. How could a building look welcoming? She entered the lobby and walked right into Sullivan’s, a smile forming on her face. Her spirits were instantly lifted.
“Well, well, well. Look who is gracing us with her presence!” a familiar voice from behind the bar said.
Sam smiled and walked over to the side of the bar and stepped behind it briefly to hug Scooter.
“That’s quite the hello,” he said, grinning sheepishly.
She walked to the front of the bar and sat down on one of the stools as Scooter slid a vodka tonic with lemon in front of her.
“It’s only eleven,” she said to him.
“Something tells me you need it,” he replied.
She smiled and took a sip. He was right.
“So, how’s life for the bigwig now? Are you slumming it?”
Sam frowned. Scooter knew that she wasn’t like that. No matter how successful some people saw her as being, she was still the same insecure Sam.
“You know me better than that. People don’t really think that, do they?” she asked.
“Nah. I’m teasing. You know that, Sam. I mean, you are becoming quite the local celebrity, between those boots and being seen around with Jaz.”
“Jez,” Sam corrected him. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to be a jerk by saying Jaz. She thought she detected a tinge of jealousy in his voice, but they had dated so long ago that she didn’t know why he would be jealous.
“Sorry. Jez. “he said, smirking.
Sam relaxed, realizing he really was just teasing her.
“I miss this place. The other building is…uptight,” she said, grabbing some peanuts from the small glass bowl that he had placed in front of her.
“Well, aside from that, how’s business going? We do miss seeing you guys around here.”
“Business is okay. I mean, it’s better, but…”
“But what?”
“But I’m not as happy as I thought I’d be,” Sam blurted. She immediately regretted saying it, fearing that she sounded childish.
“Sometimes being the big boss isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Scooter said. He would know; he owned the restaurant. Over the years, he and Sam had had a lot of talks about managing people and how difficult it could be.
“I just feel like I’m letting everyone down. Money’s really tight. And…and I’m not myself.”
“What do you mean you aren’t yourself?”
“This will sound foolish, but it’s that building. It’s Lance. It just has bad memories for me, and every time I look into his face, I want to scream, but I don’t really know why. If that even makes sense.”
Scooter raised his eyebrows.
“No, before you say it, no. I don’t have any feelings for Lance.”
“Well, it sounds like maybe you do.”
“I don’t. That ship sailed. Literally. A long time ago. I just feel like maybe I would be doing better if we hadn’t taken him up on his offer.”
Scooter nodded. “So fix it.”
Sam laughed. “Yeah, because it’s that easy.”
‘Well, how hard is it? To fix, I mean. You’re a smart woman. It’s your company, Sam. Remember that you’re the one making the decisions!”
He walked away to serve a couple and their young daughter that had sat down at the opposite end of the bar. The girl was probably only ten years old but was gorgeous, with blonde hair and huge blue eyes. She had a medal around her neck, and Sam could hear them talking about ice skating.
Sam sat and sipped her drink, his words floating around in her head. She had come a long way. And it was her company. She was the only person that could make herself happy. It was time that she worried about herself instead of everyone else!
“Thanks, Scooter!” she yelled down to him, leaving a large tip and heading for the door.
*********
Sam ran around her apartment like a dizzy child, fluffing the pillows on her couch and fixing the cheese platter that she had laid out on the coffee table. She checked the wine that was in the fridge for the fifth time as if it would grow legs and walk away somehow. Her talk with Scooter had made her realize that she shouldn’t be pushing Jez away, regardless of what Lance said. It was her personal life, not his.
She glanced at the clock on the wall and hurried to the bathroom to check her reflection one last time. Her hair was stick straight; she had straightened it and left it down. It was parted in the middle, and she wasn’t used to it being so flat and wasn’t so sure that she liked it. She had felt like trying something different, but instead of looking chic she looked like an egghead with greasy hair. She tried to fluff it up a bit at the top and then gave up, instead applying a peach-colored liquid lipstick over her full lips. She brushed some bronzer on her face and took a deep breath. She needed to relax. After all, this had been her idea.
“Wow, aren’t you fancy!” Holly’s voice said from the living room.
Sam scooted out to her, making a shooing motion with her arms.
“Get out of here! He’s going to be here any minute, and I don’t need you making goofy remarks!”
“Okay, okay. Jeez. It looks good though. Kind of a whole casual vibe. But what’s up with your hair? Did you wash it?”
“Okay, GO!” Sam chided as Holly giggled and left.
Sam took her black boots off. Boots in the house seemed like too much. But she hated how she looked in jeans without shoes on. Even though she had big thighs, she still felt the boots made them look better. She quickly pulled them back on again and picked a piece of lint off of her long black V-neck sweater.
