The Consultant

The Meeting

Dani Reid drummed her pen against her thigh, the thwap, thwap, thwap sharp against the industrial interior of the lobby. The receptionist looked up with a bland smile, her eyes begging Dani to stop. Dani ignored her.

The seconds slipped by like autumn leaves taking their time tumbling to the ground. Thwap, thwap, thwap. Dani drummed faster. What was taking so long? She wondered if something had happened, if they were going to back out before they signed her contract.

Dani had been hunting this particular client with ruthless precision for months. A leading architectural design firm, Moore + Engleson should have had a slick marketing system, but instead they were using the same website, graphics, and media from over twenty years ago. It made her cringe. She'd made her way in front of one of the principals, Darren McKee, a young executive looking to make some major changes. His eyes had lit up at her proposal. Their current marketing manager was leaving to pursue a career in real estate, so the timing was perfect, but he'd told her he needed approval from the entire board of directors before he could bring Dani on board.

It had taken four months to get her in front of the board, despite the fortuitous circumstances. Now that she was finally here, ready to make her big pitch, they were icing her. She didn't like to wait. Changes to the schedule made her nervous.

The receptionist cleared her throat. She was young, probably fresh out of college or in her last year, coasting with an entry level job until she figured out what she wanted to do or married one of the senior architects with a salary high enough to support her shopping and travel habits. At least, that was the story Dani made up about the girl while she was waiting for someone to come back and get her.

"Let me go check on them. Sometimes I have to round them all up twice!" The receptionist chirped the words as she stood and strode toward the hallway on the left.

She hadn't gotten very far when Darren walked up. "Celia, could you put a few waters in the conference room?"

The receptionist - Celia, what a name for a future housewife - beamed at Darren. "Of course I can." Then she flounced off, her heels clicking against the concrete floor.

Darren turned his attention to Dani, who stood and shoved the pen in her purse. "So sorry to keep you waiting! It's unbelievable how difficult it is to get everyone in one room. We're ready now."

He held out a hand, directing her down the hallway. "Are you ready? Should be an easy sell, with maybe one exception."

Dani lifted an eyebrow as she passed him, starting down the hallway. "One exception? What does that mean?"

Darren didn't have time to answer before they reached the conference room. Celia was arranging water bottles in the middle of the table, reaching between two men Dani assumed were part of the board. Satisfied with the arrangement, she pulled back, flipping a curtain of perfect blonde hair over her shoulder. She winked at Darren as she walked out of the conference room.

So that's a thing. Dani thought. Darren was attractive, young and fit, successful and bright; Celia could do worse. He wasn't Dani's type though. There was something missing, like he was too perfect, maybe even bland.

She brushed the thought from her mind, taking a seat opposite the two men. Darren pulled out a chair beside her.

"Dani, this is Curtis Ortiz and Owen Bedford." Curtis nodded while Owen half stood to reach across the table and shake her hand.

"Jeff Bullard can't make it, but he says he's all for 'bringing this firm into the 21st Century'. That means we're just waiting on Nathan..."

Something in the way Darren spoke made Dani wonder if Nathan was the possible exception he had mentioned as they were walking in. She had a hard time imagining either Owen or Curtis, with their kind smiles, being an obstacle to her locking down this contract.