Page 11 of Perfect Fit
The consultant we’re planning to hire is the Carlisle Group. Today is our first in-person meeting, and if all goes well, we’ll sign the contracts. The guy I’ve been emailing with is named Kyle. (In my head, I’ve been calling him Carlisle Kyle.)
“Josephine,” Kyle says, shaking my hand as he and his two coworkers enter our boardroom. His hand softens around mine but doesn’t let go, almost like he’s just… holding it. Immediate ick. “Good to meet you in person.”
“Likewise,” I say brightly, taking my hand back. I point at three chairs near the front of the long table. “Saved you the best seats in the house.”
One of the others—perhaps Carlisle Lyle—winks as he passes. I roll out my neck, shutting the glass door to the boardroom, and exchange a goofy, unserious look with Cami as I make my way to the front.
Most of the eyes in this room are warm and encouraging. These peopleknowme. It’s only the Carlisles I need to impress.
I take a sip of my water as the chatter softens. Then I hear a knock on the glass door.
I turn my head, squinting, and make out the outline of a man beyond the wall. It takes me a second to place him from this distance, but yep—
That’s Will fucking Grant, all right.
He has one palm pushed flat against the glass, one leg hooked behind the other. When our eyes lock, his face turns just enough to paint itself in the colors of my presentation theme, reflecting onto his skin. Orange and pink and soft, dusty blue.
His face conveys nothing. He just leans there, waiting for me.
What time is your presentation?
“Um.” I blink, shaking my head, and then address the room. Only half of them hear me, the other half still making introductions. “One moment, please.”
My heels click back over to the door. I feel dizzier and dizzier the more Will comes into focus. A clarity rocks me as I register the clothes he’s dressed in; he’s wearing the samples like they were made for him.
And the tiny Band-Aid is still stuck to his upper cheekbone.
I pull open the door, step outside into the deserted hallway.
“I’m gonna talk really fast, okay?” he says.
I gape at him, stunned. “Okay.”
I don’t know whether to feel angry or confused or bewildered or all three. WillknewI was busy right now. Exactly right now. Unless this is an emergency—
“I’m the reason you were quoted such a high rate when you approached Ellis about working together.”
His words make me immediately nauseous.
“Why?” I bite out.
His face contorts. His voice comes out hollow. “They wanted me for the job since I’m the newest and often work with start-ups your size. But I told my boss we knew each other, and I didn’t think itwas…” He blushes and drops eye contact. “I told my boss it was not a good idea. So, they offered your business to a different consultant who charges more because of his experience level.”
I should be angry—I should besoangry—but instead I’m just embarrassed, ashamed.
Not a good idea. You, Josie, are not a good idea.
“You needed to get that off your chestright this minute?” I hiss.
Will’s expression is urgency swirled up in a cocktail of regret. “The best way I know how to apologize is to fix it, Josie.”
“How,” I ask, “are you planning to fix this?”
He swallows thickly. “I spent the last three hours studying Revenant in between my other meetings. I know every public detail about your business back to front. I would have done this later, but my flight back to New York is in a few hours, and I knew your other consultant option was here, so I figured it was now or never.” He nods at the room. “I also had a feeling it was Carlisle, and I can’t in good conscience let you settle for them.”
“Oh,nowyour conscience has something to say?”
“I amsosorry, Josie. You have no idea how sorry I am.” He pauses, then inhales to go on, his voice scraping out of him fast and urgent. “I’ll sign a nondisclosure if you let me listen to your presentation, even if you turn me down afterward. But I hope you choose me. Not because you owe me anything, but because you’ll get Ellis on your payroll for cheaper. And I will work harder for you than I have ever worked on anything to make up for this.”
