City of Sin Read online

  I turned my computer on as Kendra walked away. Kick Ass Bee. I'm not sure anyone had ever described me that way ever. But I liked it. Today was going to be the day that I turned everything around.

  ***

  "Jenkins, work on getting that into effect. I'll contact the V.P. of Sword Body Wash. But I'm sure this will be a go," Mr. Ellington said.

  I jotted the decision down in my notebook, even though it wasn't a good idea. Any company could sponsor a segment on a news station. And this one wasn't even local. Layla's Predictions was only broadcast in Miami. Yes, it had tons of viewers because Layla was hot and they made her do all sorts of random stuff. But Miami wasn't even half the size of New York.

  "Great work this week team. This account is our focus for the first quarter of the year. And we'll need some more ideas for the campaign just in case the V.P. wants to go in a different direction. We can't afford to lose this account. We'll have another meeting next Wednesday. I'll want to hear more than one pitch."

  "Mr. Ellington?" I said. My heart was beating out of my chest.

  "Did you need Jenkins to repeat the pitch, Bridget?"

  "No. I um..." I let me voice trail off. You can do this. "I actually have an idea on how to promote Sword Body Wash."

  "We're going with Jenkins' idea." He looked away from me.

  "Which isn't a good idea. No offense, Jenkins."

  Jenkins lowered his eyebrows slightly.

  "Layla's Predictions is only aired in Miami. And Sword Body Wash specifically said they wanted to grow their brand in New York. That's why they came to us. Because they knew we can do local guerilla style campaigns. The Knicks cheerleaders always perform in Central Park before game nights to help sell tickets. What if we joined up with them? Have an actor spray himself with Sword Body Spray and get the cheerleaders to chase him through Central Park? Everyone would see it. No one would know if it was real or not. News stations would inadvertently pick it up. It would be huge. And ridiculously cheap. That's the kind of thing that gets people's attention these days."

  Jenkins laughed. "What would you know about what gets a man's attention?"

  "Excuse me?" He didn't know about Patrick cheating on me. Had someone told him? Had someone told the whole office? I could feel my face turning red.

  "Because you're not a man. Men want to look at a hot girl on T.V. doing silly stuff. Layla's Predictions is the perfect platform for a sponsorship by Sword."

  Oh. I was flustered by his previous comment. I took a deep breath. "But it's not what they asked for. They want something in New York."

  "And do you have connections to the Knicks?" Mr. Ellington said. "To get all of this set up?"

  "No, but I..."

  "Or maybe you know one of the cheerleaders?" Jenkins said.

  "No. But we can easily..."

  "This meeting is over. Let's talk in my office, Bridget." Mr. Ellington walked out of the conference room. He looked pissed.

  Shit. I had thought it was a really good idea. I looked over at Kendra.

  "I'm sorry," she mouthed silently.

  I suddenly felt nauseous. What if I had just lost my job? What was I going to do? Damn it. I quickly walked out of the conference room and over to Mr. Ellington's office. The door was open. I walked in and stood in front of his desk. He didn't look up at me.

  "Mr. Ellington?"

  He finally looked up. "Close the door, Bridget."

  God, this is going to be bad. I closed the door and walked back up to his desk.

  "Sit down," he said. He didn't sound mad. I thought he'd be yelling at me by now.

  I sat down. "Mr. Ellington, I'm sorry, I know that was out of line. But I think my idea..."

  He held up his hand to silence me. "What do you think Sword Body Wash cares about?"

  "Their brand. About being sexy."

  "There's only one thing that any company cares about. Making money."

  That wasn't true. Sword Body Wash cared about their brand. Their brand was everything to them. It's what made them money. I stayed silent. Anything else I said would just make it worse.

  "And you have to spend money in order to make money. They gave us a budget of five million dollars. They don't want a cheap guerilla marketing ploy in the park. Especially when the Knicks cheerleaders aren't even wearing those short skirts because it's freaking ten degrees outside. That's not sexy. That's not going to make them money."

