7. Sofia
Sofia
The next few work days I was fueled by adrenaline and sheer, stubborn determination.
I tried to put that quick kiss behind me.
I’d been totally stupid to make the first move, but the beer had loosened my mind, and I’d been thinking about what it would be like to kiss someone else.
But now, whenever I saw Rick, the memory of how he felt next to me flooded my senses.
So I focused all my attention on my work. Or at least tried to.
We didn’t know what Leonard’s pitch was going to be. Originally, he’d been dead set on a handful of images of men gathered around televisions watching sporting events. But I had an uneasy gut feeling that he had taken some of my ideas when he’d left. After all, Leonard was a parasite.
He had always managed to do enough homework before taking my ideas as his own that he surely knew the budget that CCB had talked to us about.
My guess was he was going to come in way under what GSM would.
And he was pitching the day before us, which gave him a leg up.
I refused to let him catch me off guard.
By the following Tuesday afternoon, one week after I’d moved into my new corner office, it looked like a colorful hurricane had ripped through it.
Foam-core presentation boards lined the walls, and sticky notes covered the windows.
I’d been downing coffee to keep myself alert, and empty cups from the place down the street were scattered about.
Nova stepped into the office carrying a fresh tray of iced coffees. “This looks like your dorm room,” she commented. She set the fresh coffees down, and I dumped a few empties into the bin and cleared a spot on my desk.
“Shut the door,” I told her. I was not chancing anyone else stealing what I was creating again. This was mine and mine alone. I was careful to lock my ideas up each night in my office, and so far only Rick had seen my sketches.
“I need you to be brutally honest with me during this dry run,” I warned Nova.
“I am always brutally honest,” she replied, sliding into one of the chairs that sat across from my desk as she handed over my caffeine lifeline.
“And for the record, the entire creative floor is excited to see what you’ve got.
Everyone is rooting for you to stomp Leonard into the dirt tomorrow.
We’re even taking bets that you’ll kick his ass and bury him.
I never realized how many people hated the guy before now. ” She chuckled.
Before I could reply, a knock rattled the frosted glass on my door, and Rick walked in. He had discarded his suit jacket, which made him look ruggedly handsome and entirely focused at the same time. When he shut the door behind him, he nodded to Nova.
“Nova.”
“Rick.” She smiled over at him.
It was strange knowing that they had known each other almost as long as Nova and I had been friends.
I remembered all the times James or Jax had talked about Rick and Chris.
I had yet to meet their youngest brother, who was attending medical school.
But I had seen a few pictures of the family.
The three boys could have been triplets.
They had matching eyes, hair color, and, from what I could tell, builds.
Tall, lean, full of toned muscles. The kind of man that women drooled over, who looked good in both a business suit or a flannel and worn jeans.
Rick leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest.
“All right, Sofia,” Rick said, breaking into my thoughts. “Marcus’s meeting with Leonard is just wrapping up right about now. Tomorrow at ten, it’s our turn. Show me what we’re bringing to the battlefield.”
I took a deep breath and stepped up to the center of the room, where three covered easel boards stood waiting.
“Leonard knows our agency’s standard playbook,” I began, my voice steadying as the familiar passion took over.
“Which means he’s going to pitch something safe, corporate, and predictable.
Before I showed him my first drawings, he was leaning toward men in bars watching sports, with hot women hanging on their arms. The standard beer marketing direction.
” I rolled my eyes and Nova made a gagging motion.
“Right. We are giving Clear Creek a distinctly different direction.”
I pulled the first cloth away, revealing the sleek, high-end lifestyle mock-ups I’d teased at the restaurant last week. They were classy, with historical and rustic vibes.
“This is our ‘Poured in Golden’ flagship,” I explained, gesturing to the cinematic visuals of Golden’s very own Mount Lookout and the topographic can designs.
“They focus heavily on the local outdoor culture, using geo-targeted digital ads to capture tourists right as they step out of the creek. It’s elegant, premium, and highly targeted. ”
Rick nodded, his eyes tracking over the layouts. “Classic, solid, and fits Marcus’s aesthetic perfectly.”
