“Rosie’s worked very hard and overcome a lot to start her own business. I suppose I could say the same for you.”
“Did you just pay meanothercompliment? I should probably document this.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Olivia said. “Now, if we’re going to talk PR, tell me what you have in mind.”
A tension worked its way up my chest and into my throat. “I’ve been in the spotlight some, but mostly I let other people handle the public stuff while I remain in the background. I’m a game designer who somehow became a CEO.” I still felt like that kid who wrote code and designed games for fun in his dorm and not like the head of a multimillion dollar company. “Since we have a lot of high-profile events coming up, I’ll be even more visible.”
“I sent an updated list of ideas to you this afternoon,” Olivia said. “Did you want to discuss those?”
“I want to discuss my image first.”
She nodded. “Sure. Your brand, the message your work and website convey, the—”
“I mean myactualimage.” I ran a hand down my beard, which was admittedly a bit on the scraggly side. “I can’t avoid media events any longer, and in order to be taken seriously as a CEO, I need to act the part.”
Olivia banked the fatigue and sat up straight, immediately engaged with the talk of work. “I’m still finalizing your plan, but we’ll do national and local television interviews, print media, the most popular podcasts, some charity events, a few well-placed online articles…and that’s just to start.”
Her list sounded completely overwhelming—yet exactly like what I needed. “I want you to make me into the type of guy who can deftly handle all thatandlook the part.”
Her eyes went right to my hair captured in a ponytail, then traveled down to my hoodie, t-shirt, and hole-ridden jeans. “Are you asking me to get you a makeover?”
“I want it all.” I stood, trying to ignore the way her faint perfume crooked a finger and beckoned me to inhale. “This is my moment, Olivia. I don’t want to mess it up. I’m a gamer nerd, stepping into the sandbox with corporate giants. I know I need help with my image, and if I ever had any doubts, seeing headlines like the ‘Grizzly Gamer Gets His Girl’ and ‘Man-child Mogul Marries’ made it crystal clear.”
“That is some terrible alliteration.”
“I want to see headlines like ‘Well-Spoken Coding Wizard Wows Wall Street’ or ‘Suave Silicon Samurai Slices into Success.’”
She tapped a memo into her phone. “‘Dang Delicious Dude Displays Digital Dominance’?”
“You think I’m delicious?”
Olivia’s head shot up and her eyes went wide. “It was an example.” She waved her hand between us. “I thought we were doing a bit.”
“It sounded very sincere. Like it came from the heart.”
She returned her attention to her phone. “You are still so annoying.”
“You’ll grow to appreciate it.”
“Probably with the help of prescription medication,” she mumbled.
In college I would’ve said a twenty-page term paper was more enjoyable than Olivia’s presence, but even then she’d been fun to spar with. Now her zingers were delivered from the very kissable lips of a beautiful woman, one whose blue eyes flashed restrained smolder and throaty voice could narrate a grocery list and still turn a man on.
Not thatIwas turned on. I wasn’t.
“There are so many events.” I said this like I’d contracted a new plague. “From a black-tie charity gala to the five hundred calendar items you’ve sent.”
“And you want to look as successful as you are.” She slowly nodded. “Are you willing to trim up your hair a bit and trade in your Garanimals for adult clothes?”
“My t-shirt collection and I are offended, but yes. I’m temporarily willing to lose the long hair and gloriously comfy attire.”
“I can make that happen.” She consulted the calendar on her phone. “I should be able to get you scheduled with my makeover team next month.”
“That’s too late,” I said. “Celeste promised me instant results in our initial meeting. Money is no object.”
Olivia’s gaze narrowed as she went into solution-generation mode. “I have some favors I can call in,” she finally said. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do.”
My PR needs went deeper than a shave and a new wardrobe though. It was more than humbling to have to unfurl some vulnerability before Olivia Sutton of all people. “Also…it’s possible a lot of the social rules escape me.”
