Apologies for the long wait...
Here's another chapter, enjoy!
"How's your day, Sanny?" Brittany immediately wrapped her arms around me and pecked my lips when I arrived at the café. Brittany and I have been home for two days now. She led me to her office and grabbed my bag to rest it beside hers.
I rubbed my temples as I sat down in front of her desk.
"Bad day?" She sighed.
"Not really. I'm just a little sleepy. You woke me up so early this morning, Britt."
"Oh." She chuckled. "Sorry."
I shook my head and laughed at her. "Come here." I said and patted my lap. She immediately sat on my lap and wrapped her arms around me. "I missed you." I said and she gave me a chaste kiss.
"I missed you too." She sighed and rested her forehead against mine.
"I wish we could go back to Bahamas and have a lazy day every day. I don't mind waking up in the middle of the night just to hear you scream my name." I laughed as I saw Brittany turning pink. "I missed it."
"San!" she pouted.
"What?"
"Stop making fun of me!" She was about to stand up but I tightened my hold on her.
"I am so not making fun of you." I defended.
"Oh, gosh! This is so embarrassing!"
"Babe, I swear I'm not making fun of you."
"You are! But never mind." She smirked. "I know how much you love it. You're just playing hard to get sometimes."
"Of course not!"
"Yes, you are!" she teased.
"Fine!" I huffed in my seat. "I am. I'm just doing that to tease you. But, yeah, how can I resist? I have the hottest wife in the world."
"Oh yeah?" she whispered and bit her lip.
I nodded my head as if suddenly entranced by the blue orbs that stared right back at me. Brittany closed the gap between us and I closed my eyes appreciating the serene moment we shared. I missed this. I missed kissing her. I missed breathing the same air as her. Creepy, I know. I just missed her so bad. It's like my mind was somewhere with her all day. I barely even listened to the meeting we had back in the office. I was just so distracted missing my favorite blonde beside me.
"How's your hand? Did you have it checked already?"
"Britt, I told you – "
"So you haven't?" she frowned.
I rolled my eyes at her. "Tomorrow, okay?"
"You always say that. I thought we had an agreement about that." she finally stood up and walked behind her desk to fix some papers.
"Agreement? You practically made that decision on your own." I said. "I told you I am okay. It's nothing. It's not like it's my first time knocking out some stupid jackass. I've done worst in the past, trust me."
This time, it was her who rolled her eyes at me.
"But Santana – "
"Britt, baby, it's nothing okay? Don't make a big deal out of this please?"
"Fine." She whined. "But next time it happens we will not have any of this discussions, okay?"
"Got it, babe." I nodded firmly.
"Good."
"So, did you find anything interesting on the web?" I said changing the subject quickly. Brittany and I have decided to look for some houses that we can choose from since we really need to have our own.
"Hm, I called Bash this morning because he knows someone who can help us look for a house for a really good deal."
"Oh really? So, what did he say?"
"He said that he'll meet me here tomorrow so he can introduce us to his friend."
"Bash is here?" I asked, surprised to know that Sebastian's here again.
"He never left. He's staying with Kurt."
"Wait! Hold up. Are they, like, together now or something?" I scrunched my perfect brows in confusion. Brittany gave a soft chuckle and walked closer. She took my hand in hers and I can't help the smile that crept into my face. Our hands perfectly fit together.
"No, Santana. They're just friends. He's just helping Kurt with some designs since they really did a great job designing our gowns. They should probably team up in the near future."
"Okay, that's interesting."
"Well, yeah. But, don't try to pester Kurt because of it."
"Oh, actually now that you mentioned it, you just gave me an idea." I said mischievously at her. Brittany sighed in defeat and shook her head.
"Right! So mature, Santana." We both laughed and Brittany kissed me on the forehead. "We should probably go. Mami called me a while ago. She asked if we'd be home for dinner and I told her yes."
"Okay. We are so back to normal huh?"
