Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 112701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“I think it’s best she gets more training under her belt, sir,” Mr. Keller says. “She didn’t mean to put her hand up.”
My head snaps to him, nose scrunching up. I can’t stop my annoyance from showing.
Charles raises his eyebrows at Mr. Keller and then turns to me.
“Did you mean to put your hand up?”
This is getting ridiculous. For a man who has better things to be doing, he surely is wasting his own time asking worthless questions.
“I didn’t raise it by accident, sir.”
Laughter breaks out around the room, and I feel a deep blush form on my face. This is not the sort of first-day impression I was hoping to make. Not only is Keller making a fool out of us both, but I’ve clearly made an enemy of the boss. The whole room has to see his disdain.
He leans back, elbows resting against the desk, looking bored and incredibly sexy in the process. It manages to throw me off my game and muddle my brain, so I look away. My eyes scan the room, looking for someone willing to offer a smile of encouragement.
“Then please, get on with it.” I look up at him. He’s grinning, surely prepared to watch me make an even greater fool of myself.
I take a deep breath and repeat the mantra, you’ve got this, at least three times in my head. When I’m finally calm, I take one more deep breath, straighten my shoulders, and dive in.
“Summer Smith is huge with the younger crowd. She’s a style icon, but her personal brand is relaxed, casual, and a bit hipster. Her Instagram and Snapchat following is insane, but beyond her music, it’s due to her mystic and yoga posts.”
“Your point?” Mr. Keller snaps, and for a change, that glare of Charles’s is directed at him.
“Go on, Miss Bennett,” Charles directs, looking back at me with a slightly less annoyed glance.
“She likes to be in the limelight, and she wants everyone to know who she is, so she’ll take this deal, but Diosa isn’t going to be a fit for her to be the ambassador of the whole brand. AlteredX? Perhaps, if we tie it into her yoga posts.”
“Interesting,” a gray-haired man sitting next to me says without any hint of sarcasm.
“I know the demographic interested in Summer Smith, and they’re not Diosa clientele on a daily or even yearly basis. She’s AlteredX.”
“What would you suggest?” Charles asks, his eyebrow lifting.
He’s looking at me with a renewed sense of interest, and it’s hard not to be distracted by his intense blue eyes and the dimples showcased by the barest of smiles.
I’m still annoyed with him for his attitude toward me, but I can’t help but melt a fraction when he gives me a chance to showcase my creativity. I only met him once, and he’s already quite possibly the most infuriating person I’ve ever met, and still, I find him incredibly handsome. That truth I hate above all.
“She’s been on the scene for several years, and her brand is still very immature. She’s ready to evolve and grow her fan base. Her recent album is more mature and soulful. Diosa can help her brand mature as well.”
“How?” Charles crosses his arms, giving me the stage.
“Start her with AlteredX to capitalize on her current fan base, then work with her new album to cross into the other brands. In the meantime, find other talents that already fit the mold for Diosa. Someone who needs to show their everyday side. Maybe a model or movie star?”
He pushes himself away from the desk, standing up straight and running his hands down his suit.
“Put together some ideas for me. Because, clearly, you know more about this pop singer than I do. And I don’t mind admitting that.”
“Yes, sir.”
My eyes meet his, and I offer a nod before collecting my things to head out and get started.
“And Rae,” he calls to me, making my shoulders stiffen at the mention of the name that ended our time in the closet. “Don’t disappoint me . . .”
He leaves that sentence hanging as though he wants to add words to it. If we weren’t in a room full of his employees, he would’ve said don’t disappoint me again.
I hope his balls were blue for days.
9
Raven
I walk back to my desk on a cloud of happiness.
He listened to me. Charles Cavendish, the CEO of Cavendish Group, gave me the opportunity to put together a plan.
This is my shot to prove that I deserve to be taken seriously. Because the seven minutes in heaven with him didn’t help my case.
Seeing him in that room was a shock. Of all the people in all of New York City to make out with in a closet, it had to be him.
Just my freaking luck.
His frosty demeanor toward me was a bit much, but I couldn’t let it get to me. He is the owner of this company and was surely just as taken aback as I was. I can understand that. He likely feared I’d tell the others in the office about our rendezvous, but I wouldn’t. Ever.