Powerful Men 3: Four Hot Alphas who Take Whatever They Want (5 page)

She wondered if she’d ever get a chance to speak in private to Bobby again. As she drove off across the desert back towards the city she knew that it might never happen. That was the sacrifice that they both had to take.

###

Ad Men

Seducing the Heiress on the Skyscraper Roof

‘
Unleash your wild side
,’ the ad read with a picture of a puma beside a car, possessive and dominant. It was cute.

Jon Sugar ruffled the newspaper and cleared his throat. It was eight am and the train to the city was filled with professional working men making their way into New York to try to seize the day. No different, on the surface at least, than he was.

Jon was the creative director at Harlan Fisher Advertising Agency, one of the Madison Avenue firms, albeit a little smaller than the main contenders. But then, that was part of what he liked about it in the first place. The freedom afforded to him by the lower scale of operations; the opportunity to build something meaningful and strong; the control bestowed upon him, creative and otherwise.

He sat in an empty booth, with his legs crossed beneath the paper and a cigarette held in his fingers. He turned the page and scanned the stories. The Russians had just put a man in space, while elsewhere the trial of Adolf Eichmann, Nazi war criminal, was underway. Jon brought the cigarette to his lips and glanced dryly out the window as he inhaled. Things were definitely happening in the world, but sometimes it still seemed like nobody on the entire planet really knew what they were doing.

‘Rex?’

He almost reacted but did not. Surely they couldn’t mean –

‘Rex Walton? My God, it is you.’

A rush of adrenaline shot to his brain. From the outside it was imperceptible. He cleared his throat and glanced up. ‘Excuse me?’ he said, in a way that suggested he did not appreciate being roused from his thoughts.

Standing in the aisle, a skinny young man in a beginner’s suit was smiling down on him, his face a mixture of stunned disbelief and pleasant surprise.

‘Wow,’ the youth grinned, ‘you look fantastic Rex. What in heck happened to you?’

Jon frowned. ‘I think you’ve got the wrong person,’ he said.

The youth knitted his brow with pained ambivalence. If Jon remembered correctly, his name was
Jem
Bowman. ‘What do you mean?’
Jem
said, ‘Rex,
it’s
Jem
! Don’t you remember? We lived just down the road from your people.’

Jon smiled slightly, but only with his mouth. ‘I’m sorry,’ he shrugged, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please, I have some business to prepare for the day.’

Jem
Bowman said nothing. He stared at Jon for a moment longer and then continued walking further along the train, shaking his head like he was questioning his own sanity.

For a moment, Jon glanced out the window, as though recalling some distant life, long in the past, and then his face was stern and blank again.

Forty-five minutes later he was at his place of work.

‘There he is!’ Tommy Harlan, joint partner of Harlan Fisher, whooped as Jon walked into the main lobby, ‘Jon Sugar – the John Wayne of Madison Avenue.’

‘Stick em up,’ Jon smiled coolly, as if only to humor his friend, ‘Pilgrim.’

Tommy laughed and put his arm around Jon’s shoulder, walking him deeper into the offices.

Tommy Harlan had inherited his position as one of the firm’s two joint partners from his father who’d founded the company with Chuck Fisher, Tommy’s current counterpart. Tommy was a handsome, middle-aged man with snow white hair and an impish face which seemed to suggest that he’d never truly left his boyhood behind him. And certainly, that was how he conducted himself around the workplace.

‘Come on,’ he said, leading Jon towards his office, ‘I’ll pour you a glass of scotch. The people from Sunset Hotels are coming in soon and I want to get a sneak preview of the Jon Sugar magic.’

Jon glanced at him. ‘Tommy,’ he said, ‘if you start any earlier you’ll be drinking vodka in your dreams.’

‘Hey,’ Tommy quipped, ‘I already am.’

As they crossed the hallway, Jon’s secretary Suzie rushed up to him with her agenda clasped firmly in her hands. Chances were she knew that if she didn’t catch him now, she might never.
Smart girl.

‘Mr. Sugar,’ she said, ‘good morning.’

‘Good morning Suzie.’