"No, we're not back to normal. A lot has changed, you know that. We are officially married." Brittany smiled; that special smile that she reserved only for me.
"I get it, babe. I can't wait to have our own house. I can't wait to buy my first house with my beautiful wife." I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it gently.
"Yeah, me either. We still haven't talked about what house we wanted and where would you like to buy it though."
"Let's talk about tonight, okay? But now we need to go home. I still have some reports to finish."
"Already?" Brittany pouted.
"Yes, B. I've been gone for a while so I really need to finish some reports and make some calls. I hope you don't mind?"
"That's fine. Just, just don't stay up too late later, okay? You know I can't sleep without you."
"Promise." I stood up and squeezed her hand. "Shall we?" She nodded and soon left her cafe after giving some instructions to the one she put in charge.
...
Just as expected, Brittany waited up for me. She was typing some things on her laptop when I entered our room. I slowly climbed on the bed and dropped kisses on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry. It was supposed to be a quick call..." I trailed off. I felt guilty for leaving Brittany alone to finish some reports.
"It's fine. How did it go?" She asked genuinely.
"It's fine I guess." I shrugged and Brittany looked even more worried. "It's all going well..."
"But?" She asked and I sighed.
"I guess we're just back to the drawing board. Apparently, I cannot really rely on my team to do all the work. I scheduled an emergency meeting first thing tomorrow morning. I'll have to make a regrouping. I just can't afford any more mistakes."
"What happened to the marketing plans you made? I thought you said that the board approved it already."
"Yes, that's the one I personally delivered to the board that's why it got approved right away. That's for the hotel marketing plans."
"Oh, so what are we talking about now?" Brittany asked, clearly confused for a second.
"Didn't I tell you that there's another project we're working on right after the hotels and restaurants marketing strategies?"
"Wait! You didn't tell me that."
"I didn't?" Oops! "I thought I told you that before the wedding."
"Clearly, you didn't." Brittany sighed and shook her head. Disappointment was evident in her voice.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, babe. It must have slipped off my mind."
"Obviously."
I mentally hit my head at my stupidity.
"I'm really sorry, Britt." I took her hands in mine when she was clearly avoiding to look at me.
"Yeah..." she nodded. "I understand. It's just that I think you bite off more than you can chew. You're accepting more projects one after the other. May I remind you that you are the Vice President, San. You have people working for you. You don't have to take all the responsibilities. You aren't paying them to just sit their asses off all day while you do all the talking and execution."
"You're right." I nodded while contemplating on her words. "But, I just can't leave all the work to them... see what happens when I went away. The proposal they made sucked so now we have to start all over again. Those imbeciles are seriously wasting my precious time."
"If they aren't really up for the task, I say you find another ones who can. A regrouping would surely do. Just have them a little taste of Snixx and trust me, that'll do as well."
I laughed at what she said. That clearly loosened me up. "You just know the right words to say every time huh?"
"Hmm, maybe." She shrugged and kissed my cheek.
"You sure you still don't want to work with me, B? We could totally use some of your genius ideas."
Brittany shook her head and laughed. "Thanks, but I'm good. I've had enough of that."
"Right." I shifted closer to her. "I'm sorry again if I forgot to tell you that."
"It's okay. But, I hope it won't happen again, okay? We're a team remember? We supposed to tell each other everything."
"I know." I nodded, I was even more disappointed in myself for forgetting. "It just slipped off my mind. Everything went crazy planning for the wedding proposal and all. But, I promise it won't happen again?"
"You can't promise something you're not sure of."
"Okay, okay! I'll try." I sighed in defeat. "So, what are you doing?" I tilted my head to her laptop.
"Here, take a look." Brittany shifted her laptop so I can see what's on the screen. "Bash emailed me some pictures of the houses that were up for sale."
I squinted my eyes to look at them better.
"You should take off your contacts before you go to bed, San. I like it better when you wear your glasses."
