by Ellie Danes
I got a tall glass of white wine and gulped down at least half of it in one go.
“So,” said a familiar voice suddenly from behind me, “we meet again.”
I turned around slowly, because I knew who it was.
“Kyle,” I said, doing my best to smile and not look awkward. “So, uh, how about this coincidence?”
Kyle wasn't smiling, however. His eyes were cold, and he wore a frown on his face.
“Why didn't you tell me the other night that you were working at my father's – at my company?” he demanded.
“How was I supposed to know it was your father's company? I didn't see you there when I went to the conference the other night and met Phil. You never told me your last name. How on earth did you expect me to know?”
“You should have known,” he muttered. “Well, this isn't good. This isn't good at all.”
“How do you think I'm feeling? I mean, if I had known that it was you, that your dad...you know what I mean, then I would never have done that. Jeez, I don't even know what I'm saying.”
“Look, it is what it is,” he said, looking me directly in the eye. “What happened, happened, and neither of us can change that. I think the best we can do right now is just try to pretend that it didn't happen.”
“Great, so that's your solution? Just pretend it didn't happen? Yeah, that seems like a perfect solution to this problem,” I said sarcastically.
“Well, what the hell else can we do? You and I, we're going to have to work closely together. We might as well try to make it pleasant.”
“Maybe I should just tell your dad I can't take the job. It'll be embarrassing as hell, considering that I just stood up in front of over a thousand people to be introduced as the new marketing director, but—”
“No, no, you can't do that,” he said. “My dad thinks you're the perfect person for the job. And this company is an amazing company to work for. You'd be making a huge mistake if you quit over something like this.”
“Oh, it's an 'amazing company to work for,' is it? Will it still be an 'amazing company to work for' when you've sold it off to investors and let so many people go?”
His face paled instantly, and his mouth hung half open with shock.
“Yeah, Kyle, I remember everything you told me that night. And I bet your father – and every one of the other thousand people here – would be very, very interested in hearing about your plans for the future of this company.”
“No, listen, you can't do that,” he muttered. “And those plans, they're not set in stone, I never said I was gonna do that for sure. It was just drunk talk, it didn't mean anything.”
“Oh, really? You sounded pretty sincere to me.”
He sighed and hung his head. Suddenly, I felt sorry for coming at him so aggressively.
“I just didn't know if I could handle this,” he admitted. “My father pushed me into it, he pressured me to do this. I guess I thought about doing that in a moment of panic. And I don't know why I said it to you. I shouldn't have. But please, please can we keep that between us? Look, we need you here. I looked at your CV, at the work you did at your former job. You're incredibly talented. And to be honest, I don't think I can do this without someone like you to work with. I'm so sorry about the other night, and I'm sorry if I came off as a bit of an idiot. But please just give me a chance. Just give this job a chance. Please.”
I stared at him, and that intense attraction began to surge through me again. I didn't know if it was a good thing or a disaster waiting to happen, but I had a decision to make.
I drew in a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. “All right, I'll stay.”
Chapter 8
Kyle
“Thank you,” I said. “And look, let's work on moving forward. We'll just try to put the circumstances of our first meeting behind us and get on with this. You've got a job to do and so do I.”
“So, what about all that stuff you told me?” she asked, narrowing her eyes with suspicion. To tell the truth, I wasn't even sure if I believed half of what I was saying, but somehow, she was inspiring me to want to believe it.
“Like I said, there's been a lot of pressure on me. I was just venting. I just had to relieve some of the pressure, that's all.”
She nodded slowly. “All right, let's put this behind us. I'm going to go find Phil. I'll see you around.”
“I'll see you soon,” I said. “You're supposed to be starting work in three days.”
She nodded. “That's what your father told me – although now I guess you can tell me when you want me to come in, since you're in charge now.”
There was almost a hint of a smile on her face, as if she was being flirtatious? The dynamic between us certainly seemed to have changed. The awkwardness was still there but it seemed to have eased up. I was noticing again just how damn beautiful she was. And I saw something of the same attraction in her eyes, too. Yeah, there was definitely something there.
I wanted to smile at her but it didn't seem like quite the right moment for that. She had given me the opportunity to move on from this awkward little encounter, and she had agreed to stay with the company and keep quiet about the things I had told her, so that was good for the moment, at least. I didn't want to push for anything else at this stage.
“Three days it is,” I said to her. “I still have to learn more about the ins and outs of running this company, so I'm just gonna stick with everything my father planned for the moment.”
She nodded. “That sounds good to me. All right then, see ya.”
I extended a hand to her. She took it, and her touch was absolutely electric. It sent a thrill ripping along my skin.
“See you in three days, Meredith.”
Her name rolled off my tongue with such smoothness that I wanted to say it again, and again... but I didn't. I let her go and watched her walk away, feeling a weird mix of awkwardness, arousal, regret, and relief flowing through my veins.
“So, what do you think of the new marketing director, son?”
I spun around, caught off guard. How long had my dad been standing there?
