Page 6 of The Hang Up
Miriam turned and strode toward the boardroom. She felt confident and in control, which was pretty much par for the course when it came to work. She was hardly an expert in outdoor equipment, but she damn sure knew branding, and she knew what Urban Trax needed as a company—fresh energy, a little edge, a punch of passion.
Her brain was already churning out ad slicks and marketing copy, her imagination simmering with ideas for the TV campaign. Something understated and edgy with a touch of sex appeal and a heaping dose of outdoorsy authenticity. Think lumbersexual meets beer commercial.
Yes, that was it. A campaign ringing with the unspoken suggestion that Urban Trax products would make you play harder, live better, and walk around with a hard-on three inches bigger than the average guy.
As Miriam pushed open the door to the boardroom, her brain was echoing with the yet-to-be-created radio ads. She took two steps into the room?—
And froze.
There, at the head of the table, sat someone who practically oozed sex appeal, outdoorsy authenticity, and lumbersexual edginess.
And since she’d seen him naked in her bathroom two days ago, there was no question about those extra inches.
“Jason Sanders,” she croaked, and she stepped into the boardroom.
CHAPTER2
Jason stared dumbly at the hot brunette whose shower he’d defiled with his muddy body. He might have felt bad about the dumb staring if she weren’t doing the same thing to him.
And if his brain weren’t seared with the memory of her staring at his crotch with undisguised hunger.
“Um, Miriam?”
He watched her jump at the sound of a voice behind her, and he seized the chance to shake off his own trance. Regaining her composure, Miriam turned and looked over her shoulder at whoever was trying to get through the door. A slender woman with her dark hair in a tightly wound topknot gave Miriam a gentle nudge that propelled her into the room.
Jason offered them both a smile, then stood to greet them. “Hi, there,” he said and reached across the table to shake the new woman’s hand. Then he extended his hand to Miriam, probably lingering longer than necessary with her palm pressed against his. Touching her felt good and warm and soft and necessary, and he hated breaking contact with her.
“I’m Jason Sanders, the new CEO for Urban Trax,” he said, though she’d already spoken his name aloud. Still, it was clear the job title was news to her, and maybe she wanted to pretend she’d just read his name on the meeting agenda. Under the circumstances, he’d understand if she wanted to play it cool. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he added.
Miriam stared at him like he’d just announced plans to go hang gliding off the building’s roof. Come to think of it, that wasn’t a bad idea. The winds around here were perfect, and he hadn’t seen any power lines and if he could just get his rigging up there for?—
“Miriam,” she blurted. “Miriam Ashley. I’m one of the owners of First Impressions.”
The sleek brunette with the topknot gave her an odd look, then turned back to Jason. “And I’m Holly Colvin, the other owner. We’ve been working with the rest of your executive team for several months, but it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“The pleasure’s all mine,” Jason said, then kicked himself for sounding vaguely creepy. He still held Miriam’s hand, which probably wasn’t the best way to demonstrate to any of them that he was a polished, professional leader.
He let go and sat back down, then realized he was the only person sitting. The rest of the executives were still standing politely, waiting like proper gentlemen until the ladies had seated themselves. He started to stand again, right as the executive team sat back down, which resulted in something that looked like an accidental game of musical chairs.
A couple of members of the executive team glanced over at him, and he wondered if he was supposed to be leading this meeting or just participating. This wasn’t like a snowshoe tour where he knew exactly what he was supposed to be doing, taking charge of the scheduling and the gear and the opportunity to herd everyone out into the wilderness.
Something told him this would be a different scene. That “something” might be the fact that he was the only person at the table who wasn’t toting a laptop or a notepad or a tablet of some sort. Strike one. How the hell was he supposed to know he was expected to come here and take notes?
He glanced up to see Miriam regarding him with a funny look. She let her gaze drop to the center of the table, and for an instant he hoped she was signaling a desire to meet him underneath for a mid-meeting tryst.
Then he realized she was directing his attention to a basket filled with notepads stamped with the First Impressions logo and a pile of pens beside it. Jason gave her a silent nod of thanks, then grabbed a pen and a notebook with a red cover. He flipped it open, not entirely sure what to write in it.
“Why don’t we start with a little get-to-know-you session?” Holly suggested, smiling at everyone around the table. “Jason, since you’re the newest member of the team, we’d love to hear about how you ended up joining Urban Trax.”
“Absolutely.” He smoothed the lapels of the blazer his sister had insisted he wear. It felt stiff and much too hot, but now that he’d seen how everyone else was outfitted, he was glad he’d worn it. Beside him, the director of marketing gave him an encouraging nod.
“Right, so, for the past ten years, I’ve operated a tour company called Adrenaline Rush,” Jason said. “We offer everything from bungee jumping to whitewater kayaking to more sedate tours like snowshoeing and zip-lining.”
“Mr. Sanders started the company himself,” the marketing director boasted, and Jason made a mental note to give the guy a raise. Pete? Pete Marshall, that was it. He was still talking, so Jason shut up and let Pete sing his praises. “Mr. Sanders took his company from being a small start- up with three employees to a franchise with more than six hundred employees and twelve branches in eight Western states.”
“It’s a big part of why the company hired him,” added Rex Rutherford, the accounting director at the other end of the table. “As we’ve shared before, the Urban Trax stock has been in a bit of a free fall over the last two years. Our hope is that Mr. Sanders can help breathe new life into the company.”
The COO—Darrin Johnson, was it?—gave a curt nod. “We’re confident he can do it.”
