Читать книгу A Whirlwind...Makeover - Nancy Lavo, Nancy Lavo - Страница 12

“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.”