He lowered the tablet. “I’ll consider what we’ve discussed, then call you with my decision.”
Iris gave him a rueful smile. “Let’s be honest, Ty. You’re not going to hire me, are you?”
Tyler hesitated but he couldn’t bring himself to lie. “No, I’m afraid not. I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” Iris sighed. She repacked her pen and notepad before standing.
Tyler stood with her. “Your proposal was really very good. In fact, it was great.”
“But you don’t have confidence in my execution.” Her words were blunt but her tone wasn’t accusatory.
“There’s a lot riding on this product launch.” Now that their meeting was over, Tyler didn’t want her to leave.
“Every launch is important.” She adjusted her briefcase strap on her slender shoulder, then offered him her hand. “Good luck with your launch.”
“Thanks.” Tyler took her hand, surprised by her gesture. Why wasn’t she being snide or sarcastic like other companies usually were when he turned down their proposal? “Good luck with your company.”
“Thank you.” Iris led him to his office door.
Their conversation was scarce as they walked down the hallway: the weather, traffic and the hard winter they’d just had.
They stopped beside Sherry’s desk. Tyler offered Iris his hand again, one last time to feel her soft, warm skin a
gainst his. “Thanks again for meeting with me.”
“Thank you for the opportunity.” Her smile wasn’t as bright as it had been when they’d first met but it was sincere. She slipped her hand from Tyler’s, then turned to Sherry. “It was nice to meet you, Sherry.”
The receptionist smiled up at her. “Same here, dear. Have a good day.”
“You do the same.” Iris pushed through the glass doors of the office suite, then disappeared down the hall to the elevator.
Tyler sensed Sherry’s eyes on him as he returned to his office. He was certain he’d made the right decision regarding The Beharie Agency. Then why was he having second thoughts? Was it because of the undeniable strength of Iris’s proposal?
Or her full bow-shaped lips?
He tried to push thoughts of Iris from his mind as he settled behind his desk to call Kimball & Associates—again. He needed to partner with an established consultant, one they’d worked with before and on whom he could depend to produce a winning launch.
Even if it meant saying no to the opportunity to spend more time in the company of Iris Beharie.
Chapter 2
“I need a big account to land a big account or for someone to give me a chance.”
Iris trailed her friend Cathy Yee through the buffet line during the monthly Marketing Professionals Association luncheon Tuesday afternoon. The group had taken over a banquet room in one of the downtown restaurants. Well-dressed marketing professionals on an extended lunch break packed the dim walnut-wood room. Circular tables covered in white cloths faced the speaker’s podium. Serving stations lined the far walls of the cramped space.
Iris considered the menu items: potato or chicken-noodle soup, green or pasta salad, turkey or veggie wrap, coffee or water, chocolate chip cookie or fudge brownie. She skipped the salads, and stuck to the meat selections, coffee and both dessert choices.
“I know. I was there once.” Cathy, a freelance designer who’d been flying solo for almost ten years, passed on the soups, but chose both salads, both wraps, coffee, two fudge brownies and a cookie.
Iris considered her friend’s waiflike, five-foot-two-inch frame clothed in a black pantsuit with onyx accessories. Where would all that food go?
“I was so disappointed not to get that contract with Anderson Adventures.” Iris balanced her lunch plate and bowl in one hand, and her coffee cup in another. “It’s as though the three months I’ve spent in my own business has completely wiped out my eight years of experience.”
Iris frowned as her friend led her to a table toward the back of the banquet room. Cathy usually preferred to sit front and center. Maybe she wasn’t as interested in this afternoon’s social media topic.
“They make you prove yourself all over again.” Cathy’s voice held more than a touch of irritation.
“Exactly.” Iris laid her plate, soup bowl and coffee cup on the empty table Cathy had claimed. The benefits of arriving early.