“Well, you proved it. He’s going to be impressed.”
“I meant to myself. I needed to prove it to myself.” If they could handle this, they could handle anything. “And we have a long way to go. This is just the start.”
“But it’s a good start. I hope Jake recognizes your superpowers at negotiating.”
“Our job is to make it all look smooth and easy, not challenging. Your wish is our command, remember?”
“I have a feeling this event could be ‘your wish is our nervous breakdown,’’’ Eva said. “You’re sure this is just professional pride? You’re sure there’s nothing more personal going on?”
“No.” Paige took a deep breath. “What would be going on?”
“I don’t know, but the two of you shoot off so many sparks when you’re together it’s like Fourth of July fireworks. On a dark night I bet they can see you from New Jersey.”
“It’s true there are times when it feels as if we’re permanently in conflict.” And she hated it. She missed the easy, close relationship she’d had with him as a teenager.
“Conflict?” Eva looked at her steadily. “I would have described it as chemistry, but I was never much good at the sciences.” She stood up. “We’re going to impress him. After today, Urban Genie will officially have taken the first step to success.”
Chemistry?
Of course it wasn’t chemistry. He took pleasure in goading her, poking at her flesh until she snapped at him.
“Hi.” Dani stood in the doorway. “Jake’s finishing up a call, and he asked you to come to his office in fifteen minutes.”
Paige felt her stomach drop but her smile stayed steady. “Thanks.”
Dani paused. “Have you worked with Jake before? Because there are a few things that will make your meeting go smoother.”
Eva looked anxious. “Like what?”
“Keep it brief. Jake hates wasting time. He doesn’t do small talk and don’t ever lie to him. If he asks you something and you don’t know the answer, say you don’t know. Don’t bullshit. Don’t ask me how, but his bullshit detector is infallible, and if you tell him a lie once he will never believe you again.”
Frankie stood up. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Don’t try and impress him. He hates it. He’s impressed by good work, not by people trying to impress him. He sees through it.”
“I’ve known Jake for years,” Eva muttered, “and suddenly my knees are wobbly and my stomach is filled with wriggly snakes.”
“Yeah, he has that effect on people. And that brings me to my last piece of advice—” Dani gave a crooked smile. “Don’t fall for him.”
Paige had heard enough. “Thanks, Dani. We’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.” As Dani left the room Eva bit her nails.
“This is Jake, right?” She straightened her pink shirt and applied a quick slick of gloss to her lips. “I mean, we’ve drunk beer with him on the roof terrace and eaten Maria’s spaghetti with red sauce with him a thousand times.”
“Don’t think about it.” But that was easier said than done. To distract herself, Paige scrolled through her notes. “Treat him as we would any other client. It’s professional.”
Except that the personal was there, simmering beneath the surface.
She’d sensed so many swirling undercurrents during that first meeting that she’d been tempted to ask for a life belt.
And it would have been easier to keep it entirely professional if he hadn’t seen the necklace.
She should have stopped wearing it years ago instead of giving it a place next to her heart.
She hated the fact she wasn’t able to consign it to the back of a drawer along with other pieces of jewelry she rarely wore.
And now he knew. Her secret, a secret no more.
She couldn’t have felt more uncomfortable if someone had put a photo of her naked on an electronic billboard in Times Square.