  "Mr. Ellington, if you could just hear me out..."

  "I did hear you out. And why the hell are you pitching ideas in the middle of my meeting? You're my secretary. You don't know the first thing about advertising."

  "I majored in marketing with a minor in advertising. I do know..."

  "You have no experience. A minor in advertising means nothing. I hired you to answer my phone and fetch me coffee. And whatever else I want. You need to have thick skin to be in advertising. Just do your job and don't worry your pretty little head about anything else."

  What the hell? I stood up. "I don't want to just be your secretary forever."

  "And you won't always just be my secretary. You're due for a promotion very soon. But I need to know that I can trust you. I don't need anyone working beneath me that I can't trust." His eyes wandered down my body.

  "I should probably get back to my work, Mr. Ellington."

  "Joe. Please call me Joe."

  No. I turned around and retreated out of his office. Had I imagined that? He hit on me all the time. But had he seriously just implied that I was being promoted to sucking his cock? I must have imagined it. Even if I had, I still felt belittled. It didn't seem like Mr. Ellington thought I had what it took to work in advertising. And I didn't understand why, because my idea was good. It was so much better than Jenkins' stupid pitch.

  I walked into the break room and got a cup of coffee. Ever since Mr. Ellington had hired me, he had flirted with me. Even when I had my engagement ring on. Had he really just hired me with the thought that I'd eventually have sex with him? That was preposterous. And disgusting. I started to wonder what had happened to his last secretary.

  When I walked back to my desk there was a huge stack of papers and a note.

  Bridget,

  All these files need to be input into the computer. Type them up and email me before you leave today.

  -Joe

  Seriously? This was like a million pieces of paper. I sighed and turned on my computer. I guess I'd have to cancel my date tonight.

  Chapter 5

  Bee

  "I'm so, so sorry," Kendra said. "For what it's worth, your idea was a lot better than Jenkins'."

  "Thanks." I took a bite of my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Can I run something by you real quick?"

  "Of course."

  "I think if I'm ever going to make it in advertising I need to get some experience. There's probably a better shot of me getting something in one of the small agencies back home. Even if it's unpaid or something. Don't you think?"

  "Back home?"

  "Yeah. I'm thinking I might move back to Wilmington for awhile. Just until I figure some stuff out."

  "Wait, what?" Kendra put her sandwich down on her desk. "You're not serious? Just because of the meeting? Whatever, people will forget about it tomorrow. And like I said, it was a good idea. Mr. Ellington will notice you eventually. You just need to give it more time."

  I sighed. "I'm pretty sure Mr. Ellington has already noticed me. The only promotion I'll ever get here is becoming one of Mr. Ellington's mistresses."

  "Ew." Kendra frowned. "I'm sure that's not true."

  "Yeah, well I told him I didn't want to be his secretary forever. And he said I was due for a promotion. And then he looked at me in a really creepy way."

  "He always looks creepy. You probably imagined it."

  "But right before that he said that my skin wasn't thick enough to be in advertising. So what else could the promotion he suggested be? He definitely wasn't referring to an advertising gig."

  Kendra took
a sip of her diet coke. "If that really is what he meant, you can sue him you know. That's sexual harassment."

  "I'm not going to sue my boss."

  "And why not? He's a complete pig. If anyone ever filed a lawsuit, every girl in this office would sign off on it."

  "Would you lower your voice?" We were eating lunch in Kendra's cubicle, which wasn't that far away from Mr. Ellington's office. "I tried. I gave it my best shot. I'm not cut out for this city. Mr. Ellington's right. I don't have thick skin. My skin is thin." I looked down at my arm. "Translucent, really. I'm so pale, I look sickly."

  Kendra laughed. "You know what, fuck Mr. Ellington. You do have thick skin. You're finally moving on from Patrick. Don't let this set you back. You have that date tonight. Things are looking up. You're Kick Ass Bee."

