Page 25 of The Hang Up
“Ahhh,” Ellie said, looking Miriam up and down with an expression Miriam couldn’t quite read.Was the other woman suspicious? Maybe Jason had a history of extramarital dalliances.
Miriam cleared her throat. “I was just dropping those off, but I’d better run.”
“Is the wine for him, too?”
Miriam looked down at the bottle tucked beneath her own arm. Under the circumstances, it seemed like a much too intimate gift. “Oh—uh—this isn’t for Jason. I was just out for a walk and thought I’d?—”
“Get thirsty?”
“Right.” Miriam shifted the bottle under her arm and tried not to look too guilty. “So it was nice meeting you?—”
“Ellie.”
“Ellie, right. Have a good night. Tell Jason I said hello. Or not. Or—actually, I guess I’ll see him at work.”
With her cheeks flaming and her gut boiling with a toxic blend of hurt and anger, Miriam turned and stalked down the steps.
CHAPTER5
Jason watched from across the boardroom table as Miriam stacked a pile of papers that clearly did not need stacking. She was smiling, but the furrow between her brows looked like someone had chopped it into her forehead with a hatchet.
“Well, I believe we’ve made some excellent progress here today,” she announced with what seemed like forced cheer, making eye contact with everyone around the table.
Well, everyone but him.
Hell, she’d barely spoken to him the whole meeting, except for the occasional business-only conversation about ad campaigns and design concepts. She’d been professional enough, but definitely nothing more.
That’s what you agreed to, dumbass. Remember?
Beside him, the accounting director shifted in his seat. “So you think these dollar figures are a solid estimate of the cost of moving forward?” Rex flipped a page on one of the handouts Miriam had presented at the start of the meeting.
“I do,” she said, resting a manicured hand beside her laptop. “This sort of rebranding effort doesn’t come cheaply, but I’m certain you’ll find?—”
“I’m sorry, but our board of directors will never go for it.” Rex frowned and looked at Jason. “I know you’ve been lobbying them to take a shot with a campaign of this magnitude, but given the last round of financials we were presented, I’m not sure the time is right.”
Rex’s words hung in the air between them, and Jason filled in the blanks on his own. He knew what the tight-ass accounting director was referring to. They’d both been in the meeting Monday morning, and Jason had fought like hell to convince the board that moving forward with the plan to lay off two hundred employees wasn’t the best course of action. Not yet, anyway.
Across the table, Miriam opened her mouth to respond, but Jason beat her to it. “Actually, Rex, what I took from Monday’s meeting with the board is that they’re open to hearing creative solutions to the current financial challenges.” He glanced at Miriam, who met his gaze with an unreadable expression. He turned back to Rex and tapped the mock- up of a logo concept he’d found particularly clever. “I think what Ms. Ashley and Ms. Colvin have just shown us here is creativity at its finest.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Miriam shift in her seat. He looked back to see her cheeks looked faintly flushed and she was watching him with a guarded expression.
“Thank you,” she said tightly. “And as we’ve shown you from the case studies we presented from other First Impressions clients, we have a proven track record of helping clients make great financial strides with a few changes in the overall marketing approach.”
Rex sighed. “Be that as it may, the Urban Trax board of directors is concerned about the bottom line.”
“I’m concerned about the bottom line as well,” Jason agreed. “But I’m also concerned with the bottom line for our employees. With our commitment to them and their families.”
“Likewise.” Miriam stared at Jason from across the table. “Few things in the world are more important than commitment and loyalty to family.”
Jason nodded, surprised by the passion in her voice, but glad they were on the same page. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Rex frowned but said nothing. Jason watched as Miriam and Holly exchanged a look he couldn’t quite read. The two women seemed to have a shared language all their own, which probably explained why they ran such a successful business together.
“Well,” Holly said, taking charge of the meeting again. “It sounds like the Urban Trax executive team has a lot to discuss. We’re already over our allotted time, so we won’t keep you any longer.”
Miriam nodded and closed her laptop. “If you have any questions about what we’ve presented here today, please don’t hesitate to reach out.”
Again, Jason couldn’t help but notice she was avoiding his eyes. Was it normal post-grope awkwardness? Was she playing it cool? They’d agreed to pretend the kiss never happened, but what was going on here seemed like something more.
