Chapter 4 Diamonds Aren’t Forever
DIAMONDS AREN’T FOREVER
“Miss Shadowmere!” My boss said my name in reprimand, making me laugh nervously before saying,
“So sorry, I had a… erm family emergency.” I then looked nervously at the Goblin that had materialized out of the fucking wall! One, I was now trying to subtly shoo away without looking crazy.
The goblin rolled his eyes and said,
“I am giving you two minutes!”
Then he disappeared again, leaving me to wonder and, well, basically panic, what the Hell he had meant by that?!
“Well, lucky for you, our client had to reschedule, but while we are still all here, I would like to hear the pitch so I can be assured you are still the right person for the job.”
“Yes, Sir,” I said, trying to ignore the fact that he was still looking at my outfit with disgust.
So, I took a deep breath and walked to the end of the room before facing the rest of the table. Then I went over in my head the same success list I used to tell myself when I was studying.
The pitch… prepare and rehearse… make the introduction… present your market research and case studies… present your creative content… go over the budget and, finally, end on a memorable note.
The screen on the wall was already connected to my laptop and showed my presentation, so all I needed to do was tap my finger on the pad and talk my way through the pages that had been designed.
The pitch was for one of the richest diamond companies in America, Adamas Diamonds.
They were branching out into making their own jewelry instead of just providing the precious stones to other stores and for designers to make.
And knowing how expensive the industry was, or should I say how lucrative it was, then Adamas Diamonds was, without a doubt, going to be our biggest client.
Should I nail the pitch, that was. And the only reason I had been given this chance was because of broken bones and a bad end to a ski trip.
Oh, and she was also friends with Slutbag and job stealer, meaning they were usually a tag team in trying to make my life hell in the office.
But I had worked my ass off on this idea, so despite the smirk on Jennifer’s face or the lack of confidence written on Mr. Banner’s, I straightened my back and started my presentation.
However, by the time I got to the third page, my little demon suddenly reappeared out of the wall right behind Mr. Banner’s head, making me shriek a little.
“Are you alright, Miss Shadowmere?”
“You’re a Shadowmere… umm, that explains a lot,” the goblin mused, making me swallow my reply and instead making me giggle nervously again.
Something that, unfortunately, started with a series of teehee sounds before finishing with a hehoo.
Something that was, admittedly, a habit of mine.
I basically made the weird giggle whenever I felt nervous, anxious, tense, uneasy, worried, afraid, or just plain old awkward…
oh, and of course, whenever I found something funny.
“Yup, I sure am… sorry, where was I…? Oh, here… So we would not only do the usual campaign, but we were thinking Times Square, showcasing the slogan ‘Precious Moments Shine’ with Patricia Bianchi as the face of the campaign. She’s an upcoming model that is about to make it big.”
“Never heard of her,” Slutbag said with a rude laugh.
“Well, if you are anything like most of the client base that will be buying these diamonds, then you are also the type to know the latest in red carpet gossip,” I replied, making her sneer at me.
“Explain, Miss Shadowmere,” Mr. Banner said.
“It is about to hit the tabloids soon that Patricia Bianchi is dating Dwayne Costa.”
“The actor who just…”
“Is rumored to be up for an Oscar for the new Sci-fi-Shakespeare cross over movie Much Ado About Space… yes, the very same,” I said, thinking it sounded like the stupidest concept for a movie ever, but hey, what did I know? Shakespeare in space could become a thing.
All I cared about right now was that it starred the hottest new actor in it, and one that everyone wanted a piece of. Which meant, pretty soon, Patricia Bianchi would become an extension of that.
“The movie’s premier is in a month’s time, and if we are quick and sign Bianchi, then we can have her wearing Adamas Diamonds on the red carpet. Which means…”
“Every Celebrity will want to follow suit, and the jewelry she wears will be seen by millions of people that night,” my boss finished off for me.
