Chapter Six #3
“Can I help you?” Tessa asked, immediately regretting the words. She didn’t want to help him more than she already had. She’d pointed out how far off base his pitch for the Lilacs and Lace account had been, yet he’d somehow had the whole thing handed to him anyway.
Peyton crossed his arms and formed a patient smile. “Actually, I think I can help you. I know you aren’t happy about my promotion, and I need a strong team for the L and L opportunity. Maybe taking part in a client pitch this big will soothe the sting.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “No, thank you.”
“What do you mean, ‘No, thank you’?”
Tessa stacked her things and stood.
She meant fuck completely off, but instead of saying that, she fixed him with a level stare.
“I haven’t been stung, and I’m not interested in working on your team, Peyton,” she said flatly.
“I don’t identify with your Fifty Shades of Pink approach, nor do I want to be any part of putting half the population into one bucket with you. Good luck and Godspeed.”
With that, she turned on her pretty red heels and marched away.
The exhilaration of saying exactly what she wanted to say at the precise moment she wanted to say it was euphoric. She immediately wanted to do it again.
Is this what main character energy feels like? she wondered. Or was she just being an asshole?
Her phone vibrated before she could decide, and she flipped the screen to face her. A text from Grant Gaines.
Grant: lunch?
A thrill rocked down her spine. Hell, yes. And thanks to Hallie’s watermelon salad in the office refrigerator, she wouldn’t have to make dinner tonight either.
It really was a good day.
“Hey. Tessa. Wait up.” Peyton’s voice rubbed the smile from her lips and slowed her pace to a crawl.
She turned to find him a short distance away and closing in. “Are you following me?”
A few passing coworkers glanced in their direction but kept moving.
He reached her in the next moment and stopped within an arm’s reach. “I need you on this project,” he said quietly. His voice was firm, and he leaned slightly toward her. “It’s the biggest thing Hello, Marketing has going on right now. We need all hands on deck.”
“Sorry, my hands are full,” she said. “Maybe hit up your golf buddies.”
Peyton snorted. “I knew that was what this was about. You’re jealous.” He tipped his head back in silent laughter. “I get it. You break your back around here, and it goes unnoticed. Sucks. I would feel the same way if I was you, but I’m not. Because I know how to play the game.”
Tessa opened her mouth to tell him what she thought of his ridiculous observation, but his palms flipped up in mock surrender.
“Now, don’t kill the messenger. It is what it is, and I got the promotion. I’m also the front-runner on this pitch, and I need a girl with me. It’s an all-female account.”
Pressure built in her head from the sheer number of things she had to say on the subject. But history had taught her that nothing she told him would make a difference, so she saved her energy instead.
“I’m too busy to take on anything else right now,” she said.
“I can appreciate the amazingness of the L and L account, and I hope they choose Hello, Marketing for their next campaign. But I don’t want Xavier to offload anything from my plate to another employee.
I like my accounts. I’ve been with most of them from their beginning, and I’m staying where I am. ”
Tessa turned and walked away. She slid her laptop into her bag, thankful for Grant’s lunch invitation. She needed fresh air and a lot of distance between her and her new shadow.
“Your accounts are all microscopic compared to L and L,” Peyton said, following on her heels. “You’re missing a chance to make a name for yourself in this business. Hello, Marketing needs your insights. I’m adding you to this team.”
“You want my advice? Stop calling women girls,” she said. “Keep that up, and Leah and Amara will walk away before you start the pitch.”
He bunched his features into a knot and laughed. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Does anyone call you a boy?” she asked. “How would you feel if they did?”
He shook his head. “That’s dumb.”
She waited.
“The word girls isn’t offensive.”
“Is the word boy?” she asked. When he didn’t answer, she went on.
“Women aren’t fragile, docile, childlike, or anything else that makes the term girls an acceptable way to describe adults.
Stop doing it.” She gathered her keys from her bag.
“And yes, my clients are small and boutique, but I like them. They’re mine, and they’re important, unique pieces of our community.
I’m not giving them up to watch you butcher Leah and Amara’s campaign pitch. ”
Peyton’s top lip pulled back in a sneer. “I see how it is.” He released a puff of air through his nose in disbelief. “Your feelings were hurt, so you think you’re taking some kind of stand. We’ll see about that.”
Tessa walked past him on her way to reception, away from this place for now. “Good luck, Peyton.”
She responded to Grant’s message while she waited for the elevator.
Tessa: Yes, please. Meet me at the river