First Impressions: The Fix Up Part 11

Christ, why were they talking to each other like strangers? He knew what kind of panties she wore and how she made this soft little mewling sound right before she came.

Don't think about that, don't think about that, don't think about- "Listen, Holly. You know that Kleinberger presentation I told you about?"

"Of course."

"The timeline just changed, and so did my role in it."

"How do you mean?"

"Instead of just preparing the presentation, I now have to give it. As in public speaking. Not my favorite thing."

"Ah," she said, her voice warm and soothing. "Did you know that for most people, a fear of public speaking ranks above fear of death, spiders, heights, and confined s.p.a.ces?"

"So you're saying most people would rather be trapped in a casket full of spiders and hoisted onto a rooftop than give this presentation I just got asked to deliver?"

Holly laughed, and Ben pictured the soft dimple in her right cheek, the one that only appeared when she smiled really wide. He loved that d.a.m.n dimple.

"So tell me about this presentation," she said, clearing her throat. "What's the topic?"

"Razzle-dazzle, apparently. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to throw glitter or juggle sparklers."

"Let's save those for the end of the presentation. Is there a topic?"

"The main focus is on some new products we manufacture that would be perfect for this client."

"You have data to back that up?"

"Of course. It's not the material I'm hung up on. It's the pizazz. The schmooze. The pa.s.sionate delivery. None of that is my forte."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I think you've got pa.s.sionate delivery nailed."

Ben blinked, surprised by her boldness. Apparently, Holly was surprised, too, since the next words out of her mouth were a stammered jumble of syllables.

"I, uh-I didn't-I mean, that came out wrong. I meant the other night."

"Right," Ben said as he felt a slow smile creep across his face.

"At the event," she said, rushing her words together. "I heard you talking with the VP of human resources about your proposal to donate a portion of the company's proceeds to the American Cancer Society, and you sounded very pa.s.sionate about that. And about Langley's bioengineering division. And about bad sci-fi movies. You were very pa.s.sionate about all that."

Ben pictured her sitting at her desk with her dark hair pinned on top of her head and her odd lavender-gray eyes darting around as she tried to regain her professional composure. He should probably throw her a rope, but listening to her fumble was almost as endearing as knowing d.a.m.n well she'd been thinking about the other night as much as he had.

"I'm pa.s.sionate about some things," Ben said. "The things that matter. The things that give me a good reason to perfect my technique."

"Right. Um, when did you want to meet? I have an opening next Monday around three."

"Yeah, see, that's the problem. They moved up the timeline."

"How soon?"

"The presentation is Friday."

"Wow. Okay-um, how much public speaking have you done?"

"Do you want to count the acceptance speech I gave when I won the national chess tournament at age eight?"

"Sure."

"Then once."

"Oh." She was quiet a moment, and Ben wondered if she was consulting her schedule or pondering the magnitude of his geekery. Maybe both.

She cleared her throat. "Okay, if I reschedule my four o'clock and skip out on tonight's team dinner-"

"I don't want you to miss a team dinner on account of me."

"No, it's fine. Miriam-that's my business partner-she and I take turns running them each month. This one is hers anyway."

"Okay then. Do you want to come to my place?"

"No!" She couldn't have sounded more alarmed if he'd asked her to go nude skydiving as an exercise in a.s.sertiveness. She must have recognized it, too, because she softened her voice. "I mean-I think it would be more professional if we meet at one of our offices."

"You've seen mine. How about you show me yours?"

"Um-"

"Office, Holly. Show me your office."

"Of course," she said, sounding fl.u.s.tered. "I knew what you meant."

Okay, so he was teasing her on purpose now. Dammit, it felt good. Testing the waters, owning the moment, being a.s.sertive-weren't those all things a good CEO did naturally? It might not feel natural to him yet in the boardroom, but when it came to flirting with Holly, he was starting to get the hang of it.

He heard a tapping sound, and pictured her drumming a pen on her desk in a nervous rhythm. "Let's do my place. The office will be deserted after four thirty, since we're bussing the whole staff out to a big resort for the dinner. Might be the first time in history no one at First Impressions is working late."

"Except for you."

"Except for me."

"Well, Holly, I'm glad to be your exception. See you this evening."

Ben hung up, wishing like h.e.l.l he could be her exception in every way possible.

Holly spent the last two hours of her workday fluctuating between two extremes. On one hand, she felt panicky about nailing this job with Ben and paying off the bank. She was used to handling pressure in her career, but unaccustomed to having a ticking clock dangling over her head, a perpetual reminder of what she stood to lose if she didn't succeed in her rebranding efforts with Ben.

On the other hand, she couldn't stop thinking about Ben. Not just about what his business could mean for the financial future of her company, but about his hands and lips and a lot of other body parts she couldn't stop picturing in her mind.

So when he walked through the door at four thirty-five wearing one of his new shirts and a well-cut pair of trousers, it was annoying to find herself staring slack-jawed at the man whose thumb prints were still on her thighs.

She closed her mouth and took a step forward, extending her hand. "Ben-so good to see you again. Welcome to First Impressions Public Relations and Branding."

He gave her an odd look, but he took her hand anyway. He shook it a few times but didn't let go as he surveyed the lobby and reception area. "Wow, this place is beautiful. Very hip. I love the galvanized steel wall."

"Thank you." Holly glanced down at their linked fingers and wondered if he realized he hadn't broken the handshake yet. She sure as h.e.l.l wasn't going to be the one to tell him. "I chose all the slate myself, and the furniture is all mid-century modern stuff I found in flea markets and retro consignment shops."