‘Buck
Tynsedale
from Campbell and Kline called. He said he wants to do lunch.’

‘Put him off,’ Jon muttered, ‘indefinitely.
Anything else?’

‘Yes,’ Suzie nodded, ‘it’s your anniversary this weekend,
I
thought you might appreciate the reminder.’

Jon stopped suddenly and turned towards her. Tommy looked back at the secretary as though enjoying a wicked joke. ‘Thank you Suzie,’ Jon said, ‘that will be all.’

‘Yes sir,’ Suzie said, glancing down and hurrying back to her desk outside Jon’s office.

Tommy glanced at him slyly. ‘Don’t tell me you actually remembered?’ he said.

Jon stared at him for a cool couple of seconds, a faint smile, both humorous and strong playing on his lips. ‘Well maybe I would have, if you people ever actually gave me a minute to think about something other than my work.’

Tommy burst out laughing and they continued into his office.

‘So,’ Jon said, as Tommy took a bottle from the cabinet beside his desk and prepared the drinks, ‘the Sunset Hotel people. Remind me again how you landed this contract?’

‘I didn’t,’ Tommy said, handing a glass of scotch over to Jon, ‘they came to us. Said they were looking for a new direction.
Something fresh.’

Jon covered his mouth as he lit a cigarette and then held the zippo over to Tommy. Tommy took a cigarette from the case on his desk and leaned forward to light it on Jon’s flame. Jon exhaled slowly. ‘Something fresh?’ he said, ‘how fresh do they want us to get?’

‘Easy cowboy,’ Tommy playfully warned, ‘I hear Avigail Silverman doesn’t take too kindly to jokers.’

Jon stared at him.
‘Avigail?
What the hell kind of name is that?’

‘Jewish,’ Tommy said, ‘but hey what can you do?’ He laughed and exhaled a stream of smoke at the ceiling.

Despite himself Jon gave a little chuckle. ‘That’s not what I meant,’ he said, ‘Avigail, that’s a woman’s name isn’t it?’

‘Trust me,’ Tommy replied, ‘I was just as surprised as you are. The world’s changing Jon.’

Jon sipped his whisky. ‘Nothing ever really changes,’ he said.

The phone buzzed and Tommy’s secretary came on the line. ‘Mr. Harlan,’ she said, ‘June Kerouac is here to see you.’

‘Ah June!’
Tommy grinned, ‘send her in.’

Jon scrutinized his friend’s face for a moment. ‘What?’ Tommy shrugged.

‘Nothing.’

Jon had a feeling the relationship between Tommy and June Kerouac went somewhat further than just the professional. But hell, this was Madison Avenue, it seemed like everybody was sleeping with everybody anyway.

The door opened and the firm’s office manager stepped inside.

June Kerouac was a beautiful and voluptuous redhead with a full figure and curves that lesser men would be willing to die for. Though Jon knew he could probably have her if he really wanted, he had for his own reasons exercised self-control.

‘Good morning gentlemen,’ June chirped.

‘Good morning June,’ Jon smiled.

Tommy rushed around from his desk. ‘Ah
ma Cherie
,’ he sighed, taking her hand and kissing it, ‘you are more beautiful than the morning sun.’

‘Oh stop it Tommy!’ June blushed, ‘really.’ She looked past him to the glass of whisky on his desk, beside the smoldering cigarette in the ashtray. ‘My God Tommy,’ she said, ‘you’re drinking already?
Despicable.’
She looked at Jon and smiled. ‘And Jon Sugar, really. I would have thought
you
at least might have known better.’

‘We’re celebrating,’ Jon shrugged.

‘Exactly,’ Tommy nodded, ‘you shouldn’t be so quick to judge
Junie
, before you know the full story. Now, what are we dealing with here?’

‘The Sunset Hotel people are on their way up,’ June said, ‘Teddy Wooster has gone down to meet and greet them in the lobby.’

‘Poor bastard,’ Tommy observed, ‘Avigail Silverman will eat him alive.’

‘You’re bad, Tommy Harlan,’ June smiled.

‘Agreed,’ Jon said. He tipped up his glass. ‘Shall we continue to the conference room?’

