A Curve Ball Called Love

Chapter 4

Douglas didn’t really have much to do in his new office. He wasn’t so sure what he was expecting to get once he got into Entity. Somehow, he thought he was just going to settle in a role once he got an office at Entity but once he was there, he figured out that running a media powerhouse was a lot harder than acquiring a club. With a club all he had to do was show up. All the other staff members did the same and business just seemed to roll on as easily as ever. All there was to do in a club was maintain the alcohol flow and hot wings. Everything else just seemed to fall into place a little too naturally. But things were different at Entity. There were so many departments and each department had a mountain of duties. So far, he’d only gotten his mind wrapped around the way things moved from the photography desk to the print department and even that was painstakingly difficult to understand. The photo editing process alone was just too much for him to understand. He didn’t know what it was about Entity but being at the office seemed to make things more difficult and it was killing him. Especially when he saw a pissed-off looking Tiffany walking towards his office.

I wonder if this is why they have glass walls in this place. So that you can see just how angry you’ve made the higher ups, he thought as she walked towards his door.

Even in the moment where he should have been thinking of nothing else but work, he found himself fixated on her outfit. The way she seemed to pull off that blue elbow-sleeved knee-length dress and a pair of maroon stilettos ever so perfectly. And her hair….the way she held it in a side bun, every last strand of hair sleeked down to give her that perfect Meghan Markle look complete with a purple lipstick pout.

She’s gorgeous, he thought just as she waked into his office.

“We need to talk,” she said as she held up her iPad. “You, sir, are all over the news.”

***

Tiffany was used to handling breaking news. Especially news that wasn’t in her favor. So, dealing with trouble Douglas had created came naturally to her.

“About that…I should probably apologize,” Douglas started when Tiffany closed the door behind her.

“Oh, you should be doing more than simply apologizing.” She walked to the desk and put the iPad down. “I know that as the head of the public relations department in this place, I should be used to things like this happening on a regular basis, but no. I’m not used to it. I like it when the people I represent do what I tell them to. It makes my work easier, which means that I get to visit my GP a whole lot less, which as a result doesn’t drive up my insurance premiums.”

Douglas was just looking at her. Staring at her really.

“You need to maintain a low profile, Mr. Ingram. For your sake and for the sake of this company,” Tiffany went on. “Remember, I told you that if you did anything to put this company in jeopardy I would be on Entity’s side and not yours?”

“Yes, but…” he started and she put up a finger, silencing him.

“I have every reason to believe your taking over Vincent’s office had everything to do with this.” She picked up her iPad. “When I tell you that you need to maintain a low profile, it isn’t just out there but in here as well. It’s important for this new work dynamic.”

Douglas nodded.

“Understood.”

“Good. Just don’t let it happen again.”

She turned around and began walking out when Douglas called her name, making her stop in her tracks and turn around to look at him.

“Yes?”

“How did you handle it?” he asked. “Because, usually I would have had a number of calls from reporters trolling me for a comment or something.”

“You’re not getting those calls because I did my job. They’re calling me instead,” she said. “I had IT reroute all your calls to the switch board.”

“What about the questions… I mean, there must be like a million questions floating around. The last headline just screamed that I was out of control.”

“I spun that to having a new owner who likes to be hands-on with his business, which is a big deal because most trust fund brats don’t know the first thing about running a business,” she said without batting an eyelid.

“Did you just call me a trust fund brat?” Doug asked and she shrugged.

“Of course I didn’t but if the shoe fits, go to town, right?”

Tiffany turned around and walked out of his office. She exhaled loudly when she finally got to her office and sat down. She’d barely been there for two minutes when her phone rang. She reached for it and a smile played on her lips when she saw Lauren’s name on the screen.

“How did I know I would be hearing from you so soon?”

Lauren laughed.

“Well, it was inevitable. After all, I’m doing you a solid by running a story without all the facts.”

“You never ask for all the facts,” Tiffany said. “What’s changed this time round?”

“For starters, this is a hot topic. Everyone wants to know what billionaire playboy Douglas Ingram is up to and somehow he’s just managed to drop himself in your lap. Immersed himself in your business and barely forty-eight hours later, he’s managed to attract the wrong attention,” Lauren started and Tiffany shrugged.

“I still don’t see what the big deal is here,” she pointed out.

“The big deal is that you rushed to spin the narrative a little too fast. It makes me think that there’s more to the story.”

Tiffany smiled.

“You know very well that I cannot talk about that, right?”

“So, off the record?” Lauren pressed.

“Sure. Once things settle down, of course. You know you’re always my first call for an exclusive right?”

Lauren giggled.

“This is one exclusive I’m looking forward to.”

“Thanks for your understanding as usual.”

“As usual, I insist that you owe me.”

It was Tiffany’s turn to giggle.

“Like you would ever let me forget it.”

When she hang up, she leaned back and began racking her brain on how she could regain the board’s favor for Douglas. She had to work fast or they would lose advertisers for the upcoming issue. Entity had already had a tough run over the last few years and with long-term clients like Xavier Morrison, the magazine barely managed to make a dent in the financing. The company managed to maintain their heads above water for the most part but it wasn’t easy. For everything to work out, she always needed to be on her toes and with Douglas, she had to think harder than usual.

It didn’t take too long for her to call Ian into her office.

“Find out what kind of properties Douglas Ingram has around here. I need something that will impress the partners,” she started as Ian took down some notes.

“What kind of impression are you looking to make?” he asked.