Chapter 11 #2
“But your subconscious has other plans for you. Got it. Can happen. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
She watched me silently for a few seconds, then we both started to laugh.
I proceeded to give Val every single detail I’d been withholding. I forgot all about the food while I brought her up to date.
“Breathe, Hailey,” Val said on a chuckle, interrupting my monologue. I did just that, smiling at my sister. “I can’t believe I didn’t see any signs.”
“Told you I’m honing my secrecy skills. Did I mention he’s hot?”
“Several times. Always a plus. But you say he’s a bit of a recluse and likes to keep to himself, right?”
“Yep.”
“Sounds like just the opposite of you.” Even Val thought that. “But opposites do attract.”
“You’re no help,” I complained.
Val laughed. “Sorry. Just thinking out loud. But you’ve always had great instincts, Hailey. Trust them. In the meantime, what do you think about ordering dessert?”
“Already had pancakes this morning.”
“That’s never stopped you before. Come on, cheesecake. We’ll share it. The serving size isn’t even that large. You’ll have an extra boost of energy from the sugar.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s our excuse, really?”
“Well, we don’t need an excuse, just to appease our conscience. Plus, it fits with our new celebration system.”
I grinned. As a long standing Connor-tradition, we drank chardonnay for good news, pinot for bad news. Each time Lori was pregnant, we had fun adjusting the system, coming up with different sweets every time. With Val’s pregnancy, it was cheesecake for good news, and ice cream for bad news.
“So what are we celebrating now?” I asked.
“You getting some sexy time.”
“But I haven’t gotten any.”
She winked. “Yet.”
We ended up ordering one serving each, of course. If we were going to cheat, we were going to do it properly. While we indulged in the sugary treat, I steered the conversation back to Val, checking that everything was running smoothly at Valentina’s Laboratories.
We talked about Jace’s wedding again. Val informed me that all our Bennett cousins had already RSVPed.
No surprise there. They didn’t miss any weddings.
To be fair, we hadn’t missed theirs either—and there were nine in total.
Unfortunately, they lived in San Francisco, which meant that we only saw each other in person when one of them had business in LA or we went to San Francisco.
One thing led to another, and Val and I ended up salivating at the Bennett Enterprises online shop.
They produced absolutely stunning jewelry, and not sacrificing a part of my paycheck to their newest collection was a constant battle.
“Hey, a girl must treat herself from time to time,” Val said.
“You are definitely a bad influence today, sister.”
When I returned to my desk, I was a bit sleepy. It would take a while for the sugar rush to kick in. Even so, I made excellent headway on a complicated case.
Before I knew it, the day was over. When I was about to shut my laptop, Cameron poked his head in my office.
“Got a minute?” he asked.
“Sure.”
He came in, standing in front of my desk. “I just want to run an idea by you.”
“Okay.”
“I spoke for an hour to Reid Davenport.”
I stared at Cameron as the morning texts with Reid flashed through my memory. I’d forgotten all about them until now.
OH MY GOD. Reid hadn’t, he couldn’t….
“He is very impressed with your work.”
I hung on to the slim hope that this would go in another direction.
“And he had a suggestion that’s a bit out there.”
“Go on.” He had gone and done it. I braced myself, even though I knew what was coming.
“He wants you to work exclusively for him until this Marion issue is resolved. I told him it’s not a good idea. It would be a waste of your time and your clients’ faith. They’d have to be reassigned to someone else. But I said I’ll run it by you anyway.”
I was going to give Reid a piece of my mind. Oh, I definitely would. But I forced myself to remain calm and professional in front of Cameron.
“Cameron, I appreciate you bringing this to me, and Reid’s faith in me, but you’re right. It wouldn’t be fair to my other clients, and honestly, his case doesn’t require so much time.”
“That’s what I thought. I’ll call him back. See if I can pick his brain some more on corporate PR.”
“Corporate PR?” Our niche was Hollywood.
“I have thought about it for a while. Create another branch maybe, so our brand wouldn’t get diluted between Hollywood PR and corporate PR.
Income stream would be much more stable.
We’d have yearly contracts, not case-based.
The thought of chasing our next customers wouldn’t keep me up at night.
Reid had some interesting insights on the subject. ”
Was the agency in trouble? I was billing my clients like crazy, but I’d never looked over a profit and loss statement. I didn’t have access to those kinds of documents. I’d told Victor that publications were a dime a dozen in this city, but frankly, so were PR agencies.
Heavy marketing was necessary to gain visibility, and I had no idea how high those costs were.
“Well, I’ve kept you long enough. See you tomorrow, Hailey.”
I was a little rattled as Cameron left, suddenly wondering just how secure my job was. Cameron had said all this kept him up at night.
I almost forgot all about Reid until my phone buzzed.
Reid: How was your day?
No doubt he wanted to brag about his conversation with Cameron. Part of me still couldn’t believe he’d gone ahead with that. I played with my phone between my fingers, first intending to text Reid, then to call him.
Then I decided to deal with this infuriating man the best way I knew: face-to-face.
When I entered the hotel, I pasted a smile on my face, heading straight to the receptionist, who smiled back.
“Is Reid still in his office?” I inquired.
“Let me call.” Natasha spoke quickly into the phone, and from what I overheard, Reid was already at the penthouse.
“Go ahead to the elevator. I’ll call Reid and tell him you’re here,” Natasha told me after hanging up.
Clearly, Natasha thought we had an appointment, and I didn’t do anything to dispel that notion.
I smoothed my dress with one hand and my hair with the other as I rode the elevator. I steeled myself, determined to say my bit before he had a chance to lay on the charm and disarm me.
When the doors of the elevator opened, I immediately saw Reid leaning against the bar counter. The only lights on were the dim ones above the bar.
“Hailey,” he greeted in a low, gravelly voice. As I approached, I noticed he wore one of those thin white shirts again.
He could have been naked for all the fabric covered. Every single plane and muscle was visible. I licked my lips, forcing my glance up, stopping a few feet away from him.
“I can’t believe you called Cameron,” I said.
His lips curled in a smile. “What’s so unbelievable about it?”
“You don’t need me working full time on your case.”
Reid was silent for a few beats. His gaze traveled over me slowly, and then he moved closer.
“No, Hailey. I just need you.”
Oh, God! The heat in his gaze, the sheer weight of it pinned me in place. He was close, but I wanted to pull him even closer, even mad as I was at him. How could he have such an effect on me?