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speaking and had been speaking for some time, though I didn’t know what he said because I hadn’t been listening.
    I’d been too busy staring.
    A sexy grin tilted his lips, and to my discomfort, I watched myself blossom in his eyes. It frightened me. Then annoyed me.
    Blushing a half-dozen shades of red, I gathered myself and gave him my frostiest look. “Sorry.” My voice was clipped. “I missed what you just said.”
    Amusement glimmered in his eyes.
    I swear, sometimes that man has a way of looking at me as if he’s so aware of what I’m thinking. It is most unsettling.
    Instead of indulging in playful banter, he got right down to business. “We need to discuss the Jensen account.” He released a long breath, exasperated. “They’ve been rejecting every single storyboard.”
    I understood his frustration. In a perfect world, when the creative team came up with a great ad, I’d take it over to the client and they’d approve it for production.
    In all my years of working here, that had happened only once.
    At the same time, I also understood it was perfectly within the client’s rights to reject our work.
    Our job wasn’t to present something we liked. It was to present something they liked.
    And it was my job to manage and strengthen (not merely maintain) our client relationships, acting as the key liaison between the client and the agency.
    Julian pushed off from my desk and began pacing the floor. “My team has worked hard on twenty different storyboards for Jensen. At this point, Jensen’s not being difficult. They’re being downright impossible.”
    I said nothing to correct this. Jensen was a tough client because they were so vague. At every meeting, after the creative team had presented their storyboards, the Jensen execs simply stated, “That was an interesting range of ideas.” Which was code for: “I don’t like anything you’ve shown me.”
    When pressed to tell us exactly what it was they liked and didn’t like , they couldn’t give us a straight answer.
    The standard reply we got was: “We can’t say. We’ll know it when we see it.”
    Working with this mindset was an absolute mindfuck.
    It was like playing darts blindfolded and being spun around ten times and still being expected to hit the bull’s-eye.
    Julian took a sharp intake of breath. “At the meeting this afternoon, if Jensen kills all three storyboards, let me say something.”
    “No,” I said tersely. “I can handle Jensen. I know their temperament. I know their corporate culture. And I’ll know when to push back.” I also knew when to withdraw gracefully, though I didn’t share this with Julian.
    The client must never be made to feel like a bully. And if I pushed too hard, Jensen might consider another creative team within our agency or, worse, consider a new agency.
    Julian sighed. “Jensen needs to approve something. Time’s running out.”
    He was right. The media slots had already been purchased and the deadline was fast approaching.
    “Tell me,” he said. “What can I do to help you bend Jensen to our will?”
    “Mm.” I considered a moment. “You can help me read the room.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “At the meeting, assess Jensen’s reactions when your team presents their storyboards. Pick up on their facial cues. Pay attention to Mark Nessman. His face is like a map and his expressions will inform you just as thoroughly as his words exactly how he feels about something. Then adjust your recommendations to match the ideas you think Jensen will accept.”
    “All right.” Julian gave a slow, determined nod. “I can probably do that. Sounds simple enough.”
     

Chapter Four
     

     
     
     
     
    The creative meeting with Jensen Organics was business and show business rolled into one. Every member of my team was presenting the storyboards while several high-ranking Jensen executives sat stoic around the conference table with their intimidating files in front of them.
    I scanned their faces for