13. James
JAMES
James could hardly believe how well this was going.
The pre-dinner mingling had gone off without a hitch, and he’d managed to speak to everyone he wanted to.
The food was delicious. The conversation over the meal was going well — apart from all the innuendos about him and Lauren.
Even Lauren seemed to be enjoying herself, which was a relief.
James had felt terrible about dragging her to this dinner.
He knew she felt genuinely bad about not winning the Omial contract, so it felt wrong to rub her nose in it like this.
Something told him that this was going a little too well, but James ignored that.
He’d done everything he was supposed to do, everything his father had drilled into him.
He’d cultivated a relationship. He’d nailed his proposal.
He’d put together an excellent dinner. He’d handled all the relevant details of the contract himself.
He’d left no room for interpretation or error.
Maybe everything really was going to go smoothly.
And then, as the desserts were being cleared away, Cameron leaned across the table. He’d been talking to Missy while James chatted up others at the table.
“Oh, James.” He smiled brightly. “There is one small thing I wanted to discuss with you, now that we’re working together. Just a small thing.”
“Of course,” James said, gesturing for the other man to continue. “What is it?”
“Well, in your pitch, you mentioned that all the ad work would be done in-house,” Cameron said.
“But, after speaking with my team, I decided it’s very important that we have locals do some of the work.
Preferably, local artists — photographers, musicians, painters, writers.
That way, we can have good local flair for the ads, which is what I’m looking for.
And not just in San Valentino. I need targeted ads with local talent in all the major cities where we work.
I want each ad to be tailored to the location, without seeming too corporate or general.
You know Omial is all about local work and grassroots action. You can do that, right?”
James’s blood froze. Cameron spoke casually, but he must have known how much he was asking.
Finding, contracting, and managing local artists would add a huge amount of time and effort to the project, as opposed to doing the ads in-house.
James’s own teams could struggle if they didn’t have the work he’d planned for them to do.
And the cost would be higher than what they’d agreed on.
Worse, Cameron was asking him to do the same process in five to ten cities across the country, at least.
“I didn’t know that was something you wanted,” James said, speaking as casually as he could.
“I did mention that I was looking for plenty of local representation,” Cameron countered. “This is important to me, James. You wouldn’t want to mess up now, would you?”
“Well, this wasn’t in my pitch, and we didn’t discuss it while mocking up the contract,” James reminded him. “It’s out of the ordinary to do it this way. If it was important to you, you should have mentioned it earlier so that I could find a way to make local artists part of the project.”
“I know you can come up with something.” Cameron smiled. “Otherwise, I may have to look elsewhere. Find me toward the end of the evening so we can discuss it. Missy, dear, would you like to see about another glass of champagne?”
The couple stood, nodding to James and Lauren, and headed toward the bar at the end of the room.
James’s stomach knotted. Cameron should have brought this request up earlier, but it was still James who would look bad if he couldn’t pull it off.
Omial was a major client with a growing presence.
If they were unhappy with his work, it could spell disaster.
The more James thought about it, the more certain he was that Cameron knew what he was doing. But why would he throw a curveball like this at the last minute, when he knew there was little James could do about it?
“Lauren,” he said quietly. “I need to go strategize.”
“I understand.” She nodded. “Good luck.”
James slipped out of the room. There was an empty front area of the restaurant where patrons would usually wait to be seated, and he sank onto one of the benches and pulled out his phone.
A quick calculation showed that hiring local artists would cost a lot more and put his in-house team in danger of not having enough work.
This was a real disaster. He would have to somehow convince Cameron that his request wasn’t necessary — or at least convince him to raise the price of their contract to cover the additional cost. Yet James got the feeling that Cameron wouldn’t be happy with either option.
Would he really pull out at this late stage? And what would happen if he did?
“James?”
James jerked his head up to see Lauren standing in the doorway. Her blue dress clung to her, showing off her curves, and he noticed, not for the first time that evening, how lovely she looked. Her brows were pinched, though, and she seemed worried.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“You’ve been gone a while.” She crossed to him and sank onto the bench beside him, brushing her skirt out of the way. Her faint cinnamon scent wafted over James as her shoulder brushed his. “What’s up?”
“I…” James sighed. “I don’t want to burden you with this.”
Lauren rolled her eyes. “If you won’t tell me, I’ll guess. Cameron’s request would be expensive and unwieldy, and you’re not sure how to make it happen.”
“Bingo.” James sighed again, louder this time.
“I have no idea what to do. Clients don’t usually do things like this.
Once we’ve agreed on a path, they stick to it.
Cameron did agree to my initial pitch. It’s all in the contract we’re supposed to sign.
And clients usually rely on me to know the best thing to do, meaning that they follow most of my suggestions.
I suppose I expected Cameron to do the same. ”
Lauren laughed softly. James glanced at her, surprised and offended. “Is my pain funny to you?”
“Not at all.” She tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. “But the truth is, clients do things like this all the time. Just not to you. Cameron doesn’t really care about local artists. He knows that what you pitched originally was good. He’s just testing you.”
“What?” James frowned at her.
Lauren nodded as she raised her hands in a “what can you do” gesture.
“Clients do this to me all the time. They want to make sure I’m going to listen to and accommodate them.
And they want to make sure I’m as good as I say I am.
I bet most of your clients don’t test you like this because they know your father and your company.
Cameron decided that he wanted to see what you’re made of, for whatever reason.
Maybe because he and his company are both new. ”
“Okay…” James nodded slowly. “I get it. But that doesn’t really help me. I still don’t know what to do. I can’t do what he wants, not without putting my company in danger, and I can’t refuse without putting the contract and my reputation in danger.”