I stepped to the second easel and flipped the cover.
“With our community-centric angle, instead of focusing strictly on tourists, this campaign targets local establishments and their history. We’ll design a series of short, documentary-style digital ads highlighting the local farmers who grow the barley, the heritage of historic downtown Golden, and collaborative community events.
To tie that directly to the product, one line of cans will focus exclusively on the local wildlife—highlighting the dangerous, venomous, and predatory creatures lurking in the hills.
Each can design gives the consumer a feeling of being a little on the edge while actively educating them.
It positions Clear Creek not just as a brewery but as the literal heartbeat of Golden. ”
Nova leaned forward, her eyes wide. “Ooh, I love that. It not only makes you feel like you’re part of Colorado, but it also plays heavily into the small-town local loyalty here.
Local restaurants and businesses are going to eat that up.
Plus, people who love the outdoors are going to enjoy the more edgy animal vibes.
Look at that mountain lion.” She narrowed her eyes at one of my can designs.
“Spooky. He’s looking at me like I’m lunch. ”
“Exactly,” I said, a confident smile spreading across my face as I moved to the final, hidden board. “But if they want something entirely unexpected—something that completely disrupts the Denver agency landscape…”
I unveiled the final board. It was a bold, modern design that featured a striking, minimalist black-and-gold color palette with clean, avant-garde typography.
“We highlight a limited-edition, ultra-premium line targeted at high-end dining,” I said, my heart racing with excitement. “I’ve stripped away the traditional rustic brewery look and positioned it as a luxury craft experience. I’ve used clean lines and colors on sleek aluminum bottles.”
Silence fell over the room for a long beat. Nova looked stunned, and Rick hadn’t moved a muscle since I’d started. His eyes were darting between all three boards, his jaw slightly set. It looked like his mind was working at a mile a minute.
With all three boards now revealed, I began my prepared speeches for each board while I showcased my digital creations on the computer screen, along with the proposed website changes.
I went through the digital ads and mocked-up commercials that I’d created as I continued to walk them through my memorized speech.
I had made sure to keep my pitch short but also entertaining, with just a hint of humor.
When I was done with my presentation, I folded my hands in front of me and waited.
The silence began to stretch, and my confidence suddenly faltered. Was it too aggressive? Too artsy for a rugged brewery?
“Well?” I asked nervously, my hands twisting together.
Rick slowly walked over to me. He didn’t look at the boards but directly at me, a slow, devastatingly proud smile curving his lips.
“Sofia,” he murmured, his voice dropping into that low, thrilling baritone that always made my pulse spike.
“You are completely brilliant. All of this together is better than I’d imagined.
Leonard wouldn’t be able to come up with a single one of these concepts if he had a hundred years and a team of geniuses. ”
Nova let out a dramatic sigh from the chair. “Yeah, what the boss said. I think you just outshined me.”
“Everything is perfect,” he said with a slight nod of agreement.
Somehow, when Rick smiled at me, my legs turned to rubber. “Tomorrow morning, you and I will head to the brewery and show them exactly why Gold Standard Media owns this town.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed and rushed to hug both of them.
I was so excited. For the first time in forever, I felt like I was flying. Like I had something I truly wanted.
I pulled away from Rick, realizing just how inappropriate that hug was in the workplace. I blushed, turning a bright red.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, and turned away.
Thankfully, Nova broke the awkward silence quickly.
“Don’t take it personal,” she said, nudging Rick’s arm playfully with her own. “She’s a hugger.”
He chuckled. The deep sound of his laughter helped relax me a little.
Just then, there was a knock on the door and Elizabeth poked her head inside.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I have Mr. Willis on the phone for you.”
“Right,” Rick said, and only when I heard the door shut again did I finally turn around.
“Oh my god.” I buried my face in my hands. “How stupid could I be?”
Nova pulled me into another hug. “Hey, after tackling him on his first day here, I’m sure that quick hug was nothing.” She waved her hand and hugged me again.
“Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel any better.” I poked her in the ribs.
