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She sat forward in her chair to continue. “From the little I’ve seen of him, I know he’s a natural. You’ve seen him, Jack. He works a crowd like a seasoned politician. If he brings that same power to an ad campaign, I can’t see how it could lose.”
“He’s good all right, but my gut instinct tells me your strategy is better.”
Maddie thought those were the nicest words she’d ever heard.
Jack said, “This is going to sound crazy, but the fact that I agree with you is why I decided to go with Colton.”
“You’re right. It sounds crazy.”
“Hear me out. Paul Swanson thinks Cue Communications is outdated. Since I’ve had the largest input in his previous campaigns I translate that to mean that I’m outdated. I’ve spent the last year teaching you everything I know. You and I think alike.”
Maddie nodded. “I see what you’re getting at. It’s possible you like my idea because it’s a product of your training.”
“Exactly. I don’t ordinarily second-guess myself. I’ve been in this business a long time and I have developed a certain sense about what works. But I’ve got to tell you, I was rattled when old man Swanson told me we were in danger of losing the account. For the first time, I wondered if I’ve been around too long. If my perspective is stale.”
He suddenly looked older. Grayer. Maddie reached across the desk to take his hand in hers. “My dad always said you were an advertising genius. And he was right. Part of that genius led you to Colton. Instinct told you he had something you wanted for Cue. You were right to go with your instincts. He can give Paul something totally new and different. And new and different just might be the ticket.”
He squeezed her hand with fatherly affection. “Thanks, Maddie.”
“For what?”
“For taking this so well. When I asked you to join the Swanson team I did it because I know your ideas are good and I wanted you to realize it, too. You finally open up and your ideas get shot down. That’s not how I planned it. So thanks, for being a big enough person to consider someone else’s ideas.”
She laughed as she stood. “You know as well as I do that no one has ever accused me of being less than a big person.”
His laughter trailed her down the hall.
Maddie once again selected a green salad for lunch. For variation she went with the diet Italian dressing that strongly resembled water with red and green flecks. Just past the cashier she paused to scan the room for Colton. Her first sweep came up empty. She sighed. With so many people milling around she might never locate him.
About halfway through her second sweep she caught sight of someone waving. Her heart skipped a beat until she realized it wasn’t Colton. It was Dan, the guy she’d shared a table and a piece of pie with on Friday. She balanced her tray in one hand and waved back before continuing her search for Colton. No sign of him.
Maddie glanced back at Dan. He was standing now, waving her over to his table. She hesitated. She didn’t want to commit herself should she suddenly locate Colton. She darted several more fruitless looks around the room.
Finally, good manners propelled her toward Dan. He was kind enough to offer her a seat and, realistically, she might never find Colton. Besides, Dan just might have another piece of pie he was willing to share.
It was slow going through the obstacle course of people and tables. Dan was smiling when at last she reached him. A crinkly eyed smile that made Maddie feel as though she’d stepped into a pool of bright sunlight.
“Hi, Maddie,” he said, pulling out a chair for her. “I figured you might be looking for dining companionship.”
“I had thought…” her voice trailed away as she glanced back over her shoulder.
“Looking for your friend Colton? He’s over there.” Dan pointed to a table four or five down from theirs. “That’s him with his back to us. You might get a glimpse of him if those women standing around him will move.”
No wonder she hadn’t seen him when she came in. Once again he was mobbed with females. She wagged her head ruefully as she sat. “He’s amazing.”
Dan sat across from her and lifted his shoulders in a dismissive shrug. “He doesn’t do a thing for me.”
She met his twinkling eyes and laughed. “I’m really glad to hear it.”
Dan looked down at her tray. “Why do you punish yourself like that?” he asked, pointing to the salad.
She didn’t want to confess she’d planned to sit with Colton and had hoped to fool him into believing she existed on salads. As if anybody would be dumb enough to believe she’d attained her body on lettuce and diet dressing. “I was hoping you’d have a piece of pie you’d want to share,” she improvised.
