Campaign for Love (32 page)

 

 

"Thanks, Brad, that's a great idea. I bet Rubin doesn't even know
what
the old boy is up to. And while he claims it is to take on all the
new
clients who want us to do equally successful campaigns for them as
well, we all know a bird in the hand is worth two or even ten in the
bush."

 

 

Brad nodded. "Smart girl. I can see you have this all handled."

 

 

"But I'm grateful you wanted to help."

 

 

He rose from the chair. "I hope you don't think I stepped out of
line,
Suzanna. Lord knows you have no reason to trust me, but you're a
real
classy lady, and I just wanted to come clean and try to help. I
wanted
to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life by trusting
that snake. You've never thrown anything up to me or spread any
nasty
gossip about me. If you had, I'd have known. Nothing can be kept
secret
around here. I owe a lot to you and Quentin."

 

 

"You've repaid the debt in full by trying to warn me."

 

 

"Glad to help. Let me know how it turns out."

 

 

"I will. And don't look so worried. Thanks for being my friend."

 

 

They shook hands, and Brad left with a wave.

 

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

 

 

As soon as she was done with Brad and his confidences, and his
strategy
for dealing with that sly old snake Rubin, she went in to tell
Quentin
her news.

 

 

He went very still, and asked, "What did you say to his offer?"

 

 

Suzanna's heart turned over as she stared at him. He looked as
though
he feared the worst.

 

 

"I told him that I think I deserve a raise, but I'm not ready to
accept
that kind of responsibility, and that I feel I need at least another
year as your assistant. That I'm more the creative than the
managerial
type, which is what you excel at."

 

 

"Thank you for saying that, even though I personally feel you are
ready, and are good at both. What did he say?"

 

 

"That he hoped my feelings were not based on any personal
involvement
with you."

 

 

Quentin's mouth twisted into grimace of disgust. "That's a hoot
coming
from him. What did you tell him?"

 

 

"That it was nothing like that. I simply am not ready, and don't
want
to do any harm to the campaigns we do have just because of my own
personal ambitions."

 

 

"What else did he say?"

 

 

"That I could have two weeks to clear my desk and make up my mind,
and
get ready to go to work on all the new clients eager for the same
success as the accounts I've already worked on. And that I can keep
this nice cozy office. He thought I was too smart a girl to turn him
down. Now all we needed was a cubicle for your new assistant and I
could take on my new, er, duties."

 

 

"I see. Did he say who it would be?"

 

 

She shook her head. "No. I guess he plans on letting you hire your
own
again."

 

 

His brows drew downwards threateningly. "And he planned to do all
this
without so much as telling me, let alone asking me about it?"

 

 

Quentin was livid, she could see that.

 

 

She adopted a reasonable tone. "It is high-handed, but I'm not going
to
take the promotion, so there's no point in being upset about it."

 

 

"But what really hurts is you spoke to Brad about it before me,
didn't
you! It makes me think there really was something between you all
along."

 

 

Suzanna felt as though she had been slapped. After a few seconds of
staring at him, and seeing that he was really serious in his
accusation, she jumped to her own defence.

 

 

"That is not fair! He was looking for me, and ran into me at the
elevator. He came to confess what he had done, about stealing my
ideas,
and wanted to try to make it up to me. He wanted to tell me the
truth
about all of it and what's been going on here. He said he was sorry
for
the way he had acted and I admitted I had known all along. He was
really surprised, and grateful I hadn't blow the whistle on him and
even fed him more campaigns. He was trying to be a friend and do the
right thing at last. He came to warn me that Elder had been Sondra's
sponsor, lover if you prefer me to come right out and call a spade a
spade. He was just trying to help, in case I didn't know what Elder
was
up to with his supposedly generous offer.

 

 

"But I'm not that naïve. I've been dealing with randy old men
all
my life. I know what I'm up against. Now, are you going to help me,
or
just sit there glowering and flinging accusations at me?"

 

 

Quentin reached for her then, but she pulled her arm away.

 

 

"I'm sorry. I just can't stand the idea of anyone perving after you
like that, that's all. I have all to do to not go up there right now
and tell the old bastard just what he can do with his so-called
promotion."

 

 

She folded her arms in front of her chest and shook her head. "We
don't
want an all-out battle. Elder is still one half of the company. We
need
to neutralize him, not attack him. I need you to go to Craig Rubin
and
tell him you don't want another new assistant. Point out that both
Imperial Foods and Femme Fatale Cosmetics want us as a team on their
accounts. They are the most valuable clients Elder and Rubin have,
and
the campaigns are making them millions. How can I take on a whole
bunch
of new clients and still fulfill my modeling obligations to them for
the spring campaign?

 

 

"Once all of this is pointed out to Rubin, I think he will see
things
our way. Otherwise, we can consider going elsewhere. Or at least I
can."

 

 

"You are not being driven out by that old goat!" Quentin barked.

 

 

She looked him in straight in the eye. "I'm not being driven
anywhere I
don't want to go. I've worked damned hard, and I'm tired of being
pushed around and pulled around like a rag doll by a bunch of male
jerks.

 

 

"So maybe it's about time I started thinking about getting out of
the
rat race, away from companies where I have to get hit on by creeps.
Or
people who think just because I'm pretty, I have no brains, or
brains,
but no scruples."

 

 

"On the other hand, you have such a bright career ahead of you if
you
keep on the way you have been. Are you sure you don't want to take
his
offer?"

 

 

"How can you even ask me that!" she said, outraged.

 

 

He waved away the words at once and rubbed the back of his suddenly
aching neck. "Forget I ever said it, my dear. I'm madly jealous
where
you are concerned and my brain is just going to pieces at the
thought
of this whole situation."

