A Curve Ball Called Love

“What the hell…” Tiffany shook her head. “We really should not be representing this man or his business.”

“That’s exactly what I thought when I saw that,” Ian said.

“Right?” She shook her head. “What the hell is he thinking posing next to an endangered animal? I mean, he does know that the old ‘I didn’t do it’ defense isn’t going to work for this one, right?.”

“He’s the dairy king of America, I think he believes all the money he pays in billable hours to Entity and his lawyers will be enough to get him out of this and every mess that he gets in.”

Tiffany rubbed her temple and sighed loudly.

“I swear, this man is going to give me an ulcer… this is borderline crazy! Why the hell would he do this at a time when the world is looking away from the ivory trade—” She shook her head. “I don’t have time to deal with this right now, Ian. Let me just get to this meeting and then talk to Virginia about the dairy king of America.”

Ian nodded.

“I’ll prepare the necessary paperwork.”

“I appreciate it, Ian.”

Tiffany took a long, deep breath and walked out of her office. She couldn’t help but think about all the times she’d worked long hours with a small team that was equally tired of Xavier Morrison’s antics. Her boss worked hard to make sure that they retained the client as his account was worth at least ten million dollars annually. That wasn’t a figure that her superiors could take lightly. It was people like him that kept the lights on in that place.

I really need a vacation, she thought as she made her way to the boardroom.

She couldn’t help but wonder if everything was alright when she walked in. This was no regular meeting. It was more than that. Entity partners were there as were all the account managers—the only other people close enough to make partner in that place. She took a seat and looked around the table, wondering what was going on. The tension in the boardroom was so loud that Tiffany began feeling uncomfortable. She wondered if she’d just walked into a trap—like the people who had run to the Titanic only to be running to their deaths.

“If somebody’s getting fired, then it isn’t going to be me, she thought. I bring in more business than any other account manager, after all.”

It was hard for her to have that thought without feeling the need to beat her chest about it. Maybe it was the tension in the room that had her all messed up. Maggie sat down next to her and leaned in to whisper to her.

“I saw the Xavier Morrison post. I am so sorry.”

“Hey, it’s people like him that keep us employed right?” Tiffany said softly.

“Yes, but they shouldn’t make us work so hard for the checks.”

“I know, right?”

“I have been working with these kids running this soda company,” Maggie went on.

“The artisanal beverage thing?” Tiffany asked and Maggie nodded.

“Yeah, exactly. I remember looking at them during the first meeting and wondering, what the hell is wrong with good old Pepsi or Coca-Cola, right?”

Tiffany smiled. She could recall a little too well the day she found Maggie trying to come up with the right PR campaign for a beverage that would retail for a ridiculously high price in a country that thrived on deep fried food and sugary snacks.

“It took some time but we still managed to get a market for their artisanal soda—because apparently, New Zealand is more conscious of their food choices than America,” Maggie explained and Tiffany shrugged.

“I don’t understand. Where are you going with all this?”

“If I found a way to get an entire country to stock their shelves and vending machines to buy thirty-dollar sodas, then you can work out a way to make Xavier Morrison look like America’s dairy king once more.”

Tiffany took a long, deep breath.

“I don’t know… I mean, even selling him as the dairy king was a problem until we agreed to have representatives from PETA visit his farms just to make sure that his operation was cruelty-free.”

Maggie nodded.

“I know.”

Tiffany rubbed her temple.

“You’re Tiffany Meyers. You’ll work this out sooner than you think. I promise.”

 It seemed like forever before her boss finally walked into the room in the company of shareholders. That was when Tiffany realized that something was really wrong. She clenched her fist tightly and felt her heart skip a beat. If she didn’t already know how serious the meeting was, the realization had just hit her.

“By the way, do you know what this is all about?” Maggie asked in a whisper.

Tiffany shook her head “Hell if I know.”

Tiffany didn’t know if Maggie could see just how tense she was. The way she was tapping her pen softly on her notepad told the whole story. She had every right to be, anyway. After all, the last time they’d been to a meeting with all the partners, it was to make an announcement on how many people were being let go and why.

“Alright, everyone’s here so, we can start,” Virginia said as she looked around the large boardroom. “I’m sorry we had to call this meeting so suddenly…I’m sure I have disrupted a lot of your schedules.”

“Very much so,” Jonah Willis, one of the partners said.

He was one of those people Tiffany looked at and wondered how they even got through their days. For him, there was no such thing as chivalry. It was just his way or no way. Tiffany hated being in the same space as him. She was sure everyone hated being in the same space as him. It was actually surprising that he was still part of the firm because if Tiffany had her way, she would have preferred to get him out of the company sooner than later.

“So, I know that we’re all hands on deck with Xavier Morrison and the two new accounts from the political world, thanks to Lauren Salinger,” Virginia went on before the room erupted in a series of low applause. “But to the business at hand.”

“We’re all waiting to hear what said business is, Virginia,” Jonah said in a condescending tone.

Tiffany noticed the dirty look her boss shot him. In the back of her mind, Tiffany and everyone else at Entity knew that Virginia could have been rid of Jonah Willis a long time ago, but somehow he always seemed to hold on to his little percentage of the company. Sometimes Tiffany thought Jonah just did it to piss Virginia off. Their s*xual tension was Entity’s worst kept secret.

“Simmer down, Willis. I’m getting to it,” Virginia continued. “Now, with the two new clients Lauren has brought in, we need to be especially vigilant with how we handle the publicity. Unfortunately, politicians make some of the worst clients but at the same time, they make for excellent billable hours. So, Lauren, save for Tiffany who I want for another project, I would like you to partner up with Marley and get your own teams. The councilman is looking to be the next mayor so, work with his team and make him look good but the governor is a whole new story so Lauren, since you got the ball rolling, I would like you to personally hand-pick your team. In case the rest of you didn’t know, Governor Ben Ashby the second has somehow found himself caught up in the latest racism saga and this is coming barely weeks after his lowest popularity ratings because of the gun issue.” She looked up from her iPad. “So, get to it. I would like to remain with the partners, Tiffany, Maggie and Kenneth.”