“Good.” I dragged in a deep breath and swore that after I nailed this, I’d begin taking regular yoga classes. I hoped I didn’t start to sweat and thanked God for jackets. “We got this. We’ve practiced nonstop, our video campaign is brilliant, and we have a chance to go viral on IG.”

“As long as Alan isn’t a conservative,” Layla pointed out. “He has the capacity to kill it.”

“He’d get outvoted,” I said firmly. “Lexi would rather go with a daring campaign than boring. Plus, humor sells.”

“True,” Kate said, nodding.

Finally, my assistant called to let me know the clients were here.

Showtime.

I slipped into charm mode and soon had settled everyone in the conference room. Lexi’s Lemonade was the brainchild of Lexi Hutchinson, who’d become obsessed with the juice-drink culture when her own kids became addicted to sugary sports drinks. I liked her immediately because she wasn’t pretentious and she wanted to find the right niche to sell to and get the brand national attention. Right now, she was in local supermarkets from a grassroots endeavor that had exploded.

Alan, dressed in a conservative black suit, was bald, proper, the numbers guy. Johanna was the head of marketing, a fierce redhead who’d challenged me to think big or forget the whole thing. I wanted to impress her the most.

Once coffee had been poured, pastries grabbed, and the anticipatory hush settled, I launched into my intro, moving confidently into the multiple reasons F&F Advertising was the perfect fit, and what we could do for Lexi’s Lemonade.

Kate and Layla stepped in at crucial points to discuss the budget figures and research demographics, which Alan seemed to appreciate; then Adam transitioned smoothly into our social media campaign. I’d gone with live video rather than graphics to achieve the full effect and had dropped a substantial amount in a gamble that I’d get the account if I spared no expense.

As Adam finished up, I began to notice my nerves tighten and stretch under my skin and my lungs constrict around my breath. I took a sip of water and kept my smile firmly in place. My palms grew damp around the bottle, and I silently prayed Adam would hurry. Once I began speaking, I knew I’d be fine. I was having the strangest performance anxiety, which I’d never experienced before. And unfortunately, the more I tried to relax, the harder it became to breathe.

Thankfully, I heard my cue and stepped front and center. The television behind me geared up with the video.

“Thanks to Kate and Layla for their presentations. And Adam, for his fresh outlook on social media. Personally, I took his advice and gave my own IG account a nice face-lift and I’m proud to report Kylie is now a follower. My teenage daughter was quite impressed.”

They laughed on cue.