Chapter 1
Two months later
“The new usual?”Karla asks as I enter Fog Foam, my daily caffeine supplier.
“Yes, please,” I reply, though she’s already started making my sugar cookie latte with an extra shot and an obscene amount of whipped cream. Ian would say my drink order is ridiculous, but he’s not here to judge me anymore. Somehow it makes the drink taste even sweeter.
I’m earlier than usual so I grab a seat to enjoy a few sips before heading into the office. I could save a dollar a day by going to any of the three Starbucks across the street, but I love this place. It’s full of mismatched furniture and chairs that are actually comfortable. And just north of the San Francisco Ferry building, it’s right on the water. The name isn’t a coincidence; for most of the morning, the entire shop is surrounded by fog.
When I was young, I hated the fog. It made my hair frizzy, my skin damp and my parents wouldn’t let me ride my bike when the ground got too wet—I had a tendency for tracking mud through the estate. But then I learned that fog was the lifeblood of California wine country, the place I grew up in. All that extra warmth from the Pacific is what made my family’s business a success. And it creates a damn good pinot noir.
Opening my email, I scroll through to delete the numerous automated messages I don’t need and I spot a LinkedIn notification. As a sales rep pushing marketing software in San Francisco, I basically live on LinkedIn. I send tons of messages to prospective clients every single day, but for some reason I have a good feeling about this one. And when I open it up, I’m right.
Tristan Cross(He/Him) – 2nd
Chief Marketing Officer at Surf and Stream
Olivia,
I appreciate your persistence in reaching out to me. As you mentioned, I was recently appointed this position and my schedule has been full. I’m very interested in hearing more about what you do at Sizzl and how it could benefit our marketing program.
You’re also correct that our offices are nearby. If you’d still like to meet for coffee, I could carve out 30 minutes tomorrow at 10:00. Fog Foam is my favorite as well.
You can email me directly at tristan.cross@surfandstream.com for a faster reply. Please CC my EA Chelsea: chelsea.mcdonald@surfandstream.com.
Tristan Cross
CMO
surfandstream.com
I can’t help it. I squeal.
“Hey, you okay?” Karla shouts from behind the counter.
I look back apologetically. “I’m fine, sorry. Great, actually.” I grin at Karla. “Better than great.” This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for, a chance to prove myself with a huge prospect. For the first time in weeks, I’m excited to go into the office.
I grab my coffee and practically skip down the Embarcadero to our building, sneaking a few glances at the water and the Bay Bridge—one of my favorite views. I anxiously ride the elevator up to the twenty-second floor, letting my nails tap on the wall to the beat of Aretha Franklin demanding respect. And then I burst through the doors to Sizzl HQ like I own the place.
“Morning, Sparkles.”
I grimace at the typical greeting from Gavin Scott. When I first started at Sizzl, I learned quickly how nickname-forward the culture was here. Our CEO, Daanesh Khan, is mostly referred to as “DK”. Most of the guys on my team get called by their last name or some version of their initials. I prayed during orientation that they didn’t start calling me “OD” and that Diamond would suffice.
But then, a few months in, Gavin Scott decided to start calling me Sparkles. It only took a second to realize it was some sort of insult, the mocking tone a sure giveaway. And sadly, the best retort I could come up with was to call him Scottie. Two years later, both names have stuck.
Gavin’s not my enemy, but he’s definitely not my friend. He’s just the extremely attractive top-performing salesman I’m forced to stare at all day from the desk directly across from me.
I don’t have anything against him, but it’s tough working with people when I know they don’t like me. And Gavin Scott has made it very clear that he wants nothing to do with me. Sure, he’s always professional. He answers questions when I ask and he’s perfectly polite to me in meetings. But when it’s not required for work, he puts the rude in broody.
Last Friday, I tried being extra friendly and asked him about his plans after work. He responded with a brusque, “happy hour with the team,” before promptly grabbing his stuff and walking out. Our team, he was referring to, the one I’m also a part of. Somehow, I don’t think my invite went to spam.
I wish I didn’t care so much about being his least favorite Sizzlr, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to having a little crush when we first met. How could I not? He has these piercing aqua-adjacent eyes and a megawatt smile that’s impossible not to feel in your chest. He also has this way about him. Maybe it’s charisma or just the perfection of his face, but whenever he is forced to interact with me, it’s impossible not to like the guy. It’s irritating as hell.
