Storm Shelter

Chapter 6- This Ain't Kansas

March 2013

Anna’s heart beat nervously. She shouldn’t be this nervous. Mr. Freeze wasn’t some big scary unknown entity. She saw him every day. Well almost every day. Well bi-weekly at the team meetings, where she brought in the coffee and lunch orders. Then she scurried around doing the little things that an intern at a marketing firm did.

So actually she must know him pretty well. He liked a mocha latte with dash of Irish Crème. And he liked his Garden Fresh salad with chicken and almonds. What else was there to know about a person?

When Mona, his secretary, sent her an email asking for her to come to his office today at 3 pm, she was beyond nervous.

Dylan Freeze was the founder and CEO of Frozen Fire Digital Media in Dallas, Texas. He was innovative and intense. He really knew what the people wanted to see. Companies were jumping at the chance for Frozen Fire to revamp their marketing strategies; so many in fact, that Freeze had turned his 1 man team into a 150 person marketing monster. Only taking in the companies and products that he felt had the most potential. Everything he touched turned to gold, and every new marketing student wanted to catch a ride to the top.

Anna had graduated from McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin a semester early. Nearly killing herself, and she was able to get her intern application in ahead of all the other students. She knew it would be her best chance to have Mr. Freeze as a mentor and teacher.

However, now she was here. After two months of running coffee errands and sorting mail and listening to office gossip, she had yet to use any of her skills.

Now she maybe wouldn’t even get the chance.

What does Mr. Freeze want?

“Anna… Anna? Anna!” Mona said sharply.

Anna looked down to see Mona staring over at her from where she sat at her large desk in front of Mr. Freeze’s office.

“Sorry Mona! Just day dreaming for a minute.” Anna stood up and brushed out her smart black skirt and gave her long blonde tresses a toss to liven them up.

Mona smiled. “Don’t be so worried, honey. He won’t bite you. I’m sure he just wants to give your two month review in person.” Mona was mid 40’s and had a motherly way about her soft face. Anna liked her.

“Thanks, Mona. That almost makes me more nervous. What have I got to do that would earn me a good review. I mean, I’ve never messed up his lunch order, but that’s about my extent of it.” She took a deep breath and walked for the door.

As she opened it she heard just the end of the conversation.

“doesn’t matter to me how you handle it. You’re my lawyer Fritz, I don’t pay you to tell me how to fix it. That’s your job. Just do it.” Mr. Freeze was standing at a full glass wall and staring out over Dallas. When he heard the door shut he glanced over his shoulder. A warm smile sprang over his face and he nodded to her.

“I’ve got to go Fritz, someone much more pleasant and beautiful to talk with just came in. Just handle it and tell me afterward.” He clicked off his phone and slide in into his slacks.

“Hello Ms. Smith, it’s so good of you to come see me.” He gestured her away from his desk and over to a large leather couch against one wall.

“Please, call me Anna and the pleasure is all mine Mr. Freeze. It’s an honor for you to ask me here. I honestly didn’t even know if you knew my name. I mean, oops. Did I say that out loud? How unprofessional of me.” Way to go, dummy! Do you want to get fired! She raged at herself, but Mr. Freeze was laughing.

He had a deep throaty laugh that she found instantly attractive.

“Please call me Dylan, Mr. Freeze is my father, and he has way too much starch in his shirt. I appreciate your bluntness. That can be so refreshing.” They both sat down on the couch with the middle cushion between them. This caused Anna to have to shift in an awkward angle to maintain eye contact.

“Thank you, Dylan. That is not what my mother used to say. She said my tongue was always my biggest downfall and I needed to watch it more closely. But then I get cross-eyed, you see.” Stop, Anna! Stop making jokes!

He laughed again, to her amazement. He eyes sparkled, they actually sparkled! Who does that?

“I can see your dilemma. Well, Anna, do you know why I asked you here this afternoon?” He got more serious now but his eyes stayed kind , so she tried not to panic.

“No Mr. Fr—Dylan. I don’t. I’m assuming you don’t want to talk about changing your coffee order?” She tried to stay calm but her pulse was jumping madly.

“Well. Every year at the end of March I go to an advertising convention in L.A. I try to take the intern who has been with us the longest. However, the girl I hired last summer dropped out of the program unexpectedly, so I need a replacement. Do you know anyone I could ask?” He looked at her expectantly.

Her heart sank. Deb downstairs had been talking about how life changing that convention would be. She wished she had been here long enough so she could go. That would be the epitome of her internship! Have some class Anna! There are people who deserve to go more than you.

 Her face must have shown her struggle because Dylan laughed again and this time he threw his head back and really laughed.

“I’m just screwing with you Anna! Of course I’m taking you. You should see your face!” His eyes were snapping and sparkling now.

“We leave in two weeks, so we need to get our presentation. You’ll come here every day at 3 and work with me for a few hours so I can gauge your training and supplement it with what I need you to know. Are you going to say anything?” He paused to look at her again.

“Sir, this is the greatest opportunity anyone has ever offered me! Besides the one to start working here of course!” She felt like she needed to sew her lips back together.

Somehow they had ended up closer together on the couch. Anna didn’t know when that had happened, but their knees were almost touching.

“It will be quite an education for you.” Dylan smiled again, and then brought his hand down to rest on her thigh.

Anna decided to think nothing of it. What a mistake that would be.

A/N: Dylan McDermott is Dylan Freeze.