The Biggest Part of Me (2 page)

All those thoughts were interrupted as members of her team began filing into her office for final instructions before meeting with the big wigs of the Talbot Toy Company.  After going over everything one more time, Jane gave a “thumbs-up,” took a deep breath, and said, “Showtime.”

Outside, the wind was hammering, spreading a chill to the bones on this brisk January morning.  In contrast, the conference room of the Patterson Agency was toasty warm as executives took off their coats and accepted mugs of steaming coffee.  There was excitement crackling in the air.  CARL had been a dream project of Talbot Toy president and C.E.O Jason Collins for years now.  What could be better?  Combining a robot toy with all the attributes of an easy to use laptop computer was the ultimate toy for a child.  It would be the biggest thing during the next holiday season—that is, if they could get just the right marketing plan.

Patterson Marketing Agency had one of the best reputations nationally.  Jason hoped they would have what he was looking for.  He wanted an advertising campaign that had it all—excitement for the kids, trust of the parents, and fun and bonding for the whole family.  In addition, he felt very protective of CARL, just like a father.  He wanted the proper launch of his baby.  CARL was the wave of the future, and Jason intended to be at the top of that wave. 

He greeted everyone, then grabbed a mug of coffee and stepped towards the window.  He didn’t see his reflection.  Looking out, the toymaker in him didn’t see skyscrapers but a toy Spiderman swinging on his webs through the model buildings.  He didn’t see cabs in the street, but wind-up cars to play with.  The wind swirling through the coats of pedestrians sent his mind off with ideas of new colorful kites.  He continued to look out the window as the marketing team began setting up for their presentation.

Terry Dawson, president of the Patterson Marketing Agency walked up to him.  “Jason, I know you’re going to be blown away by our presentation.  I’ve seen most of it and I can tell you I think it’s just what you’re looking for.”

Jason smiled, the smile not touching his eyes.  “That would be nice.  The presentations I’ve seen so far have frankly been trash.  No concept of what we’re trying to do.  They all lacked a certain . . I don’t know.  For lack of a better word, I’ll say warmth.  I want to sell CARL to the whole family, not just the kids.”

“Understood.  I put our brightest young ad executive in charge.  I think she’ll knock your socks off.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jason sighed, looking down at his watch, and then found a seat at the table. 

At exactly ten A.M. Jane announced, “Everyone, could I have your attention.  If you’ll take your seats we’ll get started.”  To ease her nerves, Jane began distributing handouts.  She looked at the papers as she made her way around the big table.  At the head of the table, the papers she was handling slipped out of her hand, falling to the floor.  She reached to retrieve them at the same time as another hand reached for them.  Their heads bumped slightly.  Embarrassed, she looked up saying, “Oh, I am so sorry.” 

Everything in Jane froze.  Her voice, her breath, her arms, all stopped as she stared at the man in front of her.  Jane’s startled blue eyes looked up into his brown ones. 

Jason held himself rigid.  He said, “No harm done,” as he sat back down. 

Jane handed out the rest of the papers by sheer grit.  Terry approached her.  “Jane, are you all right?  You don’t look well.”

“Mr. Dawson, I . .  I need to get something from the break room.”  Her composure if she could find it.  “Could you give me just a few minutes?”

“What’s wrong?  Are you ill?  Do you want someone else to make the presentation for you?”  Mr. Dawson was concerned.  He had always been a fair boss and a smart businessman.  His green eyes behind his wire-rimmed glasses echoed his concern for his protégé. 

Jane recognized the anxious tone of her boss’s voice.  This account would help launch the Patterson Agency into a worldwide market.  They really needed to hit a home run.  “No!” she quickly said.  “I’ll be fine.  Just five minutes and then I’ll give you a dynamite presentation, sir.”

He studied her face seeing her determination combined with something that looked like shock.  Knowing all the work she had put into the meeting along with her immense talent, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.  “All right, Jane.  But just five minutes.”

