SLOW HANDS

“Urgh. Why is it taking so long?” Evan asked impatiently.”I saw that bastard, Felix Greene this morning. I know he is after the account too. I can’t risk him taking it away from us. Especially as I already bragged to him about us having it. I really thought we had it after we spoke to Jensen Packard”

“You did? You shouldn’t have done that” Chloe replied. “But you don’t have to worry about him” She added after a slight pause. Though she wouldn’t admit it to Evan, it made her extremely nervous to know that their business rival was also hammering so relentlessly on Packard Enterprises. Felix Greene owned Maddox communications, and not only had Felix lured away a few of Golden gate promotions top clients in recent months, he’d also launched a PR campaign against Golden gate. It was dirty pool, but it in no way surprised Chloe. Felix Greene was ruthless, and he’d do anything to win.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Are you seriously telling me that I shouldn’t be concerned about him after everything he has done?” Evan questioned. “Come on Chloe, you know how ruthless Felix can be. I should damn well be worried…. And so should you. And I don’t mean that last part as a threat” he added.

Chloe laughed lightly. “I know it’s not… And, Well, yes, we should be worried” she murmured. “If his ad execs are busy working Packard over, we should be.”

“Good. Any reason you aren’t?” Evan asked her.

Chloe breathed deeply and laid her hand on her forehead. She knew how important this account was to Evan-to everyone at Golden gate promotions. “I need you to trust me, Evan.” she said. “I’m sure that Jensen Packard wants our agency. He told me so himself, but he just doesn’t want to upset his son further and he is just trying to get him on board with the whole thing. Believe me, Jensen is interested, and soon Timothy Packard will be too… Eventually. I just need you to trust me on this. I’m sure about it and I have faith in myself.”

“Are you fifty million dollars sure, Chloe? Golden gate is small, and this kind of deal means our employees keep their jobs whereas if we continue to lose clients and accounts, I can’t make any guarantees.” said Evan.

“I know I’m asking a lot,” she said in a low voice. “But I can’t walk over to him and force him to do this. I can land this account on the ideas, Evan. I’ve spent every waking minute putting this pitch together. There’s no way he won’t go for it too. Even if he wants to be stubborn. He won’t be able to ignore the fact that my ideas are good.”

Evan was quiet for a long moment, as if thinking about what she just said. The truth was that although he was worried, he trusted her. He respected her. She loved working for him. He was hard. He was demanding. And he was the only person she’d presented her side of what had happened in her last advertising job.

“I never expected you to land the account on anything less than your brilliance, Chloe,” Evan said softly. “I hope I never gave you any other impression. I’m just worried, that’s all. I really want this, and I want it badly.”

“I know, and I appreciate your confidence in me more than you know. I won’t let you down. I won’t let Golden gate promotions down.”

Evan ran a hand through his hair and glanced once more across the room. He was still in his office even though it was late and everyone had gone home. He was tired. It was true he worked hard. The agency was everything to him, but in the last few months new lines had appeared around his eyes.

Even Chloe noticed it and more than anything, she wanted to be able to hand this account to him because he had believed in her when everyone else was willing to think the worst.

“You are still in the office, aren’t you, Evan?” she asked after a while.

“Yes I am,” Evan replied with a deep sigh. “I know… I know what you are going to say but I can’t help it, you know. It’s not as if Tina will even be glad to see me when I get home, so what’s the point. Sometimes I think she doesn’t even want me to come home”

Chloe sighed. Evan and his wife, Christina, who he fondly called Tina, had been trying to have a baby since they got married, and finally after three years of trying and waiting, Christina had gotten pregnant, only to lose the baby three months later. Christina hadn’t taken it well and it had really affected their marriage badly. Evan on the other hand had thrown himself into his work, as if trying to replace the child they had lost with something… Or anything. Anything to get rid of the pain. Anything to avoid thinking about it.

“Don’t say that now ” Chloe said, trying to reassure her friend that everything would be fine. “Go home. You and I know that Tina loves you. She is just going through a hard time. You both are and you will both be fine. Believe me, she needs you around and you need her too. Maybe you guys need to go out. You should take Christina and go dance or something. Have some fun and stop worrying for a little while. You know, just do the kind of stuff you did when you were dating. It will help you focus on something else.”

“Yeah sure,” Evan replied sarcastically. “I would like to do all those things but the woman won’t even look at me or listen to me… She definitely won’t want to go out with me. It’s almost like she blames me for what happened. But hey, I don’t want to bother you about this stuff. You have the agency to worry about already so please just focus on getting Golden gate that Account. That’s all I need you to do for me right now. I will call you on Monday to know how things went”

After Evan hung up, Chloe remained on the couch and sipped her glass of wine. She felt so sorry for Evan. He wasn’t just her boss, but a good friend, and she hated to see him so hurt and upset. Maybe she couldn’t help him with his marriage, but she could help him get this account he wanted so badly.