The meeting concluded quickly. As soon as the door had closed, and he was alone in the hallway, William strode for the elevators. He had intended to try and catch Poppy before she left, but he was still surprised to find her chatting with the receptionist in the hallway. Her eyes leapt to him, and she didn't appear surprised that his own meeting had concluded so soon. It was almost enough to make him wonder if she had been waiting for him.
"Miss Hanniford, do you mind if I ride with you?"
Poppy maintained her smile, but he saw the tension still hanging around her eyes. "Not at all, Mr. Jameson. Please." She indicated the elevator as it opened, and William allowed her to step in first. He followed her and punched the door closed behind them. He didn't designate a floor, and neither did Poppy. They both knew what this impromptu meeting was about.
"Wow. You're really furious at me." Poppy seemed surprised by whatever she saw in his face.
William could feel his fist clenching and unclenching itself at his side, as if it was hoping to catch hold of the exact words he wanted to use in this situation. He forced it to still. When he thought he could speak evenly again, he risked his next words. "Forgive me, Poppy, but this is the third client your agency has stol
en out from under mine."
"Stolen?" she echoed incredulously. "William, we were in competition with each other!"
"We weren't," he seethed. "You know that we weren't. Don't play games with me now. There's no one in this elevator, or in this conversation, but you and I. So drop the damn act already."
"The act?" she demanded. "What act? I'm not the one who was acting like this was a job competition all along! You were! You were always putting your agency—no, not your agency, yourself—first! And by being supportive of you, I was getting left in the dust. You took advantage of me, and I…" Poppy sucked in a hard breath and appeared to compose herself. William stared at her, stricken by what she was saying. Fearing what she would say next. "…I let you walk all over me," she concluded finally. "It's my fault things were turning out the way they were. But don't for a second think that by taking charge of my own destiny I somehow slighted you. Don't you dare accuse me of underhanded tactics, or of not being a team player. I played fair this entire time. But we were playing by different rules, William. And I figured out, finally, that I was playing at a disadvantage."
He wanted to speak. He wanted to defend himself against her claims, but no words came. His head was empty except for the reverberations of her words; his throat was dry as dust. "…I'm sorry if I operated in a way that gave you that impression," he said finally. "Truly, I thought we were in this together."
Poppy crossed her arms, and turned slightly toward the corner of the elevator. "You wanted to lead," she said finally. "It's what you're good at. But it's also become apparent to me that it's all you know. And when a person leads like you do, they often forget to check in with everyone else to see if they're following. You're Atlas: you want to take the world on your shoulders. It's a trait of yours that I l…that I admire. More than I can express. But the person I want to align myself with should be able to meet me halfway. They should want to support me as much as I support them."
Poppy pressed the button for the lobby. William stared at the glowing light, wishing he could come up with an idea that was equally brilliant in that moment. Something that would return things to the way they were. Something that would win her back.
"The presentation I was going to make today…" William cut himself off as the elevator door opened. He didn't know what good an undelivered presentation would do him now. Poppy blinked; she didn't walk immediately out of the elevator. She waited for him to continue.
But William did not continue.
"I'm sure it would have been excellent," she said finally. "Your presentations usually are. Goodbye, William."
No, he thought as he watched her walk out into the lobby. It would have been unlike any presentation I've ever given before.
"Goodbye, Poppy," he said quietly. The elevator doors closed over his farewell.
Chapter Twelve
E-MAIL DATED: Monday A.M.
SUBJECT: The Future of the Project
Miss Hanniford:
I take it by now you have also met with your staff and arrived at the same conclusions I have. I found that, despite the contract being awarded to Wildflower Agency, it appears our employees have taken the liberty of comingling and forming teams to tackle various aspects of the campaign. Please advise me of how you would like to proceed given the circumstances.
Congratulations again on the campaign. I know you will do creditable work as always.
Respectfully,
William Jameson
E-MAIL DATED: Wednesday A.M.
SUBJECT: Re: The Future of the Project
Mr. Jameson:
Thank you for your e-mail. I do appreciate the amount of work we will have going forward in untangling our staffs. It appears that things are just as you perceived: there isn't a single team that assembled itself that isn't comprised of both Jameson and Wildflower employees.
In the preparations for the convention I admit that I didn't dissuade, but rather encouraged, my employees to collaborate with your own. I thought we could achieve our best work that way and I wasn't wrong. However, I apologize for the confusion this has created for your team.