Chapter 10 - Miles
Miles
“Ready to blow their minds, or are we holding back on the full street parade to celebrate?”
I glanced up at Adrian, who had leaned against the doorway with that knowing smirk he wore when he thought he could get under my skin before a pitch. He was good at it, but I’d never let him know that.
“Their minds are already blown,” I said, sliding a slim portfolio across my desk. “Why do you think they’re coming here today?”
“Uh-huh.” He’d seen me pull off the impossible, but he wasn’t about to watch me coast through this meeting. “I’m just concerned.”
I waited for him to elaborate but of course, Adrian wasn’t the type to respond to social cues when he was on a mission. “Okay, you win. What are you concerned about?”
“That whatever you did with your hair today is gonna tank the account Ethan’s wanted to sign for three years.” He sounded like he was giving a eulogy. No matter the occasion, Adrian never disappointed with his acting skills.
“Nice try.” Just in case, I went over to the mirror behind the bar for a few final touches. Not that I needed them. “But we both know this hair’s half the reason Ethan keeps me around.”
Adrian scoffed. “Give me a break.”
“I wish I could,” I snapped my suit jacket as I turned to face him again. “But this hair closes deals, my friend. Now if you don’t mind… I need a moment to warm up the old charm.”
“I knew I should’ve packed an extra barf bag.”
I bit back laughter as I walked back to my desk to grab my things.
My usual routine before a big meeting was to wait out the last few minutes in the conference room.
Assume full authority over my domain. The guys were always ragging me about charming my way into people’s wallets—which wasn’t far off the mark—but they respected the ritual of letting me set the tone and run things my way.
Ethan had spreadsheets, Adrian had mood boards, and I had presence.
Some called it arrogance, but it was pure strategy.
“Interesting…” I scanned my desk. Rifled through the ‘IN’ tray on the corner of it. But before I gave in to actual panic— “Hey, you didn’t move the Halston folder by any chance, did you?”
“The folder with your pitch that you’re pitching in less than half an hour?”
I went round to check my desk drawers even though I never keep paperwork there. It was just something to do while my mind retraced my steps with that damn thing.
“Fuck.” I slammed the last drawer and straightened, suddenly sweating. “What time did Ethan say he had to be in Cambridge?”
Adrian’s face didn’t give me the glimmer of hope I was looking for. In fact, it did the exact opposite. He looked at his watch, then back at me, shaking his head slowly. “You missed him by about an hour. The folder’s at home?”
“No,” I said, pacing behind my desk. “He wanted to look over it last night, and I left it in his office.”
Of every curveball I prepared for, not being prepared wasn’t one of them.
“Just print out more copies,” he replied with a shrug. When he got no response, he added, slower, “From the digital copy you obviously have on your laptop…” And when I still didn’t respond, he finally got it. “Fuck. It’s on Ethan’s laptop, because your Adobe Suite’s been acting up.”
I nodded, jaw clenched. The pitch that I was sure would finally seal the deal with Halston was currently in Ethan’s briefcase. In Cambridge. Even if he agreed to bail on his meeting, it’d take him about half an hour to get here.
“You’re just gonna have to wing it, man,” Adrian said, and the encouraging tone in his voice was disturbing. Like I could tell he was forcing it, because he knew I was screwed. “You’ve winged your way through worse.”
I stopped in my tracks. “Ethan’s not home.”
“Uh… We’ve established that, yes.”
“The folder I need is in his office.”
Adrian looked at me like I was having some kind of mental break. “Again, already established."
But I didn’t have time to bring him into the plan that had struck me out of nowhere. Home was only about fifteen minutes away. Ten, if you really put a foot on it. That meant—
“Maren, hey.” My grip tightened on my cell phone, and I watched realization dawn on Adrian’s face. He high-fived himself then gave me two thumbs up for thinking on my feet.
Maren would be the Hail Mary that saved the day.
“Hey,” her voice came warm and slightly breathless, like she’d just wrangled three hurricanes through downtown traffic.
“Emergency,” I said. “The Halston campaign folder. Ethan’s office. You need to bring it to me, please. Fast.”
“Fast?” Her surprise was tempered by a laugh. “I just got back from the school run. The kids haven’t eaten, and you know how they get when they’re hungry.”
