Lachlan’s hooded gaze slid to me. “Dear Oliviais an old friend.” He paused for dramatic effect. “I’m well aware of her…talent for the spin.”
I sat in my uncomfortable chair and prayed for an asteroid shower or an easy breezy typhoon. Was a well-timed implosion too much to ask for?
Celeste changed the slide to an architectural rendering of Star Gazer Corp.’s future Sugar Creek headquarters. “Lachlan has requested someone with an expertise in personal brand development, and let me assure you, sir, nobody does it better than Olivia.”
A muscle in Lachlan’s jaw flexed. “Yes. I’ve heard she can really alter an image.”
My temper triggered a delusional fantasy, and I envisioned a lightning bolt zapping through the window and striking Lachlan right where he sat. And sure, one could survive being struck by lightning, but alas, all that hair would catch fire and up he’d go in a smoky plume of pink plaid and loathsome smirk.
“I know you have high expectations.” Celeste preened as she floated near Lachlan. “Flair’s PR department can exceed every one of them. We’re responsive. We deliver results. Simply put, your wish is our command.”
His gaze locked onto mine, and his smug face let me know he had all sorts of ideas for his wish list.
But as Celeste took her seat, Lachlan’s smile thinned ten degrees past bored. He nodded as he seemed to consider her pitch. Then, the god of games spoke. “As much as I appreciate how accessible your team would be, it’s come to my attention within the last hour that Flair has encountered some recent issues.” Lachlan shifted in his seat, his body leaning closer to mine. “I have very high standards.”
“Those employees have been fired,” Celeste sputtered. “I do not tolerate anything but professionalism. Please know in working with us, your safety will be maintained. You will never endure one moment of anything less than top-notch service.”
“Thank you for your time,” Lachlan said. “I will take all this into consideration.” He cut his eyes to me once more, like a final stab of the knife before he departed. “But I don’t think this is the right fit for me or my company.”
Celeste’s eyes widened. “But—”
“If I change my mind, I’ll let you know.” And with that, Lachlan, in his lumberjack flannel and skater boy hoodie, stood and made his way to the door. “Have a nice day.”
As he exited, we all sat frozen in place by the dangle of the biggest client and the fastest rejection Flair had ever received.
Suddenly, Celeste jumped to her feet and waved her arms like airport ground control. “You know him, Olivia? Then go! Go after him!”
I shook my head in frantic confusion. “Me? Now? Me?”No! Anything but that!
“Yes!” Celeste yelled. “Talk to him! Lachlan has to sign with us, and you can fix it! Go!”
I would’ve rather run through town naked while twirling flaming batons than chase after Lachlan Hayes. But chase I did, sprinting out of the office and down the hall as fast as my heels and cumbersome dress would allow.
That bulking expanse of a man was just slipping into the elevator when I saw him. The doors shushed toward one another, and as his focus tracked me the entire time, I slid through sideways as though I had no fear of death by squashing.
“You could’ve held the doors.” Panting, I crashed against the back of the descending elevator.
“Oh.” Lachlan crossed his arms over his chest. “Going down, Olivia?”
For a few seconds, I thought about disobeying Celeste and pretending I’d been too late to catch him. “You know why I’m here.”
“Yes,” he said, “but I would so love to see you beg.”
A vision of my hand strangling that tree trunk of a neck flashed strong and hot in my mind. “The bad press Flair’s experienced are merely flukes. We’re a good company, Lachlan. The best.”
“I don’t care,” he said. “It was over as soon as I saw you in the conference room, and you know it.”
“You’re going to punish those employees in there and possibly jeopardize your own PR success because of something that happened in college?” Still panting, I held up a hand before he could spit out a response. “It’s not like I want to work with you either. I’ll make sure you’re partnered with Celeste herself if you’ll reconsider.”
Lachlan’s laugh rumbled in his chest, and his grin stabbed right into my pride. “I’m not mad at you, Olivia. Because of you, I got kicked out of school seven years ago. Six months later I took my first video game online. Six months after that I made my first million. So maybe I should be thanking you.”
But we both knew that was the last thing he was going to do.
The elevator whirred as we dropped another floor. “What happened was your own fault.”
He shrugged. “Agree to disagree. But either way, I’m not doing business with Flair.” The doors pulsed open as if siding with Lachlan and punctuating his finale. The bright lights of the lobby rushed inside. “You can go back and tell your boss it’s a hard no.”
The jerk. The pompous, immature boil on my memory.
