Chapter 2

For near on three weeks I had thought about Braxton Sullivan. In my head we were on a first name basis, when in reality I hadn't seen nor heard of him since the pitch. Today we found out whether the proposal would be accepted. Everyone had very high hopes – Tom especially, but I was nursing a fear that maybe I had blown it. If I had used those awkward minutes of silence to discuss what we were selling instead of standing there like an idiot, we may have had a bigger shot. Sullivan probably thought we were all dimwitted mutes and was looking at how to fire all of us instead of thinking over what Tom had said.

Apparently I was alone in my thoughts though, because Tom was already talking about celebrating. Jumping the gun a little. We could still get an easy 'no'. I had been right about after the meeting and normality had returned. Once again I was home in time for dinner and actually able to spend time with my friends and family. Those friends I had neglected during the run up to the big pitch were back in full force, and very enthusiastic about the super hot Mr Sullivan.

The day was moving in slow motion, waiting for the call. Every buzz of the phone had everyone's attention and was beginning to cause frustration. It was shortly after morning break that the news broke. Hearing the phone, I ran with my coffee back to my desk.

"SullTech offices, Ava speaking."

"Hello, Ava. How are you?" The speed in which I recognized the voice was embarrassing.

"Hi, Mr Sullivan. I'm good. Yourself?" The entire office was watching with bated breath, and I sent out a thumbs up to confirm who was on the line.

"Fine, thanks." He snapped.

"I'll put you through to Tom, then."

Once the call was through, I joined my coworkers in anticipation. From my position, I was able to see into Tom's office and made no secret of my snooping. Unwritten rules dictated that as PA, it was my responsibility to do the dirty work, so I sent out appropriate signals when I noticed something. We were a close office. People rarely left and when someone new arrived they were quickly brought into the fold. That is why when Tom dropped the phone and I snapped my head to my monitor, everyone followed suit. We all knew the game, Tom included.

"You lot are horrible actors." He chuckled. "The proposal has been accepted. Go home, everyone. You deserve it."

Whoops erupted and high-fives were thrown around like there was no tomorrow. My relief was brought to a sudden halt, however, when Tom motioned me into his office. Dread spread through my belly and my legs felt like dead weights as I dragged myself behind him. God forbid Braxton Sullivan had said something to Tom. There wasn't much for him to say, but I'm sure a simple word would end my job immediately.

"Stop stressing, Ava. I just wanted to say thank you for all you did towards the presentation."

"I'm not fired?" I breathed. Oh thank fuck.

"Now why the hell would you think that?" He was genuinely shocked by my assumption.

"Just because... Well... I was afraid I may have offended Braxton Sullivan at the meeting." I rushed. Tom only laughed and leaned back in his chair.

"Ava, for as long as I'm employed, you are. And for the record, Mr Sullivan seemed very impressed with you."

Due to Tom declaring the afternoon an office holiday, I was home by lunch time. Sitting in the kitchen I took a look around. The place was eerily quiet and far to tidy, thanks to Viv's maid. I hadn't been home during a week day for nearly two years now and I was a little lost for what to do. With nobody else in it, the house was like an ocean. Selecting a piece of fruit from the designer bowl, I sprinted up the stairs, eager to be in comfortable confines. With an afternoon of freedom, more self motivated people may have actually done something. Not me. I gathered up my secret stash of snacks and climbed on my bed with my laptop and phone to prepare for a marathon of something completely irrelevant.

Car tires on the driveway woke me out of my mindless stupor. The sun peaking through the curtains meant it was far too early for Nate to be home, so I prepared myself for an afternoon with Viv. She was an intense believer in healthy eating, exercise, and discipline. I thoroughly enjoyed junk food and being lazy. I was a typical teenager when Nathan and Viv got together, and my slobbish ways had caused a decent amount of friction in the first year or so. Only seven years older than me, Nathan had taken me in at only twenty years old, just after the death of my grandpa and his dad. Being the only known family I had left meant he didn't have much choice, but he had said time and time again that it was a no-brainer.

Vivienne had moved in with Nathan a couple of years later. Honestly I had hated having to share Nathan. He was the only family I had and my paranoid teenage self had been convince Viv wanted to take him from me. She hadn't though, and I ended up enjoying having a female to look up to. Being raised by your grandpa and uncle/brother had been tragic, at least in my eyes, so a girl to be girly with was a welcome change.

From time to time we still clashed. Ever since she had the girls, she was more obsessed with dieting than she had ever been. We all suffered through the barely there meals with her, but as soon as she turned away Nate and I were scoffing cheeseburgers and feeding the girls up on potato chips and juice. Viv may be paranoid, but I wasn't, and I got shitty when I was hungry. Food aside, I was excited to share the news. Bounding down the stairs and locating them in the kitchen, I was struggling to not to explode.