“I’ll have Adrian order takeout. Anything they want.” Because begging was easier than explaining that this folder literally decided the fate of our quarter. “If you get it here in ten minutes, I’ll owe you for the rest of my life.”
There was a pause, then she said, “How did you know I'm a sucker for lifetime debts?”
“Lucky hunch.” And a smile broke easily through the rising panic, surprising me just a little. I’d liked her from the start—out of desperation, then after I learned she’s kinda cool. But it was the cheeky side of her that really got me going. Apparently, more than I’d realized at first.
“Well?” Adrian asked when I ended the call.
“You’re ordering lunch for the kids,” I said, making my way to the conference room. Adrian followed, with several questions, naturally. “Oh,” I cut him off, “Get something for Maren too. Something sweet, maybe. Yeah, she’d like that.”
The elevator buzzed twelve minutes later, with Maren and the kids spilling out in a whirlwind of bickering.
Until they realized where they were, of course.
Sadie launched herself at a beanbag like it was a trampoline.
Will immediately found his way to his favorite egg chair, flopped down in it, and got back to his video games.
Emma stalked right up to me, clutching her backpack to her chest.
“Maren said I can’t bring paint here, but I brought it anyway because I wanted to paint.”
The quick blinking felt a lot like a challenge, like she was daring me to say no to her. I glanced at Maren for help, but she just smiled sweetly and held out the Halston folder.
“Perfect timing,” I said, and took it in exchange for a quick peck on her cheek. “You’re my hero.”
“Mm-hm,” she said, feigning nonchalance. The deep pink rising in her face gave her away, though.
“I can’t stick around,” I said, pivoting toward the conference room, folder in hand. “Lunch is on the way. You guys are welcome to hang out as long as you want.”
The conference room, otherwise called the fishbowl, was separated from the rest of the office by floor-to-ceiling glass that could be frosted up via remote. Today, I chose to leave them clear as I watched Maren and the kids sitting in the studio space.
I should’ve been prepping for my meeting, but I couldn’t drag my eyes from her.
She joked around with Sadie while they ate, and made a point to draw Will into conversation too.
No matter how hard he worked to only belong to his game.
It was only when Adrian showed Halston and his crew in, that I remembered what I was actually supposed to be doing.
Unfortunately, this was around the same time that lunch came to an end.
I felt the immediate ripple of energy behind the glass walls.
The kids were already in motion. Sadie had vaulted onto the low credenza, with Emma on all fours below, likely enticing her into the most dangerous version of leap frog ever.
Will, much to my disappointment, had abandoned his video game to inspect the kinetic hanging sculpture over at the coffee bar.
“Sorry about this,” I said with a fake but polite chuckle. “Let me just—”
I aimed the remote at the walls and clicked.
My fake smile stretched a little thinner when nothing happened, and I clicked again.
Harder, this time. Halston cleared his throat.
His cronies shared hesitant glances. I pressed the frosting button a few more times, but the glass remained crystal clear.
Through it, Sadie danced a jig that shook the credenza and when Maren tried to usher her back down, she stuck her tongue out and danced harder.
“Technology, am I right?” That stupid laugh again. This time it was hollow and didn’t land the way I wanted.
“We’re fine to just continue,” Halston said, showing me to my seat.
So much for assuming my authority before the games began.
I discarded the remote and walked around the boardroom table to hand each of them a printout of my pitch.
The same one that had been tweaked and altered to adjust for his demands and preferences after each of the previous failed attempts to land his six-figure contract.
Before I sat down, I made eye contact with Maren, who offered a reassuring smile as she attempted to rein in the kids. She was good with them; I’d seen it enough times to know. Still, it didn’t stop the uneasy knot in my gut from twisting.
“I suppose I’ll start by welcoming you back,” I said, easing into things.
“I’m sure the office was a lot quieter the last time you visited.
” All I got was blank stares, so I ignored how dry my mouth had suddenly become and kept going.
“If we could just avert our attention from the circus out there, and take a look at page one…”
A loud thunk, then a crash, and the unmistakable sound of a metallic orb rolling across the floor. Everyone’s head turned but mine. I knew without looking, that it was part of our sculpture that had worked loose. Likely through Will’s careless investigation.
Halston’s overgrown eyebrows drew together. “I think the lady might need some help.”
The faint sound of giggles, of feet scuffing against tile. And then someone squealed in delight. Beneath it all, I could make out Maren’s harsh whispers begging them to settle down.