5. Felicity #2
This, I could do. “Okay, so right now Lucy is predicting that Joe, the lead singer from Calculated Mischief and Jen R. from that baking show are going to get engaged within the next three months. She could do a post and say that Joe should propose using our Veritique Iconic ring, since they’re an iconic duo.
Or maybe we could do a staged paparazzi shot where Jen is in our flagship store with Joe, and then Lucy makes the prediction about which ring they’re considering?
There’s a ton of ways we could work this partnership. ”
The murmurs around the table sounded positive. I stared at Cameron, waiting for him to defy logic and shoot me down.
“I like it.”
Shocker—the man could see reason! I tried not to break into a victory grin.
“But,” he continued, “I need numbers. And I want our research department to go deep on her background before we approach her with an offer. She needs to be squeaky clean. Once all of that’s complete, I want to meet her in person. If I don’t like her, it’s not happening.”
I had no idea if Lucy would clear Cameron’s hurdles, but I was thrilled he’d given my idea an initial green light.
Maybe things were going to be okay with my bosshole after all?
“We could also try reaching out to celebrities directly, to avoid involving a third party. Since Veritique usually doesn’t do that,” Glen suggested, clearly trying to get back into Cameron’s good graces.
“There’s this guy, an author, who has the hottest book on the market right now.
He’s right on the cusp of becoming a household name, so we could probably get him for cheap. ”
I froze. I had a creeping sense that I knew where the conversation was headed. No, this wasn’t happening.
“Where’s the romance angle?” Cameron asked. “It’s not like we can do a tie-in with a thriller writer, or an American history author. I’m guessing you don’t read bodice rippers, Glen.”
“No, that’s the thing, it’s like love stuff a guy can read,” Glen perked up. “His name is Steven Brudny and—”
My vision started to blur, and my stomach lurched as I clutched the polished wood table in front of me.
How was this possible? Was my ex always going to haunt me?
The smartboard now showed an image of his book cover, which I hated to admit was really compelling—a bright blue background with a vintage-looking tattoo heart graphic, stuck through with a dagger and the words Unhinged Heart printed in script on the banner in front of it.
“…wrote a few fancy book club books I never read, but his latest has really caught fire.” Glen leaned into his idea, getting more animated as he spoke.
“It’s not a trashy romance book, because I wouldn’t read that crap.
” He laughed derisively. “It’s more like a dissection of everything that went wrong with his last relationship.
It’s funny as hell and brutally honest. I mean, he talks about how he used to envision other women when he and his ex were, uh… anyway, it’s raw and unflinching.”
Yeah, so raw he also talked about how grossed out he was by my morning breath, and how clingy I was toward the end of our relationship.
He made me sound like an obsessive stalker, when the truth was I just wanted some answers from him.
I mean, Steven ghosted me after three years together.
I wasn’t hysterical, I was heartbroken. My reactions to the end of our relationship were all normal and understandable.
But none of that came through in Unhinged Heart, which was way more focused on showing how he “won” the breakup and how much better off he was without me.
And if it wasn’t humiliating enough to have his utter contempt for me spelled out in black and white, the goddamn book was everywhere.
In bookstore windows, on morning talk shows, in the hands of people on the subway.
And now even here, in my brand-new, chance-of-a-lifetime dream job.
No matter where I went, I couldn’t escape how very stupid I had been to waste all those years on Steve in the first place.
“I’m not getting the romance from the story, Glen,” Cameron said, fiddling with his phone like he was bored.
The screen changed to Steve’s author photo. A few women made admiring noises because it was a damn good picture of him.
“No, hold on, that’s the thing! The book pivots to him meeting the girl of his dreams, and the final part of the book is all about how perfect she is, and how she taught him the real meaning of love. I looked her up and she’s gorgeous. It sounds like he really traded up.”
A few more guffaws from around the table. I had to force myself not to shoot eye-daggers at the guys, my new colleagues. They didn’t know. No one did. I bit the inside of my cheek as tears welled in my eyes.
“Okay, I like it. Let’s add it to the list of possibilities,” Cameron answered. “Felicity, do some research and let me know what you think.”
There was absolutely no way I was going to entertain doing anything with Steve Brudny, but it wasn’t like I could refuse my boss in front of everyone.
Not without an explanation I very much did not want to give.
I tried swallowing the lump in my throat and mustering up a smile, but my eyes just kept watering.
Shit-shit-shit I was crying on my first day! This wasn’t possible! I needed a minute alone to collect myself. I pushed back from the table quietly, hoping I could slip away without too many people noticing.
“Whoa, you’re leaving already, Felicity?” Cameron laughed, and every head swiveled to me. “Can’t take the pressure? You better buckle up—this is nothing.”
The absolute nerve of making me into a spectacle when all I was trying to do was catch my breath!
I raised my chin, hoping there was no evidence of tears. “No, I’m good!” I said in a steady voice. I reached for the empty water glass in front of me. “Just need a refill, that’s all.”
I’ve always been able to think on my feet.
“Alessandra can take care of that for you,” he replied smoothly. “Sit. We’ve got another hour or so before we’re done here.”
He said it like I was an unruly child in a classroom, and my face burned.
And for the next fifty-eight minutes, I was trapped between the twin gazes of my ex smiling smugly at me from the screen and the bosshole at the end of the table ready to treat me with an equal lack of respect.
This job was a fucking huge mistake.