“Yeah, but I might not have met you?” flirted Jerry.
“So true.” She smiled, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks as she looked away from Jerry. “Maybe you two should start your own company.”
Nick frowned at Jerry, his eyes asking, What does she know, you big mouth? That idea had been brewing for the past three years, and just when they got close to having the guts and contacts to move forward, Nick’s mom got sick. He had to concentrate on taking care of his dad for the time being. So, for now, they just worked their accounts, knowing and hoping that one day things would change. Nick and Jerry arrived at the conference room, joining the other creative minds at the agency. The walls were decorated with pictures of ads that the twenty-five-year-old company had produced. Its current major client, UPS, chose AdWorks when it moved its headquarters to Atlanta from Greenwich, Connecticut in 1991. As he was director of creative development, UPS was Nick’s
baby. The company had become the firm’s bread and butter. “Hello, people!” Bongero bellowed as he made his way into the
conference room and to the front of the table. “What’s new? Any new prospects to keep the lights on?”
“Steady as she goes, Captain,” Jerry responded. Nick grimaced. “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Bongero barked, the reaction Nick had been afraid of after the words had tumbled out of Jerry’s mouth. As Jerry sat back, realizing he had his foot in
his mouth, Nick decided to rescue his friend.
“Well, sir,” he said, “we continue to work on a variety of projects, so every day seems to be busy.”
Bongero stared at Nick with those wicked eyes. “Anything new I need to know about, Mr. Harris?”
Nick had been assigned a new client earlier that month who manufactured tractor tires, but he found himself struggling to focus on it. Cancer was back in the forefront of his mind, this time because of Shelly White. The truth was, he had not been the same since his mom passed away. His view of life had changed. His view of women had changed. He’d watched his mother fight her own private war, a war she lost after four years. Nick had watched as his dad stood by her side for what seemed to be endless tests and treatments—the hair loss, her struggle to remain the same person she had always been, the fight to keep her weight up. Her laugh,