Dirty Boss Daddy by S.E. Law

2

Malcolm

“It needs to be sexier,” I command. “I’d like to see a few more ideas for the artwork that do more to highlight the product. The client is selling energy drinks, and not sleeping pills. Get the new proofs to me by the end of today.”

Hanging up, I take a moment to lean back in my chair and contemplate my office. Running an ad agency is non-stop work and running the premier advertising agency in NYC is a bucket of stress with a dumpster fire piled on top. But I love it, and I’m good at it. Ligne NYC is the top advertising agency in New York City, and I take a moment to savor my success.

Sometimes it’s still hard for me to believe I started this company in a crappy studio apartment with nothing but a beat-up laptop and a raging desire to succeed. I chuckle, remembering those days. My laptop was worse for the wear, and I often had to wipe pizza stains from the keyboard after another all-nighter. Meanwhile, my current office is about two thousand square feet, a luxurious aerie in the sky. I’m pretty sure my desk and the leather chair I’m sitting in cost more than a month’s rent at my old place, and the view? I get up and walk over to the wall of windows on the far side of my office. Below, people scurry to and fro as yellow cabs swerve around traffic, but ahead of me is the gray gleaming steel of the Empire State building, and that’s all I need.

Suddenly, the phone on my desk rings and I frown before picking up. It’s my assistant. “Hey, Jan. What’s up?”

“Sir, your two o’clock is here,” she chirps.

“Who is it again?” I ask idly.

Her voice goes a bit quiet. “It’s one of the junior associates, Ronald Putnam. You know, the one who sits on the fifth floor in the common cubicle area? After he requested a meeting with you for the twentieth time, you told me to just book it so he’d stop.”

“Fuck.” I pinch the bridge of my nose as pain flares behind my eyes. “I remember now.”

The last thing I want to do today, or any day, is meet with this Ronald guy. In fact, I only have a faint memory of him, but then again, I couldn’t let him harass my secretary forever. As a result, I acceded to the meeting just to get him out of Jan’s hair.

But this next half hour is going to be fucking painful. Junior associates often think they’re bright young things, but the fact is that advertising is about more than great ideas. Advertising is also about impeccable execution, outstanding client service, and long-standing relationships. As a result, the associates often overestimate their worth to the firm. I appreciate these Young Turks for their youth and energy, but there’s no substitute for experience and discretion.

“Mr. Neuwirth, would you like me to stall?” Jan asks in a quiet tone. “I could say you’ve been called away unexpectedly?”

“No, it’s fine,” I snort derisively. “Send Mr. Putnam in.”

I sit back down behind my Italian crafted Passerini desk and lock my computer screen. Then, I lean back and school my expression into neutrality. Sure enough, there’s a knock at my office door, but before I can say anything, it swings open and in swaggers a young man wearing an expensive suit that hangs off his narrow frame. In one look I’ve already got him pegged. His hair is slicked back as if he’s Gordon Gecko from the movie Wall Street, and incredibly, I even see yellow suspenders flash from beneath his blazer. He’s reedy and thin, and takes the seat across from my desk without it being offered. Then, to my surprise, he leans forward with a closed fist outstretched.

“Hey Malcolm, my man. What’s up with your secretary, huh? I told her we had an important meeting, but she acted like she was clueless. You’ve got to train your subordinates, bro! You can’t let people like that run your private offices.” I stare at his fist until he drops it to his side with a snigger. “Oh, you’ve never done a fist bump? Hardy har har, it’s the latest thing. That’s why you need me, my man. I’m a Millennial whereas you’re what? A baby boomer? You’ve got to stay current on the times, my brother! It’s important in our business.”

Holy fuck. Has this boy already insulted not only my habits, but also my age, my generation, and my familiarity with our industry? I’m tempted to fire him and kick him out on the spot, but instead, merely smile in a cold, harsh manner.

“Jan is more than qualified as my executive assistant, and she’s been with Ligne nearly as long as I have. What was your name again?”

Instead of being cowed, the boy merely sniggers.

“Ronald. Ronald Putnam. I sit on the fifth floor and work in creative.”

I nod.

“Great. I’m Malcolm Neuwirth, CEO. How can I help you today?”

The boy smiles and sits forward, his eyes gleaming at the opportunity.

“So listen, bud,” he says, “I know you’ve got someone already on the energy drink campaign, but I saw what they put together, and Ligne could do so much better.”

I raise my eyebrows.

“How so?”

Ronald giggles and turns faintly pink then.

“Using sex, my man. Imagine a nude photo shoot with lots of beautiful girls. We use the drink cans to cover the girls’ sensitive areas so that we can still get a big billboard in Times Square, but only hide the minimum. Imagine it: tourists stopping to gasp and stare when they see G-Raw Energy Drinks served by a beautiful woman in the flesh. She’s in the raw. Get it? G-Raw, in the raw. What a slogan!” he cackles to himself.

