Author’s Note: This chapter takes place in Houston, Texas. The events of this chapter occur before Matt leaves for Australia to take up his exchange with Cole. Matt has not yet met Lexi but he has heard a lot about her and his boss is putting the hard word on him to get Lexi to defect and work for his company.
“I’m telling you Burns, I need her on my team. You have a real opportunity here and I need you to be a team player.” Jerry was giving me the same speech he had given me all week.
“Jerry, I’m not entirely sure what you are asking me to do? I mean, by all accounts you said she is loyal to Cole. How am I going to be able to convince her to jump ship?” Seriously, no one could be that good. He was making this Lexi out to be like some mythical unicorn.
“I’m not sure you heard me, Burns.” Jerry closed the door behind him, “You didn’t see this filly; she had men twice her size pissing down their legs. She is smart as a whip and has no fear - zero. Well shoot, I watched her negotiate a deal with JS Holdings and not even work up a sweat. That tough son of a bitch doesn’t cave for anyone and yet he did, for her. She signed him as a client and he thanked her for the privilege. Now, maybe it’s cause she was packing an impressive set of legs or maybe she is a genius - either way I want her.”
“Ok, I’ll talk to her. See if I can’t convince her to give us a shot.” I hoped that my agreeing to talk to her put this conversation to bed. I had a lot of work to get through. Tomorrow I would be jetting off to Australia where I would be doing a six-month exchange and getting some much needed international experience. I had edged out Brett Hardiman for the opportunity and the bastard was still pissed.
“You need to do more than talk, Burns.” Jerry leaned up against my desk, his coffee breath polluting the air, “I’m backing you for department head. Show me you got what it takes. Give her that smile that makes girls cream their panties. Let her look into those baby blues you have and convince her she needs to sign. Don’t underestimate yourself Burns, she is still a girl.”
“You aren’t suggesting I whore myself out for the company are you?” This was extreme, even for Jerry. I knew he liked to skate close to the lines of ethical boundaries and he was a misogynist, but was he really suggesting I seduce someone for a job?
“Pull your tampon out Burns. She’s a knock out and you should be so lucky. You go over and you lay it on thick. Give her some of that smooth Texan charm you throw around, make her go gaga over you like the rest of the girls in the office and well, if you end up with a roll in the hay, then you just got the bonus plan. Well Burns, I want her fucking signed. Now I have this pain in my ass client I need to deal with so get y’er shit together and I’ll talk to you when you land.” Jerry gave me his typical wink and strolled out of my office. I couldn’t believe he was serious. Of all the bullshit Jerry had asked me to do, this was by far the lowest.
I leaned back into my worn leather chair. I wanted that promotion but I was not willing to use someone to get it. Maybe Jerry was right? I needed to be aggressive if I was ever going to get further in this industry. Maybe I could “suggest” an opportunity? Ask her out and discuss some options over a relaxed dinner? If she said no, well at least I wouldn’t feel like complete dick. I sure as hell wasn’t going to sleep with her. After all, we were going to have to work together for the next six months and interoffice romances were nothing but bad news.
I grabbed some files off my desk and threw them into my briefcase. It was close enough to clocking out time and I needed to get shit squared away before my flight tomorrow. I grabbed my jacket off the back of the chair as I strode to the door of my office. I paused on the threshold before hitting the lights. This was the last I was going to see of this place for a while. Despite its retro feel, I’d grown accustomed to the familiar yellowed walls and dark wooden office furniture. Tomorrow I was off into the unknown. The excitement buzzed through my body, the only thing I wasn’t looking forward to was the long-ass flight. I flicked the light switch and I closed the door. I was ready.