CHAPTER 7

      Yes… she left home to get away from the strange, awkward relationship with her mother and at that time, San Francisco was the best option in the world. And it had been for a while, until the CEO, Todd Crosby, brought his wife, Wanda, to work at the same agency, as executive creative director.

          Two of the best in the business… Two of her idols…

          Annalise felt the rage overwhelming her. But she knew she had to calm down and avoid unnecessary drama. Jeremy rising from his chair pulled her away from her angry thoughts. Annalise forced her fingers to relax and winced at the marks she had left on her palms while once again walking down memory lane.

“Mom, this was amazing, but…”

“What? Are you leaving already?” Annalise asked watching the clock. “Stay until tomorrow morning…”

“Anna, sweetie, I can’t. My team is expecting me bright and early in the morning. We have a lot to do for the campaign.”

“But…”

“Anna, leave your brother be. He’s got bigger responsibilities now,” her mother intervened. 

          Jeremy pulled her into a warm, brotherly hug.

“I’m sorry, sweet girl. I really have to go and catch the last flight to Washington.”

          She smiled, then kissed his cheek and patted his shoulder affectionately.

“Of course…”

          Brandon got up also and came near them. Annalise turned to him.

“Oh… Are you going away too?”

“Yes, sweetie. Alicia is coming home from Dallas. As a matter of fact, her plane is landing right now. She went there to visit her aunt Willa who’s really sick.”

          John gave Martha a hug and a peck on the cheek.  

“I need to go also, ladies,” he said squeezing the older woman. “Anna, would you like a ride home?” John asked while following her brothers.

“No, thank you. I’m good.”

“Okay,” John added, then turned to Martha and blew her a kiss. “Happy birthday, my Queen! I will see you on my way back from Georgia!”

          Once the boys got away, Martha turned to Annalise and frowned. Annalise prepared herself for another endless lecture about how she was working too hard, about not thinking of settling down.

“I’m a bit thirsty. I’m going to the kitchen,” she said to her mother, trying to get away from the line of fire. “I’ll put the dishes into the dishwasher before going away, okay?”

          Martha followed her and took a seat at the kitchen table.

“Are you alright, Anna? You look tired.”

“I’m good, Mom.”

“You know, I’ve watched you earlier, while the boys were talking. Physically, you were here, with us. But mentally, you were far away…”

“It’s nothing, really. I have an important pitch to prepare and I got caught up in my thoughts.”

          Her mother nodded and stared at her.

“Maybe you should take a break. Work is not everything, you know?”

“To me it kinda is,” Annalise replied a little harshly. “This account is very important to me. I’ve spent days and days working on it and I’m not going to hand it over to someone else and take a break.”

“You really work too much, Anna,” Martha said getting up and coming near her. “You should go out more, meet people, make some friends… Sweetie, I am only saying this because I care for you. Because I’m worried about you. I’ve watched you the whole day and I can say that you are not okay.”

“I’m perfectly fine. And just so you know, I have a life outside the office. Still, I choose my work because I like what I’m doing, not because I cannot live without it. Maybe you should say all this to Jeremy, Mom. He is the real workaholic in the family, not me.”

          Annalise stopped her mother’s lecture, took her purse, and called for a cab.

“You can’t react like this every time we have a conversation…” her mother said.

          Then she turned to Martha.

“We do not have conversations, Mom. You keep those for Bran, Jer, and John. For me, you have only lectures. And I’m kinda tired of those.”

          To her surprise, Martha stood silent. She looked at her mom with a raised eyebrow and wondered if she would add something more, but her lips remained in a firm line. Then Martha’s expression softened a little and came closer to her daughter.

“Anna…”

“I know I am not the perfect daughter, okay? I know you will never love me the way you love my brothers. I know they are ‘your pride and joy’. I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I already heard all the ‘I told you so’ possible on your part, and I’m okay with it. But at least you could acknowledge the fact that I’m trying my best here. You could be at least a bit proud that I was able to come out almost intact from one of the darkest moments of my life… That I’m still standing. I would like to hear something nice coming from you. Just once, Mom.”

          Her voice almost broke. She took a deep breath and pushed the tears back.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to ruin your day…”

          Annalise heard the cab pulling into the driveway. She slightly shook her head, then kissed her mother on the cheek.

“I have to go now. I’ll see you next Saturday, as usual. Happy birthday, Mom.”

          Annalise left the house and got into the car as fast as she could. Tears were running down her face. She gave the driver the directions and stood in silence until she got home.

