Page 36 of Nothing to This

“Oh, uh.Fine, yeah.But note to you, if you want to send me to brief and scold my old boss, you might want to warn the guy that I’ll be the one coming to the meeting.”

Her presentation was ready to go, so she turned to face him again.

He still scribbled away.“I’m sure you did fine.”

“I did.That’s not the problem.I wrangle two four-year-olds on a daily basis, I can handle one forty-year-old.But I am starting to feel less like an executive assistant and more like a marketing director.”She slid a file from the front of her laptop case.“I reviewed the marketing plan you sent me.”

He stopped writing to make eye contact.Finally.“And?”

“You have more money than sense,” she said, taking it to the desk to open the file.“I did a cost-benefit of the new plan versus the old one.While there are plenty of good opportunities to be had, I don’t think throwing money at the problem will have the desired effect.”

“So you suggest…” he asked, picking up the file to peruse her work.

“Slow and steady,” she said, snagging a pen from his desk.“We shouldn’t make sweeping changes up front.Think of it as a soft opening.Leak some details of the new strategy, ease the transition from old to new.You’ll find that puts a lot of staff at ease as well as shoring up the current customer base.If you go in too hard and heavy with this relaunch, people will spook and bolt or assume it’s out with the old… We don’t want our current clients to feel undervalued.Once we have them used to the idea and they’re familiar with the new brand, then we have a private launch.For existing clients and staff only, previewing the changes before the big relaunch to attract new customers.It makes everyone in our existing network feel like part of the team.If they think of us positively, they’ll recommend us to others.I don’t have to tell you that positive word of mouth is still every corporation’s best friend.”

As his gaze ascended to hers over the top of the file, the edge of his mouth sloped up.“You’re sexy as hell.”

Smirking, she pointed the pen at him.“That’s sexual harassment.I reviewed the handbook when I caught you checking out my ass the other day.”

“The other day…” he said, mimicking her, “you unbuttoned my shirt.”

“That was at home, it doesn’t count, and you were lopsided.”

“Sky did my buttons.”

Her smile became a grin.“There’s something sweet about a father who’d leave his shirt buttons lopsided all day so as not to offend his daughter.”

“Have you seen our daughter when she’s offended?”he asked and blew out a sarcastic breath.“She’s a force to be reckoned with… she takes after her mommy.”

“And Mommy couldn’t be prouder.My daughter won’t take shit from anybody, especially a man.”

“And our son?We’ll let him be pushed around?”

“If you think our son is easily manipulated, you haven’t been paying attention.That boy is smart as a tack.”She went around the desk to slide a hip on it.“He does that thing you do.”

JD leaned back in his chair, rocking side to side, innocent amusement written on his face.“What do I do?”

“You know.That stay quiet, intimidate everyone by not letting them know what you’re thinking thing.”

“Intimidate?”he asked, leaning toward her, propping an elbow on the desk.“Do I intimidate you, Siren?”

“Me?”she asked, raising her brows.“No, not me.But you do drive me nuts when you don’t tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Sometimes I do that for your own good.”

She laughed.“What does that mean?”

The office door opened, drawing both of their attention.Greg and Jim came in together.

“Gentlemen,” JD said.“Didn’t your mothers ever tell you it’s rude to keep a lady waiting?”

“Don’t worry about it, Overlord,” she said, hopping off the desk, laying a hand on his shoulder.

Going around the back of his chair on her return to the easel, her hand slid across his shoulders.His met hers there for the second or two it took her to move out of reach.

Greg and Jim turned the seats from JD’s desk to face her as she picked up the remote from beside her laptop to dim the lights.

“Are we ready to begin?”