LITMIR.BIZ

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their fears.”

      Jessie looked at Nick, unsure of what to say. While going to a ball with him had seemed like a dream come true just a couple of hours ago, now it seemed nightmare-worthy.

      “I’d be happy to accompany Jessie to the ball,” Nick said with a smooth smile. “After a couple of glasses of champagne she might tell me the secrets of her success.”

      Jessie conjured up a hollow laugh. “Not likely, but it’ll be fun to see you try and get them out of me!”

      Phyllis nodded. “Great. It’s all set, then. I’ll see you two tomorrow … at the ball!”

      “Looking forward to it,” Jessie said, crossing her fingers behind her back.

      After Phyllis exited, Nick turned to her with a grim smile. “Pick you up at seven?”

      She shook her head. “No. I’ll meet you there.”

      “Bad idea. People will notice if we don’t arrive together.”

      Jessie’s temper flared. How dared he tell her what to do? “I’m not sure I care.”

      Nick scowled. “Well, I do. Unlike you, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep my client happy. And she wants us to put up a united front. So I’ll pick you up at seven.”

      Then he turned on his heel and left, not waiting for her reply.

      Jessie’s heart pounded and the blood roared in her veins. How dared he be so presumptuous? So controlling? He was turning out to be everything she hated about corporate advertising.

      Stupid man. She hoped he was feeling good about his little victory—there was no way he was going to get another one.

       CHAPTER TWO

      NICK SIGHED. HE’D JUST spent three hours going through the advertising materials for the Goddess account, hoping to see a spark of brilliance that he’d overlooked before, but Phyllis was right. They were old. Tired. Stale. There wasn’t a single mention of social media, or online videos, or anything interactive at all.

      Thornton had missed the digital advertising boat entirely. It was no wonder that Roar had been able to wow Phyllis so easily. His agency hadn’t even tried.

      He put his feet up on the giant wooden desk he’d been given and leaned back in his chair, looking for answers on the ceiling. He knew how to turn Thornton & Co. around. He just had to convince his father to listen to him.

      Right on cue, his father barged in, storming through the door with his usual attitude of barely contained rage.

      “Thanks for knocking, Dad,” he said, hoping his father would notice the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

      “What? Are you hiding a girl in here or something?”

      “Of course not. But—”

      “But nothing. I need to talk to you—and I’m not about to let that secretary of yours come up with an excuse to keep me out again.

      “She prefers to be called my assistant.”

      “Whatever. I don’t want to talk about the woman you’ve got taking your calls. We need to discuss the lion woman.”

      “Lion?” Nick asked, genuinely confused.

      “Yes. The gal who runs the web thing.”

      “Oh. You mean Jessie. Her agency is called Roar.”

      His father snorted. “And if that’s not a ridiculous name for an agency I don’t know what is. You got any Scotch in here?”

      “No. I’m not in the habit of drinking in the office.”

      “More’s the pity,” his father said, before settling in one of the ancient burgundy leather armchairs Nick had inherited when he took over this office. “Your generation has taken all the fun out of advertising. I remember when—”

      “Dad. I don’t have time for a trip down Memory Lane right now. I’m trying to figure out how to save our agency.”

      “Yes. That’s what I wanted to discuss with you. First of all, you need to eliminate Roar from the picture.”

      “Obviously that would be ideal, but we don’t have the resources to do what she does. If you had invested in digital when I told you to we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Nick said, trying not to let his temper get the best of him.

      His father waved his hand. “Let’s not start that again. I brought you back because you said you wanted to fix things—not rehash the past.”

      Nick motioned toward the piles of spreadsheets and glossy ads in front of him. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

      “You’re not going to find the answer in paperwork. You should be buttering Phyllis up—getting her to fall for the good ol’ Thornton charm. I know you’ve got it in you.”

      Nick couldn’t stop the roll of his eyes. “Phyllis is smarter than that. Besides, she’s been happily married for a million years.”

      “True. But she’s still a woman.” His father folded his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling, as if a slideshow was playing there. “There’s not a woman in the world who doesn’t want to feel wanted by a handsome man. Why, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve closed a deal because of—”

      “Dad!” Nick shouted.

      He sat up straight again. “What?”

      It took everything he had not to grab a roll of duct tape and shut his father’s mouth for him. “I don’t want to hear about your glory days. I want to talk about how we can set this agency up to start winning again—and shut down the buyout bid.”

      His father slumped back in his chair and sighed. “All right. Fine. Shoot.”

      Nick took a deep breath. He had to remain calm if he wanted his father to listen to him. “We need to go digital. Now. I need you to give me free rein to set up an online advertising division. I’ll invest in the latest equipment. Steal all the best people from the already established agencies. And then I’ll have them create spec work for all our current clients. Before you know it we’ll have a giant new revenue stream without having to go through a single pitch.”

      “And how does that help us with our current problem?”

      “It ensures that we never lose another piece of business to an upstart like Roar.”

      His father nodded. “All right. I’ll think about it. In the meantime I want you to get the Goddess launch back in our court.”

      “I plan to—but I’ll need to prove to them we can handle their digital needs first.”

      His father slammed a fist into the arm of his chair. “You don’t have to prove anything. Just give ‘em a little theater. Come up with a great campaign idea, put together a slick presentation, and bam! Roar is history.”

      “It’s not going to be that easy to beat Roar. Phyllis loves Jessie.”

      “You think so?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.

      “I know so. Phyllis has commanded us to appear at the charity ball together. She wants us to present a united front to make the higher-ups feel better.”

      “And you agreed?”

      Nick sighed. “At this point I’m willing to do just about anything to keep Phyllis happy.”

      His father nodded as he got up to leave. “Just make sure you keep it about business. It wouldn’t do to get involved with this harpy.”

      “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

      That was a lie. He’d been dreaming about

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