said. “That’s my favorite, too. It’s a little premature until we land the deal, but I’m confident we will.”
“Keep me posted,” Holly said, forking up another bite of salad. “I should have an update on the Happy Valley account by the end of the day.”
“No rush. I know this Langley Enterprises job is kind of a priority right now.”
Holly nodded, conscious of the heat that spread through her body at the thought of Ben and his company. “Yeah, it is. It’s not just about the CEO rebranding, either.”
“You think there’s potential for more work?”
“I’m hoping. It’s a big opportunity.”
“Exactly how big are we talking?”
Holly’s thoughts veered to images of Ben’s massive hands, his broad shoulders, the impressive bulge she’d felt in the front of his pants—
“Earth to Holly?”
“Sorry,” she said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. “I was just thinking about our prospects for new business.”
“You were thinking about your prospects for getting in the CEO’s pants,” Miriam said, flashing a salacious grin. “I know you, girl. I can read it all over your face.”
“Right,” Holly said, wondering if working with your best friend was almost as dangerous as sleeping with a client. “Anyway, I do think First Impressions could end up with a lot of business out of this Langley deal. They have corporate offices all over the world, and a budget big enough to make your head spin.”
“Does each division handle their own marketing?”
“It all runs through corporate headquarters, but individual branches have budgets for promotional initiatives and marketing campaigns. Ben sent me a little info about it yesterday, and I couldn’t believe the numbers. If we could get a piece of that—”
She stopped short, waiting for Miriam to point out that she’d already gotten a piece. When she didn’t, it occurred to her that her potty-mouthed pal wasn’t the only one with sex on the brain.
“Anyway,” Holly said. “If things go well with this CEO rebrand, maybe there’s potential for First Impressions to do some work for other Langley divisions.”
All the more reason not to bone your client, her inner voice pointed out. You don’t want to screw that up by screwing the CEO.
“Sounds good,” Miriam said, tucking a crumpled napkin and an apple core into her empty yogurt container as she stood up. “I have to run to that meeting for Mountain Medical Group. You want to chat later about the bid for that cable company?”
“Let’s aim for tomorrow. My calendar’s up to date, so just pick a time that works.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Miriam squeezed her shoulder. “Now get out there and bone that CEO.”
“I will do no such thing.”
“Whatever you say.”
As Miriam walked away, Holly crumpled her napkin onto her salad plate and sighed.
She felt confident in her ability to juggle multiple clients and to run this business the way she’d been doing the last couple years. She even felt confident in her ability to rebrand Ben Langley into the sort of alpha male CEO he needed to be.
If only she felt half as confident in her ability to resist him.
Chapter Seven
B en glanced at his watch for what had to be the hundredth time in the last hour. When he’d emailed Holly the previous afternoon to request a two o’clock meeting the next day, he hadn’t considered the fact that having thirty-six hours pass before seeing her again would feel like an eternity.
It’s strictly business.
Except his brain kept veering to images of her naked and breathless on his living room floor. Maybe this was supposed to be strictly business, but there was a lot more than business on his mind.
He glanced at his watch again. Two minutes until she was due to arrive.
“Dude!”
Ben looked up to see Parker standing in the doorway shaking his head. His best friend wore athletic shorts, a T-shirt from their boxing gym, and a look of intense annoyance.
“You stood us up again.” Parker
“Keep me posted,” Holly said, forking up another bite of salad. “I should have an update on the Happy Valley account by the end of the day.”
“No rush. I know this Langley Enterprises job is kind of a priority right now.”
Holly nodded, conscious of the heat that spread through her body at the thought of Ben and his company. “Yeah, it is. It’s not just about the CEO rebranding, either.”
“You think there’s potential for more work?”
“I’m hoping. It’s a big opportunity.”
“Exactly how big are we talking?”
Holly’s thoughts veered to images of Ben’s massive hands, his broad shoulders, the impressive bulge she’d felt in the front of his pants—
“Earth to Holly?”
“Sorry,” she said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. “I was just thinking about our prospects for new business.”
“You were thinking about your prospects for getting in the CEO’s pants,” Miriam said, flashing a salacious grin. “I know you, girl. I can read it all over your face.”
“Right,” Holly said, wondering if working with your best friend was almost as dangerous as sleeping with a client. “Anyway, I do think First Impressions could end up with a lot of business out of this Langley deal. They have corporate offices all over the world, and a budget big enough to make your head spin.”
“Does each division handle their own marketing?”
“It all runs through corporate headquarters, but individual branches have budgets for promotional initiatives and marketing campaigns. Ben sent me a little info about it yesterday, and I couldn’t believe the numbers. If we could get a piece of that—”
She stopped short, waiting for Miriam to point out that she’d already gotten a piece. When she didn’t, it occurred to her that her potty-mouthed pal wasn’t the only one with sex on the brain.
“Anyway,” Holly said. “If things go well with this CEO rebrand, maybe there’s potential for First Impressions to do some work for other Langley divisions.”
All the more reason not to bone your client, her inner voice pointed out. You don’t want to screw that up by screwing the CEO.
“Sounds good,” Miriam said, tucking a crumpled napkin and an apple core into her empty yogurt container as she stood up. “I have to run to that meeting for Mountain Medical Group. You want to chat later about the bid for that cable company?”
“Let’s aim for tomorrow. My calendar’s up to date, so just pick a time that works.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Miriam squeezed her shoulder. “Now get out there and bone that CEO.”
“I will do no such thing.”
“Whatever you say.”
As Miriam walked away, Holly crumpled her napkin onto her salad plate and sighed.
She felt confident in her ability to juggle multiple clients and to run this business the way she’d been doing the last couple years. She even felt confident in her ability to rebrand Ben Langley into the sort of alpha male CEO he needed to be.
If only she felt half as confident in her ability to resist him.
Chapter Seven
B en glanced at his watch for what had to be the hundredth time in the last hour. When he’d emailed Holly the previous afternoon to request a two o’clock meeting the next day, he hadn’t considered the fact that having thirty-six hours pass before seeing her again would feel like an eternity.
It’s strictly business.
Except his brain kept veering to images of her naked and breathless on his living room floor. Maybe this was supposed to be strictly business, but there was a lot more than business on his mind.
He glanced at his watch again. Two minutes until she was due to arrive.
“Dude!”
Ben looked up to see Parker standing in the doorway shaking his head. His best friend wore athletic shorts, a T-shirt from their boxing gym, and a look of intense annoyance.
“You stood us up again.” Parker
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