Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
ABIGAIL
B ack at the firm, I had a huge, corner office with plenty of windows, a little sitting area, a conference table, lots of gadgets, and even an adjoining bathroom. I had Austin in the office next door and three assistants right outside.
At Fit Gal, however, I had Simon.
Simon, who was so close to me in the cramped space that when we sat down and turned so we could brainstorm our commercial, our knees were practically touching. Simon, who kept looking at me like he was about to kiss me. Simon, who I would’ve kissed back if he actually went through with it.
I had been so determined not to let him distract me, and yet, his proximity by itself was a huge distraction. The way those greens kept darting to my lips and dragging across my chest? That was more than a distraction.
It was a problem—and I had zero intention of trying to solve it. Calling him out would only be acknowledging the insane chemistry in our tiny little office right now. After our exchange earlier, I had no doubt he really would kiss me if I let him know that I felt it too.
I couldn’t handle that today. We needed to get to work.
“Okay,” I said after staring silently into his eyes for just a beat too long and ending up having to clench my thighs together to relieve the pressure building there. Stupid freaking chemistry.
His lips curved into a slow, sexy smirk. “Okay, what?”
“I think I’ve got a really cool concept to use as a starting point for our commercial,” I explained past the intense desire pulsing through me for being cooped up in such a small space with him. “Do you remember how we were talking about Olivia’s documentary the other night?”
“It was two days ago, Abi. I remember.” Thankfully, he leaned back in his chair then, eyes still on mine but at least his face wasn’t close enough to grab anymore. “What about it?”
“Well, after they shot the documentary, we had our annual conference and she gave a talk about authenticity in marketing.”
“Okay,” he said slowly, his gaze finally sharpening as I practically felt him making the mental shift from sex to work. “I like where you’re going with this so far.”
“Good.” I smiled. “Because I think that’s what our commercial should focus on. Being authentically yourself, and I think the way we achieve that is by marketing authentically. Instead of using models or actresses in our commercial, I think we should use our family and friends.”
He blinked rapidly. Then his eyebrows rose and excitement sparked to life in his eyes. “You’re talking about this idea that Fit Gal is for everyone, right?”
“Exactly.” My heart started beating faster. “And if someone tells me that a product is for everyone, I don’t want to see people who are being paid to promote it. I want to see people like me.”
“Women of all ages, sizes, occupations, and fitness levels using Fit Gal,” he said, picking up what I was putting down without skipping a beat. It was suddenly as if no time at all had passed since we’d done our last assignment together back in senior year. We always had loved bouncing ideas off one another and we were pretty good at building on each other’s suggestions. “Yeah, that could definitely work. I really like that we’d be keeping it real. I think that’s what the company is looking for.”
“I know that’s what they’re looking for.” I grinned. “They want to reach every woman out there, to build a true connection between themselves and their target market. This is how we achieve that.”
“Olivia just proved it with that ranch,” he finished for me. “Authenticity. We’ll have to hire our own actual videography team to shoot it, though.”
“Yeah, but I don’t mind footing the bill,” I offered. “You and I are both in the fortunate position to be able to afford it and I’d rather do this right.”
“It’ll give us the best shot at being the winning team,” he agreed. “You’re not footing the bill, though. I’ll split it with you. Is the camera crew Olivia used based in Texas?”
“Yep, but I’ve got Dave’s number. He was her contact person in the company and I’m sure he’ll have some recommendations for us of crews out here.”
“Let me know if you need any help,” he said. “Josh also has some contacts. I’m sure he’ll be able to hook us up.”
“Speak to him about it while I check in with Dave. We’ve only got a week to get this done. We don’t have time to wait for crews to become available.”
Simon nodded, another grin tugging at his lips as he held my gaze. I tried not to stare at him, but with eyes so alight with excitement and determination, my heart was going all kinds of crazy.
“I’ll get in touch with Josh,” he said. “And Abi?”
“Yep?”
“It’s really good to work with you again.” He spun around and grabbed his phone to make the call to his friend, and I let out a whisper-soft groan.
Why does he have to say stuff like that? Why does he have to be right? It shouldn’t feel so good to work together again and he shouldn’t say things that make me feel… special.
As I turned to pick up my own phone, I stared hard at the painting of a snowy mountain mounted behind my laptop and tried my best to ignore Simon’s presence at my back. If I got this account, Austin and I could go skiing at a mountain just as beautiful as the one in the picture as a reward. We could bask in our victory and I wouldn’t have to see Simon again for another ten years.