Lauren considered for a moment. “You need to show that you understand PR, and that you’re willing to listen to Cameron. But you can’t throw your whole strategy out the window the way he’s asking, either. It wouldn’t be a good look for you and would probably undermine his confidence in your work.”
She bit her lip. James’s gaze shot to the gesture, and for a moment, he forgot all about Cameron and his request. Lauren was squinting a little, as though the right answer was floating in the air in front of her and she just had to read it.
“Okay.” Suddenly, Lauren sat up straighter.
Excitement blossomed in those beautiful blue eyes.
“Here’s what you do. Announce an art competition in the cities where you’re working.
Local artists can submit their work for a chance to be featured in a large-scale advertisement, to work with your company, and to receive a modest amount of money.
Each artist submits a piece of work. Your team can pick the best and incorporate it into the ads, which they can still take the lead in designing. ”
James was already nodding. “That’s perfect. It won’t cost much, it’ll still use my team, it’ll have local flair, and?—”
“It’ll generate local buzz around Omial’s products,” Lauren finished.
“Exactly. This speaks to what Cameron was asking, keeps your team centered, and even reduces costs. It might be a little more expensive, since you’ll need to offer the bonuses, but I’m sure, once you run the numbers, you’ll see it’s a small enough cost that you can easily absorb it. ”
“Lauren, you’re a genius.” James stood, took her hands, and pulled her to her feet. Then he spun her around, making Lauren laugh as she threw her head back. “Thank you.”
She stopped in front of him, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright.
She seemed to have enjoyed their brainstorming session as much as he had.
In that second, everything slowed. James looked down at Lauren, at her slightly parted lips and her wide eyes, and he could have kissed her.
He was so incredibly grateful for her help.
More than that, he was grateful for her presence in his life.
And he was attracted to her, not just her beauty, but her brains and her quick thinking and her sense of humor.
It would be so easy to close the space between them and pull her into the kind of passionate kiss that made the world stop.
Instead, James took a step back. “I’d better go talk to Cameron.”
“Yeah. Of course!” Lauren nodded a little too vigorously. “Good luck.”
James reentered the restaurant and made a beeline for Cameron. His thoughts were still full of Lauren, but he needed to focus.
And he couldn’t kiss her. “No feelings” was their biggest rule — and his biggest rule in life. The fact that he’d wanted to so much scared him.
Although…
As James approached Cameron, a thought occurred to him.
Lauren was only in his life temporarily.
Maybe he could let himself enjoy being close to her, after many years of being close to no one.
After all, they’d get divorced after only a year.
And they were still enemies. A little pleasant time together might not undermine anything.
“You’re back.” Cameron looked up at James. “Have you found a solution for me?”
“I believe I have.” James laid out the plan Lauren had come up with, adding a few of his own details on the fly. Cameron sat in silence for a few moments, then his lips quirked into a smile. He stood and clapped James on the back.
“Very well, my friend. I think we can make this work.”
James grinned back as relief flooded him. It would have been a disaster if this contract had fallen apart, and he was so pleased it hadn’t. And it was all because of Lauren. He’d have to find some way to thank her.
“Excellent,” he said aloud. “I’m glad we could find a solution. And I hope this reaffirms your trust in my professional acumen.”
Cameron had the decency to look a little sheepish. “Of course, of course. I’m glad to see that you’re able to adapt to new situations. That’s very important for me with all my staff and contractors.”
“Certainly.” James smiled. It seemed Lauren was right; this really had been a test. His admiration for her grew. She’d not only come up with a solution but had also identified the correct problem when James hadn’t been able to.
Within another half an hour, the event wrapped up. James shook hands with everyone as they left. Once the guests were gone, he made a beeline for Lauren. He opened his arms, wanting to pull her into a hug, but dropped them in time.
“How did it go with Cameron?” she asked. Her eyes were alight, and she was smiling.
“Great.” He smiled back. “You were right, Lauren. He was testing me, and he found the solution you came up with perfectly acceptable.”
“Excellent.” Lauren took a half step closer. “I’m so glad.”
“And I want to say again how much I appreciate your help. I would have been lost without you.”
“I’m sure you would have come up with something.” She paused, raising her eyebrows teasingly. “Eventually.”
“Anyway, you’re a lifesaver. How can I thank you?”
Side by side, they started for the door. “Hm. Maybe you could give me a client or two?”
“Never.”
“Then I suppose you’ll just be in my debt forever.” Lauren’s shoulder brushed his as James reached forward to open the door for them both.
“Have you already forgotten that I helped you out by marrying you?” James asked.
“Hey, you made it sound like that was for both of us.” They stepped out into the balmy evening. “So, I’m still ahead, as far as favors go.”
“Fine.” James raised his hands in surrender. “But just you wait. I’ll find a way to even the score.”
“Sure. I’ll be waiting.” She winked at him. They reached the car, James opened the passenger side door, and Lauren slid into her seat. He circled and got in, too.
“Classic rock?” she asked, reaching for the dial.
“You know it.”
They pulled out of the parking lot as the first strains of an eighties song came over the radio.
James’s chest felt buoyant. Despite the hiccup of Cameron’s last-minute request, the evening had gone almost perfectly, and that was largely thanks to Lauren and her quick thinking.
He glanced at her in the passenger seat.
She was leaning back, pulling bobby pins out of her hair, looking out the window.
He would find a way to thank her for her help. Sooner or later.