Miss Callahan Ch. 21-27

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Author’s Note:

We’ve come to the end. Thank you so much for sticking with me on this story. Your comments, private messages and support has been amazing.

Olivia Ellison one-shot coming in 2021.

-FFF

Chapter 21

“Time check?” Michelle asks as we sit back down at the conference table after doing our final run through of the day.

“Just over an hour,” Jackie says as she looks at the stopwatch that we have resting on the conference table. “Not bad.”

“That would give us the last 30 minutes for the question-and-answer period, which seems like a good breakdown. Let’s try to hit that pace again when we run through it tomorrow,” Michelle says.

I internally cringe at the mention of doing another run through tomorrow. I know we need to given the magnitude of this pitch, but just like with Interplay, and every other piece of business I’ve ever pitched, I hate rehearsing. I feel so wooden and forced until I have a real audience and I wish it was Friday already so we could be done with it. For so many reasons.

Thankfully, Guy and Sarah are sitting in for tonight’s rehearsal so they can review and give us feedback. They are some of the only two people that have signed Ellison’s NDA— Guy because he’s the head of the office and Sarah because we needed to bring her in for the measurement pieces— and having other people to watch us helps me feel like it’s a little more real.

“Damn, guys. That was smooth,” Sarah says.

“Thank you, Sarah. Any real notes though?” Michelle asks as she rubs her forehead.

Michelle has seemed tense ever since the meeting with Olivia, which I suppose I understand— mainly because I’ve felt the same tension myself. But in the two years she’s been my boss, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so serious and rigid through a pitch process. Even during our last rehearsal, she wasn’t her confident, charming self and I wonder how much of Olivia’s antics in that meeting really got under her skin. Usually, a compliment like that from Sarah would at least elicit a smile.

“Right,” Sarah says looking back down at her notepad with a more serious look on her face. “I really did think the opening and closing pieces were fantastic. The way you weaved the creative campaigns with the research was also really powerful. But I think the insight slides need to be pulled in sooner.”

“Says the researcher,” Jackie jokes.

“Hush now, my little coloring friend,” Sarah replies to Jackie with an eye roll. “As I was saying, you set up the situation well at the beginning. It’s clear we understand what they’re looking for, but we need to follow that up with our main insights. Right now, it goes from the opening statement into the history of Altitude and Ellison. They already know that history. If anything, I think that stuff could be held until the end.”

“I agree. Olivia won’t want to feel like she’s being talked at about things she already knows,” I say.

“Yes, but there are also new people in the room that we know we need to impress,” Michelle argues. “I agree we can move the slides down, but we will need them at some point to showcase to the board how deep our relationship history runs and the success we’ve had on their behalf.”

“Agreed,” Guy says as he finally chimes in. “To quote Sarah, that was truly fantastic. You three have put together a compelling case. I have no notes on the actual presentation itself. The deck is beautiful and Emma nailed it as always. Michelle, I’ve already mentioned it to you when I reviewed the slides earlier today, but I just don’t think the case study examples are right. Does San Francisco have any better sustainability samples besides the Port Authority campaign? We know Donnelly & Schneider will be strong on that front. We need to showcase that we’re not completely new to the space.”

“I’ll send you the samples San Francisco sent to me today. There’s one great one from their campaign with Blossom Ridge, but it’s very consumer focused,” Michelle says.

“Given the fact that Ellison wants to go big with this, I think that’s ok,” he responds. “Send me the case study slide and I’ll review it. When’s your next rehearsal?”

“We’ll do two more run-throughs tomorrow,” Michelle says.

“I’ll be around if you need an audience again,” Guy replies. “I can put together some mock questions to help prepare for the Q&A section.”

“That would be great actually. If you can join our noon rehearsal, that would give us time to rearrange some of the slides we just talked about,” Michelle says to him. “Jackie, can you work with Sarah on the research flow?”

“I certainly can,” Jackie responds and directs a playful smile at Sarah.

The two of them always have trouble being serious when in the same room and I often wonder how it is they ever get anything done, but somehow, they always do.

“Jackie and Emma, are you two prepared if Olivia decides to start the meeting early?” Michelle asks us.

Jackie seems to finally notice how stressed iskenderun escort Michelle is and she drops the smile that had spread across her face a moment before. It suddenly hits me just how much pressure Michelle must be under from leadership to win this account and I’m grateful I decided not to tell her about my relationship with Lauren.