“Smart, girly,” the goblin commented as he had casually been swinging around in one of the free chairs where I gathered our client would have been sitting, had he shown up.
“Yes, but will she wear it?” Jennifer, the buzzkill, said, giving me a pointed look.
“We can write it into the contract, but only if we act quickly,” I replied to the bitch.
“How do you know all of this, Shadowmere?” my boss asked.
“I have a source, but I would rather not say,” I said, knowing the photographer who had caught pictures of them cozying up together was keeping it under wraps until the article came out. Oh, and he also happened to be Nate’s boyfriend.
“Typical,” slutty nutty muttered, making the goblin stop spinning in his chair and glare at Jennifer with his small yellow irises now glowing.
Then before I could say anything to try and stop him from doing something, he suddenly said,
“Time to take a spin class, bitch.” Then he grabbed her chair and spun it so fast she cried out in surprise before slumping out of it and falling to the floor.
“Jennifer!” Mr. Banner cried out, as well as some other people around the table, who looked just as shocked as I did.
But then it was also really hard not to laugh.
Especially when her head was near the edge of the table and the goblin jumped in front of her face before he started to mimic little pelvic thrusts an inch from where her dizzy head was.
Which meant he might have been a pervert, but he was a funny one at that.
“I… I don’t know what happened… I must have…” She started to make her excuses, prompting me to say,
“Yeah, you have to be careful when spinning your chair, they’re a bit… temperamental,” I said, making the goblin chuckle before whipping up his toga, taking out his little grey cock, and pissing on her head.
I cried out in horror and scrambled over to her, trying to get her head out of the way, only to realize that his piss just disappeared. That he wasn’t actually about to water her head in the yellow stench that obviously only I could see and even worse… smell.
“What are you doing!?” she exclaimed as it clearly just looked like I shoved her by her head. I straightened and looked sheepishly around the rest of the table, seeing everyone gawking at me like I was insane. So, I did the only thing I could think to do… lie.
“I’m sorry, but I thought you were about to bang your head on the table after you fell off your chair.”
At that, my boss gave me a skeptical look before standing up.
“Right, well, I think I have seen enough here. Shadowmere, I like your idea, you have done good work, but in light of… well frankly… many things today, I think it would be best if someone else were to take over the account and…”
“But…”
He held up his hand to stop me from saying anything more and said, “I can’t afford to lose what could be our biggest client, yet despite it being your idea, I feel like you are not the best one to do the presentation.
Now, I expect you to conduct yourself accordingly in the office from this point on, and that includes working with whoever I choose to take over this account so that the transition runs smoothly…
do I make myself clear?” Mr. Banner said, making my face drop.
“Want me to bitch slap him for you?” the Goblin asked, making me reply,
“No.”
“Excuse me?” my boss snapped, making me quickly say,
“I mean, yes, but no, I don’t have a problem working with anyone else.”
He raised a brow but didn’t say anything else before walking from the room, a clear sign for everyone else to follow. Of course, the looks I received as people filed out ranged between sniggering satisfaction to outright pity.
But of course, the worst of all was from Slutbag when she stopped long enough to say in a condescending tone,
“I say this with the best intentions, but isn’t it about time you realize that you aren’t cut out for this job? Maybe you should go back to the bathroom and, this time, look long and hard at yourself. Then you might see what we all see… that you’re simply not good enough.”
I was too stunned to react to this, as she was already sniggering as she walked away. However, the Goblin was already out the door and purposely tripping her up by sliding a box of copy paper in her way, making her go flying ass over fake boob!
“AH!” she cried out as she hit the floor, and because of the day I’d had, I couldn’t help but stick my middle finger up at being the bigger person.
“Yeah, well, at least I can walk without falling on my bony ass!” I shouted before slamming the door and sitting down, now panting through my anger and disappointment.
I had failed.
Which, in the grand scheme of things, was no longer my problem.
However…
The Demon I summoned in the bathroom was.