"Yeah, because I look like a complete dork with them." I laughed and playfully rolled my eyes.
She was looking seriously at me. "I mean it. You don't look dork, it's really cute when you wear them." She placed her hand on my cheek and pecked my lips twice.
"Fine. I'll be right back." I went out of bed to take off my contact lenses. I could practically hear some whipping sound that Puck made every time. "So... let me see them." I went beside her again after wearing my glasses. Brittany smiled and opened her arms for me. We cuddled while browsing through the pictures.
"There are some traditional, family type houses, others are minimalists and modern types..." She trailed off.
"Hm, what do you think we should have?" I asked her. I honestly don't know anything about picking out houses. I never had time figuring it out before. Seriously, who would have thought that I'd be living out of this house soon?
"I don't know. I want something not so big, just enough to accommodate us and our future kids, you know? I also want one near our work place so we don't have to travel that far."
"I agree." I nodded while my eyes were still fixated on the screen.
"Do you want one like this house, San?"
"I don't think that it would be practical since this is really a big family house."
"Yeah, how about this?" Brittany clicked on the pictures. It shows a sleek house that has modernist accent.
"I like it..." I trailed off. I really like the idea of the modern type house, it has a black and white interior with some classical touch as well.
"But?"
"I don't know. It's just a little too much of me?"
Brittany looked at the additional features of the house.
"So, what's wrong with it?" she asked. "It's certainly so you. Look at the color, the designs - "
"Yeah, it is so me that's why we shouldn't consider that."
Brittany looked at me puzzled. I draped my arm on her body as she pulled me closer.
"I want a house that is a combination of both of us. In that way, we can really feel at home."
"Sanny, that's really sweet. I like that idea even more."
"I'm sure we can find other better houses. Let's just sort and minimize our list so that we could take a look at them personally."
"Yes, okay! That's perfect." Brittany looked at me lovingly, like I knew all the answers to her problems.
I leaned forward and she met me halfway. We shared a long, passionate kiss. She stared at me when we parted slightly.
"Just so you know, San... even if we live in shoe box or the like, I'd still be home with you. You are my home."
"And you are mine too, Britt." I smiled at her as she bit her lip. We shared another kiss before we went back to making a list of houses that caught our interest. It took us until 11 in the evening until we finally called it a night.
Brittany and I went to our usual routine before we finally hit the bed. I learned that by living with her she can't go to bed without combing her hair first, I didn't get why but it's just how the way she was. Another thing to I love about her. We spent minutes looking at each other while we brush our teeth. Brittany put on some lotion while I took my pajama off. Yes, I still can't sleep with that thing on. And yes, that means I always sleep with just my panties and tank top on.
We chuckled while we stared at each other in awe. Brittany pulled the covers for me and she settled behind me. My back was facing her and she pulled me closer to her. Our bodies are literally flushed against each other. Her arms were protectively clutching my body while I searched for her hand and tangled it in mine.
"Good night, San."
"Night, Britt-Britt. I love you."
"I love you, too." She mumbled sleepily and I turned to kiss her on the lips. We finally settled back down and minutes later we were both breathing steadily.
...
"What the hell, Angel?" I slammed my hands on the table.
I was at the meeting room waiting for the rest of the marketing department heads. It was already five minutes after the set time and no one came except for Angel who tried to explain something to me. She was standing in front of me wearing that smart look she always wears. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a tight pony tail and she's dressed with a chic business attire. I immediately zoned out of her words as I felt rage building up on me.
"Santana, as the Director of Marketing, I take full responsibility of the failed proposal. Everyone worked so hard on that and - "
"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you. Where the hell are they? Why are you even protecting them?"
"I'm not protecting them. I'm protecting you."
"What?"
"You know that ever since you've been here a lot of people have been fired, others decided to transfer to other companies or requested to be assigned to another projects. We can't afford to lose good people under your supervision."
