Tongue Tied

Chapter 41

My first week at Clearwater Media Group was equally as exciting as it was nerve-wracking. I felt out of my element trying to get used to new surroundings, a different schedule, and job duties that were much more executive-esque than what I'd grown accustomed to at Corbin and Hilliard. Despite my minimal apprehension, I was doing a good job so far, according to everyone. The chief executive officer had even personally come to wish me luck and success on my first day. More than anything, I was getting a real kick out of Alec being one step below me on the employment totem pole. Jokes aside, he was doing an amazing job. I loved watching him work. He could command a room so effortlessly in his dashing charcoal suit and sexy loose-fitting tie. It was hard to believe there had ever been a time when I didn't enjoy being in his presence.

With week two came a much bigger task. I'd been added to the roster of speakers at the January twelfth board of directors meeting in Los Angeles, along with Alec and Troy. The email had said that the board was very excited to hear from all of us what our plans and goals were to further the success and growth of Clearwater and how we intended to give new life to commercial advertising. It was a lot of pressure to throw on our shoulders, but I was anxious to meet the board of directors and start my Clearwater career with an impressive presentation, putting my best foot forward.

The day of the board meeting, Troy walked Alec and me through what to expect. I was still surprised to be getting along with Troy, much less taking advice from him. But Troy had been through plenty of board meetings, having been on Harper Media's board of directors. He knew what to expect, how to handle it, and most importantly to me, how to make a great first impression with the chairman of the board.

I felt a warm welcome when Amber Brinley, the chief operations officer, introduced me to the board by formally cheering on girl power in the advertising industry. She touted my achievements and even got everyone to clap for me when I made my way to the front of the room. Initially, I'd almost choked when I realized the entire board of directors was staring at me, judging my presentation, but I quickly recovered and made what I considered to be a great first impression, explaining to everyone how excited I was to project Clearwater ahead of the game and ahead of our competition. I had a long list of well thought out marketing ideas that the board members seemed very intrigued by.

After the meeting, Amber invited me for coffee and we ended up spending two hours in a Starbucks downtown talking about everything from our careers and aspirations to our families and the type of vehicles we drove. I'd quickly made friends with the COO. It sounded strange when I said it in my head. Amber was an absolute sweetheart though, complete with a flawless burgundy pantsuit and long, wavy auburn locks. I aspired to work my way up the corporate ladder just like she had, and after discussing her journey with her, I actually had faith that I could pull it off someday.

"You can do anything you set your mind to," she told me countless times. "And you'll look stunning while you're at it!"

I decided to work from home for a few days once we returned to Seattle. As promised, Michelle, Renee, and Shelby had indeed surprised me with a trip to visit. Just like with Carlie, I took the time to show the girls around the city and they each loved it just as much as I did. Michelle even said she was considering moving to Seattle. She'd been offered a job at Kingsman and Shultz, L.L.C., a smaller advertising agency in Everett, Washington, just north of Seattle. Despite being smaller than Abernathy, whom she was still working for, Kingsman and Shultz had offered Michelle an impressive sign-on bonus, better benefits than Abernathy provided, and almost ten thousand more in salary. We all told her she was insane if she didn't take it.

Sitting at my desk, I set a demographics report aside when my phone buzzed and I grinned ear-to-ear when I saw that Michelle had sent us a group text saying she'd accepted the offer. I had to call her immediately.