‘Lead the way,’ Tommy said and drained his own drink before leaving the room.

They stepped out onto the main floor and immediately greeted the people from Sunset Hotels. ‘Miss Silverman!’ Tommy greeted, ‘but you don’t look nearly old enough to be running a company.’

It was supposed to be a compliment, but she didn’t take it that way. Avigail Silverman was an attractive but serious-looking woman, with dark, moody brown eyes and soft black hair. Jon smiled professionally and put out his hand. ‘Miss Silverman,’ he said, ‘thanks for coming by.’

After shooting a quick dirty look at Tommy, Avigail presented her gloved hand to the Creative Director. ‘How do you do?’ she said, ‘Jon Sugar, I presume?’

‘Welcome to Harlan Fisher,’ Jon smiled. People had a tendency to know who he was the moment he stepped into the room and he didn’t like to dwell on it. But Avigail Silverman wasn’t done yet.

‘Your reputation precedes you,’ she said, smiling slightly.

‘Yes well I trust you’ll soon see for yourself that Harlan Fisher is an agency on the up and up,’ Jon said.

‘That’s not what I meant,’ Avigail said, her eyes twinkling with dark intent.

Jon let his cool gaze linger on her face for a moment longer and then he smiled cordially. ‘Allow me to lead you to the conference room,’ he said.

‘Thank you,’ the young hotelier said and followed the direction of his outstretched hand.

Jon and Tommy shared a quick glance. Yes, the world definitely seemed to be going in new directions. They turned and followed after Avigail Silverman and her people.

‘So,’ Jon began, after the Sunset Hotel people had been seated at the table, ‘Tommy tells me that you’re looking for a new direction. Something fresh, I believe he put it.’

Avigail leaned forward in her seat and smiled. For a moment Jon thought about what she might look like without that expensive yet shapeless gown. Underneath he could see just the hint of a supple and lithe little body waiting to be explored. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that’s exactly what we’re interested in,
fresh
.’

Jon looked into her eyes for a moment and she held his gaze for several seconds before looking down at the table. What else was she interested in, he wondered?

‘Ok,’ he said, ‘well Harlan Fisher have a first-class art department, some of the most creative minds in New York work for us Miss Silverman and I can assure you that there are a number of very interesting channels to explore.’

Across the room Tommy snorted with laughter. Jon hadn’t meant it like that, but as soon as he realized the innuendo of what he’d just said, he couldn’t help but smile himself.
Mainly because of how Tommy had reacted.
The guy was just a big kid.

June Kerouac shook her head and sighed, Avigail Silverman was even less pleased. ‘Excuse me?’ she asked.

‘I’m sorry,’ Jon continued, reverting back to professional mode, ‘a private joke. What I meant to say Miss Silverman is that we couldn’t be more excited to be working with you. Give us a little time to cook something
up,
something special, and then we’ll invite you back to see what you think. I trust you’ll be very pleasantly surprised. With Harlan Fisher, most people usually are.’

Avigail nodded curtly, she still looked like she was offended and maybe even hurt by their laughter. ‘Very well then,’ she said.

Jon was about to put out his hand to shake goodbye when Tommy piped up again.

‘Yes,’ he
said,
a wicked smile on his mouth, ‘Jon makes sure he always satisfies.’

Avigail Silverman’s mouth opened slightly in shocked distaste. Jon cringed. Jesus Tommy, you couldn’t just leave it at that, he thought.

‘I beg your pardon?’ Miss Silverman demanded.

Jon looked her dead in the eyes and spoke firmly and professionally. ‘He said that I make sure to leave no customer unsatisfied,’ he said, ‘I recall you saying that our reputation precedes us here at Harlan Fisher, well then I trust you’ve heard that we always strive to make the customer happy, no matter what it takes.’

She didn’t look entirely convinced. Jon kept his steely eyes firmly in hers, his face rigid and serious. She looked back at Tommy Harlan. He appeared to be in actual physical pain from the strenuous effort of trying not to laugh. She looked back at Jon and narrowed her eyes. ‘Give me a call when you’ve grown up a little,’ she said and turned on her heels.