                                                 ****  

          Annalise examined the fridge and the pantry. Nothing to eat and John was coming… She knew his first question would be: ‘where’s the grub, babe?’ His metabolism was something Annalise always envied.

“There’s only one thing to do…” she said slowly and that very instant she heard the door buzzer.

          She strode across to the call box and pushed the button.

“Is that you, John?”

“‘Yes, baby girl! Buzz me in, please.’”

          A few seconds later, John entered her apartment, and Annalise smiled her welcome.           

 “I know that smile, Miss Walsh! I know it since we were in high school,” he said suspiciously. “It means you have something in mind and I’m not going to like it. And that you don’t have any food…”

“Oh, come on, John! You ate not even three hours ago. But just so you know, while you were coming up, I ordered a large pizza… your favorite.”

“Good! But I refuse to have a reasonable discussion until it gets here.”

          She laughed and punched him on the arm when he flopped on the sofa next to her.

“If I didn’t need a favor from you, Mr. Hot Shot, I’d make you pay for it.”

          His expression grew serious and a bit worried.

“What is this favor anyway? Maybe you should give me a hint or something…”

“Oh, no! I’ll respect your decision. We won’t talk until you have a full stomach.”

          John grunted but did not argue with her. He reached for the remote and switched on the TV. A few seconds later, the sports recap was on, and John settled back against the couch.

          Thanks to the pizzeria right around the corner offering delivery service, the pizza didn’t take long. Soon the decadent smells of a completely loaded pizza filled her apartment.

          Despite all she’d eaten at lunch, Annalise’s stomach growled in anticipation. She eyed the gooey dripping cheese and grimaced. It might taste good, but it would go straight to her hips.

          Then again, that’s what the treadmill was for, right?

          Annalise dropped the box on the coffee table in front of John, not bothering with plates. He eyed the mountain of toppings with something akin to pure, unadulterated bliss.

“Anna, babe… You are the best friend ever!” he exclaimed.

          She waited until he’d grabbed the first piece before she carefully took a slice and nibbled on the end. It was, in a word, sheer heaven. Annalise leaned back and waited for John to down the first slice.

“This is absolutely delicious!”

          John attacked a second slice.

“So, what is this favor you need from me?” he asked with a mouth full of pizza while looking at her.

          Annalise sat forward, putting half the slice down on a napkin.

“Weeeell… What I’m about to ask of you is…”

          She stopped for a second trying to find the right words.

“Anna, I’m getting old here…” John went on, going for a third slice.

“Okay, I’m not going to beat around the bush any longer… So, I have this client… Well, he is not a client, not yet anyway… But I really, REALLY, want to land this account…”

“What’s this client’s name?” John asked and kept on eating.

“Lance Hamilton.”

          John stopped chewing.

“The guy who sells sportswear?”

          She nodded.

“Yes, that’s him,” Annalise replied. “He fired his last agency and has yet to sign with a new one. I want him, John!”

“Excuse you?!” he exclaimed, raising an eyebrow and gazing straight at her.

“Oh, stop it! You know very well what I’m getting at! I desperately want this account, John. I’ve never wanted anything so badly in my entire life. I’ve told you that ‘S&W Advertising’ is not doing so well… So, having Lance Hamilton in our yard would help us a lot.”

“And what exactly does any of this have to do with me?”

          For a moment her courage abandoned her, but Annalise remembered that in her profession there was no room for spineless cowards. She hadn’t worked her way into the confidence of Lance Hamilton acting like a jellyfish.

“I need your help, John… I want you to represent his brand… To be the image of his new sportswear line.”

          John blinked then he frowned, and finally, he put down his half-eaten slice. For a moment, he remained silent. Annalise waited patiently, fully expecting him to say no or to launch into all the reasons why he didn’t take endorsement deals.

          She knew them all.

          But he did none of those things. Instead, John studied her carefully, his gaze sliding over her features as though he was reaching right into her head and pulling out her every thought.

          He didn’t ask her why him.

          He was John Beckett, the captain of “L.A. Cali FC”, the best player on the team, and he was more sought after than any other professional athlete mainly because of his refusal to take endorsement deals. Instead of deterring companies, it made them all the more determined to be the first to lure him to their brand.

          Annalise could beg. She could hurry through a prepared explanation as to why she needed him, but she wasn’t going to bullshit him. Not him… Never him. They were going way back and their friendship was vital for them both.

“I can see that this is extremely important to you…” John stated still frowning, still studying her thoroughly.