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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 14, 2015 0:10:42 GMT
'This girl must really be something,' Greg, Parker's business partner and former college roommate had remarked as Parker stared at the ties being held up by his assistant, Nina. 'You've switched ties about four times. Why do you keep so many ties in the office?'
Parker had explained that he was more excited about the meeting - it would be a meeting of the minds, he said. That they'd conquered a lot of multimedia so far but a publishing deal with Harper Collins would but one branch of their company over the top along with a deal he was busy brokering with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim, and Met Opera House. Greg didn't think that they needed to appeal to such interests, but Parker pointed out that people with the money to afford their tech wanted people to think they had those sort of interests, even if they didn't.
Parker, along with one of his developers, a junior member of their legal staff, and Nina (because, as Greg joked, Parker couldn't tie his shoes without Nina most days), went to the restaurant where they'd made the reservations. He was going over a few notes with Nina while tapping a message on his phone to one of his sales representatives in London when a bit of movement caught his eye and he spotted Maddy, walking in with her team. He smiled, standing up immediately and almost chuckling when Nina nudged his subordinates to do the same. "Parker Blye, it is so great that you could come join us," he shook Dana Ellis's hand and flashed the woman a charming smile before introducing the rest of his team and pulling chairs out for the newcomers. He locked eyes with Maddy and smiled, "Glad you could come along."
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Post by Madison Benson on Aug 14, 2015 0:30:59 GMT
It was bad enough that she had written and rewritten her email to him, but it was another thing entirely to find herself in attendance of a work meeting with him. She wanted to think that she didn't care, that this was just another pitch meeting and she was getting her first opportunity to show Dana she was more than just a red pen. That didn't, however, stop her from taking extra care with her appearance that morning as she dressed. With her hair in loose curls, her skirt clinging to her curves subtly, she felt attractive - and powerful. This was her career, after all. She didn't need to let silly things like history and the reunion stand in her way of making an impression at work. But her own personal awkwardness rose the moment the team walked into the restaurant. How on earth were you supposed to greet someone whose role in your life you couldn't even explain? "Thank you for arranging everything," she said, greeting the other members of his team and taking a seat beside Dana. Leslie, their marketing manager, had already taken a seat on the other side of Dana, leaving Madison feeling exceptionally out of place in this group of professionals. She was, she was certain, the most junior person here. "Shall we begin?" Dana asked, ever the one to cut to the chase. |
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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 14, 2015 0:44:10 GMT
Parker flashed a smile at Madison before turning his attention and launching into his pitch with Dana. He was casual, personable - he was the sales person he was always meant to be. And while he didn't particularly like sales, he sold his company to the press, the people, and the government trying to regulate them every single day. "Now, don't get me wrong. I love thumbing through a real book more than most, but my mum always taught me to appreciate the traditional while embracing the unknown that lay ahead. You see, what we're trying to do is create the ultimate experience for any home owner or even your average tourist traveling and getting their accommodations through services like AirBNB. Some of New York City's best tourist attractions include museums, theatre, and the New York Public Library. Imagine all of that integrated into one entertainment system - a virtual tour of the Guggenheim and Met, live streaming of the Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center's best performances, and books - some of the greatest books known to the English language. Hell, some of the best books known to any language - and also available in a separate platform package for those who want to pick and choose what they're getting. Our digital reading platform will make the Kindle look as cutting edge as Sumerian symbols on clay slabs," he insisted.
"Of course, we have a lot of plans on how to elevate the material - make it user friendly with our operating system, but Chris our programmer could jump into that," he gestured to his programmer. He watched as everyone else took notes before leaning in to Nina and whispering something to her, advising her to go ask their server to create something off the menu that he thought Maddy might enjoy. As his assistant got up, he leaned to the other side of him, where Maddy was and smiled. "How'd I do?" he asked her with a hopeful grin. "Sometimes I come on a little strong on the pitch."
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Post by Madison Benson on Aug 14, 2015 0:57:51 GMT
He certainly seemed to have a particular way with words. And in all honesty, Madison could feel herself becoming more and more charmed by him. Her heart wrenched in her chest to hear him speak of his love for printed novels, and even the fact that he brought his mother into his sales pitch. She tried to hide her smile as she dutifully jotted down notes to compare with her co-workers later. She knew that his company's idea was enticing to Dana and Leslie, but she knew that by signing on to work with their company on this that she might inexplicably find herself around him a lot more.
And she wasn't sure if she was ready for that.
There had been one side of him that she always felt so drawn to. The side that was sweet, and kind, and just a little bit dangerous, perhaps? But there was this other side, the side that Olivia brought out, that could be downright malicious. And she wasn't sure that the "evil" side of him didn't rear its ugly head now that he was older.