The doorbell ringing made her jump.
She looked around the room one more time, fixed the faux-fur throw on the back of the couch, and went to the door.
“Hi.”
Jez’s brilliant white smile beamed down at her, instantly lifting her mood from nervous to giddy.
“Am I remembering your order right?” He held up a bottle of vodka and a bottle of tonic water, along with lemons. Sam was immediately smitten. He remembered what she had drunk when they had had dinner before!
“Thank you. You know that’s my favorite!” she said. “Come on in.”
She led him through the small entryway to the living room.
“This place is great. I love old places like this. Errr, I mean original, you know. With the exposed brick and everything.”
Sam laughed. She knew what he had meant when he said old.
“Thanks. I’m hardly ever here to enjoy it. But I do love the original hardwood floors and the brick, too. Holly actually lives in the townhouse upstairs. Don’t be surprised if she comes barging in. We have a kind of open-door policy,” Sam explained.
“That’s cool,” Jez said, taking a seat on the couch.
“Can I get you a drink? I have beer, wine, whiskey, whatever you want really.”
“Just water with ice would be great, thanks. I have a game tomorrow.”
“Oh, uh, sorry. I forgot about that whole no-drinking-the-day-before-a-game thing. I’ll be right back!”
She disappeared into the kitchen, feeling like an idiot. He couldn’t drink! So she shouldn’t drink either. Right? Or could she? She poured a glass of water and added some ice cubes for him and then poured herself a glass of wine. It was light anyway, and she would just have one, just to take the edge off.
She placed the drinks on the coffee table and sat down on the couch a few feet away from him.
“Help yourself,” she said, pointing to the cheese and crackers.
“Thanks. How long have you lived here?” he asked, piling some cheddar cheese on top of a cracker.
Sam told him how long she had lived there, how she had been in New York prior to that, and how she had worked for Lance as the receptionist. Jez started to cough when he heard the last part, about her working for Lance.
“What? You were his receptionist?”
“Yes. It’s a long story. I was a PR exec prior to that, but my mom got sick and I quit my job to be with her.” Sam grabbed some crackers, hoping Jez would sense that she didn’t like to talk about her mom. Or her past at Rossi, for that matter.
“Wow, well, congratulations. You’ve really made it far since answering phones, I guess,” Jez said to her.
“Okay, enough about me. What about you?” Sam asked, wanting to change the subject. She didn’t want him to ask about working for Lance. She wasn’t exactly good at hiding her feelings about Lance, good and bad.
“Hmmm, let me think. I told you a lot the other night. Did I mention I have seven brothers?”
“What! Seven?”
“Yes. My mom really wanted a girl, but it never worked out that way.” Jez laughed.
“Did they all play sports?” Sam, asked, sipping her drink slowly.
“Yes. I’m the only one that was drafted though. Actually, my older brother Danny owns McKays Burgers down at Ryolf Beach. Ever heard of it?”
“What?! Of course I’ve heard of it. Everyone in New England knows that place. Best lobster rolls ever! My mom and I would go there every spring right when they opened up for the season,” Sam said. The memory made her smile but also punched at her gut. She missed her mom.
“Does your mom live near here?” Jez asked.
Sam tried not to let the smile fade from her face. Even though it had been almost six years since her mom had died, it still felt like yesterday. She hated to talk about her, and people who said time healed all wounds or that it got easier with time were full of it.
“Uh…my mom passed away. It’s been almost six years.”
“Oh no. I didn’t know. I’m so sorry, Sam.”
“It’s okay,” Sam replied, fidgeting with her hair.
“It’s not okay. You’re way too young to have lost your mom. I’m really sorry,” Jez said again, inching closer to her and placing his hand on her knee.
“Yeah, what can I say. Cancer sucks.” Sam sighed. This conversation was definitely a downer, and it was killing her mood. She should have known that it would come up eventually. “Do you want me to put the game on?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
“You watch hockey?” Jez asked, sounding surprised.
“Kind of. I watch every sport, really, just because of my job. I feel like I can manage clients better if I understand what they do. I hardly ever have time to watch a full game of…anything, really.”
“Maybe you can come see me play sometime. You know, if you aren’t too busy.”
“That would be great!” Sam said. She hadn’t been to an actual hockey game before, but she didn’t want to tell him that.
“Well, the game tomorrow is a home game, so maybe you can make that? It’s at seven. You’ll probably still be at work,” he said and then laughed, grabbing some crackers.
“If I left at seven, it would definitely be a half day for me,” she said.