  "Yeah, I can't go on that date. Mr. Ellington is punishing me by having me transfer tons of useless documents into digital form. It's going to take forever. There's no way I'll have time to go back to my apartment and change before my date. I'm just going to cancel."

  "You're not canceling."

  "So you think I should just go like this? It will look like I didn't try at all. That's a terrible first impression."

  "Bee, you always look great. Don't give me that shit. And being a dedicated employee is nothing to be ashamed about. But I agree, you have to look amaze-balls for a first date. And I have the perfect solution."

  "I can't afford to go shopping. My rent is due in a few weeks and I..."

  "It doesn't involve going shopping. I have a sexy dress here that you can borrow." She stood up and grabbed a dry cleaning bag that was hanging from the side of her cubicle.

  "We don't wear the same size."

  "Yes we do."

  "Fine. But we don't have the same style."

  "You mean you like to dress conservatively? I know. Which is why it's probably for the best that you have to borrow something from me." She pushed back the plastic that was covering it.

  It was a short, low-cut black dress. Which actually wasn't what I was expecting at all. I thought there'd be more straps. And less fabric.

  "So? What do you think?"

  "It's great. Are you sure it's okay if I borrow it?"

  "Absolutely."

  "Why do you have this here?"

  "I picked it up from the drycleaners before lunch. I was going to wear it to that bar that just opened up."

  "Oh. Kendra, I can't borrow this if you're going to wear it tonight."

  Kendra laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine going to that bar wearing what I'm wearing. I'm sure everyone's just going straight there after work anyway."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Absolutely. This dress is going to look amazing on you."

  "I feel like going on this date a different night would be better though. I haven't exactly been having a stellar day."

  "Which is why you should go. A great date will turn your whole day around. Besides, if you really want to get over Patrick you need to get under someone else."

  "Ew. Seriously? That's terrible advice. I'm not doing that."

  "Actually, it's great advice. And you know it. How did you get over the guy you dated before Patrick?"

  "I didn't. I mean, Patrick was my only boyfriend. I never dated anyone before him."

  "Wait, are you telling me you've only ever had sex with Patrick?"

  "Jesus, Kendra, please lower your voice."

  She laughed. "I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. No wonder you were so upset about the break up."

  "I was upset because we dated for five years and were engaged. And he was cheating on me. And I don't even know for how long."

  "I know. I'm sorry. But you don't even know what else is out there. Dating is fun, Bee. There's someone out there that is so much better than Patrick. And probably a better lay too. You should really be more adventurous." She took a bite of her sandwich.

  "Maybe."

  "Let's stalk Mason. What's his last name?"

  "I don't know. Marie didn't say."

  "Damn. There's probably thousands of Mason's in New York."

  "And isn't that cheating anyway? We're both supposed to go into the date blind."

  "You don't think he already looked you up?"

  "Wait, you think he did?"

  "Maybe. Let's see what he could have found." She typed my name into Google and clicked on my Facebook profile. "Why the hell is there a picture of you and Patrick as your profile picture?"

  "I haven't been on it in awhile."

  "Bee, it still says you're engaged to him! What is wrong with you?!"

  "I know. It's just...he never changed it either. I thought maybe it meant he was still holding on somehow. Won't he get a notification if I change it? It's almost like that makes it officially over."

  "It was officially over when you gave him back the ring."

  I ran my thumb along the spot where my ring had once been.

  Kendra clicked on Patrick's name. "See." She turned her screen to me. There was a picture of Patrick with his arms wrapped around some brunette girl with huge breasts.

  "Okay. I'll change my relationship status to single. I'm going to go get my work done."

  "Bee." Kendra put her hand on my wrist. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make you upset. I'm just trying to help."

  "No, it's fine. You're right. If he really wanted me, he would have tried to make it work. I'll change it." I walked back to my desk and sat down.

