Chapter 2
“I can’t believe you got me in these ridiculous shoes,” I hissed at Jules when we entered the elevator.
“Rachel Mae Candel, those are like two inches and they’re a bootcut wedge.
I couldn’t have made them any smaller unless they were tennis shoes.
Stop complaining, you look hot and professional.
We’re going to nail this presentation and win that fucking bid.
Now put your head up, and tits out. Act like the boss bitches we are. ”
Jules reset her whole body, pulling her shoulders back, sliding into her confidence like she was putting on a power suit. Watching my best friend walk out of the elevator as if she owned the place, I shook my head. Well, technically she did own the place, with me.
Jules’ pink hair was up in a messy style that matched her energy. Her black suit screamed, pay attention to my ideas because they’re the best you’ll ever hear. Her pink heels clicked on the tile in a staccato. My pixie-sized friend could turn the heads of any man or woman in the vicinity.
With a deep breath I followed my best friend.
Pulling my shoulders back and holding my head up high, I hoped I didn’t look like the fraud I currently felt like.
Jules had dressed me in a silky green button-down shirt with a black pencil skirt.
My hourglass figure showed off the Pilates classes I religiously attended.
My thick, curly red hair was somewhat tamed in a high bun.
Thankfully, Jules let me do my make-up which was subtle, allowing my freckles to show their charm.
I hated to admit the knee-high black boots did make the outfit look professional, yet sexy.
I just hoped I wouldn’t make a fool out of myself in front of our prospective client.
“I’ll turn on all the lights if you grab the energy drinks,” Jules called over her shoulder, heading toward our office.
Jules and I opened our marketing company, Marketing Madams, two years ago and it was getting traction thanks to one of our more successful marketing projects.
We took a small craft business and made it a household name.
Badass boss bitches right here.
That project got us a bid for the Aurora project. Aurora Fox’s goal was to help indie authors, and we wanted to help her.
This project had a special place in my heart, mostly because romance books were my favorite thing in the whole wide world.
I wanted this project not only because it would help Marketing Madams level up in the marketing world, but it would also combine my two loves. We had to win this bid.
“I can hear you thinking from here and you haven’t delivered my caffeine yet!” Jules yelled, pulling me out of my spiral.
I hurried and grabbed the energy drinks out of our tiny breakroom and rushed into the lobby where Jules had turned on our sign.
Jules made grabby hands until I pushed the can into her hand. “Thank you.”
She exhaled after taking her first sip. “I’ll stock the conference room, so they think we’re the coolest company ever, while you get the presentation ready.”
“Okay. Do you want to greet them together?”
“No,” Jules said with so much enthusiasm, if I didn’t know her the way I did, I would have been insulted. “I’ll be the host. You know, get them in the conference room, and get them relaxed, then you’ll come in and together we’ll knock their boxers off.”
I cracked my energy can open. “That is one of the sexiest sounds.”
Jules blew a kiss in my direction before heading off toward the conference room while I went into our office.
In our shared office I took a deep breath, attempting to get myself grounded. While I booted up my laptop and opened all the files I would need for the presentation, I listened as Jules moved around getting everything ready.
After setting up all the technology in the conference room, I hid in our office until I heard the elevator ding, alerting me that Aurora Fox and her crew had arrived.
My ass collided with my computer chair, waiting for my turn to meet the clients.
I listened to Jules greet them and lead them into the conference room.
Staring at the clock, I waited for the ten minutes we decided on to give Jules time to put them under her spell. When my ten minutes were up, I stood and smoothed down my pencil skirt with shaky hands.
When I walked into the conference room, Jules had two men and one woman eating out of the palm of her hand.
As I was walking toward Jules, tragedy struck.
My ankle wiggled and then stopped working altogether…
sending me and those damn shoes careening down toward the floor.
I threw out a fist, colliding with something hard as I continued to fall.
Pain lanced through my hand at whatever I hit, causing me to pull it in for protection, making my elbow hit something as well.
“What the hell?” I heard a deep voice ask while I lay on the floor, wishing it would open up and swallow me in its embrace.
“Holy fuck, Rach, are you okay?” Jules attempted to help me up, but the bitch looked me deadass in the face and began laughing.
“I told you I shouldn’t have worn these damn shoes,” I hissed. Utterly humiliated, I climbed to my feet, my knuckles throbbing.
Jules stood next to me, and the twat didn’t even try to hide her laughter.
“Shut up,” I whispered, slinking to the chair in the front of the room. I kept my eyes down, waiting for the sound of chairs scraping the floor to show the mass exodus of Aurora Fox and her entourage.
“Rach, I’d like you to meet Easton, his associate Cole, and his sister, Aurora.” Jules’ voice shook as she stifled her laughter.
I lifted my head, wanting to glare at Jules, but if I was being honest, if I saw her fall I would be cackling just as hard as she was.
“Hi, I’m Rachel, the co-owner of Marketing Madams.” I waved my hand but pulled it back when pain shot through it. I rubbed my rapidly swelling knuckles, wondering what I’d hit.
“I like her. I think we should go with them,” Aurora said, smirking at her brother.
