Free Mixed up in March (Spring River Valley Book 3) by Clarice Wynter

hallway. He looked very friendly. A lot more so than Barton. How can I be sure you aren’t using some kind of reverse psychology to get me to go for Metro because Archer is your favorite?”
    Emerson thought she might choke on her own indignation. She’d worked for Frank for years and always thought him to be kind and intelligent. She couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. “Wow. You must think I’m some kind of Mata Hari, being able to manipulate you so successfully. Are you saying you like Metro’s ad better because of something I did or might have done outside of the office, rather than because it’s a better ad? I had no idea I was so powerful.”
    “You know what I mean, Emmy.”
    “No, I have no idea what you mean. Look, Frank, I gave this to you straight. I love DenMar’s ad. They’re spot on what we’re looking for. If you disagree, tell Mr. Todd. I respect your opinion—well, your professional opinion, which is why I wanted to hear it. Metro’s Ad is a reasonable option, but it’s not going to give us the image we really want. If you can’t respect my opinion and me enough to consider that, then I don’t belong here.”
    “All right, Emmy. I’m sorry. I was out of line. It was wrong of me to insinuate that you were trying to manipulate me.”
    “You’re damn right it was.” That comment came out before Emmy could stop it, but she didn’t care. She’d never been so angry in her life, and she’d never before considered quitting her job at TCL, but she was on the verge at this moment.
    Frank held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “You’re right. I’m just…this is too big a decision, and if our department screws up, if Todd ends up unhappy, we’re all dead weight.”
    “I know that.”
    “Well, consider this. You’re not manipulating anyone. You’re being honest, but what about those two ad men? Metro has a bit of a reputation. They’re good, but they’ll do anything to get what they want. Dan Archer looked like he was playing you, and I don’t know about Barton, but how do you know he isn’t doing the same thing?”
    “Because I know.” How dare he try to plant a seed of doubt in her mind about Jared?
    “How do you know? You met him when? Friday night? It’s Wednesday. Are you willing to bet your career on his sincerity?”
    “Frank, I don’t like where this is going.”
    “I don’t either. I’m just saying, consider that you might be the victim of some double teaming. Dan Archer might not be above flirting with you to get you to pick his ad. Are you sure Barton is so pure?”
    Emmy whirled around and headed for the door. “I’m done for the day, Frank. I’ve got to think about just what I’m willing to bet my career on.” She flung the door open and walked out. She didn’t stop walking until she reached her car.
     
    * * * *
     
    “I just had a very interesting conversation with Frank Eckert.” The expression on Ed Reese’s face told Jared that “interesting” was not really the word he wanted to use.
    Jared leaned back in his chair. The office was nearly empty, and he’d been five minutes away from cleaning off his desk for the evening and heading home. Ed’s tone told him the day was far from over. “Let me guess, there’s bad news and there’s worse news.”
    “No news…they haven’t made their decision yet, but he wanted me to tell all my team members that he didn’t condone any kind of emotional manipulation of his employees. I had to ask him what he meant by that, because I know my people don’t do that sort of thing.”
    Jared had learned his poker face from Max. He didn’t twitch a muscle as he waited for Ed for to continue.
    “He insinuated that you might have something going on with Emerson Bartoli, his Corporate Image manager.”
    “And how does he know this?”
    “I guess she told him. So, it’s true? You’re fooling around with one of our biggest potential clients?”
    “We’ve been out to dinner.” He decided