So far Olivia has been quiet from Austin and I’m still holding out hope that Maddy didn’t say anything. Though, Olivia could just be waiting until she gets back to Seattle to make a move.

“Yes, our calendars are cleared in case she does that again,” I reply.

Something tells me Olivia never plays the same trick twice so that, mixed with the fact that key board members will be in the office with her, makes me think we will start at three, just like scheduled. And that alone already feels like a cruel trick— nobody wants to pitch at the end of the day on a Friday. It isn’t even Thursday yet and I’m already exhausted.

“Then I think we can break until tomorrow,” Michelle says and begins to gather her things.

An awkward silence settles on the room with Michelle’s abrupt conclusion and even Guy has a slight concerned look on his face as he watches her put her laptop in her bag.

“Perfect timing, too,” Guy says with exaggerated exuberance, apparently trying to smooth over the tension in the room. “I told Paul I’d try to start getting home before ten o’clock at least once this week.”

But Michelle just gives us all a tight smile before she’s standing and moving towards the door. “Tell Paul hello for me. Jackie and Emma, I’ll see you in here tomorrow at nine,” she says before she’s out the door.

Guy and Sarah are both looking at the door behind me where Michelle just left, but I can see Jackie’s eyes trained on Guy with a confused look on her face.

“Who’s Paul?” she asks.

“My boyfriend,” Guy says as if it was obvious.

I have to look away so I don’t react to Jackie’s comically wide eyes.

“Is there a problem, Jackie?” Guy asks, probably confused by Jackie’s surprised face.

“No, not at all. None at all. Zero. I just didn’t know…you had a boyfriend. You’ve never brought him to the holiday party.”

“We started dating just after last year’s,” Guy replies with a slightly confused look on this face.

Sometimes when Jackie gets going, there’s nothing that can stop the train wreck that comes out of her mouth if she’s left unchecked. And right now, right before the biggest pitch of our life, is probably not the best time to tell Guy that she thought he was sleeping with Michelle. So, before things get worse, I decide to cut in.

“Anyway, thank you, Guy. We won’t keep you any longer. It’s getting close to your curfew,” I say to him with as much charm as I can muster.

“No, thank you. I know how much work you’ve put into this and it shows. I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Guy says before getting up and leaving the room.

Once the door is closed, Jackie lets out a loud noise that sounds like a mix of a sigh and a laugh. “Well, who would have guessed,” she says.

“Guess what?” Sarah asks.

“Guy’s gay,” Jackie replies.

“Obviously,” Sarah says. “He has a rainbow flag on his desk and his hair is coiffed.”

“You two need to stop stereotyping,” Jackie responds, pointing at Sarah and me. “That would be like me saying you’re gay just because your hair is short or you drive a motorcycle,” she says to Sarah before turning her eyes on me. “Or that you’re gay because—”

For a moment her eyes roam over my dress and long hair, seemingly looking for something she can call out.

“You have short fingernails,” she finally says.

“Well, you’d be right in all of those examples. Even if Emma’s was a terrible example,” Sarah replies. “Oh, and you ride a motorcycle, you don’t drive one.”

As I watch Jackie roll her eyes at Sarah, I can’t help but laugh. After all the late nights, last minute changes to the pitch presentation and rehearsal after rehearsal this week brought, it feels good to be bantering with the two of them again. And it’s not lost on me how much friendlier Jackie has been since her night with Maddy. But thinking about Maddy and what she’s most likely told Olivia only makes my stomach tighten so I push that from my brain for now.

“Anyway, what did you guys do to Michelle?” Sarah asks.

“The meeting with Olivia Ellison was a bit tense and I think she’s just stressed about this whole thing,” I say.

“It is a lot of money. I’d be stressed too,” Sarah replies. “But if she needs a handler for Olivia Ellison, I’d be happy to step in. I’m a savant when it comes to dealing with hot, difficult women,” she adds as she waggles her eyebrows. “Feel free to pass along my personal cell phone number.”

I smile at Sarah, but the direction of the conversation is also making me feel slightly uncomfortable— as any mention of Lauren’s ex does. I especially don’t want to hear about how hot she is.

“Sorry to tell you, but diyarbakır escort I think Emma is more her type than you are,” Jackie says, causing me to shift uneasily in my chair. Now we are definitely in uncomfortable territory.

