Skinny Dipping

The Pitch

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You can buy this book SKINNY DIPPING and the sequel SKINNY CAPPUCCINO on Amazon.

Chapter 9

He drove like lightning in his black Porsche. When they arrived at her office building, Matthew insisted that, as a client, he should receive a personal office tour. "You see where I work each day. I should know more about you, don't you think?"

"If you really are interested, sure... I'll show you the office and the floor."

He grinned. "Excellent. I'm looking forward to knowing a little more about whom I'm paying."

"You actually share your work with loads of different agencies. We only work on the Silver Swimming Chain."

"I'm aware of that."

"So have you met all the consultants from the other firms?"

"Possibly."

"Do you get night time tours of their offices?"

"Possibly."

"Do you teach them how to swim, too?"

"Possibly."

"You're not giving me much to work with here."

"No," he agreed and they rode the lift up to Sophie's office in silence.

"You ask me to trust you, yet you don't trust me?" She raised her eyebrows pointedly as she swiped her security badge to open the doors to her office floor. Matthew followed close at her heels.

They entered the grand foyer of Clarks, Clarks and Clarks Advertising Firm. Sophie held her breath, listening to the unnatural quiet of the office at night.

The foyer was, of course, empty. Sophie proudly gestured to the walls, showing Matthew the art displays. Even though she'd been here so many times before, as always, she was captivated by the gallery of advertisements.

"I just love this place," she said, turning and pointing to another framed advertisement staring back at them. "It's the firm's showcase. Our best work."

"Is any of your stuff up there?"

"I wish. But not yet." Sophie shook her head. "I love her. She's grand." She pointed to a picture of a red-haired woman holding a lip liner, smiling seductively with puckered lips. "That campaign increased sales by three hundred percent."

Excitedly, she tugged Matthew's arm. "Look at this advertisement – the toddler crouched under the wooden kitchen table. You wouldn't believe how his cute, chubby face increased brand awareness."

"He looks fat."

"Well he increased sales of kitchen cleaning products tenfold."

She stopped, her feet in front of the only empty feature wall, waiting to be decorated like a blank canvas.

"This is the only wall empty," Matthew said.

"Yes," she mused. "One day, if the powers above favour me, one of my adverts will be displayed there."

Matthew looked at her oddly. "You really love this, don't you?"

"Yes," she said dreamily. "But I'm also trying to change a little bit. Find more work-life balance and all that. Apparently I work too hard, but I can't help it. I'm consumed by my job."

"It's hard to find balance if work is your passion."

"You might find it the same with swimming?"