“Is something the matter, Kyle? You look like you've just seen a ghost or something.”
I managed to quickly compose myself and get my thoughts together. I guessed he hadn't heard much of what Meredith and I had said to each other, thankfully.
“Uh, yeah, Dad, she seems great. Really well qualified for the job.”
I wondered if he could tell that I was scrambling for words and feeling uncomfortable. Luckily, if he did, he didn't show it.
“Well, of course. I took one look at her resume and knew that she'd be perfect for the job. I also did some research on the projects she did for her former company. The girl is a marketing genius, Kyle, a true marketing genius, and we're very lucky to have been able to snap her up.”
I nodded. “She certainly has a very impressive track record.”
“Oh, so you did some research on her on your own?” he asked.
I wonder what he would have said if I had explained exactly what kind of “research” I had done with her prior to tonight. I figured I'd best not let the old man know about that.
“Yeah, Dad, I looked her up. Did a bit of investigating.”
Part of me wanted to chuckle when I said this, and images of her naked body with its exquisite curves came rushing into my mind. Oh, boy, Dad, if you knew what I knew about our new marketing director, you'd be surprised.
“And were you pleased with what you discovered, Kyle?”
Now I really wanted to howl with laughter. “I was...suitably impressed.”
“Good, good. So was I. I spoke to her about the cryptocurrency campaign, and she has some fantastic ideas that will put us a few steps ahead of our competitors. I expect you to start working on that soon. I do hope, for your sake, that you get along well with her, because you two are going to be working very closely together in the coming months.”
Oh, Dad, if only you knew how closely I worked with her t
wo nights ago.
“I'll make sure I stay on top of things,” I said, wanting to snicker at my own double entendre. I managed to keep a straight face, however.
“Good, good,” said my father. “I'm glad to hear that.”
He then paused and looked me up and down slowly. “You've grown into a fine man, a man who truly makes his father proud. I believe I've absolutely done the right thing by handing over the reins of this company to you.”
Now a stab of uncomfortable emotion twisted in my guts. I felt a bite of guilt sinking its fangs into me as I thought about all the things I had thought about doing—selling part of the company off, letting a bunch of people go. It had just seemed so overwhelming, taking on all this responsibility, and being pushed into the deep end like this. I hadn't been sure if I could handle it. Now, though, I was feeling more confident about the whole thing. Even so, there remained some traces of fear.
“I'll do my best, Dad,” I said.
“You know, your older brother would have been proud,” said my dad, tears suddenly glistening in the corners of his eyes. “Jimmy would have been proud of you, if he could have seen this moment. I always thought that he'd be the one taking over from me, until...”
He trailed off, his gaze going into the distance. I felt a powerful wave of emotion crash against me as thoughts of my brother flooded my mind.
“You'll do well, Kyle,” he said eventually. “Just as well as Jimmy would have done. Maybe even better, huh?”
I nodded. “Like I said, Dad, I'm going to do my best to make you proud.”
He smiled at me, tears still glinting in his eyes, and shook my hand. “You do that. Well, go on now, there are a lot of people who want to talk to me this evening, and likely even more who want to have a word or two with you.”
“I'll talk to you later, Dad. Go say your farewells. I'm sure plenty of people here want to give you one last handshake.”
He chuckled. “Did you hear the applause and cheering earlier? It was quite something. I felt like a rock star!”
I chuckled, thankful to have a moment of levity. Things had been pretty stressful the last few minutes, and I needed respite from all of it.
The break was due to go on for quite some time, so I figured I could step outside into the large, park-like grounds and get some fresh air. That would help toward clearing my head, at least temporarily.
A waiter happened to walk past, carrying drinks. One of those would probably help toward clearing my head as well, so I stopped him.
“Hey, you don't happen to have any single malt whiskey, do you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I'm sorry, sir, all we have is wine – dry red or sweet white.”
“Hmm, I see. Well, I'm going to have to have a word with whoever organized the catering for this evening.”
“Um, yes, sir.”
“Sorry, I was thinking out loud. I'd like a glass of red, please. Thanks.”
The waiter handed me a glass of wine, and I thanked him and headed out of the hall into the clear evening outside. The stars were just barely visible despite the light pollution. I listened to the hum of the city as it droned on quietly, relieved to get out for a few moments. I walked along a quiet path, alone with my thoughts. After a few minutes of walking through the dark sipping my wine, I was definitely feeling more relaxed.
“I wonder what you would think if you could see me now, Jimmy?” I said, looking up at the sky.
A stab of guilt accompanied the sadness. It always did when I thought of my older brother, and I often wondered if I’d ever be able to shake the feeling. What happened had been terrible, and as much as people insisted it hadn't been my fault, it was hard not to blame myself for his death, even after all these years.
Interrupting my quiet contemplation, my phone rang. A little annoyed, I got it out to see who was calling. Jake.
“Hey, man, what's going on?” I asked as I answered.
“I was about to ask you the same thing, buddy,” he replied. “Is it all done? Are you officially a CEO?”
