Shaking out my umbrella as I stride into the company building, I look down at my soaked heels and roll my eyes at the fact I stepped right into a puddle this morning. It was such a small inconvenience but felt like so much with everything else I had been dealing with. Waving hello to the receptionists that I've seen five days a week for the past three years, I take a sip of my thankfully still warm coffee as I walk towards the elevator.
Entering into my office after telling my boss good morning, I place my purse on the small couch and change into my emergency pair of black pumps that I always keep in my desk drawer. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I know I'll have to put my best foot forward during the presentation in just one more hour. Even though I love the creativity of working in marketing, the stress to pull in clients and keep them happy sometimes can be a bit rough. Today, we're supposed to be meeting with part of the team from Chanel along with one of their lawyers and the mere thought of displeasing them makes my head spin.
Stress doesn't even remotely describe what I feel as I log into my computer and go over my notes once again. Last year, this account belonged to one of the senior agents but he had since moved on to another firm this year, leaving it in my hands this time around.
Chanel had to be the biggest client I had and if I lost this account, my job quite literally could be on the line but ya know, no pressure or anything.
Checking the time, I see that they should be arriving in about thirty minutes and so I grab my little bag of toothpaste, a toothbrush, and a hairbrush before heading off to the bathroom to freshen myself up. The last thing I'd want is to greet them with coffee breath or messy hair. First impressions are everything from what I've learned in this field and I have to appear to have my shit together even when my nerves are totally shot and my personal life is in shambles.
Awkwardly bearing my teeth in the mirror to make sure I don't have any lipstick smudged on the enamel after reapplying, I brush out my still slightly rain-dampened hair and decide that a low bun may be the best option. At least this way it seems dry and styled but it still annoys me that I spent all of that time this morning curling my chocolate brown tresses just to have it ruined by Mother Nature.
One of the receptionists opens up the bathroom door and gives me a relieved smile once she sees me, "Mrs. Scott? The group from Chanel is here."
"Already?!" My eyes widen as I check the time on my smartwatch, "They're early. Shit!" I whisper-shout as I begin to scramble to get my things together.
"I'll stall by offering them some coffee or water," she suggests with a friendly smile and I graciously thank her in return, feeling my heart begin to beat rapidly.
Briskly walking into my office to grab my portfolio containing needed documents and the flash drive from my laptop, I scurry back down the other hallway towards the conference room. As I approach, I can hear them conversing with my boss and take a deep breath before practicing my smile as I reach for the door handle.
"Ah, there she is!" My boss, Mr. Dubois, stands in the dimly lit room and holds his hand out as if he's presenting me, "This is Mia Scott, the one that will be in charge of marketing for Chanel now that Mr. Braxton is no longer with us. To be frank, Mia is one of my favorite employees," he cups his hand around his mouth as he leans in to whisper not so quietly, "but don't tell the rest of the office I said that."
Forcing a fake laugh to please my boss with his played-out joke, I turn to smile at the rest of the people standing in front of their leather seats, "Thank you so much for coming today. It's nice to meet you all."
Shaking their hands one by one, they each tell me their names and thankfully hand me a business card so that I can remember them. There are three women, two blonde and one brunette, all around their mid-forties to early fifties, and one gentleman around the same age. I try to notice something about each of their faces to attach it to the name on their business cards so that I don't forget them when it's important.
"Our social media expert should be here shortly, he just needed to use the restroom first." The blonde with a shoulder-length bob and thin, red lips states as we all take a seat. I believe her name was Josie.
"Thank you for letting me know. Shall we wait for him?" I question as I begin to pass out the packet I put together a week ago.
"No need." A much younger man, no older than his mid-twenties states as he walks in with pink pouty lips formed into a grin and dreamy brown eyes.
His entire aura seemed to light up the room and I find myself entranced by his beauty, a mix of both feminine and masculine energy radiating from him. How can anyone be this alluring?
Clearing my throat to stop myself from staring too long, I hold out a hand to shake his and stop breathing when he smiles at me. Not even one strand of his bleach blonde hair seems to be out of place and his golden skin glistens against the ray of light from the projector.
"Park Jimin," he professionally introduces himself and I have to try to remember what my own name is.
"Mia Scott," I respond after a beat and notice him continuing to grin as he holds my hand longer than necessary. Or maybe it was the other way around.
To get me and Jimin to part ways and get on with the meeting, my boss clears his throat and I snap out of my trance to reach down and grab the packet of material to hand it over to the blonde man that makes me blush.
Smirking at my flushed appearance, he takes the papers from my grasp and sits down in his seat, leaning back a bit with an intrigued gaze in his eyes as he watches me begin to type away on my laptop. Soon, the slideshow appears on the white wall and I exhale and inhale again before beginning to speak.
"As I was informed, Chanel is looking to launch a new fragrance this year geared towards both men and women. From my research, for the last eighty-plus years, the Chanel name has sparked an interest in women thirty and older, who had made Chanel No. 5 the world's leading fragrance. But the younger market has proved to be more difficult for Chanel and I truly think that we should really push towards that audience this time around. The younger consumers in their twenties are looking for something that screams 'I'm sexy and sophisticated' and I believe we could really push this in their direction if done correctly." I state with a professional smile in their direction, avoiding Jimin's lingering eyes to keep myself from becoming flustered.