"I love those chairs."

"Thanks. The couch is my favorite. It looks like something you'd see on Mad Men, doesn't it?" She gestured toward the orange leather sofa with her free hand, part of her hoping Ben didn't let go of her other one anytime soon. "There's another one that's similar in the conference room. Would you like a tour before we get started?"

"I'd love one. This is great getting to see where you work. How long have you been in PR?"

"Most of my career. I got my degree in marketing, but I was always drawn to the branding and public relations aspect of it."

"How come?"

"There's something inspiring about being a cheerleader for a product or service I really believe in. About making sure other people have the opportunity to see it the way I do, and recognize its true potential."

He grinned. "I like the idea that I'm now one of your products or services."

"It is a little weird for me," she admitted, though the weird part wasn't the job itself. It was the fact that being around Ben now made her feel like a middle school girl with her first crush.

G.o.d, this was inconvenient.

"Did you say you started the company?" he asked.

"Yes. With my friend, Miriam."

"Did you have a lot of investors?"

"No." Holly bit her lip, kicking herself for not having investors or for not figuring out a way to shoulder the business mortgage all by herself. Or maybe she could have just leased a piece of property- "Miriam's my business partner," she said, forcing her mind back to the conversation at hand. "She's also a brilliant branding specialist. She started out as a graphic designer and she's got a great eye for color and design."

"I'd love to meet her sometime."

"She's the one I consulted before we went shopping with you the other night. In a roundabout way, she's responsible for dressing you."

"Only fair, since you're responsible for undressing me." He grimaced. "I meant the zipper. Helping me fix the zipper-"

"It's okay, I knew what you meant." Holly felt the heat creeping into her cheeks, so she turned toward the lobby to continue the tour. "We offer a wide range of marketing services at First Impressions, but branding and rebranding is our specialty."

"Are these all awards you've won?"

She nodded toward the plaques and certificates on the wall, feeling a swell of pride in her belly. "We have a very talented team here."

"I can see that."

Something about his interest in her career left her wondering whether Chase had ever shown this much curiosity about her job. At one point not long after their honeymoon, he'd stopped by her office to take her to lunch and spent an hour visiting with her employees. At first, Holly had been thrilled with the attention, delighted by his interest in her career and his effort to get to know the people who made up her circle of friends and professional acquaintances.

It wasn't until later she'd realized he'd been snooping around for ammunition, eager to prove to Holly that she needed to cut back her hours.

"Marla in payroll said you've been very supportive of her choice to work part-time after having a baby," Chase had said later, twining his fingers through her hair to loosen her chignon.

"Her name is Mara," Holly had replied slowly, wondering why he'd taken an interest. "But yes, I helped her work out a job-share arrangement with another payroll specialist who also wanted to work part-time. It's gone well so far."

"Hmm," Chase had murmured. "So hypothetically speaking, you're in support of a woman putting her family first before her career."

"Of course," Holly said a little too quickly. "Or finding a way to balance the two-it's up to the individual woman, of course." She remembered the sinking feeling in her gut, the knowledge of what was coming next.

"So you're saying family isn't important to you personally?" Chase had challenged.

"Wow, are these ad concepts something you guys came up with?"

Ben's deep voice jarred Holly from the unpleasant trip down memory lane. She blinked, then followed his gaze to the magnetic board covered with a colorful array of ad slicks. He pointed to one, and she nodded, pleased to see he'd zeroed in on the concept she'd personally developed.

"Yes, that's for a new advertising campaign we've been working on for a kombucha brewer that's suddenly getting national media attention. These were mock-ups for a print campaign we showed them this morning."

"Did they like it?"

"Very much. The whole team invested a lot into the pitch, and the company owners could tell."

"Which one's yours?"

Holly shrugged. "Everything is a team effort around here. No one person gets credit for a concept or a pitch."

Ben grinned and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Sure, but just between you and me, I'm betting one of these has a little more of you in it."

She hesitated, then leaned past him to point at one of the ad slicks, conscious of the heat radiating from his body. "That one right there. The one with the dog and the grapes."

"I thought so. Very clever. It looks like something you'd come up with."

She smiled, pretty sure it was the first time someone she'd known less than a week had been able to pick her work out of a lineup. "Thank you." She cleared her throat. "Shall we get started on the speech coaching?"

He turned to face her, his expression somewhere between resignation and amus.e.m.e.nt. "You mean you didn't invite me here to ogle your-work?"

"You're welcome to ogle my-work-all you want. But our time might be better spent if you do it while I'm offering you tips on public speaking."

"All right then. Shall we do it right here?"

"Let's move to the conference room." She led the way, conscious of Ben falling into step behind her. She'd worn her hair up in a chignon, and the exposed nape of her neck tingled with the thought of his breath on her bare skin.

She rounded the corner and halted just inside the conference room, then turned to Ben and gestured for him to join her. "I imagine this might be a similar s.p.a.ce to the one where you'll be presenting?"

He stepped past her and nodded as he surveyed the room. "Langley Enterprises doesn't have a cool purple conference room table, but yes-the setup is probably pretty similar. Whiteboard, giant presentation screen, a big, ominous table with way too many chairs for way too many people."

"Haven't you heard that old public speaking tip about picturing your audience in their underwear?"

"Since my dad will be there, I'd rather not."

Holly laughed and moved to the front of the room. "After we get started, I'm going to have you do some visualization stuff where you imagine bodies in each of those chairs."

"As in cadavers or Victoria's swimsuit models?"