“Hey, Scottie,” I respond. “Here early again?”
“Early bird catches the…what’s the saying again? Oh yeah, the biggest commission checks.” He winks, and just like every other day, I wonder how he can get away with saying things like that when I get judged for so much less. Ugh.
I’m about to respond with a snippy comment about wondering what it’s like to get those kinds of commissions, when I remember that I need him today. Surf and Stream is his account after all. My job is to source leads for him, set up initial meetings and then bring in the closer. I’m just a glorified telemarketer, sending hundreds of emails a day so that when someone finally bites, I can introduce them to a man who’ll actually do the selling.
Not just Gavin, but all four men on my team. Yes, I’m the only woman and yes, I’m the only one who hasn’t been promoted to sales executive within their first year. It’s supposed to be a one-year cycle. One year to learn from our sales counterparts along with leadership before we get promoted to run deals ourselves. I joined the team two and a half years ago, but Mitch, our vice president, still doesn’t think I’m ready.
But I am ready. I know I am, no matter what Mitch thinks or what Ian used to say. I might hate this job most days, but I know once I get the promotion everything will change.
Gavin, along with the other guys on the team, have offered to let me work some of their territory. They each gave me a list of accounts that could be mine if I’m able to set up a meeting. My excitement about these opportunities died almost immediately when I realized they were all accounts that had basically been impossible to break into.
But then, a few months ago, I saw Surf and Stream appointed a new chief marketing officer. Every article I’ve read about Tristan Cross says he’s young and ambitious and wants to make waves. Choosing a new marketing platform like Sizzl to expand their program sounded like a no-brainer for him, so I’ve been relentless in my outreach. And it paid off.
Now, I just have to confirm with Gavin that he’ll still let me run with it. I want to believe he wouldn’t betray me. We may not be friends, but he’s always professional. The thing is, Surf and Stream is one of the fastest growing streaming platforms in the world right now. The deal size could be massive, upwards of a million dollars a year. I’m not sure if I could really blame him for not giving up that kind of money just to be a trustworthy colleague.
Shit. I should have brought him a muffin or something.
“Sparkles? You okay over there? I see your lips moving but no sound is coming out, just in case you didn’t know.” He smirks and I practically flinch at how sexy he looks doing it. He is making fun of you, Olivia.
I really hate this habit of mine. I’m horrible at concealing my emotions, and even worse, I tend to mouth the thoughts in my head way too often. Just a lovely symptom of my anxiety.
“Hey.” I look up and flash him a dazzling smile. He mirrors my expression and I think once again about how much easier it would be to hate him if he didn’t look like that. “So, I got a message back from the CMO at Surf and Stream. He wants a meeting.”
Gavin’s eyes flash and his mouth goes slack. I start to nibble the inside of my cheek. Please, please, please don’t say you’re taking it back.
To my shock, his smile turns genuine, but he hides it quickly with his usual look of indifference. “Cool. You still good to run the deal?”
I eye him with a bit too much skepticism. He’s really letting me keep it?
“It’s yours,” he clarifies. “But since you haven’t run a meeting before you might want to have someone sit in, or just help you prep.” I would kill for someone as good as Gavin to help me prepare, but I can’t tell if he’s offering.
“Do you mean you would?—?”
“I’m way too busy,” he scoffs. “Just get Ian to make someone help you.”
Yeah, right. Even if we hadn’t broken up a couple months ago, he’d never offer to help me with work. I feel a little awkward not correcting Gavin, but I’ve yet to tell 99 percent of my co-workers that Ian and I broke up. I’m still not ready for the aftermath.
I was never prepared for the rumors when I started dating Sizzl’s biggest investor. I have no idea what to expect once I go public with our breakup.
“Sorry for bothering—” I start to respond, but he’s already put his headphones on. I guess I shouldn’t have expected one moment of kindness to turn into an actual conversation.
I respond to a few more emails and LinkedIn messages as the rest of the team starts to filter in. It’s still early for other departments, but the sales team is always in first.
Except for the surprisingly empty desk to my left. Curious.
“Hey, Scottie?” I bravely ask a few minutes later.
He hears me but just points to his headphones, like he can’t be bothered. Not sure why I expected any differently.
I turn to Eduardo this time, who sits diagonal to me. “Hey. Do you know what’s going on here?” I gesture to the desk next to mine where Paul sits. His normally cluttered desk full of papers and fidget toys is completely empty other than an unplugged monitor and a few pens.