"And what ideas do you have in mind, Mrs. Scott?" Josie inquires.
I notice the way Jimin's head tilts at the sound of the word 'Mrs.' His eyes glance down to my left hand and his brow slightly furrows when he doesn't see a wedding ring. Something I haven't worn in over a week since the last time it felt like it was burning on my skin from the weight of the problems my marriage carries.
"We could first start with the notes of the fragrance, warm and inviting; sensual even. I'm thinking amber, patchouli, and possibly some violet or orange notes. A smell that can really cause both sexes to want to take a second sniff," I smile as I look up at the ceiling, deep in thought before bringing my attention back to our clients. "Second, we would need to market on a platform where the younger audience sees the most. This is where you would come along with your social media expertise, Mr. Park," I glance over to Jimin whose eyes twinkle at the sound of his name. "The younger generation doesn't tend to watch cable television as much or even read magazines as often. Social media would be the best way to spark their interest."
Leaning forward on the table, Jimin intertwines his fingers together as he clears his throat before speaking, "As for the ad, any ideas?"
"Since it's unisex and we're going for a sensual vibe, I'm thinking two young adults, completely lost within one another as if the rest of the world didn't exist. Wrapped in each other's arms and a state of bliss evident on their sculpted faces as they caress one another. For an ad like this, I do suggest a short video to keep their attention and not many still-shots as they are more likely to scroll past that sort of thing." I explain as I do my best to maintain my professionalism but inside I'm shaking under the intensity between us, or maybe it's just me that feels some surge of electricity.
I haven't felt anything like this with the opposite sex in years. Come to think about it, did I ever feel this between my husband? I honestly can't seem to think of a time that I felt that excited with Cameron. It's quite possible it's because I obviously find the man sitting across from me dangerously attractive and the fact that I am a married woman, well, that scares me a little.
Leaning back in his seat, he grins over at his colleagues before turning his attention back to me, "Looks like my expertise really isn't necessary. Is there anything you're not good at, Mrs. Scott?"
"Mia is just fine," I politely smile at him and the rest of the team. Mainly because the title of 'Mrs.' has brought a sour taste to my mouth for the last few years but also because I always prefer for all of my clients to feel a bit more casual around me. Less formality tends to equal more honesty and openness with one another which, in turn, makes for a better business relationship, "I'm quite sure your expertise is more than necessary. But to answer your question, no, there's nothing I'm not good at."
I smile down at my manicured fingers grazing the keys of the MacBook when the group chuckles at my pathetic attempt to ease the pressure that seems to be building in this room.
Once my boss and the lawyer from Chanel finish their random conversation, I continue with my presentation, tapping away at the space bar to go over slide after slide to show the less interesting details of all of this such as the demographic numbers and projected incomes by directing this fragrance launch towards a different age group than they are familiar with. The woman from their accounting team, Antoinette, I believe, wasn't too thrilled with my request to lower the pricing to something a bit more reasonable, albeit still high-end, for this age range but once I showed her the numbers, she seemed to get on track after all.
Jimin tilts his head approvingly when he notices how I was able to sway her thought process and I grin at him before turning my attention back to the computer.
Wrapping up my presentation, I earn a small round of applause from everyone and a proud wink from my boss, letting me know I nailed it. I release a breath I didn't realize I had been holding and gather my things as the group stands to file out of the conference room, surely needing to handle other forms of business for the day.
I tuck back in a loose strand of hair that must have fallen from my bun as I stay focused on neatly organizing my paperwork back into the portfolio and exiting out of things on the laptop.
"It was nice meeting you, Mia," Jimin states while sounding much closer to me than I realized and when I look up, I notice his business card extended towards me. "I look forward to continuing to work with you."
"Right," I grin as I slide the business card away from his middle and index finger, just now remembering that he was the only business card I didn't get a chance to collect earlier. "I look forward to working with your team as well."
Looking up at him as he stares down at me, I watch as his eyes travel my face for a moment before stepping back just in time for Mr. Dubois to begin saying his goodbyes to the lawyer.
"Give me a call. I'm sure we could discuss some strategies over a business dinner," Jimin says.
"Oh." My cheeks flush and I inwardly curse myself for having such a hard time holding it together, "Yes, okay."
"Have a good day, Mia," he smirks as he walks backward a few steps to wait for me to respond.
"Have a good day, Mr. Park."
"Jimin. Call me Jimin," he corrects me before turning around to begin shaking my boss's hand as he shows them back out of the building, leaving me to stand in the conference room alone.
"Jimin," I whisper to myself as my thumb runs over the engraved letters of his name on the textured business card with the gold Chanel logo proudly placed on top, but as I move my hand in front of the glow of my laptop, I see something scribbled on the back.
Flipping it over, I see another number written down in blue ink and the word 'cell' jotted down just below it. I sigh out as I place the card on the top of my stack of things and make my way back to my office to try to continue on about my day and push away the lingering thoughts of the beautiful man I met today.