“I’d argue that I’m everyone’s type, but I have seen Olivia’s ex-wife so I’m guessing you’re right,” Sarah responds.

I feel like my heart skips a beat at the mention of Lauren and I just hope it didn’t show on my face. Sarah is a good friend, but the Ellison pitch is messy enough without one more person knowing the truth behind it all.

“You guys knew she was married to Lauren, right?” Sarah asks when Jackie and I just stare at her.

“Of course, we knew. She’s basically our boss. But how did you know?” Jackie asks.

“I’ve heard it from like five different people here. It’s an agency. Worse than a high school. Why, is it supposed to be a secret?”

“No,” Jackie says casually and looks at me, but doesn’t say anything else.

Sarah and Jackie are even closer than Sarah and myself so I’m grateful Jackie’s not saying anything more even though she could.

“Well, it’s too bad they broke up because that might be the hottest couple in the entire world.”

Usually, Sarah’s brazen attitude about women amuses me, but right now her comment just causes my hand to dig into the armrest of my chair. I will myself not to say something snarky about Olivia, but it doesn’t help that Jackie’s eyebrows are raised and she’s staring right at me, as if waiting for me to respond with some jealous comment.

“Should you even be looking? I thought you were still seeing the barista,” I respond when Jackie just continues to sit there looking at me.

I know my voice sounds more strained than it would in any normal conversation about women, but Sarah doesn’t seem to notice.

“That one is over. Whenever her cat would fall asleep on the bed, she would make me sleep on the loveseat in her bedroom while she slept with the cat.”

“An animal lover. How terrible,” Jackie says laughing.

“Do you know how small a loveseat is?” Sarah asks. “I think it gave me permanent back damage.”

As the conversation moves off Lauren and Olivia, and Sarah begins relaying a story about her latest round of unsuccessful dates, I begin to relax a little. I’m also reminded how much I miss hanging out with the two of them and how much has changed since Lauren came to town.

“Speaking of which, I have date number two with the DJ tonight so I need to go. Let’s tackle the slides in the morning,” Sarah says to Jackie.

“Fine with me. I’m about to fall asleep in this chair,” Jackie says as we all stand up and begin to gather our things. “Good luck with the DJ. We expect details tomorrow,” Jackie says and I can’t help but smile a little at her use of “we”.

“Sure thing. Great job on the presentation, guys. I’d hire you,” Sarah replies as she gives us a final wave and heads down the hallway towards her desk, which is on the other side of the office.

“Heading to your office?” Jackie asks and when I nod, she motions for us to walk down the hallway.

“Do you think Michelle is ok?” I ask as we walk.

“I think she’ll be fine. She’s probably just feeling like the win is her responsibility,” Jackie replies.

“That’s not exactly fair.”

“No. If leadership had just addressed the real issue from the start, maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“What do you mean?”

“If they were just transparent about why this is a longshot, instead of brushing Olivia’s marriage vendetta under the rug, we’d be in a much more realistic frame of mind on whether or not we can actually win this. Maybe they could have even addressed it directly with Olivia. Now we’re in some weird pretend world where Olivia is just another client.”

I’m lost in my own thoughts as we get closer to my office so I just nod in response. I agree with Jackie’s assessment of the situation, but I’m also torn because I don’t know what would happen to Lauren if it was all addressed with Oliva directly and now, I can’t imagine her not being in my life.

“How are you feeling about Friday and seeing Olivia again?” she asks me.

“I feel like I’m in a haunted house and I know some scary dead lady is going to jump out at me at any minute and I’m just sitting here, waiting for it to happen.”

Jackie slows and turns to me with a confused look on her face. “Um, what? What haunted house? Who’s the dead lady?”

“It’s a metaphor.”

“An oddly specific one.”

“I’m just waiting for Olivia to do something, I guess. There’s no way she finds out that the woman who rejected her in Seattle is in love with her ex-wife and just lets it go. Something tells me that’s not her style.”

But now Jackie hasn’t just slowed, she’s completely stopped walking. When I turn to look at her, she has an unreadable expression on her face.

“You love her?” she asks.

It’s not until she asks the question that I even realize elazığ escort what I said. I knew how I felt before, but this was the first time I have ever vocalized it and despite her thawed attitude towards me, Jackie is probably the last person I should have made that confession to.

“Yes,” I reply in a quiet voice and look around at the framed awards lining the hall wall so I don’t have to look in her eye as I respond.

