Olivia
I’m in love, Lachlan. Positively smitten. Has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Bernie mentioned he has a bad heart, no heirs, and a very healthy pension.
Lachlan
He shoots forty-eight over par.
Olivia
Our love will see us through.
Lachlan
Besides your roaming eye, everything else okay?
Olivia
I ate the last of the leftovers yesterday.
Lachlan
So…you do miss me.
Olivia
Does Bernie cook?
On ThursdayI sat in my bedroom in Lachlan’s house and returned my attention to the Flair staff meeting playing out on my computer screen. Celeste did not believe in the value of working remotely, but in this case, she had to comply.
“Elton has what?” Celeste asked loudly, as if her voice needed to carry across the miles.
“He’s very sick,” I said, not feeling so hot myself. I plucked a tissue from the box beside me from the workspace I’d set up in myroom. “I spent all day yesterday with him working on the Wagner Ice Cream account.” The company had endured a tsunami of backlash when their Keto buttered pecan turned out to be teeming with carbs. “Elton’s at the doctor right now, so out of caution, I’m working from home today. Don’t want to contaminate anyone if I’ve caught what Elton has.”
Predictably, Celeste rolled her eyes. “Ridiculous.” But she continued her meeting, calling on every brand manager to report on their updates.
What was ridiculous was how quiet this house had been without Lachlan. I missed coming home to whatever dinner he’d whipped up and the smell of his special blend of coffee in the morning. I missed hearing the sounds of him rustling in his room at night as I went to sleep. But mostly, I’d wanted more than a few times to pick up the phone and call Lachlan. Just to hear about his day and tell him about mine. How strange that I had adapted to his companionship so fast.
Lachlan would return next Tuesday night, then we’d have about nine days until the governor’s banquet. I discovered I didn’t dread a weekend away with Lachlan, which concerned me more than the fact that I’d just downed a shot glass of cold medicine.
“Gunnar, how is the pain reliever account going?” Celeste walked the room, and the camera followed her, as if it knew who was the queen.
“Great,” Gunnar Zapinski said. “We’ve created a family-friendly campaign that shows strong favor with our focus groups. America will forget about that bad batch from the summer in no time.”
“Wonderful. Morgan, you’re up next.” Celeste stood behind Morgan, and the two looked like they’d planned their outfits. Both wore variations on a black Halston silk blouse with chunky gold necklaces.
Morgan hit a few keys on her keyboard and shared her screen, presenting a slide that looked handcrafted by one of our graphic artists. “Elite Matches continues to benefit from our social media, Google, and airport digital ads. Our speed dating event was a huge hit and raised ten thousand dollars for charity. That good press led other outlets to pick up the story, and the combined effort pushed sales another eleven percent.”
Ugh. It was so cookie-cutter in strategy, but of course, Celeste loved it. “Fantastic!” My boss clasped her hands together. “Simply spectacular.”
“Thank you, Celeste.” Morgan stared right at the camera, a terrorist sending her audience a message.
“Your turn, Olivia.” Celeste stood in the middle of the conference room, hands on her hips. “Do tell us how your work with Lachlan is progressing.”
I threw down my tissue and ignored the sight of my red nose glowing on the screen. “Lachlan’s brand reinvention is going better than expected. He looks polished and professional, he’s completed most of my rigorous media training, and we have an impressive lineup of interviews and national media appearances.”
“Good.” Celeste’s seal of approval eased the knot in my scratchy throat. “His next event is what?”
“A remote interview with Stock Market Replay network to discuss the rise of Star Gazer, a few majorly ranked celebrity podcasts, then the governor’s gala.” I might’ve acted as if Lachlan could face any of those with flawless performances, but the fact was we still had so much work to do.