 

 

"I suppose I ought to be flattered, but all it means is you don't
trust
me," she said with a sniff.

 

 

"I didn't mean it that way. It's just that you've worked damned
hard!
You deserve a raise, certainly, but why not a promotion too, if I
can
work something out with Rubin?"

 

 

She shook her head. "I'm not asking for any favors from anyone, just
credit where it's due. I've played this game straight up, and have
no
intention of getting any favors from anyone at this stage of my
career,
not even you. And certainly not after you accused me of being in
cahoots with Brad."

 

 

"I was jealous—"

 

 

"Like I said, either the dumb bombshell, or the predatory female
without scruples. One thing is for sure, you men lack imagination
when
it comes to sticking labels on people."

 

 

"Suzanna, I'm sorry—"

 

 

She held up one hand. "Spare me the apologies and let's get on with
our
plan of attack. Just tell Rubin what Elder has in mind, and if that
fails to fend off the old octopus, in the meantime I have two weeks
to
find alternate escape routes."

 

 

She turned on her heel and stalked out, closing the door behind her
with a decisive click.

 

 

 

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

 

 

The next two weeks passed eventfully enough for Suzanna, still in
complete turmoil over what Elder was trying to do to manipulate her
into his clutches.

 

 

So far, she had not seen any signs of Rubin riding to her rescue,
and
Elder had contacted her to run a list of proposed new clients by her
that most senior executives would have given their right arm for,
let
alone a new junior one.

 

 

She ate lunch with Sharon most days as usual, and confided in her as
to
what had happened. She also called her oldest friend Elsa, and even
Jerry, to ask what his take was on sexual harassment in the
workplace.
They all agreed she should never ever consider taking the position,
and
Jerry said he would be happy to take her case if Elder ever did
anything more overt.

 

 

"I sure hope he won't."

 

 

"I know, honey. You're very brave, but it's about time this stopped
so
you can get on with your life. You should have prosecuted that last
jerk—"

 

 

"I told you, being Sexy Suzy as I seemed then, I would have been
sunk.
But now, with everyone seeing me transformed from Plain Jane to
Femme
Fatale, they can't say it's my fault."

 

 

"It's never been your fault. No woman's," Jerry said with true
outrage.

 

 

She sighed. "I know, but stereotypes die hard."

 

 

"Well, I'll be happy to make Elder pay any time you say."

 

 

"Thanks, Jerry, I owe you one."

 

 

"No you don't. Bringing Sharon into my life so generously was the
greatest gift anyone could have given me. So I owe you."

 

 

"I'm glad it's working out so well. Thanks, and take care."

 

 

She was cold to Quentin after their argument, and did not stay at
his
apartment once, and put him off whenever he tried to wangle an
invitation. She was far too busy looking at her overall financial
situation, and her portfolio and resume, and deciding what to do
next
with her life if she were to leave Elder and Rubin.

 

 

She was certainly not really lying to Quentin when she told him she
was
too busy to see him, for during his meeting with Quentin, Cyrus Reed
has asked him to put Suzanna on a new project.

 

 

Imperial Foods needed a gimmick to boost their line of crackers and
cookies. Suzanna bought a bag of their coconut bars, and one night
she
constructed a little log cabin out of six cookies and a batch of
frosting. She cut the corners off the narrow sides of two of them to
form a peak. Those would be the ends of her house.

 

 

Using frosting as if it were cement, she used two more cookies
length-wise for front and back, then 'cemented' the two roof
crackers
in place on the peak. She used the cut off corners to form a
chimney.
She used a pastry tube with chocolate frosting to 'draw' on windows
and
door.

 

 

The result was a tiny Lincoln log cabin, perfect for the month of
February and President's Day.

 

 

She took a small stiff piece of cardboard, covered it with foil and
made a base for her house. Then she typed up on her laptop all the
instructions as to how to make the perfect log cabin for parties at
school, show and tell, or just a fun treat at home the whole family
could make and eat together.

 

 

Suzy pointed out that it would be an inexpensive party favor or
tabletop centerpiece. Best of all, they could be made ahead, and
wrapped in plastic they'd keep for quite some time.

 

 

They could be varied by using different colored frosting. She
adapted
it to a gingerbread house with their ginger bars, and used red and
green icing, and by changing the colored frosting again, it became a
haunted house for Halloween.

 

 

Needless to say, Cyrus Reed loved them, and sales on coconut bars
soared when a picture of the house, with a cut-out diagram appeared
in
women's newspaper supplements.

 

 

In addition to the ginger bread and haunted houses, she also came up
with a Hansel and Gretel house for Christmas made of their crisp
vanilla flavored Imperial Teas.

 

 

She also increased their ginger snap sales with her grandmother's
trick
of thickening pot roast or sauerbraten gravy with ginger snap
crumbs,
and also using them as an alternative to graham cracker crumb pie
crusts for cheesecake and things like apple, lemon meringue and key
lime pie.

 

 

Quentin never ceased to be amazed at her creativity. "You know,
Suzanna," he said one night, when he had demanded to come over, and
was
watching her make a refrigerator cake out of chocolate snaps, lady
fingers, whipped cream and maraschino cherries, "I wasn't giving
Rubin
a snow job when I told him I needed you. I do need you, and so do
Elder
and Rubin."

 

 

She gave him a long, level look, and turned back to her cake
decorating. "We'll just have to wait and see. Other people might
need
me as well."

 

 

"I need you—"

 

 

"You thought I was in league with Brad."

 

 

He sighed heavily. "It was a stupid thing to say and I'm sorry."