Come To Me | Jerrie

Chapter 3

Back to work today and my mask is back in place, so everyone will believe I'm the put-together Perrie Edwards. My commute on the train from New Jersey into Manhattan gives me time to prepare. I've been restless since the night we went to dinner and I literally fell on that girl. Jade. I swear I can feel her hands, hear her voice, smell her cologne everywhere I turn. Until that night, it'd been months since a person had touched me. I've not allowed myself to get caught up in any kind of relationship. Men have asked me out, but I knew I wasn't ready for that yet. Plus, there was nothing pulling me toward them. However, the other night I wasn't just pulled, I felt bound. She awakened me—my body, my emotions, my mind—and I still haven't recovered.

Shaking my head, I chastise myself. Today I have to be on my A-game. I have an important meeting across town and if it goes well, I'll be solidifying a promotion in my company. I don't have time to fantasize about a woman I'll probably never see again.

Once I get into the city, I walk the four blocks to my office at CJJ Public Relations. In this building, I'm more than enough. My skills, my smarts, my vision, me—I'm worth something and it's well known. Instantly I'm stronger. For the last six years I've worked my ass off to become a top publicist. I've climbed the corporate ladder fast and proven myself account after account.

I enter my office, smiling and saying hello to my assistant, Taylor. If it weren't for her, I'm pretty certain I would've lost my job by now. The first week back after things ended with Zayn, I was a mess. One time I wore my shirt inside out. Taylor came over and pointed me toward the bathroom with one word: shirt. She's kind, caring, and always ensures my schedule is perfect. More than that, she's a friend. I love her. One day she'll realize she can do my job and I'll be lost. But for now, I have her and I'm thankful.

I have all my notes and I've gone over every possible scenario in my mind. Usually before we go into a meeting we know the client. We study them and learn as much as we can to gain the upper hand. In this case, we couldn't get as much information as I would've liked, but I'm confident, even with what little knowledge I've obtained, I'll come out victorious. Boyce PR is my only competition for the account, and they usually don't invest their time in research like I do. They typically send the same two reps to bid meetings, and they've only won an account over me a few times.

"All right. The meeting's in an hour and it'll probably be about a fifteen-minute cab ride to get over there." Taylor smiles and throws some lip gloss on my desk.

"Thanks, Tay. I need to print out some files I emailed myself last night."

"I found out that you're going to be dealing with two people: the assistant and another member of their team."

I seriously couldn't do this without her. "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you."

The people at Raven Cosmetics are anxious to get a publicist on board quickly. The more I learn about them, the more my confidence grows. I know I'd represent them well. I know this demographic. Plus, with my vast amount of contacts in this particular industry, I'd be able to get them in the spotlight easily.

Taylor turns to me, giving me the remainder of the files and presentation boards she had mocked up. Her sweet, timid voice is now firm, making sure I'm ready. "Were you able to find out any more information on the CEO?"

"No. And I despise the secrets behind this account. I asked around again. All I found out was that Ms. Thirlwall recently took over. Whoever was running things early on left, and the interim CEO didn't want to stay on." I let out a frustrated sigh.

Taylor and I scoured the Internet and questioned all our contacts to learn anything we could about Raven Cosmetics. The company is only about four years old, but they've changed CEOs three times already. Even so, they've grown extremely fast in the industry. They have a line of natural eye products that exploded and skyrocketed them to the top.