Two hours later

When Nathan and Lucas finally emerged from the Conference Room with the two executives from Wagner, Haley was in the middle of working on clearances for the PR campaign. Melissa had handed her a large stack of forms - basically any brand name product that would be used in a print or television ad had to go through a process in which the brand gave clearance for the appearance of the product. Haley had been making phone calls and typing up confirmations all morning.

Nathan and Lucas shook hands with the two gentleman and walked toward Melissa's desk as the other men exited.

Haley tried not to look up from her work.

"How was the meeting?" Melissa asked.

"It went well, I think they have some great ideas for the collaboration," Lucas replied.

Nathan stood silently at the side, stealing a couple of glances in Haley's direction.

"Well, you have a twenty minute break. Then, the Bentley agency reps will be here to discuss the Headley campaign."

"Sounds good," Lucas said. "Hey, let's go grab a coffee."

Nathan shook his head in agreement, still not saying a word.

The two men walked out the door and down the street to the coffee shop at the end of the block.

"How is it going over there?" Melissa asked, looking over at Haley. "You're awfully quiet."

"I just wanted to get most of these taken care of before lunch," Haley responded, still sifting through the forms.

Melissa smiled. It was only Haley's first day, but Melissa was already impressed with her impeccable work ethic. She'd never seen someone so task-oriented and self-motivated. She knew that she'd made the right choice in hiring her.

"I hate to get you away from that work, but is there a favor I could ask of you?" Melissa said.

"Of course," Haley looked up and smiled. "I am your assistant...I'm here to do whatever you ask me to."

Melissa smiled. "I know, but I've never been the domineering diva type to just order someone around. I'd like to think of us more as a team than as you following orders."

Haley smiled. This was turning out to be a bright spot in an otherwise stressful first day (even though the stress really wasn't all that related to the actual work).

"Can you run this back to Brenda in Accounting?" Melissa asked, handing a form to Haley.

"Sure," Haley stepped around her desk and took the form.

She began her walk to the back of the building to give the forms to Brenda.

Melissa had introduced her to the Accounting department earlier in the morning so she knew her way around the building fairly well.

When she returned to the front office, Melissa was away from her desk.

She sat down at her desk and looked in surprise at what she found there.

Sitting on top of her desk was a large coffee with creamer and sugars beside it and a note that read 'Hope your first day here is going well - Nathan'

~~~
Haley sat in astonishment. After he had completely dismissed her this morning, acting as if they'd never met, he went and did something like this.

Haley shook her head. She couldn't let this affect her. She was here to work and be professional, not to worry about the mixed signals of her boss who'd clearly had this M.O. long before he'd ever laid eyes on her.

Melissa walked back in with her coffee, "The guys brought us coffee...wasn't that nice?" Haley nodded and gave a small smile.

Of course, she thought. It was a simple gesture that had been extended to both of them. Nothing more, nothing less. She hadn't been picked out specifically. She'd been included because she was there with Melissa. Get back to reality, Haley thought to herself.

~~~

Meanwhile, Nathan and Lucas were back in the conference room, preparing for their next meeting.

"So, I think the Bentley's should love this proposal," Lucas said with excitement. "It's far too good to pass up and for the budget...it can't be beat by any other company!"

Nathan nodded, only half listening.

Lucas looked over at him. "Hey, you at least have to pretend to listen to the reps from Bentley when they get here."

"What?" Nathan's eyes snapped to Lucas, like he'd just been awakened.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Nothing...your mind is just completely somewhere else right now."

Nathan shrugged, "I'm kind of tired, that's all."