"What are you doing here?" Viv snapped before I got the chance. I wasn't going to let her grumpy tone bring me down.

"The proposal was accepted so Tom gave us the afternoon off!" I squealed.

"That's fantastic news, sweetie. You should call Nathan and maybe we can go out to celebrate." She handed me the phone with a quick smile before she carried on what ever she was doing.

It was hardly the reaction I was hoping for, but it would have to do. She was right about Nathan though, he was thrilled and promised to make dinner reservations for tonight. The call ended and was followed by a text confirming a reservation for 6.00pm at one of Viv's approved restaurants. By my logic, there was about two hours left before we needed to leave. The girls were due for a nap and their mother was either busy or grumpy, so I headed back to my room.

A Viv approved restaurant was always considerably more prestigious than I would pick myself, so I was going to have to change. There was a special section of my closest reserved for leaving the house with my aunt, filled with clothes she had picked. It was certainly too late notice to call the babysitter which meant the girls would also be in attendance. In my opinion, taking kids meant you could get away with looking a little more laid back, but evidently I was wrong.

At 5.15, when I heard my named yelled up the stairs, I grabbed my purse and slid on some shoes. The plain white dress and blazer I had selected would have been fine to anybody else. But compared to Viv's little black cocktail dress and sky high heels, my ballet flats seemed incredibly less-than. Too late now, I guess. Picking Imogen and Emelia up, I headed out the door. God forbid Viv gets something on her dress. For the length of the drive, I was being cast disapproving glances and sitting in awkward silence. Personally I thought I looked fine for the occasion. Make up had been re-applied and an extra twenty minutes had been spent on creating pretty waves in my dark hair.

We arrived to see Nate waiting out front. Spotting the car, he met us a the valet and helped pull the twins from the car. Laughing about how ridiculous valet services were, we received a disgruntled snort from his wife. It was in times such as this I was reminded that my aunt came from old money. Nate and I had a humble background. Money was still a bit flashy to the both of us but Viv had given lectures on embracing it.

As we waited to be seated, Nathan bumped into a colleague. He gushed about why we were here but dropped his daughter's hand in his excitement. Instantly recognizing her freedom, Imogen took off.

"I got her."

Emelia giggling on my hip, we followed after her sister. Little legs meant she couldn't move particularly quickly, but the restaurant was crowded and she was able to duck under people instead of going around them.

"Imogen!"

I had lost sight of her, causing my stomach to drop. She can't have gone far. Her little 18 month-old legs would get tired. Nathan would kill me if I lost her. Actually murder me. Where could she be? Surely someone would have spotted a wild little girl running around. Unless someone took too much notice and took her. Oh god no, she has to be here somewhere.

Relief filled me as I heard her high pitched giggle and I spotted her disrupting a booth a few feet away. Swooping her up on to my other hip, I felt myself breath properly.

"Imogen you scared the poop out of me." I whispered against her head.

"You should really take better care, Ava." Braxton fucking Sullivan. Of all the people. "I assume this is yours, then?"

"My cousin. I should get her back. Her parents will be getting worried."

Again, this man just made me uncomfortable. He had an aura around him, one that was certainly intriguing, but intimidating. Ridiculous how his loosened tie made him look all the more handsome. Turning away, I took a step before I noticed him walking besides me. In flat shoes, he was over half a foot taller than my 5.6" frame. Idly I wondered if this is what the twins felt like walking next to adults. Small, safe, and like the adult was entirely unnecessary.

"What are you doing?"

"Just making sure you all get back safely." He shrugged.

Patronizing bastard. Both girls were fastened securely to my hips with no chance of getting away. I was about to tell him thanks, but no thanks, when Nathan materialized in front of us. Reaching for his runaway daughter, he quietly chastised her for bolting like that.

"Mr Sullivan, I didn't realise you knew my niece." Nate exclaimed.

"Not as well as I'd like to." He whispered almost definitely to himself.

"We've met a few times now. You're lovely daughter visited my table." He restarted, this time addressing Nathan.

I was unable to follow the rest of the conversation, still hung up on his first statement. 'Not as well as I'd like to'. What the hell did that mean? He departed, and Nathan and I joined Viv at the table. The evening was spent trying to throw myself into conversation, then stewing on Braxton's words. More conversation, more thinking. Rinse and repeat. Rude as it was, every time the table chatter wasn't directly linked to me, I tuned out. Only when I heard Viv tell Nathan that she needed to go away for a week for work did I fully rejoin my family.

Author's Note:

Quick question: If the source material is sexually explicit, what are the rules regarding ratings on FanFiction?

Clearly everyone who is here has read it before, so am I allowed to post chapters of a similar nature, or is that in violation of the rating system?

Thanks a bunch, and I hope you like it :)