Chapter 4

I almost ran through the doors of ImpacTouch. The receptionist called out a cheerful good morning and I went straight past her. My hair was shoved into a bun. I had dug a clean blouse and a pencil skirt out of the emergency stash I kept in my office. The taxi from the hotel had been a blur of Manhattan traffic and my own thoughts running too fast.

“There you are!” Debby’s voice cut through it as she caught me in the hallway. “I’ve been texting you for the past hour.”

“Sorry. Phone died,” I mumbled, and ducked into my office. She came right in after me.

“Well, you picked a great day to disappear,” she said. Nervous energy all through it. “The Hayes Tech subsidiary representative is coming in less than thirty minutes for the pitch meeting.”

I froze with my purse halfway off my shoulder. “Hayes Tech? As in…”

Her eyes narrowed. “Yes. As in the company owned by the man you apparently spent last night with, if that I*******m post is anything to go by. Please do not tell me you forgot we have been chasing their lifestyle division as a potential investor for weeks.”

My heart sank. Of course I knew today’s meeting was with a Hayes Tech subsidiary. I had known that. But him showing up? Would Steve Hayes really walk in himself for a meeting this small? It made no sense at all.

“I just… I didn’t put it together,” I admitted. My mind was racing. “But Steve Hayes himself would not come for something this small, right? It’ll just be some mid-level executive.”

“Let’s hope so,” Debby said. She did not look convinced. “Though after your little overnight adventure, who knows. Just please tell me you did not wreck this before we even sat down.”

“Of course not,” I said, more sure than I felt. “It was just… it was nothing. And there is no way he shows up in person for this. He probably has a dozen meetings today.”

She looked me over, skeptical. “Are you okay? You look… well. Like you spent the night doing exactly what that I*******m post suggested.”

“I’m fine,” I said. I pulled a compact out of the desk drawer and checked the damage. Makeup was passable. There was no hiding the tired in my eyes, or the faint redness on my neck where his stubble had been. “Nothing a little concealer won’t fix.”

While Debby gathered the presentation materials, I locked myself in the small office bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face, put on a thick layer of concealer to cover last night, and did my lipstick again. I stared at myself in the mirror and practiced a professional smile.

“You can do this,” I whispered. “It’s just business.”

By the time the conference room was ready, I had put Freya Newton back on. Founder of ImpacTouch. In control. Presentation loaded on the projector. Portfolio samples lined up on the table. A pitcher of ice water with lemon slices in the middle.

“Do you think they’ll send someone high up?” Debby asked while we made the last adjustments. “I heard Hayes Tech is very hands-on with their brand partnerships.”

“Probably some mid-level marketing executive,” I said, straightening a stack of lookbooks. “The big names only come out when the deal is almost closed.”

The intercom buzzed. “Ms. Newton? Your ten o’clock appointment is here.”

“Send them in,” I said. I smoothed my skirt and stood straighter.

The conference room door opened and the whole professional thing I had built fell apart on the spot. Standing in the doorway, in a tailored charcoal suit that made his shoulders look even broader, was Steve Hayes himself.

His gray eyes met mine. No surprise. No flicker of recognition anyone else would catch. If there was anything there, it was a little amusement buried deep.

“Ms. Newton,” he said, smooth, and put his hand out. “Steve Hayes. I’ve heard impressive things about your firm.”

My hand went out on its own. The brief contact sent a current up my arm. His grip was firm. Professional. Nothing like the hands that had been over every inch of me a few hours ago.

“Mr. Hayes,” I managed, finding my voice. “We weren’t expecting the CEO himself. This is quite an honor.”

Beside me Debby had gone completely still. Her eyes kept moving between us, suspicion growing.

“I like to be personally involved in all aspects of our brand development,” Steve said. He sat at the head of the conference table like that seat had always been his. “Especially when working with… promising new partners.”

The meeting went on like a dream I could not wake up from. I started the pitch. ImpacTouch. How we handled luxury brand marketing. The boutique clients we had already done well with. My own voice sounded far away while I clicked through slide after slide, aware the whole time of his eyes on me.

“Your visual concepts are strong,” Steve said halfway through, cutting in. “But I see three critical weaknesses in your strategy.”

The room felt ten degrees colder. He leaned forward and tented his fingers. “First, your market segmentation is too conventional. Second, your digital integration lacks depth. And third,” he paused, looking straight at me, “you’ve completely overlooked the potential of NFTs and virtual fashion, which will dominate the luxury space in the next three years.”

I stood frozen, like a student getting dressed down. This was not the man from last night. This was a calculating CEO who had found every hole in a proposal I thought was solid.

“The current approach lacks forward thinking,” he went on, voice cool and clinical. “My experience in Asian markets suggests digital ownership will be the next frontier for luxury brands. Your proposal does not address that at all.”

For the next twenty minutes he took the presentation apart piece by piece. Sharp. Smart. Brutal. Debby wrote notes like her hand could not stop. I tried to keep my face still.

“I appreciate your candor, Mr. Hayes,” I said when I found some ground again. “Those are valuable points. We’ll put them into a revised proposal.”

He nodded and stood up like the meeting was finished because he said so. “I look forward to seeing how you adapt. Hayes Tech requires partners who can pivot quickly.” He adjusted his cufflinks. The same move I watched at the hotel. “Send the revised proposal to my office by the end of the week. I’m particularly interested in your ideas for metaverse integration.”

On his way to the door he stopped next to me. “Your company shows promise, Ms. Newton. With the right guidance, it could be extraordinary.” His voice dropped. Just for me.

Then he was gone. Cologne is still in the air. The room was thick with everything we were not saying.

“What the actual hell was that?” Debby hissed the second the door shut. “He completely tore our proposal apart.”

I dropped into the nearest chair. “He’s right though. Everything he said was spot on. We have to rebuild this from the ground up. Cancel my afternoon appointments.”