10. Chapter 10
10
Mommy Issues
August 8th, 2024
I think this is the first year my birthday won’t end in sex.
A fucking shame, that is.
I started my day the same way I always do: by going to the gym. My birthday has never been my favorite thing to celebrate. To me, it’s just another day of the year. It’s nice to go out when I’m in the mood, but lately, there hasn't been a single reason to celebrate.
Well, maybe getting a job is a reason, but even that doesn't bring me much of anything, since I’m too worried about my dad back home. This past year has been tough as hell, and turning another year older isn't a big deal.
Now, I'm sitting at my desk at work, going through a portfolio Ella gave me to familiarize myself with the company’s typical campaigns.
My body shivers when it hears her name in my head. It hasn't been horrible working alongside her here, but I’m starting to get sick of all the fucking attitude she throws my way. Not only is there no reason for it, but I’m trying my best not to cause any commotion while I’m here. All I want to do is come in, do my job to the best of my ability, and leave. Work-life balance is important to me, and if something happens to my dad again, I’m probably going to end up moving back to London. This job is a means to an end, no matter what way I look at it. It would be nice if Ella did the same and not cause any more squabbles between us.
I do start shit sometimes. I’m not completely innocent in anything between us, but Ella Williams pushes my bloody buttons more than anyone else on the fucking planet. She gets under my skin, and somehow, she always knows which ones to press.
It’s exactly how we were back in college, and even then, I didn't understand it.
The only time we ever got along was when we had sex that one night, and even then, she fought me.
Stop thinking about sex with Ella while you’re at work , I remind myself. It has been popping up in my mind recently, and that’s only because we’re back in such close proximity. On top of that, add my dry spell, and it’s a recipe for disaster.
It was only one time, and it will never happen again.
God, I need to get fucking laid.
I grab my phone from where it sits on my desk and dial the one person I know who can help. He answers on the third ring.
“I was about to call you, Birthday Boy,” Liam says over the line.
“Well, we always did have some sort of sixth sense with one another.”
“Happy birthday, dude. Got any fun plans for tonight?”
A smirk catches in my mouth. “Actually, that’s why I called.”
“Are you finally letting me plan a night out for you? Leo Zimmerman is letting me have control of a night out? This seems too good to be true.”
“And I’ll even pay for it,” I offer.
I hear him sigh. “God, I’ve missed you, you rich prick.”
“Shut the hell up, Holt. But you better exceed my expectations.”
He only laughs. “Let me worry about that, Leo. I’m sure you’ll be impressed.”
“Good,” I say as Ella comes back to her office. Damn, where was she for twenty minutes? “Listen, I have to go. I’ll see you later?”
“I’ll text you an address in a few.”
“Perfect,” I say as I hang up and continue to check out the portfolios. This company has done some great work. A few things have caught my eye, and I wonder how many of these Ella has worked on. The girl might be a pain in my ass, but she does good work. That has never been up for debate.
I watch as Ella swiftly moves around her office, grabbing a few folders and things before she takes a big deep breath and starts to walk toward my office.
“Is coming over here really so bad you have to take a deeper breath than a blowfish?”
She rolls her eyes at me. “When you greet me like that, then yes, it does.”
“Can I help you with something?”
She sticks her leg out as if she’s balancing herself. Today, she’s wearing long, pleated pants, black to match her heels, with a white blouse. It’s simpler than most of her outfits that seem to be monochrome.
Why are you paying attention to her outfits?
Christ, I need to get fucking laid. If Holt fails me tonight, he’s never in charge of anything ever again.
“Get a notepad. We have a meeting.”
“You sound excited,” I say as I get out of my chair, grabbing a pen and a large notebook. Ella has been making me take notes during meetings. I never have to take too many, since I can remember what most of them are about, but if I don’t, Ella will shout at me. She thinks she’s the boss of me, but once these thirty days of shadowing are over, we’ll be on the same level.
“Overjoyed, especially since it’s not with Imogen.” And then, she walks away from me. It doesn't take me too long to catch up to her—my legs are as long as half her body.
We walk through the office, and instead of going into the conference room, we instead head for Brody’s office.
I quite like Brody. He seems like a good guy, but Ella has a problem with him. Well, Ella seems to have a problem with every man in this office besides Adam. They seem closer than she is to most of the men here.
Kind of pisses me the fuck off, but I decide not to dwell on that.
“Leo, Ella, come sit,” Brody says as soon as we get into his office. He’s a project manager now, and maybe one day, if everything works out, I can take his job when he moves up again.
If everything doesn't go to shit, that is. Meaning my dad stays healthy and I can stop worrying about him.
