Chapter Three
Saylor
I was mumbling under my breath when I slammed that jackass’ door shut. His receptionist, Ashley glanced up at me and smiled.
“What did he say to you?”
Looking over to her, I asked, “What?”
She leaned back in her chair. “He’s moody, and the last person who went in there nearly came out sobbing. Charisa Phelps. She’s a product manager, and Mr. Quinn told her she didn’t know shit about the product she was working on. I thought she was going to fall to the ground and break down in tears.”
I frowned. The one golden rule for women in this business was not to let a man make her feel less than he was. No matter how much higher up the ladder he was.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a Tide stick, would you? I have one in my purse, but Mr. Quinn informed me I’m to meet the CEOs and the board now.”
With a huge grin, she nodded. Reaching into her desk, she pulled out the miracle stick from the Gods.
“Here ya go.”
Taking it, I quickly dabbed it on the spot. “Thank you, Ashley. I owe you.” As I handed it back to her, I couldn’t help but notice her smile grow.
“Thank you for remembering my name.”
Drawing my head back in surprise, I asked, “Who doesn’t know your name? Mr. Quinn?”
“Oh no, he does. Some of the . . . well . . . some of the other marketing managers don’t know it or don’t try to remember it. They think I’m sleeping with Mr. Quinn.”
Ugh. I knew how she felt. I worked for a marketing firm during college as a receptionist and the man I worked for called me the wrong name for two years. My last day he got it right. Of course, he got it right when he backed me up against his door and tried to slip his hand up my skirt. My kneeing him in the balls probably wasn’t the best choice, but what’s a girl to do.
“I know how you feel.”
She lifted her brows. “You do?”
“Yes. I’ve been in your position before and had a very touchy feeling boss who tried to hit on me my last day. It’s hard for women in the business world, even in this day and age. Don’t let it get you down.” Leaning in closer, I smiled. “When they treat you that way, they’re only threatened. Take it as a compliment.”
She smiled, and I could see her eyes light up. “Thank you, Ms. Night. I appreciate that. And for the record, Mr. Quinn has only ever been respectful and kind. Moody now and then, but never anything bad.”
“Call me Saylor, and I’m glad to hear that.”
“Okay! Thank you, Saylor. And please, if you ever need anything. Let me know.”
The door to Mason’s office opened, and he walked up to Ashley’s desk. “Ashley, I’m afraid I’ll be in meetings all day. Would you mind picking me up some lunch? Your pick today, and if you didn’t bring a lunch get some for yourself as well. My treat.”
My heart fluttered in my chest at Mason’s kind gesture towards Ashley. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t such an asshat.
Mason turned to me. “You ready?”
Nodding, I cleared my thoughts and replied with a simple, “Yes. Do I need anything for the meeting?” I asked, feeling completely taken aback.
“No.”
Mason’s responses were short. Maybe he was getting into meeting mode or something. A few moments ago he was in a kidding mood and even smiled.
We stepped into the elevator and he pushed the button for the top floor.
“I’m going to assume you did your homework on the company?”
Turning to him, I replied, “Of course I did.”
He grinned.
It didn’t take long to get up the three floors we needed to go. Mason stepped off the elevator, and I followed behind him. It wasn’t hard to notice the countless women saying hello to him or eye fucking the hell out of him.
I rolled my eyes. They guy was drop dead gorgeous, but the way some of them were gawking at him turned my stomach.
We walked into a large conference room, and I was stunned to see there were only a handful of people in the room.
A beautiful woman at the end of the table stood and smiled. I instantly knew it was Olivia Cane. No. Olivia Tate. Shit.
“Mason, thank you so much for taking the time to meet this morning.”
He nodded and walked over to Olivia. “How’s the little one?”
She smiled. “Wonderful! Thank you for asking. Have you spoken to Sterling?”
“A few days ago. He called to see how things were going.”
I stood there feeling totally and utterly out of place.
Olivia turned and gave me a sweet smile. “Saylor Night, I’ve read good things about, you and I’m excited for what you’re bringing to Tate and Cane.”
Extending my hand, I replied, “Thank you so much, Mrs. Tate. I’m excited as well and looking forward to jumping in.”
“Good. Please, both of you have a seat.”
Glancing over to Mason, he didn’t bother to look at me. He pulled his seat out and sat. I cleared my throat and did the same.
