as he wanted to relive every moment he’d spent with Emerson, he wasn’t sure he wanted to go bragging about his adventure in New York. This woman was special, and he didn’t want to cheapen their time together by feeding the juicy details to Max, who very likely didn’t even care. Despite his reluctance to talk about her, though, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was talking or at least thinking about him and the amazing night they’d spent in his bed.
Chapter Seven
Emmy had never been so nervous when speaking to Frank Eckert before. She’d worked with him for years and always found him to be forthright, fair, and decent, but this morning, she felt like a kid being called into the principal’s office.
She’d been thrilled and flattered when he’d designated her as the lead decision-maker for the national ad campaign. “You’ve proven over the years that you know what our customers want,” he’d told her. “You see things from a unique point of view, and I think your mix of intelligence and compassion is exactly what we need to help us mold this campaign.”
She’d never doubted him, and she’d never doubted herself until this morning.
With a wan smile for Frank’s secretary Terry, she scooped up her notes and walked into Frank’s office. He stood at the sideboard pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Good morning, Emmy. How was your flight back?”
“It was fine.” Lonely without Jared, but fine. “The weather held.”
“Coffee?”
“No, thanks. I’m already jittery this morning.”
“Why?” Frank sat down at his desk. “You’re not the nervous type.”
“Well, this is a big project, and I want to do the best I can. So I want to propose a little bit of a change in the agenda, if you don’t mind.”
Concern crossed Frank’s face. He set his coffee down and steepled his hands in front of him. “What do you have in mind?”
Emmy took a deep breath and outlined her recommendation that the final decision on the ad campaign be a joint one, not because she hadn’t made a decision, but because she felt the two best candidates’ presentations were both excellent, and she wanted to be a hundred percent sure she made the right choice for TCL. “I really think Mr. Todd should see both the presentation from DenMar Reese and the one from Metro Ads because the difference between them could represent a major development point in the long run,” she concluded, her pulse racing.
Frank studied her reports for a minute, shifting papers around and making some notes of his own. Finally he looked up at her. “I’m impressed.”
“You are?”
“Yes. I expected you to hand me a decision, black and white, case closed, and I was prepared to accept that decision because as I said before, I think you know what our customers want. We can’t go national if we can’t make customers happy. But I’m pleased that you put a little more thought into this decision than just a knee-jerk response to whichever campaign struck you as the coolest or the funniest or whatever emotion they were going for. The subtleties are important. The fact that you think a few words or a couple of phrases or targeting one demographic over another could make a serious difference in the public’s overall perception of TCL means you see the bigger picture. I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m going to speak to Mr. Todd, and I want you to set up appointments with DenMar and Metro as soon as possible so we can compare and contrast their campaigns.”
Emerson thought she might faint for a moment. “Excellent. I’ll contact them right away and get that set up.” She rose just a little unsteadily and straightened her suit jacket.
Frank grinned at her from his seat. “Nice work, Emmy. I’m very pleased.”
“Thanks…I’m…so am I.”
She left Frank’s office on cloud nine. Now she’d have backup, and she wouldn’t have to doubt her instincts. It still bothered her that she was afraid she might be playing