Instead of laughing at the joke, Curt stopped in the doorway of the conference room and shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah . . . see . . . that’s not exactly what this meeting is about.”

Brooke cocked her head, having no clue what that meant. “Okay, what is this meeting about, then?”

“Here’s the thing. I sort of mentioned to my contact at Spectrum that you’d called me. I was just joking around with him, saying that if he didn’t keep me happy I might have to consider giving Sterling Restaurants our business, that kind of thing. But then I received a follow-up phone call from Palmer Green himself, the CEO of Spectrum North America. He was very interested in the fact that you were trying to pitch Sterling to me.”

Brooke waited, trying to figure out where Curt was going with this. So Spectrum’s CEO knew she was going after another one of their clients. So what? It was hardly a secret that Sterling was aggressively building its sports and entertainment division. “And how does this relate to our meeting?”

Curt gestured to the conference room. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

Confused, Brooke stepped inside and saw a man wearing a tailored navy suit sitting at the conference table. He stood up when she walked in.

Curt made the introduction. “Brooke Parker, this is Palmer Green. CEO of Spectrum North America.”

Palmer looked her over with a sharp gaze. “So you’re the one who’s been stealing away my favorite clients.”

Well. This was indeed a surprise.

Brooke looked back at Curt, beginning to understand why he’d insisted that she come alone. “Unorthodox? In your business, Mr. Emery, I’d think we’d call this a blindside.”

Nevertheless, she walked over to Palmer and held out her hand. No clue what this was about, but if Spectrum’s CEO had thought he could fly out here and intimidate her into backing off his company’s business, he was in for a rude awakening. “What an interesting surprise, Mr. Green,” she said while shaking his hand. “Let me guess. This is the part where you ever-so-charmingly suggest that I stay away from Spectrum’s clients.”

He smiled at that. “No, Ms. Parker. This is the part where I ever-so-charmingly offer you a job.”

Twenty-seven

DESPITE BEING SURPRISED by Palmer’s words, Brooke managed to give Curt a withering look as he smiled apologetically and quickly excused himself from the room.

“Don’t be mad at poor Curt,” Palmer said with a chuckle when the two of them were alone. “He was just following orders.” He sat down at the conference table and gestured, the air of a man who was used to getting his way. “Please, have a seat. At least hear me out.”

Brooke considered this for a moment, and then sat down. “Five minutes. But you should know that we’re already off to a shaky start given the theatrics. Any reason you couldn’t just pick up the phone if you supposedly wanted to offer me a job?”

“This isn’t the kind of offer you make over the phone.” Palmer eased back in his chair. “Besides, I wanted to size up the illustrious Brooke Parker myself.” He cocked his head, taking her in. “Stealing Cowboys Stadium and the United Center was bad enough. But the Staples Center?” He whistled. “That was a dagger to my heart.”

“I take it you’re a Lakers fan.”

“Born and bred in L.A.”

That certainly explained the theatrics. “I think I need to clarify a misunderstanding,” she said. “I’m part of a team at Sterling. My partners, Tony and Micah, were just as instrumental in landing those deals.”

“Not according to my contacts at the Cowboys, the United Center, and the Staples Center.” Palmer must’ve caught her look of surprise. “Oh? You think I didn’t call them to ask why we’d lost their business?”

“I’m sure they told you it’s because Sterling offers top-notch upscale hospitality service.”

“They mentioned something to that effect. But they also said that you are a very convincing woman, Ms. Parker.” He studied her. “It’s remarkable, really, what you’ve accomplished for that company in two years. I hope Ian Sterling appreciates that.”

“Ian Sterling appreciates it just fine.”

The edges of Palmer’s mouth curved in a smile. “You’re loyal to him. I respect that.”

“Thank you.” She checked her watch. “You’re down to three minutes, Mr. Green.”

“All right, I’ll get to the point,” he said, appearing undeterred by her directness. “I want you on my team. You’re smart, bold, and ambitious—and I’ve personally seen the fruits of that. You’ve stolen away three of my top clients in the past eighteen months, and now you’re going after a fourth. I either need to shut you down—which I don’t believe is possible—or get you to work your magic for me.”

He folded his hands on the table. “You want me to be even more blunt? You are a rising star in the business world, Brooke. But you have a problem. There’s nowhere for you to go at Sterling Restaurants. One man sits at the top—Ian Sterling. Think about that.”

Brooke sat quiet for a moment, digesting everything Palmer had said. Frankly, his speech had caught her off guard. Of course, she was aware that the company had been getting a lot of good press. But she’d had no idea that people like Palmer Green, CEO of a billion-dollar-plus corporation, were specifically paying attention to her.