"I'm surprised. You went to bed early last night - no drinks, no parties, no women...come to think of it, are you feeling alright?" Lucas asked in a joking manner but Nathan wasn't in the mood.

~~~

Shortly thereafter, Melissa ushered the executives from Bentley in to the conference room. The Scott brothers went into their pitch for the campaign.

"Lower production costs for the image campaign, better and more accessible locations, full control, management and approval of assets and products associated with the brand and that's just the tip of the iceberg," Lucas said, completely in his 'pitch' mode.

The Bentley reps listened with interest at the proposal and brought several suggestions of their own to the table.

"We at Bentley have talked over options- and we want to reserve the right to choose the model for the campaign to boost the company image," George Bentley stated.

Lucas nodded, "...alright, who are some candidates you had in mind?"

Terrie Bentley spoke up, "after review of the final project, I think that Lisa Stone would be the only choice. She's edgy, strong and completely unique. She is the face we want associated with the Headley name."

Nathan took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. He felt himself loosening his tie that now felt like a noose around his neck. He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe that they were fighting for a deal with an agency that was fighting for Lisa.

Lisa Stone, the fresh faced model who had made a name for herself on many ad campaigns and was on her way to becoming known worldwide. Others knew her as Nathan Scott's ex-girlfriend.

Lucas was quiet a moment, knowing full well what Nathan's reaction was without looking at him. Then he spoke up, "its something to take into full consideration."

"What?" Nathan asked suddenly.

Lucas' head snapped to look at him, "It's something we'll consider...."

Nathan just looked at him. The meeting ended shortly after in which the Bentley's wanted more time to discuss the full arrangements of the proposal and speak with Ms. Stone's agent about her availability.

Nathan and Lucas walked them out to the front office.

"I can't believe you're considering this," Nathan said, not much caring that Melissa and Haley were right there and could hear every word.

"Nathan…don't start," Lucas said abruptly.

"What do you mean, 'don't start?' Are you f&^%$# kidding me?!" Nathan said. "I have worked with her, she's a mess! She's erratic and unprofessional, she costs a production more money and time than she's even worth and we'd be making a huge mistake to agree with it! She will never help boost an image for anything!"

"Nathan...this is a huge deal for us. If they want access to the final decision, we can't stop them. Despite your personal feelings, Lisa is seen as a wholesome and positive professional, at least to the public. So, if they want Lisa, we can't stop them- at least not if we want this campaign. What we can do is make ourselves as marketable as possible by agreeing with what they say and not putting up a fight...they're the ones in power here, not us...and this could be huge for us."

"This is bulls*&$," Nathan said, almost mumbling under his breath as he walked back through the office.

Melissa and Haley just sat at their desks, not sure what to say.

Lucas tried to smile, "rough day, ya know?"

Both girls only shook their heads in response.

~~~

Melissa and Haley had agreed to have alternating lunch breaks - today would be Haley's turn to go at 1, when Melissa came back and the routine would reverse the following day.

Haley was at her desk when Nathan and Lucas walked out of the conference room.

Lucas was visibly angry and walked through the office and out the door.
Haley just continued to file her paperwork, not looking beyond her desk drawer. In her peripheral vision, she could see Nathan was starting to walk through the office.

"Thanks for the coffee this morning," she said with a small smile.

Nathan only nodded and stopped to stand in front of her desk.

Haley continued working until she'd noticed he was standing there for a moment in complete silence, waiting.

She looked up at him, uncomfortable by his silent looming presence. "Is there something you need?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, a gruff tone very evident in his voice. "I'd like to know what it is with you women sometimes..."

Haley's eyes widened, "excuse me?"

"Seriously...women go on and on about what dogs guys are, but you know what? At least we know what we want and we go after it. We don't throw all of these mixed signals!"

"Mixed signals?! You wanna talk about mixed signals? How about not even acknowledging that you'd ever met me before this morning...how is that for a mixed signal?" Haley asked, her tone even and firm even though she was thoroughly shaken inside.

"I figured it was best not to make mention of something that clearly was a mistake," Nathan said, looking her square in the eye.

Haley's expression went from firm to angry. Her defiance and pride wouldn't allow her to back down on this one. Her tone remained even, "you're right about that. It was a mistake."

Nathan's eyes never left her's. She had him utterly in shock. No woman had ever acted this way toward him. If anything, he'd ended up dodging women who, after a one-night stand, had wanted actual relationships. Never in a million years, when he said those words would he have thought that she would agree with him. She was humbling him very quickly and it was an odd and uncomfortable thing for him to comprehend.

"Well, you don't have to worry about it happening again," Nathan said.

"That's for sure," Haley said.

"Good to know," Nathan said sarcastically walking out of the office.

"Fine!" Haley said as Nathan walked out the door.