The blue leather folder containing the Stratton marketing proposal was cold when Jake laid it on my desk at nine on Monday morning.
The office was quiet, save for the hum of the heating system and the distant traffic on Boylston Street.
We finished the regional target projections at midnight, Jake said.
He stood by the corner of my desk, his posture straight, his eyes scanning the layout of my office before settling on the document.
He was wearing a crisp white shirt, the cuffs turned back twice, showing the silver watch he always checked when he was anxious.
The numbers show a four-percent rise in engagement for the suburban retail sector, I said, flipping through the heavy paper pages.
The blue ink was sharp, the graphs aligned with the neat precision I had come to expect from him over the last six months.
I twirled my gold pen between my fingers, a habit that always seemed to calm my thoughts when the weekly reports piled up.
This is clean work, Jake, I said. The targeting methodology is exactly what we need to secure the Stratton account.
Thank you, he said. I wanted to make sure we captured the boutique market accurately.
He checked his wristwatch, a quick, anxious gesture that seemed out of place given the success of his presentation.
You seem in a hurry, I said.
My girlfriend is helping me look over some of the regional retail trends, he said. She has some strong opinions on how small businesses approach local advertising.
I did not realize you were in a relationship, I said.
We have been together for three years, Jake said, his voice dropping slightly but remaining professional. She prefers to keep her personal life entirely separate from my work here.
A boutique owner? I asked.
Yes, he said, shifting his weight. She has a small shop in the city. It has been a difficult year for independent retail, so we spend a lot of our evenings discussing strategy.
Does she specialize in apparel? I asked.
Mostly women’s fashion, Jake said. High-end boutique wear. She imports some of her stock from smaller European designers, but the local market has been tough.
