How the Light Gets In (Cracks Duet #2)(46)
Dylan met me at reception and led me into a long meeting room where a bunch of well-dressed people waited. They chatted amongst themselves and sipped on coffees when we stepped inside.
“I’m nervous,” I whispered to him.
“Don’t be. You’ll do fine,” Dylan reassured and gave my hand a quick squeeze.
“Mr O’Dea, we’re very excited to sample the newest scent,” said a dark-haired woman wearing a navy fitted dress. She looked to be in her early thirties and was extremely attractive.
“Ah, Miss Keating, can I introduce you to Evelyn Flynn? She collaborated with me on the scent. Ev, this is Diana Keating, Head of Marketing.”
Her eyes met mine with interest and curiosity, probably because Dylan had never collaborated with anyone before.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Evelyn,” she said and offered her hand. We shook as she went on, “And which perfumes have you worked on in the past?”
“Oh, this is my first,” I replied, stomach twisting. Here came the judgement. I could feel it rolling in on a tidal wave of self-importance.
“How wonderful, good for you.” She might as well have said, You’re not good enough for this company. I don’t know what Dylan was thinking bringing you on board. Some women had a skill for saying so much more than the words that came out of their mouths. It was all in the tone.
“Evelyn is a very talented gardener. She grew the flowers I used in my very first perfume,” Dylan said. I noticed this was something he liked to tell people to give me a little boost of confidence, and it worked. Already Diana’s judgement simmered down, though I suspected she had a bit of a thing for Dylan. It was in the way she played with her hair and swayed her hips when she walked toward him.
Damn, were we all that obvious when attracted to someone? I hoped I wasn’t because that shit was embarrassing.
“Well, I’m very much looking forward to what you both came up with,” said Diana and we all sat. I was introduced to the other members of Dylan’s marketing team, before he stood and opened a leather briefcase. Inside were seven bottles, all containing the same list of ingredients, but with different combinations of each.
These people were our test subjects, so we could find which variation was the most appealing. After each bottle was a small dish of coffee beans to help identify each option better. Smelling coffee beans between perfume samples increased the ability to perceive different aromas as opposed to smelling air between each sample.
It was all very interesting, so much so that I forgot about Diana’s interest in Dylan while the samples were being passed around. Everyone was given the chance to smell each one, then air their opinion. Dylan’s assistant, Clive, sat in the far corner of the room recording what was said for later use.
When all bottles had been sampled, Dylan opened up the room to further discussion. We were both keen to know which one was everybody’s favourite.
“Number three has a spike of musk at the end that I think our customers will find too strong,” said one woman. “But number six has just the right amount of floral to green to spiciness. It’s definitely my favourite.”
“I agree about number six,” someone else added. “There’s a herbal note within the floral that’s very unique.”
“Yes, and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a perfume with a poinsettia note before. It’s very unusual, subtle yet so unexpected, but somehow it just works.”
I smiled, because again Dylan found that one thing to make the perfume—our perfume—special, and it was completely by accident. If I hadn’t suggested going for hotdogs, we might never have walked by that flower stall, and then we wouldn’t have discovered the missing link.
“I’m interested to see how the scent fades in a couple of hours,” Diana said. “That will be the telling part.”
“Oh, I wore it home the other day and it only gets better,” I replied. “The spiciness of the sandalwood comes out with the sweetness of the vanilla. It’s very pleasant.”
She took in what I said, but instead of responding to me, she turned her attention to Dylan. “Sounds like another success story, Mr O’Dea. As soon as we return after the holidays I’ll get straight to work developing a marketing strategy,”
“Perfect, thank you.”
Someone cleared their throat, a man sitting at the very end of the long table. I remembered he’d also favoured number six. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but has it been given a name yet?”
Dylan smiled then looked to me when he answered poignantly. “Yes, we’ve decided to name it Samuel.”
Chapter 15
“That Diana fancies the pants off you,” I commented when we left the offices. Dylan had offered to drive me back to my apartment. I still needed to pack for staying over at his house the next two nights, though he was sure to mention Yvonne and I would be sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms.
“You’re imagining things.”
“I am not. She wants you.”
He sighed heavily. “She’s very good at her job.”
“Hey, I’m not telling you to fire her, just stating a fact. I think you can be a little oblivious to these things,” I teased to lighten the mood.
“I can tell when a woman is attracted to me, Evelyn.”