He lifted a plate with a large wedge of chocolate cream pie. “Looks like today is your lucky day.”
She’d forgotten what a nice smile Dan had. It wasn’t movie-star perfect like Colton’s, of course, but it was nice. Dan had a strong jaw and a generous mouth with straight white teeth. She liked the tiny smile lines bracketing his mouth, testimony to the good humor that seemed to radiate from him. The very best thing about his smile was the way it somehow transferred itself from his lips to his eyes when his mouth turned up in a grin.
He was an attractive man. She’d noticed right away that he was an inch or two taller than she was, a plus in any acquaintance. He had the rangy build of an athlete—more sleek runner than bulky weight lifter. As he had on Friday, Dan wore faded blue jeans and a T-shirt that stretched over a nicely muscled chest.
This was not a man who spent hours in front of the mirror. Dan appeared to be comfortable with himself, which was probably the reason she felt so comfortable with him.
She knew instinctively that Dan was a kind man. A man who saved toppling giants and shared his dessert with hungry strangers. A man who knew how to get people to talk about themselves and possessed the rare willingness to listen to the answers.
Maddie remembered with a guilty start that she’d been so preoccupied with Colton on Friday she hadn’t asked Dan anything about himself. “Tell me about Dan Willis,” she said before popping a forkful of salad into her mouth.
He flashed her a self-deprecating smile. “Not much to tell.”
She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m not buying that. It’s payback time. I told you all about me on Friday, now it’s your turn. I’ll help you get started. Tell me what you do.”
“I’m a photographer.”
“A professional photographer?”
He nodded.
“That’s interesting. What do you take pictures of?”
His laugh sounded more disgusted than amused. “At this moment, I don’t know.”
Uh-oh. Out-of-work photographer. No wonder he was hesitant to talk about himself. Probably pretty touchy about it. She reached across the table and patted his hand. “Don’t get discouraged. Something will turn up.”
He caught her hand in his, holding it up to examine it. Maddie’s breath lodged midwindpipe. Wow. Amazing how his casual touch could make her insides go all squishy. She forced herself to breath. Dan’s hand was warm and strong. She was amazed to see that her hand looked feminine, almost fragile when clasped in his larger one.
“This looks suspiciously like a fresh manicure to me,” he teased.
She snatched her hand back in embarrassment. “It is. I had my nails done on Saturday.” She didn’t go on to confess that it was her first manicure ever or that it was his remark about her hands being great that had sent her racing to the nearest salon.
She’d been taught all her life to play up her assets but until she met Dan she hadn’t been sure she possessed any.
Lunch ran overtime. Conversation was so easy with Dan that Maddie forgot to keep an eye on her watch.
“Oops,” she said when she finally realized she’d been due back at the office ten minutes ago. “I’ve gotta run.”
Dan smiled. “No problem. I’ll look for you down here tomorrow.”
Maddie’s heart felt surprisingly light as she hurried toward the elevator. He didn’t compare to Colton, of course, but Dan made a pretty terrific lunch date.
Chapter Four
“I’m not going with you today.”
Maddie paused from loading campaign sketches into her briefcase to look at her boss. “What?”
Jack grinned. “I said I’m not going with you and Colton to Swanson Shoes today.”
Maddie chuckled and resumed loading. “Very funny. You nearly gave me a heart attack. For a minute there I thought you were serious.”
“I am serious. I’m not going.”
She put down the briefcase to give him her full attention. “What are you talking about? Of course you’re going. You’re the Swanson account exec.”
“Not as of ten minutes ago when I handed Colton the title.”
He was serious. “Jack, why would you do that? You’ve been the Swanson account exec from the beginning.”
“That’s precisely why I’m giving the account to Colton. Think about it. We’ve worked so hard on this new campaign. I’ve pushed the creative team to the brink of a nervous breakdown with these deadlines. I would hate for all our effort to be wasted because the new president didn’t want an old man directing his advertising.”
