Page 152 of The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles
Not because she was pretty.
Not because she was smiling brightly at me.
But because . . .
“And, Henry, this is Tasha, our new hire.”
“Henry!” Tasha smiled brightly, reaching for my hand and pulling me in for a hug. “What’s it been, two months since we last saw each other? How’s the new apartment?”
Tasha: the girl I dated in college; the girl I called on when my heart broke the minute after we’d had sex for the first time: Tasha, the girl who shattered Rosie’s beautiful soul to pieces, leaving it scattered across the apartment we used to share with Delaney.
ThatTasha.
Fuck. Shit. Fucking. Shit.
“Um, apartment is good,” I answered, bewildered, caught off guard . . . royally and utterly fucked.
“Great to hear. Gosh, I totally forgot you worked at this firm. What a coincidence.”
By the look in her eyes, I knew it wasn’t a coincidence; I was fucking confident this wasn’t a coincidence at all. This was revenge at its finest, a battle of retribution, and from the way she quirked her lip to the side, this was going to be a bloodbath.
“Yeah, ever since I graduated. Bentley Advertising Agency has been really good to me.”
“That’s great. I’m glad I can be a part of the team.”
“So, you know each other?” Darlene asked.
I went to answer, but before I could Tasha said, “We dated in college for a little bit and talked about moving in with each other a little while ago, but he dumped me for his roommate. Isn’t that right, Henry?”
I shouldn’t have expected anything less from her. Bringing this into the workplace though? Not cool. Unprofessional.How the fuck do I resurrect this?
Let the battle begin.
Adjusting my tie, since it felt like it was closing in on my throat, I answered honestly, “I was in love with someone else, and I didn’t handle it properly. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
There was absolute silence as our dirty laundry was aired for everyone to see. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about the downfall of the pitiful relationship we used to have, a relationship not even worthy of talking about.
This was awkward.
Awkward as fuck.
More awkward than if Freddy really did send Tasha his cock-mail. I would pretty much pay him anything right now to make a speedy delivery.
Darlene cut the tension. “Well, good thing we hired you for your professional experience and your ability to sell any product that comes your way rather than for your mistrials in your personal life.”
“Yes, if that was the case, Freddy would have been fired the first day on the job,” Danielle added. “But that boy is good at what he does. Such an odd bird, that one.”
Everyone but Tasha laughed. Thank God for Freddy being an idiot.
“Now that we all know each other, let’s get down to business. Shall we take our seats?”
Listening to Darlene, the group sat. I made sure to stay as far away from Tasha as possible, avoiding all eye contact as well. The more I mentally denied what was happening, the more I avoided melting into a pool of my own sweat. I knew Tasha; she could be ruthless when it came to what she wanted. I had no doubt the claws were coming out for this.
Walter passed around folders with Legacy’s label pressed on the front of them. The folder was on the higher end and I made a note of it. This was a simple folder, but if Legacy took pride in small items like folders, then they’d want the same representation for their product. Flipping to the first page, I took in the table of contents and let out a deep sigh. This was going to be one long meeting.
“The Legacy account, home of condoms, lubes, and a small department of vibrators,” Darlene started, a presentation popping up on the TV. “This is the biggest account out on the market right now, and we are going to make sure Bentley Advertising Agency wins the bid. They are looking for some fresh branding, something to make them pop on the shelves. They want to cater toward men, but also women, while using the power of social media, something they’ve never done before. That’s why we brought in Tasha. We feel she can give us a perspective on the product we might not have thought of before.”
I couldn’t help but smirk. Darlene should have said, “Tasha has used a lot of condoms in her life and can give us great knowledge on what they feel like for women.” She was a littleloosein college; she should be able to offer an in-depth perspective on condom usage.