While Mr. Dawson had the execs look over the handouts, Jane hurried to the break room across the hall.  Pacing she began taking large cleansing breaths trying to slow down her accelerating pulse.  On each exhale she spoke one word.  “Calm. Peace.  Tranquility.”

“What are you doing?” a voice behind her asked.

Jane turned around quickly to find Jason studying her.  Catching her breath she replied, “I learned in yoga that during times of stress you should take deep cleansing breaths saying words that will calm you down.”

“Is it working?”

“Not yet.”

Jason grinned.  Jane’s knees buckled.  She had forgotten that look.  It was devastating.  She felt the sun shine through the room only there were no windows.  She tried to smile back.

“How are you, Janie?” Jason asked softly.

“Good, Jay.  You?” Jane tried to sound at least a little in control of her wits.

“I’m fine.”  Jason let his eyes roam up and down looking her over appreciatively.  “So, you’re making the presentation today.  Good for you.  I knew you’d be a success.”  The smile faded.  His face slowly grew hard, his eyes cold.

“Yes, I’m a marketing specialist here at Patterson.”  Jane held her hands together to stop them from trembling.   “You work for Talbot Toys?”

“Yeah, Talbot Toys has me, body and soul.  The president is a real work horse, always demanding the impossible.”

“Wow, sounds formidable.”

“Yeah, but extremely smart.  He’s the best there is.”

Jane felt chilled as his cold eyes continued to push her away emotionally. Jane thought quickly about what to say next.  “Well, you always wanted to design toys.  Is that what you do for Talbot?”

“Yeah.  More or less.”  He continued to stare at her.

To Jane’s relief, Mr. Dawson came into the break room.  “Jane, are you ready?  Oh, I see you’ve met Jason Collins, president and C.E.O. of Talbot Toys.”

Jane’s jaw dropped.  Jason didn’t try to hide his amusement.  “Actually, Jane and I are old friends,” he explained to Terry.  “I haven’t seen her in, what is it, about seven years now?”

She nodded.  Regaining her voice Jane looked at Jason, trying to mask her shock. “Congratulations.  I didn’t know.  That’s . . that’s . . terrific,” Jane stuttered.  She hated to stutter.

Jason couldn’t help it.  He was enjoying Jane’s discomfort.  Trying to hide his delight he said, “Thank you.”

“Jane, is everything all right?” Sally asked as she hurried into the room.

“Yes, Sally.  I’m fine.”

“And who is this?”  Jason flashed his brilliant smile at Sally as he approached her with his hand extended.

“This is Sally Travers, my assistant.  Sally, meet the president of Talbot Toys.  Jason Collins.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sally.”

“Likewise, Mr. Collins,” she fluttered her eyelashes at him.  Jane was a bit peeved.

Turning back to Jane, Jason said, “I’m looking forward to your presentation today.”  With a smirk he added,  “That is, you’re still going to present, right?”

Irritation rose up from Jane’s gut.  So he was playing her, was he?  Well, she’d show him that she wasn’t intimated by his lofty position.  Standing straight and squaring her shoulders, Jane looked him in the eyes.  “Absolutely.  In fact, I think I’ve kept you waiting too long.”  Motioning with her arm to the other room she said, “Shall we?”

Back in the conference room, Jane began her presentation.  She was calm, cool, and collected on the outside while fighting emotions on the inside.  This was her moment.  She was not going to let any old boyfriend—all right her first love—spoil this moment.

Jane focused on the product:  CARL.  An incredible idea, she thought and one that would have a major impact on the toy market.  As she plunged into her concept of bringing CARL to homes all over the world, her pleasure in marketing surfaced.  Jason noticed that her eyes lit up over the ideas.   The bubbly cadence of her voice captured him.  Shaking himself, Jason stopped looking at her and instead looked at the handouts, concentrating on the presentation.  CARL was too important to let just anyone handle the marketing.

Following the presentation and a brief time for questions, everyone began filing out of the room.  Lingering behind, Jason walked over to Jane.  “Impressive.  It looks like you put your heart and soul into this.”

