Page 24 of Gray Hair Don't Care
“I know. And I feel sick about the whole thing. I worry she’s going to be crushed.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. She’s pretty resilient.” Donovan shrugged. “Do you want me to talk to her?”
“That doesn’t feel fair to you. I’m still the boss. Shouldn’t this all fall on me?”
He walked over to grab his bag. “And I can’t help but feel that as the guy who stupidly voiced concerns over a woman with gray hair in an ad campaign, that I should be the one to tell her that despite everything, this was the right move.”
Echo pointed at him. “That is an excellent point.”
“It’ll give me a chance to tell her that I was wrong. Again.”
“Again?”
Donovan stuffed a hand into his pocket. “Yes. I also told her the day we first saw the proofs. When we saw how gorgeous she looked.”
Echo narrowed her sights on him, seeming suspicious, but then her phone rang again. “Sounds good. Catch up later?”
“Yes.” Donovan ambled down the hall, got settled in his office, and cleaned out as much of his inbox as he could while keeping an eye on the clock. At five to ten, he wandered to reception and waited for Lela. He didn’t want to risk her finding out about recent developments from anyone other than him. He might not be the most diplomatic person in the world, but he did feel as though he knew how best to handle her reaction and potentially soothe her ragged nerves.
Lela stepped off the elevator a few minutes after ten, and Donovan caught himself holding his breath. In figure-hugging jeans with heels and a silky black blouse, she was confident elegance defined. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, and she was wearing swingy silver earrings that showed off the brilliant blue of her eyes.
“How’s Rio?” he asked, getting up from the couch.
“Fine. Just a checkup.” She narrowed her eyes and scanned the reception area. “Are you waiting for someone?”
“You, actually.”
“Let me guess. Is this about the campaign?”
Donovan’s eyes darted all over the room. Luckily, no one seemed to hear what she’d said. “You know?”
“Obviously, you do.” Her words came out like an accusation, but if the roles had been reversed, he would’ve been thinking something was up, too. Before today, he’d gone out of his way to give her space at work. Possibly too far out of his way.
“Can we talk about this somewhere with a little more privacy?”
“My office?”
“Sure.”
Lela led the way, closing the door behind them once they were inside. She’d done an awesome job with decorating her office. It was fun and bright, with lots of teal, aqua, and brass. “I figured Echo would be the one to tell me about this.”
“How did you find out?”
“I saw something on the news about it.”
“The news?” He didn’t let on that he found this an exciting prospect. If journalists had picked up on the story, that might be a good thing. Any free publicity, good or bad, could be beneficial. “Are you doing okay? Because you seem like you’re fine.”
She shook her head. “No. Of course not. It’s mortifying. I never wanted this kind of attention. Ever.” Despite her words, her voice was remarkably steady. “But it also pisses me off. I’m fifty. People are acting like a freaking mummy posed for those pictures. And I’m sorry, but I look pretty damn good.”
Donovan loved everything about her reaction to this—the fact that it had lit a fire in her rather than letting it defeat her. “You look better than good. You look amazing.”So amazing that I have to take a different route to work.
“What is Echo saying about it?”
“We just had a quick meeting, took a look at the sales numbers, which are promising in several markets. I told her that I think it’s way too early to back down. If anything, I think we should expand the campaign into a few larger secondary markets. We need to do some analysis, but off the top of my head, I’m thinking Denver, Portland, and St. Louis. Maybe Raleigh-Durham and Baltimore.”
Lela nodded slowly, the gears in her head clearly turning. She’d learned quite a lot about the sales and marketing side since coming on board. “Okay. Yeah. If Echo’s cool with it, I say we plow full steam ahead.”
Donovan was excited by the prospect. He liked the idea of taking on the world with his two favorite women. “Echo will be really happy to hear you feel this way.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “I should go. I have a conference call in a few minutes.” He headed for the door.
