The Invitation by Vi Keeland(44)
“Well, if you guys think we could make it work, it’s obviously an incredible opportunity,” Stella said. “Maybe we could spend the next day or so figuring out what it would take to make it happen?”
I shook my head. “We don’t have a day. They need an answer sooner.”
“How much sooner?” Stella asked.
I looked down at my watch. “We have about fifty minutes left.”
***
We reconvened in the conference room five minutes before I was supposed to call Jack back with a decision. Stella tossed a legal pad with shit scribbled all over it on the table.
“I can get half of what we need expedited from local suppliers, with the exception of two items—calone and ambrette. The price is much higher, but if we buy in bulk, it’s not actually as terrible as I thought it would be. And the lab is available to mix ingredients as soon as the orders come in. With that kind of volume, it might take us a few days to fill orders, but it’s doable within the turnaround time.”
I nodded. “I can get the two items you can’t source locally flown in with very little price difference by increasing the order size.” We both looked to Olivia.
She smiled. “The printer said he can run the presses all night, if he has to. He just needs twenty-four-hours’ notice for staffing, and of course, our finalized PDF files, which aren’t ready, but can be shortly. And the website is a non-issue. There are some cosmetic things the team was working on, but we could go live in an hour if we needed to.”
Stella couldn’t hide the excitement on her face. “Oh my God, are we really going to do this?”
“Looks like it,” I said. “Though I forgot to mention one small detail.”
“What?”
“They want you on camera to sell the product with Robyn.”
Her eyes widened. “Me? On camera? I’ve never done that before.”
“Guess there’s a first time for everything.” I smirked. “You’ll get to make good use of your happiness system.”
***
“She’s fucking hot.”
Jack’s head moved in tandem with Stella’s legs as she walked out onto the stage. She bent so the sound guy could hook up her microphones, and I didn’t give him a chance to say anything more.
My jaw flexed. “Don’t be disrespectful, you dick.”
He scoffed. “What? Like you weren’t looking at her ass just now?”
I didn’t answer.
“Nice rack, too.”
A noise gurgled from my throat.
Jack turned with a knowing smirk plastered on his face. “Did you just growl at me?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Admit it. You don’t want me looking because you like her. You’re already territorial about this chick.”
“This chick? Is it nineteen eighty-five here in the studio? Do you refer to your employees like that?”
“Stop deflecting. You like this woman, and you know it.”
Jack might be vice president of a big company now, but parts of him were eternally stuck in sixth grade. I knew if I didn’t give him something, he’d never shut the hell up.
So I tried to pacify him. “She’s turned out to be a hard worker and a nice person, yes.”
“So you don’t think she’s hot?”
I rolled my eyes. “She’s attractive, yes.”
“But you don’t want to bang her?”
“Stella and I have a business relationship.”
“Oh…so it’s the business relationship that’s the problem? So if you weren’t in business with her, you’d be trying to bang her?”
“I’m done with this conversation.”
Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Okay. So you don’t mind if I bring Brent down to meet her, then?”
“Brent?”
“Fenway. You remember him from college, right? Tall, good-looking—probably the only one who gave you a run for your money back in the day. He works here now. Looks the same, except more jacked. Still single…”
My friend thought he was being cute, as if I wouldn’t give him a set of black eyes to match my fading ones. “Fuck off,” I said.
He grinned. “That’s what I thought.”
A little while later, Jack looked at his watch. “I have a meeting. You hanging around for the taping?”
“Yeah. Olivia couldn’t be here, so I told her I’d stick it out.”
“They’re probably going to be a few hours.”
I held up my phone. “I have plenty to do to keep me busy.”
He stood and clapped my shoulder. “I’m sure you do. But I’d bet my bank account you don’t take your eyes off that stage.”
***
It was a good thing I hadn’t taken that bet—not that I would’ve ever admitted I’d spent the last three fucking hours watching Stella’s every move on the stage. When Jack had told me they wanted Stella on-air, a part of me wasn’t sure that was a wise business move. Sure, she was gorgeous and the camera would probably love her, but she had no experience. Though after sitting around the last few hours and watching her, I completely understood what the host had seen that made her want Stella to be part of the pitch.