Tongue Tied

Chapter 8

The relaxing mood music on my television had been playing for so long that it was beginning to put me to sleep. Soundscapes had become a sweet whispering lullaby that was easily tearing my concentration from my emails and tempting me to go back to bed and spend the day wrapped up in warm, fuzzy blankets. I couldn't do that though. It was Friday. Sean-Ashworth-follow-up-meeting Friday. And I was not excited, to say the least.

Margaret had called twice reminding me of the importance of this meeting and that if Sean didn't like my ideas this time, Rutherford Laurence would take their business elsewhere. No exceptions. Way to pack on the pressure.

I hadn't heard from Alec since our sultry encounter a few nights prior. I was beginning to think I'd really pissed him off. Usually he texted me once or twice a day just to say hey, if for no other reason. Usually I would've been back in bed with him by now. I hoped he wasn't taking my teasing and turning him down too hard. I hadn't meant for it to come across harshly.

Maybe he was getting tired of our rendezvous. I hoped that wasn't the case. I knew it probably wouldn't be too difficult of a task to catch another man's attention, but I had gotten used to Alec. His kiss, his laugh, his eyes, his hair, the feel of his body against mine, the pleasure he so effortlessly created, the way he slowly drew me to the edge and then shoved me off the cliff. You could say I'd become addicted.

As much as I hated to acknowledge the thought, I knew for certain Alec could easily find at least a dozen or more women who would quite literally jump at the chance to bed him. A few of them were my own coworkers. I despised the idea of him being with another woman, though I had no real reason to. I had to keep reminding myself he wasn't mine. I'd become so accustomed to having him to myself and I wasn't ready to give that up yet. For that reason, I hoped Alec wasn't getting bored with our sex-capades. I wasn't sure another man could compare sexually and I wasn't anxious to find out.

I'd decided to work from home this morning and head to Corbin and Hilliard after lunch. My meeting with Sean wasn't until three and I didn't think being cooped up in the office all day would be good for my nerves. Thus, I was answering emails from my couch in my robe at noon.

Shelby had returned the poster boards Thursday evening and in a rush of words and last minute work, I hadn't heard half of what she'd said aside from the graphic design team had done the best they could on short notice with little to work with. That didn't sound too promising until I got a look at their work. The boards looked fantastic! Seeing how Shelby and her team were able to redesign everything and make it look so simple made me want to give graphic design another try.

I'd given Shelby my two original poster boards as the initial example and she'd had me email her the photos I'd used along with the information about the Healthier Is Happier campaign the following day. What she'd brought me as the final result were two different poster boards with the same background pictures, but now there was stunning calligraphy present, and the font, color and size had been changed from the way I'd originally done the information at the bottom. One of the vertical boards was now horizontal and looked much better with the way they'd cropped the photo. They both looked great and I was sure Sean couldn't possibly turn them down.

Still, when I walked into the lobby of the building Corbin and Hilliard inhabited I felt my stomach sink in angst. Why couldn't someone else make the presentation to Rutherford Laurence? I felt like someone had forced me to become a public speaker with no training.

I took my time in the ground floor bathroom, freshening up even though I'd just taken a shower before leaving my apartment. I splashed some water on my face in attempts to dissipate the nagging tired feeling that was plaguing me. I ended up in the midst of a staring contest with my reflection, muttering a pep talk to myself.