Curvaceous & Captivating

Chapter 1-2

Two hours later, I was pretty sure I could give Wyatt a full run down on Ethan Norwood, including birth date (December 17), favorite color (black), and the history of every company he’s ever owned. Which was an extensive list. What I couldn’t dig up was a picture of the man or anything about his family. He appeared to enjoy staying out of the spotlight.

Wyatt came back from his meeting looking frustrated. He went straight past me into the office, leaving me to dig a little deeper. I was fairly certain there wasn’t anything else to find and shut down my browser just as Wyatt walked out of his office.

“Did you find anything?”

I nodded and spun to face him. “Timeless Timber Toys is definitely legit. There was an article online about Ethan Norwood buying the company a few months ago. The company is pretty impressive. I think they’d be a great sponsor for us, too. A kids’ company that makes handmade, natural toys. Not the cheap crap that floods the stores, but stuff like we had when we were kids. I have a lot of respect for the company. From what I know, they have a lot of respect in the community. It can’t hurt us.”

Wyatt ran a hand over his jaw. “Okay, I’ll call them. See if I can get a meeting with the guy. Sooner is better than later, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, definitely. I’m already putting together promotional stuff. If he really wants to be a lead sponsor, or the lead sponsor, we need to get it nailed down now. Like today or tomorrow. I’m supposed to have final proofs to the printer tomorrow close of business.”

“Okay, I’ll see if I can get through to him right away. I have a lot going on the next two days. If I can’t see him, are you free to go?”

I nodded eagerly, glancing at my calendar to confirm it was indeed empty. I was more than a little curious about the man. “We need to get this done, so yeah. Let me know.”

Wyatt went into his office, and I pulled up the logo I’d been working on. I shifted the words “Easter Egg Hunt” slightly closer to the top, just below “Winterville’s First Annual.” I added “Sponsored by Timeless Timber Toys” below that. The Easter eggs scattered in the background allowed the black words to pop, but it didn’t feel right. It was missing something. And that was always the problem I had. Something was missing.

Story of my damn life.

I shook away the thoughts that wouldn’t do me any good and turned back to my computer. I changed the colors on the words, moved the eggs around, and tried everything I could think of. It never looked quite right.

I pushed away from my desk in a huff. I knew I’d regret it, but I went to get another cup of coffee anyway. When I got back, Wyatt was standing over my computer.

“Did you try to change the sizes of the words? Or make the letters darker versions of the pastels?”

I shook my head and sat back down. I made the changes Wyatt suggested, and it finally looked right. “Thank you. I’ve been staring at this for days, and I knew it didn’t look right, but I couldn’t figure it out. Of course, I’ll have to change things around if they don’t sponsor the hunt.”

Wyatt sucked in a breath and gave me a look that said I wasn’t going to like what he had to tell me.

“Out with it. What’s going on?”

“He has meetings the rest of today. His only availability is tomorrow morning. Nine am.”

“And you have the monthly budget meeting.”

Wyatt nodded. “Yeah. Which means I need you to go to the meeting.”

I took a deep breath. “I’ve met with sponsors before, Wyatt.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Ones we’ve known for years or in a neutral location. He wants you to come to his office.”

“I’ll be fine, Wyatt. You know where I’ll be. And there’s no reason to worry.”

“You can take someone with you, if you want.”

“Wyatt,” I said sternly. “I’ll be fine. Relax.”

He backed away with his hands up, palms facing me. “Okay. Your call.”

The rest of the day passed quickly. I made sure I knew exactly where the place was and shut down my computer. I said goodbye to Wyatt and reminded him I’d be in late the next day so I could make it to the meeting, then left to get the kids from after school care.