Early meeting

My ankle was still sprained a day later, but I had to pull myself together and put on some heels so I could meet with an important client that morning. After I finished getting ready, I brewed a cup of coffee.

I was wearing a peach-colored cotton dress that fell a few inches below my ankles, paired with matching Christian Louboutin pumps. My files were on my kitchen counter, ready to go. I had a bad habit of bringing work home.

I walked over to where my brother was sleeping on the couch.

I sighed as I looked at him. He had come to my penthouse late the previous night, high and drunk out of his mind. I didn’t like how he had been handling himself of late.

He and I had been through a lot growing up, him more than me, because he had to protect me from a lot of things, so I understood the need to depend on drugs. But it didn’t mean I was okay with it.

“I’m leaving, Jesse, and you need to go to work,” I said as I lightly tapped him, “Here is your coffee."

He groaned and pulled himself awake. He could barely open his eyes and look at me. I walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and pulled the curtains open.

“Fucking hell, Ivy! What the fuck?!”

I crossed my arms against my chest and watched him get up from the couch. He was visibly angry because I had just triggered his headache.

“This needs to stop, Jesse. You need to get your shit together.”

“And the only thing you should be worried about is how you’re going to get Seth Ashford to trust you.”

“That is not the point—”

“That is exactly the point. Don’t even think about calling me if you fuck this up.”

I shook my head in disbelief, but I guess I shouldn’t have been all that surprised. He couldn’t handle any criticism, and the only way he would talk to me was if he was bossing me around.

“You can’t go on like this. You are towing the line of addiction, and you know this.”

“Shut the fuck up, Ivy! I don’t need my baby sister telling me what the fuck I should do.” He yelled.

When he realized he had lashed out at me, he tried to speak, but I stopped him. I wasn’t interested in making up with him, only to fight with him all over again later when he showed up at my penthouse drunk again.

“Drink your coffee and lock the door on your way out.”

I left immediately, walking to my office because my penthouse was near the PR company I worked for. I had worked there for three years and I had already been promoted several times. I was good at my job, and I worked with the best of the best.

I was young for the position I had, but no one could deny I had earned everything I had.

My assistant, Eden, was waiting in my office with a cup of coffee, and I loved her for that.

“You’re eight o’clock meeting is waiting for you in your office,” she said, giving me a nervous smile.

“But it’s quarter to seven. He’s early.”

“And he’s demanding to see you right now. He says he has another meeting in an hour, and he wants to get this one over and done with quickly.”

I groaned and walked to my desk. I had a corner office and a nice view of New York, but nothing made coming to work any easier. I dealt with pricks daily, some that threatened to drive me to insanity.

“Take him to the conference room. Inform him I’ll be with him shortly.”

Eden walked out, leaving me to prepare the documents. I was ready, which meant I could have met the client immediately. But if I compromised every single time a client demanded something, I would be walked on, and I wouldn’t be as successful as I was.

Only when it was five minutes to eight did I grab all my folders and walk to the conference room. The man of the hour was sitting there constantly staring at his watch and adjusting his tie.

“Mr. Ashford, I—” I spoke, but he cut me off when he saw me.

“Of course, it’s you, the girl from the gala. You’re bitter about Saturday, and that is why you kept me waiting.”

“I don’t hold grudges, Ashford, and I didn’t make you wait either. We were supposed to meet at eight, as is the time right now.”

“If I had known it was you, I wouldn’t have shown up to the meeting,” he grumbled as he narrowed his cold eyes at me. I hated Seth Ashford with every bone in my body.

But I had to act professionally and gain his trust. However, that didn’t mean I would forget he needed to fix his public perception and image. He was the one who needed me.

“You didn’t come to a meeting with me, Seth Ashford. You came to meet with the best publicist in the city. That happens to be me.”

“No, it can’t be.”

“Look up every company you’re working with or are aspiring to work with. They are most likely being represented by Ivy Vale if their public perception is immaculate.”

Seth searched for something on my face, hoping I was lying to him. I wasn’t.

“Mark said you’re the best, so I’ll trust him. Now let’s get this meeting over with so I can go to another one.”

Mark was my boss, and he loved me because of all the money I made him every quarter.

“You’re cancelling that meeting, Seth. You should have cleared your morning schedule like I requested.”

“No, Ms. Vale. I’m not cancelling my meeting for you.”

I saw how he sized me up. It wasn’t in the condescending way most men did when they thought I was bluffing about being the best. I saw the hunger in his gaze that he desperately wanted to hide.

He was attracted to me. Who could blame him? I knew I was hot, and most men who met me wanted to fuck me.

“Then leave and don’t come back,” I deadpanned as I gathered my files and started to leave.

“Excuse me?” He asked because he wasn’t used to being challenged or turned down.

“I said, don’t come back. It’s clear you don’t take me seriously or respect me. I let it slide that you interrupted me when I was speaking. I won’t allow you to cross any more lines. Clients are lining up to work with me. You need me more than I need you, Ashford.”

I could tell he was a little bit impressed, but he was also irritated that he didn’t get what he wanted.

“Fine, I’ll cancel the meeting. But I need you to know one thing. Respect is not handed to someone. It is earned.”

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, the door opened and a gorgeous woman stepped in. She was in a short red dress, her blonde hair falling straight on her back. She had flawless makeup and red lipstick to match her dress.

She had the strides of a model and the body of a goddess. I recognized her immediately. She was Seth’s fiancée, Celeste Armitage.

“I didn’t know a woman was going to represent you, Seth.”

The way she said the word ‘woman’ was meant to be condescending and demeaning, but I didn’t see it that way. I saw a challenge that I was going to get. Besides, she had a problem with me because she hated it when women got close to Seth.

“This woman recognizes that Ashford’s sales are tanking and investors are preferring to work with his charismatic competitor, rather than someone who is as cold and aloof as him. And the only reason you are in this room today, Celeste, is because you can help his case. So sit down and address me with the courtesy I deserve.”