The prospect should’ve motivated me to shut down every train of thought about how handsome he was and how natural it felt spending time with him, but when I pictured a cozy mountain escape next winter to bask in the glory of my victory, it wasn’t Austin my mind put there with me. Shit. No! Get to work, Abi. That’s enough.
Forcing myself to do just that, I scrolled to Dave’s contact, hitting dial and explaining the situation to him when he picked up. Simon had gotten hold of Josh too, and the day quickly got away from us after that.
At least both of us managed to get our heads in the game and our collaboration picked up speed, our ideas developing faster the more time we spent on fleshing them out. Before I even knew it, day one at Fit Gal was coming to an end.
“Do you want to come over tonight and finish planning the video?” Simon asked as I started packing up my things. “We did well today. I figure we might as well keep going now that we’ve got some momentum.”
“I have plans,” I said without looking at him. “I need to walk my dog, eat dinner with myself, and get my beauty sleep. Let’s pick it back up early tomorrow morning.”
“Are you seriou?—”
“No, I’m not serious.” I sighed and stood up before he could even finish the question, finally turning to face him and ignoring the relief flickering in those greens. “I want that vacation in Florida, so I’m going home to shower and change, and then I’ll come over. Text me your address.”
“You got it.” Simon swiped his phone off his desk as he waited for his laptop to shut down. Then he grinned and started packing up his own things.
As I strode out of our little office, my phone chimed with a text and I smiled, but I didn’t look back at him. I had his address now and we’d keep working soon, but I needed every last minute we’d have apart to fortify myself against spending the night with him after having had him within arm’s reach all day.
Keeping my eyes on the prize of that trip, I headed home and fed August after taking her for a quick run to stretch her legs. Once she was settled, I grabbed a shower and spent some time under the warm spray trying to let the water wash away my desire for my ex.
If only it could rinse away the thoughts I’d been having about him, that would’ve been great. Obviously, it didn’t work, but I felt a little bit better by the time I climbed out anyhow. It’s okay to have these feelings. I never got any closure and I was completely in love with him when he left. It’s only natural to have some old stuff pop back up now that he’s around again.
Trying to convince myself that it didn’t mean anything, I padded out of my bathroom and got dressed in jeans and a comfortable T-shirt. It was not a sexy outfit, but that was perfect. Simon had spent all darn day checking me out, and I needed him to not do it all night.
Stuffing my feet into a pair of old sneakers, I dried my hair and Facetimed with my sisters while brushing it out. As Olivia’s face popped up on my screen, I balanced the phone against my jewelry box and smiled at her.
“Hey, I just wanted to check in,” I said. “Well, that, and I’d like to pick your brain about a commercial we’ve got to make for Fit Gal.”
London joined the call and groaned when she realized I wasn’t getting ready for bed. “Please tell me you’re not on your way to go and see Simon, you little devil.”
“I am.” I rolled my eyes at her when she pretended to gag. “We’re working together, London. They randomly paired us up to work as a team for our first assignment. I didn’t choose it and neither did he. Blake literally drew our names out of a football helmet.”
Liv blinked hard. “You’re making the commercial with Simon Astor? Wow. That’s got to be hard.”
“As long as Simon’s not the one getting hard, we’ll be alright.” London grimaced and peered up at me with worry darkening her eyes. “Are you keeping to the boundaries you’ve set?”
“I am,” I promised. “I won’t lie and tell you that it was an easy day, but part of me is glad that I’ve been paired with him. It might’ve been less complicated to work with one of the others, but Simon and I have always worked well together. I’m hoping that it will help us win this thing.”
“So it went well today?” London asked. “At Fit Gal and working with him, I mean. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It went pretty great, actually. It’s an inspiring place, if I’m being honest. We need to get that company as a client. I know we can do great things for them. It’s a perfect fit.”
“Before we get to that or to picking my brain about this commercial,” Liv interjected, “I want all the details on Simon Astor as a grown man. Has he apologized? What’s he like now?”
“He has apologized and it turned out that Mom was right. There was more to the story than we thought.” I smiled, my heart skipping several beats as I thought back to our dinner. “As for what he’s like, uh, he’s the same, but completely different. Does that make sense?”
“Not at all, now spill the tea, Abigail.” Liv arched an eyebrow at me. “I’m going to have to hear all about him and what else there is to the story, and then I’ll decide how thoroughly I’ll allow you to pick my brain for this commercial. Obviously, I want you to win, but we might have to focus more on your individual pitch than anything that Simon Astor might end up getting the credit for.”