Miss Callahan Ch. 20-22

Chapter 20I?m just getting out of my car across the street from my office building when I feel my phone buzz.Before pulling it out to see who texted, I pull my coat closer to my face as I quickly run across the busy downtown street and into my building. I know it?s petty, but the fact that VPs have to park across the street, instead of in the actual building?s parking lot, annoys me every morning that it?s not sunny. Logically I get that there are a finite number of spots so they prioritize them for SVPs and above, but right now as I shake off rain from my clothes, I don?t care about logic. I guess I could buy an umbrella, but apparently nobody in Seattle actually owns one and I?ll just look like a tourist to my colleagues.Once I?m in the lobby of the building, I pull out my phone as I head to the elevators in the middle of the room.We need to talk, a text from Jackie reads.?We need to talk? is never a good sign and given the fact that I left Jackie with Maddy last night, my stomach instantly tightens.When? I text back.Meet me at the office. Now.I?m on my way up.Jackie is sitting in my office when I come in and she doesn?t look like she slept much. In fact, she?s wearing the same shirt she had on yesterday.?Hey,? I say as I move to my desk, set my things down and sit in my chair.Jackie doesn?t reply and just plays with two of the buttons on her shirt, a nervous behavior I?ve seen her do since we met.?Jackie,? I say when she continues to sit there.Finally, she looks up like she just noticed that I was there.?I slept with Maddy,? she says quickly.My eyes move up her day-old clothes, which now that I?m really paying attention, look more than a little disheveled.?I gathered that,? I reply tentatively. ?Is that what you needed to talk to me about??For some reason I have a feeling in my gut that Jackie didn?t just come in here for a girl?s chat. She looks like a toddler who spilled milk and then ran away from the mess.?And she knows about you and Lauren,? she adds.I was half expecting some kind of revelation like this, and yet my stomach still drops at her words.?How?? I ask and I can hear how unsteady my voice sounds already.?I told her. Accidentally.??How did you accidentally tell her??Jackie lets out a long breath before rubbing her face with her hands. ?We were drinking. A lot. And we went back to her hotel room. Somehow, we started talking about Lauren. She asked how it was working with her and I told her that I don?t really work with her since she can?t touch the Ellison account. Then she told me that all the women at Olivia?s consultancy firm had a crush on Lauren and asked me if I found her attractive.?The more Jackie talks, the more my stomach tightens. How she couldn?t realize what Maddy was doing, drunk or not, is beyond me.?I told her that it wouldn?t matter because I?m not blonde-haired and blue-eyed like you,? she continues. ?Maddy made a comment about that being Olivia?s type as well and then I made a stupid joke that it would make all of our lives easier if you just took both of them to bed. It didn?t take much for her to figure out that ?both of them? meant Lauren and Olivia.?I?m no longer looking at Jackie because my hands are covering my face. Nice or not, Maddy is on Team Olivia and I?m sure this information has already been given to the CEO.?Why the hell would you say that? That?s not even a funny joke,? I say into my hands and I can feel my body heat up, but in a very different way than last night.?I don?t know, Ems. I was drunk. So drunk. I was stupid.?Sure, I?m angry at Jackie for being so careless, but a sense of fear is also settling itself into my mind. Everything feels like it?s about to come tumbling down around me with this one mistake. But somewhere in the back of my mind, it also doesn?t feel completely accidental.Her use of my nickname again barely resisters as I try to process everything she just told me.?You have to see how it?s hard for me to believe it was an accident considering your attitude towards me lately,? I say in a biting tone, letting my anger win out over any other emotion.?Being heartbroken isn?t an attitude, Emma,? Jackie says back quietly, and in an instant, my anger dissipates a bit.Jackie made a huge mistake last night. But she?s not responsible for us being in this situation? I am. And the fact is, she didn?t have to come here this morning and tell me all this.?You know she was trying to get information out of you, right?? I ask in a much gentler tone.?Not everyone is as duplicitous as Olivia. It didn?t feel like prying. We were just getting to know each other,? Jackie says.Her defensive tone sets my annoyance off. She?s defending a woman who we know is loyal to Olivia Ellison.?Coming from the same woman