Page 11 of Sharing Shadow Secrets (High Five Novella #6)

L ooking at my reflection through the bathroom mirror, I shouldn’t be this nervous to call Nicholas.

I’ve been thinking about doing it since Sunday and it’s already Friday.

The push from Brandon was good. I needed it.

Internally repeating the pitch, I got this.

It’s almost nine in the morning. Is that too early to call?

I’ve just got to do it. Stop thinking about it, and just do it.

High Five will be my first account.

High Five will be my first account. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and tap Nicholas’s contact on my phone.

“Taylor,” he greets warmly.

“Nicholas, hey.”

“What’s that tone? Did we get a bad review?”

I rub my forehead. The only time I’ve ever called him out of the blue was about bad news. “No emergencies this time.”

“That’s a relief. So, what’s up?”

“I’m starting my own marketing company.” I pause, thinking there might be a response on his end, but it’s silent. “And I’d love for High Five to be my first account.”

“Do you have a non-solicitation clause in your employment agreement?”

“Um, I’m not sure. I don’t think so. A few months ago, someone left to go in-house with a client, but there wasn’t any drama,” I say, rambling a bit as I make a mental note to double-check.

“How much are you going to charge me?” he asks with a light laugh.

I smile, thinking he must like this idea. Why else would he be asking me about my rate? “The same as you’re paying now.”

“Why would I pay you the same?” His tone is less playful than the last question.

I internally panic but I have prepared for this question. “Because you’ll get better results. My scope will be larger.”

“You don’t have any overhead.”

Well, if I charged him any less, I might as well keep my job.

“Why are you trying to punish me for being efficient?”

It’s silent for a couple of seconds. “Alright, let’s do it. Assuming you can steal High Five as a client.”

“I’ll confirm.”

“I have to give thirty days’ notice, right?”

“To leave the agency, yes. That’s correct.”

Fuck yes! I’m smiling wide, excited. That was easier than I thought it would be.

“Once you confirm you can work with me, I’ll send my notice,” Nicholas says.

“Thank you! This means so much to me.”

“Taylor, my bar’s sales are higher than projected for the year because of you. You know what you’re doing. Also, Emily. If you hadn’t pressured me into wearing that Santa suit last Christmas, who knows when I would have ever asked her out?”

Nicolas will be the best first client. Smiling too much, already internally planning how I will tell my boss that I quit, I relax, lowering my shoulders. “I’ve got a lot of ideas for Halloween.”

“I’m sure you do. Can’t wait to hear them once this is all squared away.”

He hangs up, and I pull my phone from my ear, wanting to text Brandon. But I’ll wait until he texts me that he’s done with his meeting. Power couple.

You haven’t even been on one fucking date with him yet, calm down. But I can’t have a boyfriend right now. I’m about to start a company. If I’m about to take this huge financial risk, in hopes of it paying off, then it needs to be my sole focus.

Entering the West Loop office of the social media agency, I make fast steps to Benny in accounting, passing by various conversations from the sea of wall-less cubicles in the process. He’s the only person here I don’t hate.

“Yo,” I say, entering his office. He’s one of the lucky ones. There are only eight private offices in the space; everyone else works in a communal open room.

Whoever thought open floor plans aided productivity has never worked with dozens of women.

“What’s good, Taylor?”

I lower my voice, stepping closer to him. “Hypothetically …”

“This is going to be good,” he says with a cocked grin.

I nod, smiling. “If one of the accounts decided to stop working with the agency and work directly with me … would I get in trouble? Do I have a non-solicitation?”

“Sus, girl.”

I shrug, and he motions for me to shut his office door.

“Order of events is important here. Quit before you start trying to sell your business so there isn’t an argument you were doing it on company time.”

“Looks like I’m quitting today,” I whisper.

That feels better than lying. I hate keeping secrets.

Now that Nicholas is on board, I don’t want to keep this charade going.

I have enough in my checking account to go a couple of months without any income, and I need to get everything solidified.

I need to do all the things I’ve been avoiding like establishing the LLC, opening a business bank account, and all the boring stuff.

But High Five alone won’t replace my salary and benefits. I will need more accounts.

“You’re bad,” Benny mouths.

“Fuck ‘em.”

“Take me with you.” He laughs—and someday, hopefully.

One day, I might have an agency like this: a team of savvy, smart people around me. That’s the dream.