“I’ve asked you here because I want to get to know you better. Noah and I have worked tirelessly to show our clients that we are not afraid to take risks and understand their current needs. We’ve been able to bring in some great new accounts, but there is one we haven’t been able to snag. I want it. That’s were you both come in.”
My heart was racing. This wasn’t no goddamn “Welcome to the company!” meeting. That motherfucker set me up.
The pad of paper in the middle of the table caught my eye. Pulling it closer to me, I reached for a pen and prepared to take notes.
“Jameson Rum is looking for an agency to redesign their campaign on drinking responsibly. They’re also looking for someone to give their social media a fresher look. They’re number two behind Bacardi, and they want to be number one. We’re the agency to do that.”
I wrote down a few ideas that instantly popped into my head. The first thing I would do when I got back to my office was research the shit out of Jameson.
“Saylor, you’re busy writing away over there.”
Lifting my gaze to Olivia, I smiled. “I worked a social media campaign about six months back for Blue Moon. It ended up being very successful for them, and when you mentioned Jameson Rum, I had a few thoughts. My first plan of action, of course, will be to gather and analyze data on Jameson’s consumers, as well as their top competitors. Barcardi will be a hard one to surpass, but not impossible.”
Leaning back in her chair, Olivia looked like the cat who had just eaten the canary. “Mason, would you mind if I spoke with Saylor alone?”
Mason looked back and forth between us before he stood. “Of course not. I’ll be right outside.”
I watched him as he made his way out the door. Once it shut, I focused on Olivia. She slowly shook her head. “You do know what Mason just did don’t you?”
This could go either way. I’d been down this road before, put to the test to see if I would crack under pressure, but never with a woman CEO. Especially one who was younger than me. I could play stupid, which honestly didn’t do me or my career any good, or I could let her know I know exactly what the asshole just did to me.
“If you mean my new boss walking me into a meeting I was totally unprepared for so he could see how I would react under pressure? Then yes, I completely know what he just did.”
She leaned forward. “I’ve heard amazing things about you Saylor and when Mason said he had the chance to snag you from Smith and Smith I was almost giddy. Women at our level don’t come around very often so to have you with Tate and Cane is a thrill. I won’t promise you that things will be easy. We still have a lot of old suits, as well as young, who don’t think a woman’s place is at the top, equal to men. I’m sure you know exactly what I mean.”
I nodded and grinned. “When I was little, I remember my mother telling me about Ginger Rogers. I was watching a movie with her and Fred Astaire and was entranced by her. My mother leaned down next to me and told me how Ginger had once said that she did everything the man did when it came to dancing. Only she did it backward and in heels. That no matter what I wanted to do in life, I could do it and no one, especially a man, would be able to tell me I couldn’t. And from the moment I took my first upper-level position, I’ve been working to prove that I can do exactly what they can do, but I can do it backward and in heels.”
Olivia smiled. “I knew the moment I saw your face when you walked in that Quinn had sprung this on you. He’s a good guy, but I won’t make excuses for him. I wanted you to know that I knew what he did and I’m very proud of the way you handled yourself.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Tate. I appreciate your support.”
She took in a deep breath and stood. “I’ve got work to do, so get that information to Quinn by Friday morning.”
Standing, I nodded my head. “Yes, ma’am.”
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Saylor. I’ll let you tell Quinn the meeting is over.”
I tried to hide my smirk, but I was sure I failed. “I’ll do that, Mrs. Tate.”
She turned and walked out the door that was behind her. I ripped the sheet of paper off the notepad and made my way out of the conference room. When I walked out, Mason was leaning up against a wall talking to a bleach blonde. She laughed at something he said, and he winked at her.
Ugh. Pig.
I walked up to him and cleared my throat. “Mrs. Tate said the meeting is over. I’m to have my research to you by Friday morning.”
Smiling at the young woman in front of me, I excused myself and headed to the elevator. Not wanting to admit to myself I was a bit sad that Mason hadn’t followed me.
When I stepped into the elevator, I glanced over to see him still talking to her. As the doors shut, I couldn’t help but notice him handing her his business card.
My head dropped and I closed my eyes, trying to figure out why I was so bothered by what I had seen between Mason and the blonde.
Men. They’re all the same. Each and every one of them.
Lifting my head, I drew in a deep breath and pushed it out. It didn’t matter. I’d sworn off men after I left Ron. My only focus was on my new job and showing Tate and Cane they hadn’t made a mistake in hiring me.