Chapter 4

CHAPTERFOUR

This can NOT be happening.

London’s feet seemed to be frozen to the floor. A few yards away from where she was supposed to launch her new career, Trey Van Horn was holding, of all things, a baby. The kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering in her stomach ahead of her pitch-meeting abruptly stilled.

Probably because she was no longer breathing.

Trey Van Horn was holding A BABY, for crying out loud!

And he was looking at the infant as if she hung the moon. His face was relaxed into the easy grin she’d so quickly fallen for. It still had the power to melt a piece of her heart. The lucky baby gazed back at him with worship in her eyes.

I feel you, sister.

The scene was so unexpected, it was impossible for London to stop a gasp from escaping. Trey’s head snapped up, his eyes filling with frosty annoyance. He was giving off a vibe that clearly conveyed she had no right to breathe the same air as him.

She didn’t have time for this. Evan Millar and the team from Nolan and Hemphill were waiting with Seth Gunther. Bennie was already shaking hands with everyone at the table. London forced her feet to move in their direction.

The scouting reports on Trey Van Horn’s quickness were not exaggerated, however. He blocked her path before she could take two steps. He’d only moved a few feet, but he was breathing as though he’d just run the length of a football field.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

Excuse me? “Last time I checked this place was owned by one of my clients. Clearly, he isn’t discriminating about who he lets through the front door.” Take that, you egotistical ass.

The baby chose that moment to reach out and grab hold of the long silver chain London had paired with her navy sleeveless sheath dress. Her mom called it her power dress. She was abruptly proud of the way it made her look professional, yet feminine. Especially given the way Trey’s gaze lingered on her chest.

London had no choice but to move a step closer to him when the baby tugged the necklace into her mouth and began gumming it.

“I meant why are you in Milwaukee?”

The baby flinched at Trey’s hard tone.

He lowered his voice. “Why aren’t you in L.A. filming movies? Or was that just a lie, too?”

A lie, too?

What was he talking about? Before she could demand an explanation, a large hand reached between them. London didn’t dare move as long fingers gently extracted the chain from the baby’s mouth.

“Pardon me, lass. I’ll just take what’s mine, Van Horn,” he took the baby from Trey’s hands. The baby issued a warning wail before her father cooed to her. “Hush, sweet Lily. Daddy will buy you a chain of your own.”

London blew out a calming breath, then forced her lips into a bright smile. “It was nice to see you again, Trey,” she lied. The sooner she could get away from him, the better it would be for her equilibrium. “If you’ll excuse me, I have people waiting for me.”

She went to take a step, but his palm against her bare arm stopped her forward progress.

And nearly her heart.

The skin tingled beneath his fingers. She swallowed roughly at the unfairness of the sensation. “What do you want from me?”

“Answers.”

Well, so did she. But this wasn’t the time or place. Besides being years too late. She’d waited for him that night. All night. He was the one who had to answer for his behavior. She didn’t owe Trey Van Horn anything.

“People are watching us,” she said quietly. “I’ve got an important client waiting. I’d really appreciate it if you’d just walk away. We both know how good you are at that.”

His hand dropped from her arm as if she’d scalded him. Bennie swiftly materialized by her side. Her boss’s brows were hiked to the top of his forehead.

“Everything okay here, kiddo?”

He looked between her and Trey before cupping her elbow and edging her away. She could feel Trey’s eyes boring into her back as she made her way to the round table where Evan and his team waited along with Seth Gunther, their rapt gazes all focused on her. Feeling like a fool, she took her seat and gulped down a few ounces of water.

“I apologize,” she said. “I just wanted to say hello to an old friend.”

Seth shot a fist pump into the air. “Well, what do you know? She’s got famous friends. Today is my lucky day.”

The man’s exuberance helped to calm her nerves. She knew they had put together a solid campaign. Bennie was correct. Given Seth’s enthusiasm, this was a “slam dunk.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Trey and his friends exit the diner. Exhaling a last steadying breath, she launched into her presentation.

“We’re proposing that we target two separate shoppers with your campaign,” she explained. “First, we’ll go after moms during the upcoming back-to-school season. They’re always looking for something interesting to put in their kids’ lunchboxes. Based on our market studies, Gunther’s string cheese outperforms the national brands in the regions where it is available. All we have to do is get moms to put it in their children’s hands, and we think that when you take the string cheese national, it will grab the same market share within eighteen months. If we are lucky, perhaps even sooner.”

Bennie pulled a cow puppet from beneath his chair.

