If Alexander Gagnon played fairly. Gagnon was uncharacteristically subdued as he introduced them to the heads of the key departments. They socialized for a few minutes, then began. Adrenaline surged through him as he walked to the front of the room and opened with the history of Stone Industries, the “why us” argument and the successful alliances his company had forged around the world.
By the time he’d laid the groundwork, given an impassioned speech about vision, the room was noticeably energized. He handed the clicker over to Bailey, who looked calm and composed. Gobsmackingly stunning. “We’ve got this,” he murmured. “Bring it home.”
She nodded and walked to the front of the room. There wasn’t a male eye that wasn’t on her behind in the beautifully tailored suit as she stopped and turned around. He was pretty sure the hushed whispers had more to do with the gossip from last night than the subject at hand, and apparently Bailey had figured that out too, a shadow falling across her face. He watched her blink, then visibly check herself. Pull her shoulders back. And begin.
She launched into her slides with an easy, firm command of her ideas. Laid them down as if everyone in the room better be in the game or they were missing something special. Head thrown back, she roamed the room, keeping their interest, soliciting their response. And when the arrogant young marketer who’d passed her photo around last night started a side conversation with a coworker that clearly had nothing to do with the presentation and everything to do with Bailey’s assets, she stopped by his chair and asked him if he had a question. Davide’s mouth twitched, the marketer shut his and sank back into his chair, and Bailey moved on.
Jared leaned back and simply watched. He didn’t sit poised to jump in and help her. Wasn’t concerned a fact might be wrong. He knew Bailey now, knew he could trust her. What he was fascinated with, however, was this Bailey. He’d seen her confident before, seen her unsure in her own shoes and overcompensating. But he had never seen this version. Commanding. Fierce. Combative. And he knew in that moment he’d been wrong the day they’d driven in from the airport into Paris. Bailey was more than any man had a right to expect in a woman. She was courageous and vulnerable and stunningly brilliant, everything he’d been convinced didn’t exist in a female.
She made him feel things he’d thought he’d never experience for another human being. Realize he was capable of it. And knew she’d been right; he was afraid. Afraid of making the same mistakes his father had made. Afraid of loving a woman who might leave.
Afraid of facing the truth of himself.
He shifted in the chair, his clarity unsettling. Bailey had never had love in her life, never had someone to protect her. Yet she was courageous enough to open herself up in the hopes she might someday have it. He was pretty sure he wanted to be that for her. To be the one to protect her. To believe in her.
He was scared he wanted all of her. Frightened it wasn’t within his realm.
He raked a hand through his hair, his guts doing a fine job of rearranging themselves as Bailey sat down beside him, a rosy glow in her cheeks.
He gave her a sideways look. “Where did that come from?”
“Garbage trucks.”
“Garbage trucks?”
Her mouth curved. “I’ll tell you later.”
Alexander opened the room to Q&A. There was a spirited debate about their direct-to-consumer ideas, their unorthodox retail strategy. But a seemingly general agreement the ideas were inspired. Alexander spoke last, directing a hard look at Jared. “All very impressive, Stone. We’d no doubt make a great partnership together. But when it comes down to it, it’s the products that will win, not the marketing. And to me, you and Gehrig are neck and neck.”
Fair point, Jared conceded. If you looked at the here and now. He stood up and walked to the front of the room to advance the slides.
“I’d like,” he said, pausing for emphasis, “to introduce you to Project X.”
The room buzzed as he unveiled his next generation product line: phones, tablets, computers, home alarms, thermostats all linked by a common platform—the connected home realized. No company, anywhere, had anything like it, and he felt the energy of the room skyrocket as the questions came fast and furious. How quickly can you bring it to market? Would people really pay that much for a thermostat that controlled their house? Can it really do that?
Alexander watched it all, a smile playing about his lips. As if he knew Jared had won. As if he wasn’t sure he had a choice anymore.
He said nothing until it was just them and Davide in the room. “You didn’t deign to enlighten us about Project X before now?”