“You just like her because she punched Easton,” Cole responded. Although I’m not convinced that I didn’t see a faint smile on his face.
“What? I didn’t—"
“Oh, you did,” Jules responded, snickering next to me.
“I am so sorry, Mr. Easton.”
Why did I call him Mr. Easton? Easton is his first name, Rachel. Good Job, dummy.
I looked up and into the most intense green eyes I’d ever seen. They were angry, and all of it was pointed directly at me.
“I think we’re done here.” Mr. Easton stood, his eyes still pinned on me.
Fuck, he’s tall. His broad shoulders filled out his stark white button-up shirt, and his pants… well, they were filled out as well.
Stop looking at his pants, Rachel.
“We haven’t even listened to their proposal yet, Uncle Easton. And you promised you’d at least hear them out. They’re the only marketing company that is women owned. And this is my first project, and you promised you’d give me advice to ensure it was successful,” Aurora said, glaring at him.
“You’re fine to make your own decision. I’m done with this nonsense, I have other projects I should be working on,” Easton said cooly, shrugging on his suit jacket.
“Jules, it was nice meeting you. Rachel, thank you for the concussion. You should ice your hand before the swelling gets too bad.” With a sharp nod, Mr. Easton moved toward the door.
“Easton, sit back down, please. You promised you would help Aurora make an informed decision on her indie author support company. How will she be able to do that if you don’t listen to every presentation she has scheduled?
And you know I can’t handle her all by myself,” Cole said, his eyes studying Jules.
I watched Mr. Easton’s shoulders rise from what I assumed was a deep inhale. My hands were sweating wondering if he was going to ruin this before it even started. Well, I guess technically I was the one who ruined it.
“If Rachel can promise to keep her fighting skills to herself, I will stay.” Mr. Easton turned and settled back down in his seat with his arms crossed.
“I promise she only hits clients she really likes,” Jules replied, as I kicked her under the table.
“I like them,” Aurora declared. Mr. Easton rolled his eyes as if we were annoying him.
Or maybe I had given him a concussion.
“Of course you do,” Mr. Easton muttered.
Jules and Aurora smiled at each other as if they had found their long-lost best friend. If we got this project, I had a feeling Jules and Aurora were going to cause a lot of mischief.
“How’s your hand?” Jules asked.
I lifted the bag of ice to check on it.
“Bruised.”
Jules snorted. “You hit him so fucking hard. Why would you even make a fist while you’re falling?” Jules wasn’t expecting an answer since her laughter would have drowned it out anyway. “And then you pulled your fist in and elbowed him in the back on the way down.”
My face burned as I watched my best friend recreate my fist/elbow combo while howling with laughter. Glad it was late and nobody was in the building to listen to my best friend braying like a donkey, I rolled my eyes.
“I didn’t even realize I elbowed him, too,” I said, then remembered connecting with something when I was on the way down. I rubbed my elbow, wishing it was my best friend I clocked in the back of the head and not Mr. Easton.
“Rach, you beat the shit out of him. The best part was his face when he turned to see who was attacking him, and there wasn’t anyone behind him because your ass was on the ground.” Jules threw her head back, laughing, tears trekking down her traitorous face.
“Anyway, I think it went well,” Jules added, wiping the tears from her eyes.
I smacked her in the arm, but when I really looked at her, I saw the sincerity in her face.
“I thought so, too. I know Aurora really liked the presentation, and she’s the one that would be heading the project. Mr. Easton, on the other hand, I couldn’t get a read on.”
“Well, you did rock his world. His ears were probably ringing the whole time we were giving our presentation.”
“Oh, my fuck, can we stop talking about—"
“How you should’ve went into mixed martial arts instead of graphic arts and marketing,” she cut my plea off.
“You’re such an asshole.”
“But you love me.” She blew me a kiss before leaning back in her chair and staring at the ceiling.
Following her lead, I sat back down in my chair, making sure I kept the ice on my hand. “I’m exhausted,” I admitted, staring at the ceiling.
When Aurora and company left, Jules and I rehashed the presentation numerous times, before finishing up some of the other work we needed to get done, and now we were decompressing.
“I am, too, and I know I’m not going to rest easy until they give us their final decision on Friday. I’m going to go home and eat until I’m in a food coma. What time is Bradford coming over?” Jules asked, moving her head to look at me with what looked like supreme effort.
Frowning, I grabbed my phone with my good hand, checking to see if my boyfriend, Bradford, had texted me.
“What?” Jules asked as I held my phone.
“Nothing, Bradford isn’t coming home this week. The project he’s working on needs him to stay longer in Ohio.”
“He’s making that overtime so he can buy you your dream wedding.”
“I guess, I just miss him. Wanna grab food?” I asked, picking up my ice bag to get rid of it in the bathroom.
“Sure, sushi?”
“Nope, sushi is for after we get the Aurora project deal.”
“You’re going to say salad, aren’t you?”
I threw my head back and let out my best evil villain laugh as I walked out of our office. “Follow me if you want to live longer and eat healthier.”
“I don’t want to eat healthier,” Jules mumbled, following me toward the elevator.