“Mooz-R-Ella will be the face of Gunther’s string cheese for that purpose,” she continued. “We’ve developed print ads and video for both television and social media targeting moms and kids. There will even be replicas of the puppet that kids can win with a certain number of UPC codes found on the inside of the string cheese wrapper.”

Bennie handed Seth the cow puppet. “Your grandkids are going to love this.”

“Yeah, sure,” Seth replied as he absently took the puppet and put it on his hand. “But there is more, right?”

“Yes,” London said, trying not to be too disappointed by Seth’s lack of enthusiasm. “Of course.” She opened her tablet and slid it across the table. “The rest of your cheese products will be targeted to our biggest demographic: the foodie. Millennials and Gen Xers are cooking at home more now thanks to the pandemic and the Food Network. It’s our plan to appeal to them using these fun social media reels and recipes emphasizing the quality of your products. Research indicates they aren’t afraid to spend more on something that tastes better.”

She sat back while Seth quickly flipped through the videos she’d painstakingly researched and recorded. The recipes, the actors, the sets, and even the lighting, were all carefully curated to appeal to their target audience. She was proud of the work she’d put in. Everyone at the table seemed to be holding their breath as Seth swiped at the tablet.

“I don’t understand,” Seth was saying. “He’s not in any of these videos.”

Evan moved forward in his chair. London exchanged a confused look with Bennie.

“Those are for the foodies,” Bennie explained to his friend. “The cow will be in the videos for the string cheese.”

“I realize that.” Seth slammed the cow puppet onto the table. “I don’t care about the damn cow. I want to see the videos with Trey Van Horn promoting my cheese.”

London nearly swallowed her tongue. “Tr-Trey Van Horn,” she croaked.

Evan cleared his throat. “Mr. Gunther, your budget doesn’t allow for a paid spokesman.” He gestured to the discarded puppet with his chin. “Other than Mooz-R-Ella, that is.”

Seth glared at the account executive before turning to Bennie. “Who’s this guy to tell me that I have to use a puppet for a spokesman? I don’t want a damn puppet. I want someone people look up to telling them to buy my cheese.”

Bennie tried to pacify his friend. “We talked about this, Seth. The money isn’t there right now. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be in a year or two. You heard London’s stats. When we get that market share, then you can think of hiring a major spokesman.”

Seth pointed at London. “But she just said they’re friends.”

London’s stomach dropped. That’s what she got for lying. Damn Trey. Wasn’t ruining her life once enough?

“Didn’t that article say he doesn’t eat cheese?” One of Evan’s team mumbled the question.

“I think he’s lactose intolerant,” another added.

“Nah, just a food weenie,” one of the others chimed in.

London was pinching the bridge of her nose so hard she wouldn’t be surprised if it suddenly snapped off. That would certainly put an end to this inane conversation. She looked over to find Evan eyeing her speculatively.

“If we can get more money in the budget . . .” he began.

Oh hell no.Not him too.

“As was just mentioned, Trey Van Horn practices a crazy diet that doesn’t include cheese or he would be perfect,” she ad-libbed, shrugging her shoulders for effect. “But if it’s a spokesman you want, I can do my best to get you Alek Bergeron.”

Beneath the table, London crossed the fingers on both hands. But the goalie did say he owed her.

“Who’s that?” Evan was apparently not a hockey fan.

“The goalie for the Mayhem.” Bennie blessedly followed her lead. “He’d be perfect and he’s very popular here.”

“Yeah, here,” Seth emphasized. “But I’m taking my brand national. I need someone everyone will recognize. Who better than football’s reigning MVP? Kids will care more about what comes out of his mouth than some damn stuffed cow.” He stood abruptly. “It’s my money we’re spending. I should get to choose my own spokesman. Make it happen.”

Seth tossed down his napkin and stormed out. Everyone at the table sat in stunned silence for a long moment.

“Well, I certainly didn’t have that on my bingo card.” Evan’s Gucci loafers squeaked on the tile floor when he shifted in his seat.

Bennie shot up from his chair. “This is a big step and he’s under a lot of stress. It happens.” He gave London a pacifying pat on the arm. “The campaign is perfect. I’ll talk to him. Worse comes to worse, we can send Van Horn’s agent an offer. It will be ridiculously lowball, but that’s all Seth can afford. Van Horn will turn it down and we can proceed as planned.” With a reassuring nod to Evan, he hurried after his friend.

The rest of the advertising team avoided making eye contact with London.

Evan leaned back in his chair, exhaling heavily. “We’ve already invested a lot of upfront money in the development of this campaign, London. I don’t have to explain to you the many reasons why we need to make this work. And quickly. We are slated to kick off in seven weeks.”

The ominous comment hung in the air as Evan and his coworkers solemnly filed out.