Free He Loves Lucy by Susan Donovan

This man’s loutishness knew no limits.
    “I’m just saying that it’s a vast improvement-no pun intended. Get it? Vast?” He chortled again.
    Lucy nodded, letting her eyes wander to the ostentatious Caran d’Ache fountain pen tucked into Stephen’s dress shirt pocket, thinking how satisfying it would feel to jam the eighteen-karat gold nub into his left eyeball, thereby causing his head to deflate.
    The bastard. There she was, the person who’d landed the Palm Club account in the first place-the biggest in Sherrod amp; Thorns’s history. Lucy was the creative director of a team that had conceived a fun, fresh campaign that was going to forever change their agency’s reputation. She’d even sacrificed her body and pride for this account. And she was supposed to be walking out the door right that minute to make this man even richer than he was by getting on a scale in front of a live studio audience and tens of thousands of viewers-and he just informed her she hadn’t been an asset until she’d become
thinner
?
    She stood up. She glared down at him. “Unless this is about business, it will have to wait.”
    “Don’t be so sensitive. Loosen up. Sit down. I’ve got good news.”
    “I really only have five minutes, tops.” Lucy’s blood boiled. She’d taken this job for one reason-Sarah Thorns. In Sarah, Lucy had seen a kindred spirit, a real mentor, someone who’d managed to remain a decent person while she’d made her way in the business world. This position had appealed to Lucy because it would allow her to keep a hand in a variety of projects. The pay was excellent, too. But from the beginning, the one downside of this job had been Stephan. Lucy had figured Sarah would serve as a buffer between them. And she had, until she went in for routine cosmetic surgery and died. Now there was no Sarah-just one weird-ass boss, who sat in front of Lucy, his face lit up with malevolent delight.
    “I’ve nominated the Palm Club campaign for this year’s Eddies.”
    “You
what
?”
    “I just sent in the preliminary application.”
    The Eddie Award was like the Academy Award of the advertising industry, and every year the professional association gave out honors for excellence in advertising, marketing, and public relations. Lucy had never been nominated for anything in her life. She’d never even gone to the awards ceremony.
    This was incredible news, but the look on Stephan’s face cautioned her not to get carried away with her excitement.
    “What’s the catch?”
    “Well, the application process is quite detailed. You’ll have to start coming in a little early to work on it. It’s due in two months.”
    “I can’t come in early, Stephan. That’s when I work with Theo.”
    “Ah, right. Well, maybe you can skip a day here and there. It probably won’t matter much. I’ve managed to stay in shape with a three-day-a-week regimen, myself.”
    As Stephan tapped his belly contentedly, Lucy found herself speechless. Stephan was encouraging her to slack off. Why in the world would he do that? The reputation of his company was riding on this enterprise.
    “You aren’t trying to lose a hundred pounds, Stephan.” Something else was off about this. “Besides,” she pointed out, “the Eddies are for ad campaigns with quantifiable results. This campaign won’t be done for another nine months. To send it in now would make me look like I don’t know what I’m doing.”
    Stephan shifted in the chair and chuckled again. “Well, let’s give it a shot anyway. You can just talk about how much you’ve lost so far. So where are we now-fifteen pounds?”
    Lucy shook her head in incredulity. “I’ll be weighed on the show this morning, but it will be over thirty-five pounds, I’m sure.”
    “
Shit
!” He jumped up from his seat and stood over her, his mouth hanging open. “You’ve managed to lose thirty-five pounds? Are you absolutely sure? Let me see you! Stand up! Turn around!”
    Stephan had always been