“Oh, umm.” He leans over his desk to whisper, “Fired. On Friday.” Eduardo’s eyebrows shoot up, letting me know there’s more to the story. I don’t bother asking him for more information since I doubt he’d tell me. He’s definitely not an office gossip.
Luckily for me, my best friend, Andie very much is.
SLACK DIRECT MESSAGE
Olivia Diamond:
Hey! I just heard about Paul. Do you know what happened?
Andie Oh:
Morning! Yes, but NSFW – I’ll text you!
Andie Oh:
OK! I can’t believe I forgot to tell you this weekend! He was fired on Friday at the end of the day for “lewd behavior”
Me:
Didn’t he get caught having sex in the stairwell last month? That wasn’t lewd enough for HR?
Andie Oh:
Right!? Honestly, I thought the same thing. But IT saw the sex tape and kept it somewhat under wraps. This time, he had no such luck. He was caught doing coke in the bathroom
Me:
No way
Andie Oh:
YES WAY. The guy is so dumb, he didn’t even go into a stall. He was doing lines at the sink FFS
Me:
So, who caught him? Do you know?
Andie Oh:
That’s the best part. HR did…
Me:
How? There are zero men in HR…right?
Andie Oh:
Like I said, the best part. He must of still been drunk from the night before or something, because he was in the women’s bathroom
I gasp, audibly, and when I look up, I notice Gavin’s been watching me. “The Andie Express?”
I nod with a quick laugh at the team’s name for Sizzl’s rumor mill.
If Andie were anyone else, people would probably hate her for knowing all the company gossip, but in reality, she’s more like the darling of Sizzl. She’s run our marketing team since she started here, plucked from a Google internship and tasked with planning huge events and doing all our social media when the company was a little baby start-up. Now she reports directly to the CMO and has a team of three.
She also has a part-time intern who happens to be Gavin’s little sister, Gabby.
Andie Oh:
I’m heading into the office now – wanna grab coffee?
Me:
Can’t. Have my 1:1 with Mitch in 10. Lunch? Noon? Sushirrito?
Andie Oh:
See ya then buttercup!
Like most other tech companies in the Bay, we have an open office floor plan. Our co-founders both sit at a pod of desks with the other engineers. But our vice president of sales, along with a couple others on the leadership team, demanded his own office.
I lightly knock on the just-barely-open door. “Hey, Mitch. You ready for me?”
“Sure, sure. Come in,” he says, without looking up from his phone.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence, he finishes up the texting and looks at me. He’s probably confused as to why I’m smiling.
“You look chipper. Finally over Ian?” I hate that Mitch knows about my break-up when I’ve barely told anyone other than Andie. So much for HR confidentiality. I knew I shouldn’t have bothered disclosing the break-up, definitely learned my lesson there. In my defense, I could never find the rulebook for dating your company’s investor.
“Ian’s old news. Really, no need to talk about him ever again. I have a new sales prospect.”
“Okay…?”
“Surf and Stream. Their new CMO wants a meeting. Tomorrow.” The words fly from my mouth. But Mitch doesn’t come close to matching my excitement.
“Great. Did you tell Gavin?”
“I did, but this is one of the accounts he said I could work on my own. Remember? You said it was fine as long as he was okay with it.”
“I remember. But I meant smaller deals. This is too significant to take a chance with, Livy.” Ugh, I hate when he calls me that. It always sounds like he’s talking down to me, like I’m a child or a pet. I actually think I prefer Sparkles.
“But—”
“What else are you working on?” he asks, skipping over this like there’s absolutely nothing left to say on the topic. But I’m definitely not finished.
“Mitch.” I pause to take a breath. Don’t be argumentative, but don’t be a push-over. Be strong, but not so strong that he’ll think you’re “bitchy.” Be direct. Not emotional. I dig deep for the “big tit energy” Andie is always telling me I have hidden inside. “You said I can’t get promoted until you see I can work deals on my own. Gavin’s on board and the meeting is already set. I need this opportunity to show you what I can do. Please?”
My soul is crushed a tiny bit that I couldn’t stop myself from adding “please.” I make a mental note to practice this conversation later and lose the p-word. How un-manly of me.
Mitch looks back at me like I’m the human equivalent of a dental appointment, nothing more than an annoyance but one he can’t avoid forever.
“Fine. When’s the meeting? I’ll be joining you.”