Page 85 of Forty, Flirty & Framed

What I don't say?

I need this to go well because every success buys me credibility, and credibility might be my only defense when the credential house of cards inevitably collapses.

"It will," he assures me, just as Alana appears in the doorway.

"Conference room is ready," she announces."The board is connecting in five minutes, and Mr.MacTavish's team will join at 10:30 for the second half."

My gut tightens."MacTavish's team?That wasn't on the agenda."

"Last-minute addition," Alana explains."Duncan wanted his marketing division to 'observe our damage control strategy.'His words, not mine."

"Fantastic," I mutter."Nothing like presenting to your future corporate overlords while they evaluate whether to keep you post-acquisition."

"They're not our overlords," Callum tells me, his accent thickening slightly as it does when he's irritated."And the decision to retain talent will be mine, not theirs."

There's a possessive edge to his voice that sends an inappropriate thrill through me.

I squash it immediately.

"Right.Let's do this."I gather my notes and head for the conference room, back straight, chin up, internal screaming carefully contained.

The board members appear one by one on the massive screen—eight squares of power suits and neutral expressions.

I recognize most from the company website, though I've only met three in person.

Callum makes brief introductions before turning to me."And this is Karina Peters, our Marketing Director.As you know from her impressive background at Drake Communications and Stellar Digital, she brings extensive experience in crisis management and brand rehabilitation."

My blood runs cold at the mention of companies where I've never actually worked.

The fabricated credentials sound so natural coming from him, so believable.

For a moment, I almost believe them myself.

"Ms.Peters," the board chair acknowledges."We're eager to see how you've managed the...unusual publicity."

I force a smile and launch into my presentation, clicking through slides that show engagement metrics, brand awareness tracking, and sentiment analysis.

The numbers don't lie.

Despite the absurdity of #KiltedCasanova, overall brand recognition has increased 47% among key demographics.

"While the initial viral content was...unorthodox," I explain, careful to avoid any suggestion of blame, "we've successfully redirected the narrative toward Abernathy Corp's core values of protection and security.The 'Guardian' messaging has resulted in a 32% increase in positive brand association among potential clients."

The board members nod along, clearly impressed.Even Callum looks surprised at some of the positive metrics.

"Impressive turnaround," one board member admits."Though I still can't explain this to my wife without her giggling."

"At least she remembers the company name now," another points out dryly.

I'm just starting to relax when Alana signals that the MacTavish team is joining.

The screen reconfigures to add four new boxes, and I nearly choke on my water.

The lead MacTavish executive—a dour man named Ferguson I've met at industry events—is wearing a novelty kilt tie.

Not subtly, either.

It's a garish red tartan with a tiny sporran detail at the bottom.