"Oh, so this is all my fault now?"
"I'm not saying that this is your fault or anyone else for that matter. I'm just saying that as the Vice President of this company it's not good when people started talking behind your back. I hate to say this but if it wasn't because of your father, you would end up to a lower position than you have now. People are starting to question your credibility because of your attitude towards them. Yes, you've been a great addition to the marketing team. So far, you've been the best VP we could ask for."
"And your point is?"
Angel sighed and slumped down on the chair in front of me.
"Santana, you've fired a lot of people from our team already. Haven't you noticed that they're doing everything they can?"
"Well, they should have tried harder. I can't believe you are tolerating this huge amount of failures."
"What can I say? I guess I'm just used to that kind of feedback."
"Angel, look..." I sighed exasperatingly. "I'm not trying to blame you or anything. In fact, you are doing a great job. All I'm saying is we can't always tolerate even a fragment of mistake. There's a lot at stake here. We can't protect them every time. It's our asses that are always on the line every time we talk to the clients."
"I know. That's why I'm asking you to give our marketing team another chance. Don't try to fire anyone, yet. Please? Can you do that for me?"
"Why do you even care so much about them, Angel?"
"I've been in their places, Santana. I know the struggle they've been going through. Santana, you just can't keep on doing that, you know?"
"What?" I hissed at her.
"Look, hear me out. You don't need to go all 'Lima Heights' on me. Whatever that is..." I sighed at her and we both chuckled. This time, I started to really listen to Angel. She explained to me that some of the people I've fired before were really valuable assets to our company. She made me realize how shitty I've been ever since I took the responsibility. I thought I was doing the right thing, she reassured me that I was, even though sometimes I got really irrational. It's just that I have to change some things about treating and managing them according to her. "I hope you'll think this through, Santana. It will be good if we see changes in you. I'm really counting on you, VP." Angel gave me a comforting smile.
"Alright, alright. I'll try to be as "warm and welcoming" as possible to their ideas, okay?"
"Okay, just talk to them calmly. The motivation should come from you. They do better when they're motivated." Angel gave me a cheering smile before she stood up.
"Now, should I let them in, Ms. Lopez?"
"Mrs. Lopez-Pierce." I corrected her. Angel blushed, she's just like Brittany. Nostalgia hit me again as I was reminded by Brittany. "Yeah, send them in so we can start the meeting."
Angel nodded and headed towards the door.
"And Angel?" she stopped and turned to look at me. "Thank you."
"No problem, Mrs. Lopez-Pierce." She gave me a final nod and called the entire staff inside.
The meeting was not as bad as I thought it would be. Angel was right after all. I listened intently to the assistant director as the other staffs gave in and contributed some interesting ideas. They were not so bad too. I guess I should listen to them more.
I caught Angel looking at me with questioning gray eyes. I playfully rolled my eyes at her and smiled. The meeting ended after an hour and a half. I congratulated the entire team for the ideas they shared. Now, all I need to do was to look over them as they execute the plan.
"So?" Angel giddily approached me as I was fixing some papers on the table.
"Okay, they're not so bad after all." I rolled my eyes.
"Not so bad huh?" she smirked.
"Fine! Their ideas are great. Happy now?"
Angel clapped her hands and nodded. "Definitely." I smiled at how bubbly she was.
"But hey, don't get so confident yet 'til I see the final plan and progress."
"Got it, boss!" She shot me a serious look then smiled before she left with the assistant director at her side.
...
Brittany was breathing heavily behind me. We were in our usual position. It was already one in the morning and I still can't sleep. I was still thinking about what Angel told me. It was really bugging the hell out of me. I mean, what have I done wrong? Am I really that awful when it comes to our employees? But, I only wanted what's best for our company. I sighed and tried to get some sleep. Maybe I am just fooling myself. Fuck this! I can't sleep. I let out another heavy sigh and opened my eyes.