“That’s crazy.”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t think so. And neither does Colton. This morning when I voiced my concern that my presence might jeopardize our chances he admitted he’d had the same thought. We agreed that we’d be better off making a clean break from our previous association. New direction. New leadership.”
“I think it stinks.”
Jack smiled. “I appreciate your loyalty, but the decision stands. I’m stepping down from the account. It’s up to you and Colton to salvage Swanson Shoes.”
However rattled Maddie might be by the unexpected change in command, Colton appeared at the door a minute later looking his calm, cool, fabulous self. In his expensive double-breasted navy blazer and knife-creased khakis he was success personified.
“I’ve got the audio tapes and storyboards,” he said, pointing to the large black portfolio in his right hand. “Have you got the sketches?”
Maddie scooped her briefcase off the table. “Right here.”
“Excellent.” Colton looked to Jack. “Unless you have any parting words of advice for us, I think we’re ready.”
Jack shook his head. “I have every confidence in the two of you. Make me proud.”
Maddie spoke little over the ten-minute trip to Swanson Shoes. She wanted to talk, to share some witticism or pithy insight, but her tongue and brain refused to cooperate. The combination of sitting eight inches from male perfection and apprehension about the upcoming meeting with Paul Swanson left her speechless.
If Colton was nervous it didn’t show. He used the drive to brief her on how they would approach the meeting. Basically he would make the pitch and she would back him up. Maddie had been relegated to a minor supporting role.
It was on the tip of her tongue to protest. After all, she was every bit as prepared to make the presentation as he was. Though she knew she had a valid argument she remained silent. Too much was riding on the outcome of this morning’s meeting to entrust it to her inexperience.
Colton’s confidence was contagious. By the time they reached the receptionist’s desk, Maddie’s misgivings about leaving Jack behind were gone.
“Good morning,” Colton said to the elderly woman behind the desk. “Cue Communications here for our ten o’clock meeting with Paul Swanson.”
Maddie felt a genuine compassion for the awed receptionist. At an age when she should have been immune to his beauty, it took her a full ten seconds to recover her power of speech after being broadsided by Colton’s amazing smile.
“Mr. Swanson is—is expecting you,” she stammered. “Second office on the left.”
Maddie followed Colton into the small conference room where two men and a woman were seated around the far end of an oblong table. The man seated in the center stood and approached them, hand extended. “Hi, I’m Paul Swanson. You must be the team from Cue.”
Paul Swanson wasn’t what Maddie expected. She’d pictured him as a pampered little rich kid eager to flex his newfound muscle. Not so. He looked like an average guy with his feet firmly planted in reality. Far from spoiled or power crazy, he appeared earnest, no-nonsense and in no danger of being wowed by Colton’s magnificence.
After the introductions were made, Maddie and Colton took their places on the opposite side of the table.
“Okay,” Paul said, “show me what you’ve got.”
Unfazed by the curt command, Colton grinned. “Ahh. A man who knows how to cut to the chase. I like that. Let’s talk shoes.”
For the next forty-five minutes Colton was in his element. He paced, he gestured, he varied the pitch and intensity of his voice like a seasoned evangelist. When the formal presentation was over and he opened the floor for questions, he fielded each with dazzling competency. Even the most hardened critic would have to admit he was amazing. Maddie had to sit on her hands to keep from breaking into applause.
“So, Paul,” Colton said at last, “when can we implement this new campaign?”
Paul, whose noncommittal expression hadn’t varied since Colton began, looked to his two colleagues then rose to his feet. “I’m sorry. It didn’t grab me. I think we’ll have to pass.”
Maddie couldn’t hear Colton’s response for the roaring in her ears. They’d just lost Swanson Shoes. Her father and Jack had built Cue Communications from the rock-solid foundation of the Swanson Shoe account. The two companies had been together since the beginning. And now they were ready to call it quits.
Without being aware of moving, Maddie stood. She heard herself saying, “Not knowing the direction you wanted to take, we took the liberty of preparing another approach. Perhaps our alternate campaign will be more to your liking.”
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