Chapter 4

I was high as a kite when I unlocked the door to Walton's. Thank God it was Friday, and everyone had left at five, or I'd be showing my ass when I walked in all glassy-eyed and giggly. Stepping into the office, I acknowledged the stuffy interior-it was a beautiful space, but so highbrow I felt slightly suffocated at times. I pushed through the heavy door and passed the offices that all looked similar to my own but with slightly different color schemes to reach my door. Clutching my bag and the note from my car, I strolled through the doorway to perch my ass in the leather chair behind my massive mahogany desk.

This was a tough industry, price competitive and cutthroat. People worked years to get in with a top firm; most of them stepped on people's faces while they climbed the corporate ladder. My parents had owned a consulting firm all my life-different industry than the one I worked in, but consulting all the same. I'd spent most of my childhood and teen years working in their office on various projects. Starting as a gopher, I gradually worked my way into a team member role. I was headed toward the sales team when the trials derailed my career with my parents. Before it was all said and done, my dad had introduced me to Jack to keep from feeling guilty when they asked me to leave.

So, while my experience hadn't exactly been in this field, I had more than most of my coworkers gave me credit for. I grew up in the business, and I'd been doing this full time since I graduated from high school. I was about to turn twenty-one, so just shy of three years. In those three years, I had worked for Walton's exclusively. Jack, my boss, knew my dad and gave me a one-time shot. He'd gone with me to pitch a small account and see whether I had what it took. When I sold the bid, he kept throwing me bones until he trusted me on my own. Once he set me free, I was determined to be more successful than anyone on his team-it was a much-needed distraction from the past couple of years and became an addiction in itself. I was unwavering in my promise to be the best, and he rewarded me for it.

I knew I had visually appealing assets-I was taller than average, thin and athletic, with my hair my most striking quality-so I played them up. I did not, however, offer them out as incentives to buy my services or use them to get Jack to give me more than he gave anyone else who performed. I had pitched my first proposal to a small tire manufacturer here in town with Jack in tow. Little did I know, the company had been in the midst of a buyout by a national manufacturer at the time of my bid. Forrester Tires brought me in to reorganize their workforce, create safety programs, straighten out their OSHA issues, and hopefully, boost morale to up productivity.

I had six months, which sounded like a lot of time, but that place was in critical need, almost unsalvageable, hence the reason a larger conglomerate wanted to gobble it up. Nearing the end of my contract, I had managed-by the grace of God and the will of the workforce to hold on to their jobs-to accomplish what they'd asked me to do when they announced Biglin Tires was assuming the company at the end of the month. Since they had been in negotiations with Forrester's the entire time I had been there, they saw the changes and called Jack to request a meeting with the two of us about servicing their company nationwide-thus securing my future at Walton's.

It hadn't taken Jack long to recognize my ability to sell-I had a natural ability to convert prospects into buyers. A few months into my tenure at Walton's, and I no longer worked the accounts-I just sold them. Then I brought in a team for completion and stopped by often enough for the client to feel warm and fuzzy about my involvement. Jack quickly figured out my talent was in identifying the problems, creating the plan, and selling the solution-anyone could do the implementation. But the fact still remained-I graduated from high school at seventeen, and I was twenty years old...almost twenty-one. The majority of my coworkers were thirty-five to fifty, and regardless of how good I was, they didn't believe I had earned my spot. And others were skeptical just because of my age.

The note caught my eye as I reached for my computer, and I picked it up again. Obviously, it was from someone at 3 Tier, but there were so many guys that worked out there, I didn't have a clue which one it could be from.

I tucked the note into my pocket, forcing myself to stop obsessing over it so I could get some work done and get out of here. Fridays were tough for me with classes all day and then work after five. I hashed out the final details to include the additional points Brett and Dan had asked for at 3 Tier, made copies for everyone who would need them next week, and then tucked them into my leather case. I shut down my computer, glancing at the clock. I mentally calculated thirty minutes to go home and freshen up before I left to meet Lynn at Magnolia's.