The second the elevator doors opened, I whirled around to see Jamie racing toward me through the crowd. There was an especially panicked look on his usually sunny face, and I found myself instinctually bracing for whatever was coming.
“Hey, Jamie, what’s—”
“Listen, Jenna, I feel terrible,” he interrupted. “Patti called me last night—realized she’d given you the summaries of the last three years, instead of just the last three months. She asked me to head over and pick up half to present myself, but Stacy got the stomach flu last night, so I was with her and didn’t hear my phone. I just got the message this morning.”
I tried to speak, to reassure him, but he wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise.
“I’m so sorry! Listen, if you come with me to Patti’s office right now, I’ll explain everything. You won’t have to give a full-on presentation today.”
“Jamie,” I couldn’t help but smile as I grabbed his shoulders to slow him down, “it’s okay—really. I got through all the information and I’m ready to go this morning.”
His face morphed into one of absolute shock. “How...is that possible?”
I shrugged casually. “I’m a fast reader.”
He was still looking at me like I’d beamed down from some backward star. “Are you—”
“Jamie!”
This time, we both jumped as our regional supervisor, Mr. Trask, came up from behind and clapped Jamie on the shoulders on his way into the staff meeting. “Great work on the DeNelven case, son. You really kept those guys on their toes.” He turned his colorless eyes to me. “Who’s this? Is this Stacy?”
Jamie flushed. “This is Jenna Harks, the newest member of Macer’s team. You met her briefly yesterday—she’ll be giving the presentation this morning on the Chinese comparison memo.” He added under his breath, “And you’ve met Stacy half a dozen times...”
“Oh, right, right. Nice to meet you, Jemma.” He caught my hand in a giant shake. “Well, good luck to you—see you in there.”
“It’s actually...um...thank you, sir,” I stammered as he disappeared inside. I turned to Jamie with a look of bewilderment, but he simply shrugged.
“Hey, at least he was close. He didn’t remember my name for the first two years I worked here, and I swear, half that time he thought I was his nephew.” He clapped me cheerfully on the shoulder and headed in himself. “Good luck—sorry again about the mix-up.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
The room was full now, and for the first time all morning, little butterflies starting fluttering away in my stomach. Talk about a make or break moment—this was it. Not only were the heads of all corporate divisions present, but I spotted the familiar white-haired faces of a few of Larchwood’s most prominent stockholders.
I pulled in a shaky breath and smoothed down my hair with nervous hands. The clock now said five minutes to eight and I was about to walk in when I caught a familiar whiff of cologne from just over my shoulder.
“We meet again.”
My eyes tightened a moment before I turned around to find myself once again standing face to face with Michael Larchwood. Unlike everyone around him, he was dressed casually, in designer jeans and a stylish leather jacket. Beautiful as he may be, he’d look more at home going to a Radiohead concert than attending a staff meeting. I was about to murmur a polite excuse and slip inside when he suddenly grinned.
“The girl who blew me off for lunch.”
I smiled in spite of myself. I couldn’t help it—his playfulness was catching. “And as I recall, she apologized profusely—but she already had other plans.”
“Uh-huh, sure.” His eyes were sparkling. “And what about after work today? Do you already have plans again?”
My breath caught in my chest. “Actually...I’m going to the gym. But you know,” I flashed an apathetic grin as I breezed inside, “maybe some other time...”
He beamed and rose to the challenge. “Count on it.”
Great, Jen. Insult the boss’ son twice in a row. Brilliant strategy.
I tried to put the thought from my mind as I walked inside and took my place behind the podium. There was enough riding on this morning without adding Michael Larchwood into the mix. I carefully avoided his eyes when he came in and sat down, and after Patti gave me the nod, I took a deep breath and began the presentation.