who?s been saying Lauren is only sleeping with me to get back at her ex, it?s not out of the question for me to accuse Maddy of sleeping with you to get information.?Jackie leans back in the chair and lets out a puff of breath, but the guarded look she had on her face a moment before is gone.?Look, I?m the one who almanbahis şikayet made the mistake. I know how it sounds, but I really don?t think her goal was to get that out of me. And maybe there?s a chance she won?t tell Olivia or maybe she won?t even remember. We were really drunk.?I finally let my hands fall from my face and lean back in my own chair as I look at Jackie. Even if Jackie is right and Maddy doesn?t remember, I can?t take the chance that Olivia won?t blow all this up around me. And if that happens, I can say goodbye to my Altitude career.?I have to tell Michelle and Guy,? I finally say in a quiet voice.?No. That?s a terrible idea. At best, you lose any chance of a promotion, and at worst, you lose your job and so does Lauren. There?s too much money on the line. Agencies are loyal to the bottom line and you know that as well as I do.??Jackie, they?re going to find out. I can?t even imagine what Olivia is going to do with this information. Especially after last night.?My dread just increases as I think back to the events of last night and the way I turned Olivia down. If the next thing she finds out about me is that I?m fucking her ex-wife, we?re all doomed on this account.?What do you mean?? Jackie asks.?Olivia asked me to come up to her room last night and I told her no.?Jackie?s eyes widen for a moment as she sits there and takes in what I just told her. ?Jesus. That makes this more complicated,? she says as I just nod back. ?Do I need to tell all these executive women that your pussy is nice but it?s not made out of gold??I let out an involuntary laugh at her inappropriate and incredibly ill-timed joke. Jackie has always had a way to bring levity to any situation, and apparently one as dire as this is no exception.?I can?t believe you?re making jokes right now,? I reply.?You know I can?t help myself. But I still don?t think you should tell them. Because I got my own information out of Maddy.??And you couldn?t have led with that?? I ask, leaning forward in my chair.?Actually, the other information seemed more pertinent. But as I said, Maddy was drunk and is apparently pretty forthcoming. Turns out Lauren?s intel on the account was more than spot-on.??Did you just compliment Lauren?? I ask.?Don?t push it,? she responds with an eye roll. ?Anyway, Maddy implied that Olivia has a major uphill battle to fight with the board if she wants to change agencies. Simon?s name came up briefly and I guess he?s gaining influence with the other board members. It sounds like Olivia hasn?t made a lot of friends there yet.??But she?s so likable,? I say in a sarcastic tone that causes a smile to cross Jackie?s face. ?That kind of sounds like what Lauren has described Richard Ellison?s relationship with the board to be like.??Exactly. She didn?t say much else, but it was pretty clear that Altitude is the front runner for everyone but Olivia.??So, we stay the course?? I ask.?We stay the course,? she replies. ?We focus on Alan and Simon Simpson and we showcase why they should stay the course and maintain Altitude.??Maybe you should do the pitch. You already have your closing line.??Hell no. I color. You present. We win.??We win,? I repeat.Though my stomach is a mess with a sense of dread for what?s to come, it also feels nice to have Jackie back in my corner, even for just a moment. I won?t pretend we still don?t have things to work through, but at least this gives me a sliver of hope that one day we can be friends again.?And if Olivia reveals the truth?? I ask.?If she even knows the truth, and then reveals it, we?ll deal with it. But telling them now won?t help anything.??Okay,? I reply with a nod.?I have to go. I have a design review in five,? she says as she glances at the clock on my wall. When she gets to my door, she turns around before opening it. ?I know it probably seems like I did this on purpose. Because of what?s happened. But I didn?t. And I am really sorry.?The look she?s giving me is the softest one I?ve seen on her face in a while and it makes my heart ache for our friendship. I wish Jackie would just come back to my office after her meeting so we can talk more about everything, but I know we?re not there yet."I know that. Thank you for telling me. You didn?t have to.?Jackie nods. ?And I don?t think Olivia and Lauren are cut from the same cloth anymore. In case that matters. Olivia sucks,? she adds.Jackie has never been one to sparse her words, but her choice of verb makes me laugh.?She does suck,? I reply back.Jackie