5. Vincent
5
VINCENT
P iper seemed to be leaning into her new role despite the temporary nature of it.
I’d expected her to fade into the background, seeing as her position with Summit had an expiration date, but here she was in my office a week after her promotion, bright and early and ready to present the latest campaign concepts.
The ideas were solid—no surprise there—but I was having a hard time staying focused on what she was saying because she had dressed up for the meeting in a clingy green dress and heels. Her body was… distracting . But she didn’t wield it like a weapon. Piper seemed utterly oblivious to the fact that every time she leaned forward, she gave me a front-row view down her cleavage. She was completely focused on making sure I could follow the mock-ups she was presenting, which normally wouldn’t be a problem for me but…that body.
“You don’t like it?” Piper’s bottom lip pouted ever so slightly as she asked the question.
I’d fantasized right through the latest slide on her iPad.
“No, no, it’s excellent,” I replied quickly. “I’m just not sure it’s exactly what we need.”
The corner of her mouth tipped up in a sly smile. “Good, you walked right into my trap!”
I scowled at her. “Trap?”
“I’m kidding,” she said lightly as she flipped to the next slide. “I purposely showed you my least favorite concepts first because I saved the best for last. How about this ?”
She held up the tablet proudly.
The mock-up was of a woman in profile, posed similar to our previous campaigns, but this time in full color. And instead of being alone in the image, a strong-jawed male model was facing her, also in profile, spraying the bottle at her neck. I looked closer at the vapor trails coming from the bottle and noticed shadowy representations of the scents within the bottle, so subtly rendered in the mist that they were easy to overlook. The woman had her head thrown back in ecstasy, and the way the man was spraying the perfume looked suggestive of…well, let’s just say it looked like a happy ending for both of them. The whole thing was sexy, bright, and joyful.
When I considered the feelings Evermore evoked, I focused more on the intensity of love, but Piper was revealing a side to it I usually didn’t consider. Love could be effervescent. Playful. Light.
I snorted softly. Maybe for others, but that had never been my experience. When I thought about my past relationships, the only word that came to mind was “drama.”
“Not bad,” I finally admitted.
Piper’s expression darkened. “That’s it? You don’t love it?”
I did, but I needed time to wrap my head around the new concept. Plus, I wasn’t about to admit she’d hit a home run on her first try. The woman was a menace behind the wheel, but she clearly knew how to steer a campaign.
“It’s a departure.”
“No, it’s an evolution . It makes sense.”
“What does the team think?” I asked to buy myself time.
“Everyone agrees this is the direction we need to go.” Piper paused. “But we also know you have final say, so no one wanted to get too attached to the concept before you weighed in.”
“Let’s set up a quick consumer review panel for feedback,” I suggested. “We need to be sure.”
“ I’m sure,” Piper said in a quietly defiant voice. “But don’t worry—I’ve already put that in motion. You’re welcome.”
Again with the attitude. Piper clearly had a problem with knowing her place.
“Let’s set the campaign aside for a minute,” I said. “What’s the latest with the Sullivans?”
I flexed my hands into fists as I waited for her to respond, because the stress of not knowing was killing me. R you know how much I love a party.”
And that was part of the problem with my father. He was good company, fun to be with, always up for a good time, but when circumstances called for more, he disappeared. He had a trail of failed relationships as proof of his inability to work through challenges. He and I got along fine, but I wouldn’t consider him someone I could count on. For sure, he hadn’t been someone Mom could count on, way back when he was on his “starter” wife instead of just having ended things with wife number four.
“What’s up? I’m sort of in the middle of stuff,” I said.
“I’ll be quick,” he answered. “I just wanted to let you know I’m about to book an experiential vacation. Just making sure my dates won’t interfere with anything Summit has planned, like the Evermore launch.”
I sighed. He was always chasing after something . Damned if I knew what, though. For most people, retiring is about relaxing and taking it easy. For my dad? It’s about one hare-brained, thrill-seeking adventure after another.
“What does ‘experiential’ mean, Dad? And don’t be vague.”
“Microdosing in Costa Rica!” he answered. “It’s called the Open Eyes for All retreat.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. “Dad, seriously ? You’re going to another country to do hallucinogens? How is that even safe? Or legal?”
“I’ll be under the care of a shaman, it’ll be fine. My buddy Todd from the adventure race group did it and said it changed his life.”
The adventure race group, the mountain climbing club…his hobbies kept getting more dangerous. He was spry and fit for his age, but I knew he was taking risks that didn’t make sense.
After the close call with Nana Dee, I felt stronger than ever that I needed to help him downshift and realize life in the slightly slower lane was his best bet. I wasn’t about to lose him to one of his dangerous tough-guy activities.
The challenge was figuring out how to convince him not to do something he thought he wanted. In the past, we’d argued, I’d presented facts, I’d stopped talking to him…nothing derailed him once he got an idea in his head.
It was a quality I’d inherited.
The only thing that slowed him down was family, specifically me. He’d been absent for most of my early life, but he swooped back into my world in a big way, and now he wanted to make up for lost time and ensure I had all the things he’d missed out on. A loving partner. Children I’d be present for. A legacy.
I glanced at the door Piper had just stormed out.
Maybe I could convince him I was going on exciting adventures in my own life, and I needed him around to be a part of them? So rather than jumping out of airplanes, he could get his thrills forging bonds with his future daughter-in-law, a.k.a. the mother of his potential grandchildren? It was the only thing I could think of that might stop his self-destructive behavior in its tracks.
Even if it was all make-believe.
It wasn’t exactly honest for me to try it, but I needed to save my father from himself. At this point, a Hail Mary pass was my only hope. I’d worry about the fallout later.
“So Dad, I’ve been meaning to tell you…” I swallowed my distaste for what I was about to do. “I, uh, I met someone.”
Piper’s beautiful face flashed through my mind.
“Did you now? That’s wonderful! Will I like her?”
It was a jab about Maya. My father had hated her, but he hadn’t told me until we’d broken up.
“How would you like to meet her and find out for yourself? Let’s all go to dinner together.”
I ignored the nagging voice telling me there was no way Piper was going to agree to it.
“I’d love that! Name the time and place, and I’ll be there.”
I started pacing around my office as the realization of what I needed to do came into focus. Piper was going to gloat. Make me work for it. Damn it, I hated that she had so much power over me.
But this wasn’t just about me. I hated needing a single person this much, but I was willing to do just about anything to save my father from himself.
“I’ll talk to her and get back to you,” I said through gritted teeth. “And don’t book that trip yet, okay? At least let me look into it first.”
“You got it,” he said agreeably, making me freeze in place. I hadn’t thought he’d listen to me. Last time I’d tried to talk him out of an adventure, I’d lectured him for an hour without making anywhere near this much progress. Damn. I knew he wanted me to settle down, but I hadn’t known he wanted it this badly.
Okay, gotta see this through, I reminded myself. There’s nothing dumber than screwing up a successful strategy. When you’re winning, keep winning.
“What’s the lucky lady’s name?”
I heaved a sigh, the weight of what I was about to do settling on my shoulders. Invoking the name of the woman who’d done nothing but challenge me since the moment we ran into each other—literally—felt like admitting defeat.
“Piper,” I finally said. “Piper Doyle.”
The woman who might be the end of me.