We spent the next half hour organizing the boards into their sleek black carrying cases and making sure the digital backups were secured on three different thumb drives.
By the time we walked out of the building, the sun was just starting to sink behind the jagged peaks of the Rockies.
The Colorado sky had brilliant streaks of magenta and bruised purple, making the rocks look beautifully painted.
“I love sunsets like this,” I said, linking my arm in hers.
“Yeah, with the warm air hitting my face, the colors, the smell of the mountains.” Nova sighed and then chuckled. “Aren’t you glad you dropped out of college?”
I poked her in the ribs again. “I’m thankful I had you to be there and set me straight.”
“What are friends for?”
I was on a high, knowing I was going to nail my presentation tomorrow. I was going to mop the floor with the man who had tortured me over the past year.
“Come on,” she said, wiggling her car keys in my face as we hit the parking lot. “You need to get out of your head and, more importantly, you need a home-cooked meal. My mom said your mom is making her famous green chili carnitas tonight.” She did a little booty dance.
“Yeah,” I chuckled as I tossed my tote bag into her passenger seat. “I’m going to eat until my pants burst.”
Our parents had been friends for as long as I could remember, and they had been neighbors for my whole life. It was one of the reasons Nova and I were so close. We’d been raised like sisters.
The drive up into the foothills overlooking Golden was exactly what I needed to clear the lingering static from my brain. As the road twisted higher and the bustling town shrunk below us, the lights of our parents’ neighborhood flickered to life like a string of amber beads dotting the foothills.
Our parents lived in a quiet neighborhood nestled high in the hills.
The houses here were built to embrace the landscape—lots of exposed timber, native stone, and massive floor-to-ceiling windows designed to showcase the mountain views.
Nova’s family lived just three doors down from my parents’ place.
Growing up, we’d basically treated the entire ridge as our personal playground.
Nova pulled into my parents’ driveway and parked next to my mother’s new SUV. The moment we stepped inside the front door, the rich, spicy aroma of roasted Hatch green chiles and simmering pork made my stomach instantly growl.
We had barely made it through the front door before my older sister, Emily, intercepted us in the entryway.
She had just gotten engaged to her best friend, JJ Walker, whose family lived a few doors down from us.
Because we all lived on the same street, the Walkers, the Clarks, and our family were incredibly tight-knit.
All of us kids had basically grown up like siblings.
“Mom! They’re finally here,” Emily called out. “Nova told mom you got a corner office and banished the office goblin. Is it true? Did you actually get him fired?”
I laughed, hugging her back tightly. “Yes, it’s true. Leonard is officially history.” I fist-pumped the air.
“Good. He sounded like a total parasite,” Emily said, pulling back with a fierce grin.
“Dylan called from campus earlier, by the way. I told him what happened, and he said to tell you he’s using your new promotion as leverage to make you buy the good pizza the next time he comes home for the weekend. ”
“Of course he is.” I smiled, a wave of warmth settling over me. My brother Dylan was buried in his sophomore year at Colorado State, but no matter how busy he got with exams, he never missed a chance to demand food from his older sisters.
“Girls, we’re back here,” my mom called out from the kitchen.
We kicked off our shoes and headed toward the back of the house.
The kitchen was warm and loud, and the counters were crowded with bowls of shredded cheese and warm tortillas.
A massive pot bubbled on the stove. Nova’s parents were already leaning against the island, wine glasses in hand, laughing at something my dad was saying.
It was loud, comfortable, and completely normal.
But as I took a glass of white wine from my dad and listened to the easy banter of the people who loved me most, my mind briefly drifted back to the executive hallway at Gold Standard Media.
Back to the deep, rumbling sound of Rick’s chuckle.
Back to the lingering, electric warmth of his hand brushing my shoulder.
Today, Leonard Whistler had tried to steal my future. But looking around this room, and thinking about the bulletproof pitch that I had created, I realized I wasn’t afraid anymore.
Leonard had stolen my ideas for a full year. But I had the vision, the raw talent he’d never had—and for the first time in my life, I had a boss who believed in me.