gives me one small smile before she turns and leaves the office. I need to take out my laptop and actually get a start on the day, but I know I?m too distracted so I simply lean back in my chair and close my eyes.I still don?t know if I agree with Jackie?s assessment on not telling Michelle and Guy. Altitude has always pushed transparency as a key company attribute. But as Jackie pointed out, this is more than just an account to the agency. This is a game-changing retainer and I?m just a fleck of dust in the way. I could see almanbahis canlı casino them preemptively taking me off the account, or worse, just to appease Olivia.I know it?s a long shot that Maddy doesn?t remember their conversation. Deep down, I know that?s unlikely considering Jackie?s own recollection. The only chance I have for my relationship with Lauren to remain hidden is if Maddy doesn?t tell Olivia anything?after all, I?m sure Olivia wouldn?t be happy to know that Maddy told Jackie the things she did.I open my eyes and shake myself out of my jumbled thoughts. I have a presentation to finalize with only two weeks left before the pitch. Two weeks to figure out the best way to convince Alan and Simon Simpson that Altitude is the best agency for the job.And two weeks to wait and hope Olivia Ellison doesn?t completely ruin my life.Chapter 21?Time check?? Michelle asks as we sit back down at the conference table after doing our final run-through of the day.?Just over an hour,? Jackie says as she looks at the stopwatch that we have resting on the conference table. ?Not bad.??That would give us the last thirty minutes for the question-and-answer period, which seems like a good breakdown. Let?s try to hit that pace again when we run through it tomorrow,? Michelle says.I internally cringe at the mention of doing another run-through tomorrow. I know we need to, given the magnitude of this pitch, but just like with Interplay, and every other piece of business I?ve ever pitched, I hate rehearsing. I feel so wooden and forced until I have a real audience, and I wish it was Friday already so we could be done with it. For so many reasons.Thankfully, Guy and Sarah are sitting in for tonight?s rehearsal so they can review and give us feedback. They are some of the only two people who have signed Ellison?s NDA? Guy because he?s the head of the office and Sarah because we needed to bring her in for the measurement pieces? and having other people to watch us helps me feel like it?s a little more real.?Damn, guys. That was smooth,? Sarah says.?Thank you, Sarah. Any real notes, though?? Michelle asks as she rubs her forehead.Michelle has seemed tense ever since the meeting with Olivia, which I suppose I understand? mainly because I?ve felt the same tension myself. But in the two years she?s been my boss, I don?t think I?ve ever seen her so serious and rigid through a pitch process. Even during our last rehearsal, she wasn?t her confident, charming self and I wonder how much of Olivia?s antics in that meeting really got under her skin. Usually, a compliment like that from Sarah would at least elicit a smile.?Right,? Sarah says, looking back down at her notepad with a more serious look on her face. ?I really did think the opening and closing pieces were fantastic. The way you weaved the creative campaigns with the research was also really powerful. But I think the insight slides need to be pulled in sooner.??Says the researcher,? Jackie jokes.?Hush now, my little coloring friend,? Sarah replies to Jackie with an eye roll. ?As I was saying, you set up the situation well at the beginning. It?s clear we understand what they?re looking for, but we need to follow that up with our main insights. Right now, it goes from the opening statement into the history of Altitude and Ellison. They already know that history. If anything, I think that stuff could be held until the end.??I agree. Olivia won?t want to feel like she?s being talked at about things she already knows,? I say.?Yes, but there are also new people in the room that we know we need to impress,? Michelle argues. ?I agree we can move the slides down, but we will need them at some point to showcase to the board how deep our relationship history runs and the success we?ve had on their behalf.??Agreed,? Guy says as he finally chimes in. ?To quote Sarah, that was truly fantastic. You three have put together a compelling case. I have no notes on the actual presentation itself. The deck is beautiful and Emma nailed it as always. Michelle, I?ve already mentioned it to you when I reviewed the slides earlier today, but I just don?t think the case study examples are right. Does San Francisco have any better sustainability samples besides the Port Authority campaign? We know Donnelly