The two of them laughed, and Sam felt the sadness about her mom float away. She relaxed on the couch, Jez’s hand still on her knee. She felt content, a feeling she hadn’t had in a long time. She just hoped that it would last.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Sam, Kevin from Bordiana called again, and he sounded really mad. Can you please call him right away?”
Sam nodded and avoided making eye contact with Addi as she made a beeline to her office. She had been up really late with Jez the night before and hadn’t gone to bed until three that morning. She felt as if Lance would come charging down the hallway any minute at her for seeing Jez. It had been a busy few weeks, but she had seen Jez quite a few times, and the two were pretty close now. On her way to work, she had seen someone taking pictures of her, and she was pretty sure that they were going to show up on the local gossip site yet again.
“Hi, Kevin. I’m glad we could finally connect. I’m sure you’re still upset about Sydney not showing up, and, of course, I agree with you. That’s not the type of client Rossi or Horizon wants to represent, and she’s actually been dropped. Now, in terms of paying you back…”
“Samantha, I don’t want any compensation. In fact, I want to offer you a deal.”
Sam was confused. A deal? For what?
“I’ve been calling you nonstop since the show. Those boots were a big hit. Huge, in fact. We want to market them and need you to be the spokesperson. “
Sam was still confused. Did they want her to represent someone else for the boots? What did he mean by spokesperson?
“I’m sorry. I’m a bit confused,” she said.
“Samantha, we need your design for the boots. We want you to model the boots. In print campaigns.”
Sam laughed. “I’m sorry. I am not model material. I am just your average thirty-something woman. There’s some kind of mistake. You are talking to Samantha Reynolds, the owner of the Horizon Agency.”
“Samantha, I know who I am speaking to. And yes, I am aware that you are just an average thirty-something woman. That’s the whole point. I’m emailing you a proposal. Let me know what you think after you’ve read it. Again, I’ve been trying to get in touch with you about this ever since the show, so hopefully you can make a fast decision. We need those boots in production!”
Sam’s jaw dropped. She didn’t know what to say. After hanging up, she clicked her email and opened the proposal. Her jaw dropped when she saw the dollar amount that Bordiana was willing to pay her. In return, she needed to give them the design for the boots as well as do half a dozen ad campaigns with them. She didn’t know if she could pull this off, but she did know that type of money could be exactly what was needed to save her company.
A knock on her office door interrupted her daydream about money.
&
nbsp; “We need to talk.”
Lance stepped inside the office before Sam could reply, shutting the door behind him. She sighed dramatically. She had grown tired of Lance’s talks, the majority of which consisted of him whining about Jez.
“What now?” Sam said. She knew she was being rude, but she couldn’t help it. She had worked hard to help Lance land clients as well as keep her own company afloat. She was tired and wished he would just leave her alone. It seemed as if every day, he was wandering around and visiting Horizon.
“You and Jez made the news again.”
“Okay, thanks for the info,” Sam replied dryly.
“Sam, the calls I get whenever this happens are nonstop. Asking if Jez is leaving Rossi to go to Horizon, am I aware of this. It’s really frustrating.”
“So what do you want me to do, Lance? Break it off with Jez, not see him at all anymore? So what if people call and ask you questions? Him being your client isn’t going to change because he and I are dating. Please stop with this – this same conversation every single time something about Jez and I is mentioned on social media, you don’t need to come talk to me about it. It’s enough, okay?”
“No, it isn’t okay. That’s what I’m telling you. It needs to stop.”
Sam sat back in her chair, cocking her head to the side. “So you’re telling me to stop seeing Jez because you feel it’s hurting Rossi in some way?” Sam asked.
“Yes. Exactly,” Lance said.
“Not gonna happen. Sorry. Have a great day.”
Sam looked at her computer screen and started to type, just as Lance had done to her dozens of times before when she had worked for him. It had always been his way of saying that he was done with the conversation. And now she was doing it to him.
Lance stood up and left Sam alone in her office. She reached into her drawer and grabbed a hair clip, loosely piling her hair onto the top of her head and then reached for her mug to go get some coffee. She had a feeling that it was going to be a long day.
********
Lance sat in his office, staring blankly at the computer screen in front of him. After having the negative conversation with Sam, this was the last thing he needed. Another potential client had declined joining Rossi at the final stage of negotiations. He didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if they ever gave a valid reason; it was always the same “I received a better deal” statement. People were talking about Jez joining Horizon. He had heard it through the grapevine. He had also heard that several of his teammates who were also Rossi clients would be jumping ship and going to Horizon as well. This was the fourth client they had lost that week. That in addition to dropping Sydney and losing all the money that she was supposed to bring them meant a negative bank balance. He had already instructed human resources to not pay him that month, but that wasn’t going to save his company. At this point, he didn’t know if anything could save it.