  I had thought Patrick and I were okay. We were both working long hours. When I had found out about him cheating, he had said it was my fault. That I wasn't giving him what he needed. Because I came back from work tired and ready for bed. So for a long time after I found out he was cheating I had blamed myself. As if him being a dick was somehow my fault. It wasn't. He was just an asshole. And I did need to move on. He wasn't the same person that he was when he had proposed. When he had proposed he had meant what he said. But the city had changed him. His new life wasn't something that I fit into. And now it seemed more like it was because I never belonged in New York in the first place.

  ***

  "Hey, are you almost done?" Kendra was standing by my desk holding the dress in her hands. There were only a few people in the office still. It was past 5 o'clock on a Friday. Most people had left exactly at five.

  "No. But I should be done in a few hours."

  "Is it something I could help with?"

  "You're already letting me borrow your dress. You should go have fun at that bar."

  "Look, Bee, I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have looked at Patrick's Facebook page. I wasn't trying to rub it in your face..."

  "I know. You're just trying to help. And I am ready to get over him. But what if I don't know how? I don't even remember how to go on a date."

  Kendra laughed and pulled up a chair to my desk. "Of course you know how to date. It's like riding a bike."

  "A bike doesn't try to have a conversation with you."

  "But you ride both a date and a bike."

  "Oh, God." I rolled my eyes.

  "Just be yourself, Bee. Any guy would be lucky to have you. You should try that thing where you say yes to everything."

  "So, like if he says let's go have sex in my car I should say yes without even thinking about it?"

  "Absolutely."

  "I thought you told me to be myself."

  Kendra laughed. "Well be a sexy, flirtatious version of yourself. How about I call you at nine? That way if you need an escape you can pretend there's some emergency you need to attend to."

  "Now you're talking."

  "Okay. I'll call at nine. But if you're already home in bed alone, I'm never speaking to you again. Our friendship is over." Kendra stood up.

  "That's a little harsh."

  "Tough love, Bee. And don't you dare start talking about Patrick on your date. There's nothing less sexy than talking about an ex on a date."

  "Okay. I didn't realize how many rules there were to blind dates."

  "You'll be fi
ne. I'll call you at nine. Have fun." She gave me a huge smile.

  "When you smile like that you look like a psychopath."

  "Thanks. Bye, Bee."

  "Bye, Kendra."

  Chapter 6

  Bee

  I quickly slid off my pencil skirt and unbuttoned my blouse. My elbow hit the wall of the bathroom stall and I cursed under my breath. If I knew that this was going to be how my evening would start, I never would have agreed to go. I stepped into the black cocktail dress and held my breath as I zippered up the back. It was a little tight, but it would work. And it was definitely better than my work clothes, which I would have had to wear if Kendra hadn't just picked this dress up from the drycleaners during her lunch break. I'd have to text her to thank her again for letting me borrow it. She was a life saver.

  Luckily I had worn heels to work today because of the meeting. The flats I tended to wear on a daily basis would have looked comical with the fancy dress. I stepped back into my high heels and smoothed the dress down. I took a deep breath. A black dress and black heels were perfect for a first date. He probably wouldn't even be able to guess that I had gotten ready at the office.

  My nerves were starting to get the better of me. I had never been on a blind date before and I hadn't been on a first date in over five years. And of course Mr. Ellington had made me stay late tonight of all nights so that I wouldn't have time to go home and get ready. I didn't know anyone else who had to stay late on a Friday.

  I folded my work clothes and unlocked the stall door. As soon as I saw myself in the mirror, I stopped. Oh God, I look like a hooker. The tightness of the dress pushed my breasts up. They were basically pouring out. I lifted the neckline as I walked over to the sink. Better. But not great.

  I leaned over the sink and applied my favorite red lipstick. I smacked my lips together and stared at my reflection. The dark circles under my eyes were all I seemed to see. I grabbed some foundation out of my purse and blotted a bit under my eyes. These long hours were going to kill me. I ran my fingers through my hair. That would have to do. I needed to be across town and I was running late.