Free Caylee's Confessions (Caylee's Confessions Series) by Candice Burnett Page A

image.”  He lifted his hands and made quotation marks with his
fingers when he said ‘image.’  The host then arrived with some water. 
    “Will
you be having cocktails this evening?” the host asked.  I really hoped so.  I
knew I could only get one if he did, because that’s how these meetings went. 
    “Yes,
double Ciroc in a short glass with a splash of cran, please,” Mr. Caloman
replied.
    “And
for the lady?” the Host asked.
    “I’ll
take a berry vodka and water, short, with a twist of lemon, please.” And the
host walked away.
    “Vodka
and water?” Mr. Caloman asked.
    “It’s
surprisingly delicious,” I replied.  “Tastes like drinking flavored water, but
you get the extra kick without all the calories.” 
    “That
sounds like a slogan,” Mr. Caloman replied with a laugh.
    “It
is what I do.”  I laughed along.  The host brought back our drinks quickly. 
    “Do
you still need a minute to decide?” the host asked.
    “Just
drinks for me,” Mr. Caloman said.  “Are you hungry, Ms. Raupp?” 
    “No,”
I replied, “just drinks for me as well.” 
    “As
you wish,” the host said, and walked away.
    “I
wanted to tell you that I was glad to hear that you got over your illness. 
Your boss had told us you were sick,” he said.
    “Yes,
and thanks,” I said, unsure of what else to say.
    “Your
idea was wonderful.  They didn’t need to send your intern, even though she was
delightful, because I would have said ‘yes’ just to the written proposal.”  He
smiled.
    “Well,
thank you.  I’m glad your company even considered taking a look at my firm’s
proposal.  I have to admit, I was shocked at first that your company was taking
an interest in our small firm,” I told him honestly.  This was the first major
company account that we had snagged.
    “Yes,
well, I’m a true believer that if you don’t look at all your options, big or
small, then you’ll truly miss a great opportunity.  Or, in this case, an idea. 
I was rooting for your company from the start because, I have to say, I like when
the underdog overcomes, in most situations,” he said as his smile widened.
    “Well,
thanks again, and I felt my cheeks blush.  They always did at compliments—was a
fault of being a redhead, I guess.
    “You’re
welcome, and really, it’s my pleasure.  But I think I’ve wasted enough breath
on work,” he said, and I began to wonder: Wasn’t this what I was here for?  
It almost leaked out of my mouth. “I’m bored of it already.  See, I’m a
believer of really knowing your business associates, so let’s just relax.”  And
his smile was sending me the message that he wanted to do anything but relax.  Maybe my boss should have sent Lori here.  She would have loved to ‘get
to know him.’  Surely, he hadn’t meant it that way though , I reasoned. 
I’d had clients do this before, where they just genuinely wanted to know who
they were working with, because, with all the scams going around these days,
they wanted to create a business relationship that had trust, and actually
mattered.
    “How
long have you been with the company?” he asked.
    “It’s
been almost a year,” I replied.
    “A
year in and you’re already on proposals for large corporations?”  His eyebrows
rose with the question.
    “Well,
the company itself is only about five years old.  It started with only five
agents and now there are twenty-three, so everyone is relatively new at the
firm,” I told him.
    “They
must have an eye for catching good talent, since it has grown so successfully
in just five years.” 
    “Yes,
I would agree with that.  Mr. Shelton’s very talented himself, and I find that,
since our company is relatively new, we have brought fresh and new ideas,” I
said confidently.  This was one of the major obstacles that the firm had when
getting companies to sign with us: they liked our ideas, but didn’t like that
our company was so new.
    “That
makes sense,”