“I am,” I replied. “Everyone in the company knows about it now.”
“Damn, bro, that's huge. Congratulations!”
“Thanks. The reality of it is still sinking in. I've got some big shoes to fill.”
“You really do. How long has your old man been in charge?”
“Since the seventies. Started it with just one other guy.”
“Whew. That's something. I know you’ll do a great job, though. So, anything else happen this evening that I should know about?”
I sighed. “Yeah, actually something pretty crazy happened.”
“Ah, I know that tone. This is gonna be juicy, isn’t it?”
I chuckled. “All right, so remember the other night when I went out partying?”
“How could I forget how slow your ass was the next day with that extended hangover? Damn, I hope you learned your lesson from that.”
“We'll race tomorrow and see just how slow I am.”
“Bring it on!”
We both laughed.
“Anyway,” I continued. “Remember I told you about the girl I picked up at the club that night?”
“I do. You said she was smokin' hot. Too bad you're never gonna see her again.”
“Well, that's the thing. I did see her again.”
“Wait, what? How? She's there tonight?” Jake sounded very surprised.
“That's right, she's here. And not only is she here, she's the new freakin' marketing director.”
Jake laughed for quite some time on the other end of the line. When his laughter eventually subsided, he said, “Dude! That's gotta be so awkward!”
I sighed. “It was kinda awkward, yeah. We spoke a few minutes ago, actually.”
“So, you two recognized each other then?”
“Yeah, of course we did.”
“And I bet she wasn't too happy about the situation either. She didn't know who you were the other night, obviously.”
“No, she didn't, and I didn't know that she was going to be working at the company either. It was just pure coincidence.”
“That’s one hell of a coincidence. Man, of all the women in the world you could have picked, you picked the one who was gonna end up working right alongside you. It's like winning the lotto – if the lotto prize was workdays full of awkwardness and avoided eye contact.”
“No man, like I said, I don’t think it’s going to be that awkward. We've agreed to keep things professional. And that's the way it should be.”
“Can't you just fire her and hire someone else?”
“That would be the coward's way out, Jake. And you should see her resume – she's got serious talent, talent that this company really needs.”
“Well, listen to you, man, already sounding like a real CEO.”
“I am a real CEO now. And I'm trying to think and act like one. And that means putting the company's interests before my own. That means despite any awkwardness that might exist between Meredith and me, she needs to stay.”
“That's good. You're sounding more and more like your old man. To be honest, that's a good thing! It doesn't mean you're getting older, just more mature.”
“More mature,” I mused. “That concept always used to scare me but now I feel like I'm growing into it. I'm actually okay with it.”
“That's what I like to hear. You're gonna handle this thing.”
“I hope so. I'm going to do my best. Anyway, I'd better get back inside. I'll see ya tomorrow.”
I put the phone back in my pocket and, once more, thoughts of Meredith began to run through my head. Had I done the right thing by keeping her on? Only time would tell.
I took one more sip of my wine and started to make my way back inside.
Chapter 9
Meredith
I needed to get outdoors to get some fresh air. The air inside this place just felt so oppressive and stifling. Perhaps it was because of the awkwardness I had just experienced with talking to Kyle f
or the first time since he left my apartment a few days ago.
To be fair, though, he’d handled it well. And it hadn't been nearly as awkward as it could have been. That didn't mean that he and I were in the clear, or that everything was fine between us. I mean, I was still having a pretty tough time coming to terms with the fact that I was going to have to be working closely with this guy. Furthermore, I was still attracted to him.
Any illusion that the physical attraction between us had been a product of the massive quantities of alcohol that we’d both consumed that night had been shattered a few moments ago when he and I spoke, sober, face to face. It was true, I had been thinking about him a lot over the past few days but nothing had prepared me for just how strong the physical attraction would be when we bumped into each other again. While we had been speaking, my eyes had been roaming all over his form, highlighted by the stylish contours of his expensive suit, and now I kept on having flashbacks of his naked, sweaty, muscular body. It was embarrassing; it wasn't as if I wanted to be thinking about him like that! And parts of him still turned me off. I mean, I couldn't just forget about what he had said about selling off part of the company and laying off a bunch of people. When he had said that stuff to me, sure, he had been drunk, but he’d also sounded sincere. And now he had made a pretty convincing speech about how he was going to take this company to new heights and how everyone who worked here was part of one big family, but I just couldn't stop those earlier words from echoing in my head.
I had seen something in his eyes that told me that some part of him felt overwhelmed and unready for all of this. That's how he had come across that night he and I had been together, anyway – as if he didn't really want the job as CEO, as if his dad was putting too much pressure on him, and that he wanted an easy way out.
Part of that was understandable. I mean, he was only thirty-three, which was very young to become a CEO of a company of this size. Heck, if someone had offered me that position right now, even with all the prestige and benefits it offered, I would probably run away screaming. In a couple of years, sure. When I had a lot more experience and maturity under my belt I would probably feel more prepared to take something like this on, but now, no way.