CardsNeverLie Read Free

little
bondage.
    “Hi, Melanie,” Tommy Joe said, his usually taciturn face
creased into a slight smile. He cleared his throat and rustled a sheath of
papers clutched in his hand. He motioned to an easel behind Al’s right ear.
“May I?”
    Al nodded, scowling. “Let’s get it over with.”
    Tommy Joe reached behind Al and stuck his wad of papers
under the metal clasp of the easel.
    He pushed at the back leg of the easel with his foot, trying
to get it to stand. It wouldn’t hold and he struggled for a full two minutes
while Melanie watched in disbelief. Finally, wiping his brow with a crisp white
handkerchief, he coughed.
    “Mr. Plowman, Melanie, I’m afraid I don’t have the best
news.”
    Melanie missed the rest of the beginning of his speech,
horrified by the way Tommy Joe’s eyes seemed glued to her cleavage. Al didn’t
seem to notice. She liked being desired, but in the appropriate time and place.
The analyst was indeed a bit perverse.
    Al’s angry voice forced her back to the subject at hand. “So
revenues were down twenty-three percent last quarter?” His mouth was set in a
grim line. “Melanie, what are you going to do about it?”
    Melanie took a long look at the colorful, detailed graphs on
the easel. The numbers looked really bad. “Maybe we can take another look at
the last three products New Development suggested. I realize they were shot
down, but I’m sure—”
    Al cut her off. “I don’t want anything but new ideas.”
    “It’s only been two months since you fired my predecessor
and hired me. I need time.” She glanced at the graphs again, hunting for an
angle.
    “Excuses aren’t what we look for in a manager, Melanie,” Al
barked. “We look for results.”
    “Maybe we shouldn’t be so much looking at new products but
fixing existing problems.” She pointed. “Graph five indicates an issue with oil
odor and the samples we’ve examined show spoilage. What is going on with our
products?”
    “That’s not our problem here in Product Marketing. We need
to invent and sell the product, not fix operational issues.”
    “How long can we last if we’re selling garbage?” Melanie
protested, her fingernails digging into the backs of her hands.
    Al cut her off with a disgusted wave of his hand. “Bottom
line, Melanie. If I don’t see a big rise in revenue by December, I will hold you
responsible.”
    Melanie tried to swallow her rage. Her entire career had
been spent at this company and she had worked hard for this promotion. Was this
some kind of setup? Her predecessor hadn’t lasted long, maybe she had been a
fall guy too. It didn’t matter. Her job did. And she had less than two months
to save it. But how could she fix her private life if her career was in
jeopardy? She couldn’t concentrate on both.
    Tommy Joe spoke up. “Melanie, you’re going to a conference
tomorrow, right?”
    Melanie nodded. “A bath and beauty product conference.”
    “Maybe you’ll get some great ideas there.”
    She grimaced. You’re not much help, Tommy Joe.
    Al looked reflectively at the two of them. “Tommy Joe,
what’s your schedule for next week?”
    Tommy Joe looked confused. “Why, sir?”
    “I’d like you to attend this conference with Melanie.”
    Melanie opened her mouth to protest then shut it. She didn’t
want the man who had just been promoted to her old job shadowing her in her new
one. She feared this meeting was a warning that she could be easily replaced.
But maybe Tommy Joe could be a better ally than enemy.
    “That sounds like a great idea,” she said. “There’s always
too much for one person to digest at these conferences.”
    Al nodded approvingly. “Good teamwork, Melanie. That’s the
way to go about this. Tommy Joe can offer a fresh perspective. Did you know
that his brother runs Wicked Oil?”
    “Aren’t they our direct competitors?” Melanie asked as
sweetly as she dared, remembering the horoscope oils at Blithe Books &
Baubles.
    Tommy Joe picked up his