Dana and Leslie launched into asking the programmer, Chris she though it was, all sorts of technical questions. Storage capacities, ease of upload, content management... all things she knew she should have been listening to and taking notes on, but Parker leaned over to her and she couldn't find the strength to ignore him.
"No," she shook her head, "In all honesty, I think you did incredibly well." Pausing for a moment, she looked up at him and smiled tentatively, "You really seem to have a knack for this."
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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 14, 2015 1:16:58 GMT
He grinned at Madison before they were interrupted by the server asking them what they'd like to eat. "I took the liberty of ordering a couple of items off of the appetizers that I thought you all might enjoy, I hope that wasn't too forward," he announced quickly as Nina took her seat beside him again with a nod. After ordering, Chris continued to answer questions. Parker interjected at one point, "That's actually more of a legal question. Joshua, our associate counsel can better answer that," he pointed out before turning his attention back to the brunette at his side.
"I'm glad you think so, because I honestly do think that books are one of the key things lacking from our entertainment system," he admitted in a hushed voice. "I mean a virtual walking tour of the MoMA is great, but it's flowery. It's one of those things you get just to show people you have it, books - those are timeless, they're important." He admitted. He probably never liked reading as much as he did now, he imagined time spent with the woman beside him in high school endeared him to it a bit more though.
"Listen, I wanted to apologize - for the other night and for going around you to try to get you here today. But I do value your opinion on whether or not you think this is a good deal or not. And if you'd rather not deal with me at all, tell me and I'll let Greg know we've got to shelve the digital library idea. But I'd like the chance to work with you, and to take you to dinner sometime and catch up."
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Post by Madison Benson on Aug 14, 2015 1:31:47 GMT
It might have been because he thought that he still knew her, and yet it might have been because of his arrogance. But she was pleased that he had already taken the liberty of placing an order. Date or not, she always agonized over the right things to say around him, the most lady-like things to eat, the sheer nature of her company. Call it paranoia or call it anxiety but it continued to weigh on her as she sat here with him.
His incredibly brief rant on the merits of novels and reading caused that familiar pang to reach her heart again, to make her want to take his hand and tell him all of the ways that she couldn't agree more. She wanted to tell him that she had thought of him from time to time since high school, wondering how he was and what he was doing. That she still thought back to their time together in high school in a positive way. Maybe even that she thought once that she might love him, but the next time he had been swayed by Liv, she quickly retracted that thought. Besides, what does a seventeen-year-old girl know anything about love? It was lust. Infatuation.
Just like it was now - infatuation.
"You don't have to apologize. Sometimes old habits are hard to shake, I understand." But she didn't, not really. At her core, she wasn't sure that she had changed much over the course of her life. "But I would love to still take you up on that dinner. As long as it wasn't just a guilt-induced invitation."
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Post by Parker Blye on Aug 14, 2015 1:56:35 GMT
Parker grinned a bit at Maddy before nodding. "I swear, Madison, it is absolutely not guilt-induced. Just genuinely wanting to catch up with you," he promised. He vaguely registered Chris answering a question and Joshua interjecting that legally Chris wasn't allowed to say so. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Boys, get it together," he teased before flashing a smile at Dana and Leslie. "You'll have to forgive them, we don't bring them out much. What they were trying to say is that we've faced some opposition, legislatively. But I have a meeting tomorrow with members of City Council to talk about all of the ways we can benefit New York City, through tourism and just standard of living." He chuckled when the appetizers were brought out and the conversation died down to a simpler chatter with a few important questions thrown in.
"How about tomorrow night at 7? I'll send a car and we'll have drinks and dinner," he offered Maddy.
He wasn't sure what it was about her that made him want to impress her so much. Yes, she was a beautiful young woman. Yes, he'd always known that she was a good person, albeit a bit naive at times - she was still infinitely smarter and kinder than most people he knew. But he wanted to impress her, to strive to be better. And given the way he normally was and then the way he deteriorated when he was with Liv, he couldn't understand what made him think he could actually be better.
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Post by Madison Benson on Aug 14, 2015 2:03:53 GMT
She nodded her agreement before the meeting portion of their luncheon took over. Agreeing to dinner with him was maybe not the smartest decision she had made recently, though for whatever reason, she was prone to not making very smart decisions when he was around. And he certainly knew how to make her brain turn into jelly. She was convinced that he had been behind the amazing appetizer that had been placed near her, and she sort of hated that he had been able to pinpoint her likes so easily once more.
She recanted some information she had managed to jot down in her notebook to Dana and took note of her response. It certainly seemed as though Harper Collins was seriously considering their proposal. Perhaps Parker had charmed Dana and Leslie as well. She couldn't necessarily blame them if that were the case.
"I look forward to it," she sipped at her glass of water and turned to her team, awaiting their dismissal to go back to the office.
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