Rolling my eyes isn’t something I do, but the urge right now is strong. Instead, I clamp my jaw and look Ronald right in his eyes, wanting to make sure he fully understands the meaning behind my words.

“Thanks. I’ll take your suggestion into consideration.”

He stops giggling for a minute to stare.

“But hey, it’s my idea!” he whines. “Don’t take credit for something that I thought up! I figured sharing with you was okay since you’re the boss and all, but don’t go around stealing my hard-earned work!”

I can hardly believe that this child works for Ligne, but I merely smile tightly.

“Got it. In fact, be sure to share this idea with your supervisor,” I amend. “I want everyone to know who originated the concept.”

With that, Ronald sits back happily with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Oh, I will. I just wanted to share it with you first because my supervisor’s a woman. You know how sensitive they can be. You say one wrong thing, and bam! You’re out on the street. But I know you get it because there are so many sexy women at Ligne, and you must have had a hand in hiring them. In fact, it’s one of my favorite things about this agency: my hot female co-workers.”

I want to punch him in the face, but merely smile tightly.

“Oh really?” I say in a polite tone. “And do you have a co-worker you’re close to?”

Ronald smirks and nods.

“I do indeed. I’m dating one of them in fact, and whoo-wee! She’s on the bigger side, so she’s not exactly Grade A Prime Rib, if you know what I mean. But this girly knows some tricks in the sack that can make your balls explode. Her name is Leslie Field? Maybe you’ve heard of her.”

I do know who Leslie Field is, but my expression remains neutral. If it’s the Leslie I’m thinking of, then indeed, she’s a gorgeous girl with a good head on her shoulders and a nice round rump outlined in her pencil skirt.

But Ronald doesn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone before practically shoving the screen in my face.

“See?” he giggles. “Les is big, but it’s not so bad. There are definitely some benefits to dating a woman with Double Ds.”

The air in my lungs evaporates as I look at the screen because these aren’t some random candids that Ronald and his girlfriend took on vacation. Instead, these are nude photos of the beautiful woman, and she looks fucking hot. In the current image, she sits facing the camera with a shy smile on her face and her knees up and spread. I can see those big breasts dangling, and the narrow curve of her waist before reaching the gleaming slit between her thighs. Holy shit. Does she know that her boyfriend shares her photos with random people? And not just any random person, but her boss’s boss’s boss?

I look away from his phone and ask casually, “Does your girlfriend let you show her off to other men?”

Ronald laughs and rolls his eyes. “Of course not. She has no idea because we just took these last night. But she’s my girlfriend, so it’s fine. She’ll be fine. Leslie’s hot, right?”

The way he sniggers after the statement makes my skin crawl. I need to have a talk with HR because this douchebag obviously needs to be fired. He’s probably already violated ten company policies, although that hardly matters. I just don’t like him, and that’s enough for a dismissal.

But I’ll leave that to HR because there’s no need to cause a scene in my office. For now, I just need to get this chump out of my presence.

“Thanks so much,” I say casually while standing and striding to the door. “I’ll take your suggestions into account.”

Ronald pops out of his chair, smiling eagerly.

“Oh, sure,” he babbles. “We’re both busy men, so I totally get it. Just make sure you don’t forget to staff me on that G-Raw campaign. Again, the current team is wasting your time and the client’s money. But I’ll rock it and knock their socks off.” He holds his fist out horizontally again, and again, I ignore his proffer. Instead, I stride to the heavy oak door and open it for him.

“I’ll think about it,” is my only promise.

Ronald takes his time waltzing out, pausing only to spin around like a ballet dancer once he reaches the hallway. “It’s been good, Malcolm, my bud. Can’t wait to work with you on our next project.”

I merely smile politely as he strolls to the elevator bank before disappearing with one last wave into the steel box. Then, I stride back into my office and ring Jan.

“Yes, Mr. Neuwirth?” she asks.

“Make sure Ronald Putnam’s on my block list.”

“Of course, sir. Anything else?” I pause for a moment.

“Go ahead and contact HR. Give them a heads up that Putnam won’t be working here anymore. Give him a week to clear his desk, but that’s it.”

“Understood,” she says in a professional tone. “I’ll get that taken care of right away, sir.”

“Thanks, Jan.”

With that, I sit down once again, still shaking my head with disgust. I’ve dealt with a lot of idiots in my career, but those who are open about it are a rare commodity. Usually, at the very least, they go to great lengths to hide their low IQ, but Ronald Putnam wears his ick factor on his sleeve. In fact, there’s a bad taste in my mouth right now from dealing with the young man.

But what about his girlfriend? Shit, Leslie was so beautiful, and she’s innocent in all this. Ronald said that she has no idea that he’s been showing off her photos, but what happens if she finds out? After all, I want to see those curves in the flesh now, and nothing’s going to stop me until the gorgeous Leslie Field is sighing and moaning in my arms.