But in my gut, I know the worry will never go away.
“So, what do you need from us?” Ella asks, her tone more clipped than usual.
“Well, we have a potential new client I think you both could be interested in. We have a meeting with them soon, and I want you two to put together a design portfolio to showcase what we could do for them.”
I scratch down what he’s saying as I let Ella take the lead in all the questions.
“What’s the client?”
“A publishing house.”
I can feel Ella freeze in her chair. I guess her love of reading hasn't wavered in the past few years. I remember in college that she was in some sort of book club with Grant’s girlfriend. I heard him talking about it one night when I was out with the hockey team. There’s four of them—I’m pretty sure I met them all when I celebrated Halloween with them last year.
“Which one?” I ask. I’m not too familiar with the literary world, but I’m good at my job. With a little research, it shouldn't be that big of an issue. Plus, having Ella working on it with me will be a big help.
“Literary Nook Publishing House.”
“The one who published Henry Hayes’ new novel?” Ella asks.
“That’s the one,” Brody says with a weird look on his face.
“Okay, well, Leo and I can start coming up with a—”
“Actually, that’s not going to work,” Brody tells us, and I’m starting to get a feeling he called us in here with an ulterior motive. “You two are going to be…competing for this account, in a way.”
“What does that mean?” Ella asks him, her fists bunched at her sides.
“Leo’s shadowing period is almost over, and I think this could be a good opportunity for him to prove himself. Ella, I know how much you’ve been begging Imogen to let you know when any account relating to books popped up.” He turns to look at me. “And Leo, this could be a great first grab for you.”
“So, what do you want us to do then?” I ask, confused as to why he’s pitting me and Ella against one another on an account she has clearly been waiting for.
“Well, you two have to work together to create the portfolio. Then, if we land the client, one of you can lead the campaigns we run for them.”
Oh, so we’re not competing to land the client. First, we have to work together and come up with a plan. If we get the publishing house, then we’re competing, or whatever. This all seems kind of fucked up, but I would love to lead a big client when I’ve only just started here.
“How long do we get to prepare everything?” Ella asks.
“The meeting is in three weeks. We will find out if they want to contract us at the end of September.”
“Wonderful,” Ella says as she gets up from her chair. “If that’s all, we’ll go get started.”
“That’s all. Thank you for coming in,” Brody says as he turns back to his computer.
I follow Ella out of his office, neither of us saying a word, and when she turns left to go into her office, I do the same. She heads to her desk, not noticing I’m still standing in the doorway.
I start to roll up my sleeves as I sit in the chair across from her. When she notices me, she jumps.
“What are you doing in here?”
“Well, we have to work together on this thing. I thought we should brainstorm or something.”
She sighs heavily. “Look, I’m not thrilled about working on this with you either, but if you want to take the weekend to think of some things, we can come back on Monday and coordinate then.”
“And there you go again.” Ella constantly jumps to fucking conclusions about everything. Yeah, it’s a little weird that Brody is making us do this together when Ella is perfectly capable of doing it herself, but I never said I was pissed off about it.
“What?” she asks as she slams her laptop closed.
“I never said I wasn't thrilled about this. In fact, I’m excited to learn how you do things around here. Shadowing has been fine, but this is a real client. So, stop assuming the worst, and we’ll figure out a way we can land this account.”
“Fine.”
“Am I dismissed?” I ask her, purposefully pushing her buttons this time.
“I’m not your mother, Leo. You can move your own feet and go back to your office if you want to.”
I tilt my head at her. “If I remember correctly, you’re the one with mommy issues, not me, Williams.” I stand up from my spot. “I’ll send you an email this weekend with my thoughts on this client.”
“Shut the door when you leave,” she whispers.
“I’ll even let it hit me in the ass on the way out.”
“Whatever, Leo.”
And then, I leave her office. But when I sit down in my chair, I notice Ella has drawn the curtains over the glass so I can’t see in.
My phone buzzes when I sit down, and I see my best friend from back home’s name on my screen.
Wyatt: Happy birthday, wanker.
Leo: Thanks, idiot.
Wyatt: Plans for tonight?
Leo: Holt is in charge.
Wyatt: Yikes, good luck to you then.
Leo: How’s everything back home? Is your sister doing okay?
Wyatt: She’s fine. Thanks for asking. I saw your folks in the hospital the other day. Had a chat with them for a few minutes.
What? My parents neglected to mention that to me.
Leo: Oh. How did my dad look?
Wyatt: Better. Stronger.
Leo: Good. Thanks, man.
Wyatt: Have a good birthday, mate. You deserve it.