Jackie doesn’t say anything for a full minute, which causes me to finally bring my eyes back to her face. But when I look at her, she doesn’t look as upset as I thought she would.

“I’m happy for you, Ems,” she finally says.

“You are?”

She gives a short laugh and a sigh. “I mean, I want to be? I think maybe I can be in time. I don’t think I’ll ever be President of the Lauren Callahan Fan Club. I wouldn’t even be the treasurer of that shit. But I’m doing my best to move on.”

“That makes me really happy, Jack,” I respond, smiling widely at her.

I knew I missed Jackie, but I don’t think I truly realized how much until tonight. Something about our exchange with Sarah felt so familiar and natural and I’m finally understanding how much I need her in my life.

“Ok, enough of that for one night,” Jackie says waving off our emotional moment and walks the final few paces to my office door. “You know, if you’re worried, I could always ask Maddy if Olivia knows anything.”

“You’re still talking?” I ask.

“Talking is a very strong word for what we’re doing,” she says with a raised eyebrow.

I feel a sudden mix of emotions at Jackie’s revelation. On one hand, I’m happy she’s met someone she likes. But it also makes me nervous to have someone so close to Olivia at arm’s length. Though, given my own ill-advised relationship with a client’s ex-wife, I know I can’t really criticize her.

And while it is tempting to ask her to find out what she can, if Maddy didn’t realize what Jackie had told her a couple weeks ago, or if she was too drunk to remember, it’s better not to just offer up the information again.

“Better not bring it up,” I reply.

“You’re probably right,” she says.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten so used to Jackie steering clear of my office that I’m surprised when I open my door and I can feel her follow me in. But when I enter and see Lauren sitting in one of the chairs across from my desk, scrolling through her phone, I stop in my tracks, causing Jackie to run into me.

“Jesus, Ems. It’s called walking. You usually do it in a forward progression,” she says as she steadies herself. “Oh hey, Lauren. Must have been you that made Emma trip.”

Lauren’s face looks tentative as she stares up at Jackie, but she smiles regardless. “Hello, Jackie. How was rehearsal?”

“Good. Emma killed it as usual,” Jackie responds but for once there isn’t any bite in her tone. She isn’t as friendly as I’ve seen her be with others, but I’d still call this an improvement.

Lauren stands up from the chair she was in and takes a step closer to us at the door. “Listen, Jackie. I wanted to thank you. For telling Emma what Maddy said. I know you didn’t do it for me, or even us, but thank you anyway.”

Jackie gives Lauren a serious nod before a small smile creeps onto her face. “Just take care of this one,” she says, motioning towards me. “She’s scared of some dead lady jumping out at her.”

Lauren looks to me with a furrowed brow and I just shake my head with a slight eye roll.

“Well, I’ve given this place enough of my life. I mean, night. Did I say life? Whoops. I think I’ll be off,” Jackie says as she turns back towards the door. “See you tomorrow morning, Ems.”

Lauren stares at the hallway that Jackie just went down with an amused expression on her face before moving over to the door and closing it. I need to answer a couple of emails before I can leave so I move over to my desk and pull out my laptop.

“What’s this about a dead lady?” Lauren asks, coming over so she can sit on the corner of my desk.

As Lauren crosses her bare legs in front of her, all I can do is stare at her for a moment. The entire position is so reminiscent of our first time together that I’m too distracted to answer the question.

“Ems?” she asks when my eyes continue to just roam her body.

“Sorry. Forget about the dead lady. There is no dead lady.”

“Ok, then,” she says with a small smirk. Apparently, she knows exactly what dirty thoughts had been going through my mind only a second before. “It seems like you two are doing better,” she adds, nodding her head towards the door.

“Things are definitely moving in the right direction.”

“I’m glad. I know you miss her.”

I feel my body heat up at her words, but not in the same way it did when I was looking at her legs. Lauren’s understanding and her own lack of bite when it comes to Jackie is new and gives me a sense of hope for the future. Two weeks ago, I would have never guessed Lauren and Jackie might thaw towards each other.

“I do. I miss her a lot,” I say and turn my chair towards her. The fact is, I can’t get emails written when Lauren’s perfume is hitting my senses and her bare legs are just asking to be touched so I figure that Jackie is right— I’ve given enough of myself to this place for one night. “You’re here late.”

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