“Thank you.”  Flustered by the compliment, she didn’t know what to say.  “It’s what I do,” was all she could come up with.

“Well, I appreciate all your hard work.  Maybe I could pay you back with lunch?”  He knew this was a mistake but felt that they needed to get a few things straight before he even considered Patterson. 

Jane couldn’t get any words out.  Hadn’t she just proven her command of the English language with her presentation?  However, she felt totally inept to finish a sentence now.  “Well, I . .”

“I’d like to discuss a few points about the presentation with you.”

Shifting back to her professional mode, Jane relented.  “Of course.  Let me just put my things away.”

Jason waited in his limo for Jane.  His mind was scrambling, trying to decide how to handle the possibility of doing business with Jane.  It had been such a shock to see her again.  He knew she lived and worked in New York, knew she worked in marketing.   But he never expected to run into her as the chief presenter for a marketing campaign.  She had done well for herself. 

He was mad with himself that he hadn’t researched the firm fully before today.  Usually he did.  He always liked to know whom he was dealing with. He just hadn’t had time to delve into the personnel of a marketing agency. 

  The CARL project had him putting in twelve-hour days, working to get all the bugs out.  He wasn’t big on conspiracies but he would swear that someone had it in for CARL. There had been too many glitches to count.  He was constantly putting out fires and making adjustments.  Sometimes he wondered if he’d survive the big debut.  But first he had to find an advertising agency. 

He knew of Patterson, had met Terry Dawson several years ago at some charity fundraiser.  He knew that Patterson was solid.  That fact had given them the invitation to bid on the project. 

Now was not a good time for a complication.  Jane had made it clear years ago that she wasn’t interested in a future with him.  He had accepted that.  He had gotten on with his life and had been extremely successful.  So why were butterflies swarming into formation in the pit of his stomach?  Why was his throat suddenly parched when he looked up into her eyes?  It had been seven years, not seven minutes since they had been together. 
Enough, Collins.  Time to set the boundaries and move on.  It’s not unlike any other business venture
.

Then he saw her leave the building.  His mind emptied of everything except her.  As she entered the frigid air, the wind caught the door, blowing her honey blond hair and swirling it around her face.  She was wearing it differently these days.  He remembered it long and free.  Now, it was cut shoulder length, curling at the edges.  He liked it. 

Jason had met quite a few beautiful women since he had moved to Manhattan.  He had met quite a few more since his business had thrived.  None of those women could hold a candle to Jane.  She was pretty, not model material, but graceful and natural.  Beauty shone through her clear blue eyes.  He was mesmerized.

Jason got out and opened the door for Jane.  He couldn’t help to feel a flash of pride at the impressed look on Jane’s face.

“Nice car.”

“It gets me where I want to go,” Jason said casually.

The drive was slow as the limo made its way into lunchtime traffic in New York.  Neither Jason nor Jane spoke.  The only sounds in the opulent limo were those of a purring motor.  The tension was as thick as the limo’s carpeting when Jason finally broke the silence.  “Would you like something to drink?  Water? A glass of wine?”

“Water would be nice, thank you.”  She gladly accepted the water he offered her, bottled and chilled from an ice bucket and poured over ice into a crystal glass.  Her throat was terribly dry.  And why not?  It was only natural.  After all, what do you say to a man that you haven’t seen in seven years?  A man who broke your heart. The man that you gave your virginity to.  And now it looked like that man could very well hold your career in his hands.  What blasted luck!

Just as Jane was about to comment on, of all things, the weather, Jason’s cell phone rang.  He politely excused himself and took the call.  It was strange to listen to Jason conducting business.  This was not the Jason she remembered.  She remembered a happy-go-lucky boy with his head high in the stratosphere and his mind busy with his toys.  Now, he was a successful, confident businessman who apparently did not take any gruff from anyone.  His face showed the lines of living a high-pressured life.  He didn’t smile as easily as he once had.  His eyes had a hardness that was unsettling to her.  The one word that now described Jason Collins seemed to be cold.