"What is it, Santana?" Brittany sleepily asked.
I turned around to face Brittany. I contemplated whether to tell her or not. Sleepy blue eyes settled their gaze on me.
"It's... it's nothing. It's really stupid. Go back to sleep, Britt."
Brittany cleared her throat as she pulled me closer. She kissed me on the forehead and rubbed small circles on my back.
"You can tell me everything, baby. I'm your wife... and I promise that I'm a good listener."
"I know that. It's just... I don't even know how to say it."
"Is it about your marketing plan again? Is there another problem?" she probed gently.
I shook my head and let out another heavy sigh. There was a slight pause before I asked. "Am I a bad person, Britt? Am I really too difficult to handle and understand? Do you think I'm still immature?"
"What?" She pulled back slightly to look at me. Her eyes were wide. There was a glint of disbelief and confusion in her face. "What are you saying, Sanny? Why are you asking me that?"
I shook my head again. This time I pulled back from her and sat turning my back against her. I felt her move from the bed. I buried my face in my head and tried to get those doubts from my head.
"Hey..." Brittany was suddenly in front of me. She knelt down and took my hands in hers. "Hey." She tapped my nose with her index finger and I looked at her. "What happened? Please talk to me, San. Don't shut me out."
I tried to avert my eyes elsewhere but Brittany cupped my face.
"It's okay. It's just me." She reassured me. How can she be so even more perfect?
I nodded and licked my lips. "Remember last night when I told you that I called for a meeting for our department?" Brittany nodded her head as a sign for me to continue. "Well, this morning, the director of the marketing talked some sense into me. She asked me not to fire anyone from our department yet. She said that a lot of them are really scared, others hate me already and that is giving me a bad reputation."
Brittany was still silent. She looked at me with so much worry and empathy.
"What's wrong with me, Britt? Am I not doing enough?" My voice cracked a little.
"Baby... San, you are not a bad person. I can easily attest to that. You may be tough on the outside but I know deep down how caring, generous, thoughtful, sweet and loving you are. Listen to me, yes, sometimes you are really difficult to handle. But who is not? We always have our bad days, you know?"
"But, Britt, it's not just that. At times I get really irrational and fire people. Who wouldn't hate me for that?"
"San, I've done worse. Trust me. I know how hard it is to be in your place."
"What?" I looked at her in disbelief. Never in my wildest imagination did I think of Brittany as a tough boss.
"You heard me. I've done worse than that. With all the eyes looking over at your every move and waiting for you to make a mistake, all those mouths smiling bitterly and talking behind your back, all those ears actively listening and judging your every word and decision... it's normal to feel pressured and frustrated. Being the CEO for how many years wasn't really as satisfying as it may seem. I've been doubted, criticized and misunderstood a lot of times. Point is, you can't please everybody, Santana. You just have to be the person you always want to be. Don't listen to everyone who tells you what to do and what not to do. I believe in you, Santana. Don't let your insecurities get the better of you."
Brittany smiled. She gave me that cute smile that always made me feel a lot better. I bit my lip trying to process everything Brittany told me. She's right. She's always right. Why did I even let myself overthink about this whole stupid mess.
"Thanks for believing in me, Britt."
"Always, San. Always." She whispered and kissed my hands.
"You're really a genius."
"Nope, I just happen to know some stuffs to make you feel alright." She said humbly. How did I get so lucky?
"I know. Thanks, Britt. You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say all those things about me. You're opinions matter the most to me."
"Well, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has something good to say about you. All the people who know you better will probably say the same thing. So, don't worry too much, okay?"
"Okay." I nodded and beamed back at her. Gosh, she always knows how to make me feel better.
"So, is there anything else you want to talk about?"
"None that I can think of."
"Okay, good." Brittany pecked my lips and chuckled. "How about we try to sleep now? We'll talk some more tomorrow if you still want to."
"Sounds good to me. Get back to bed."
Brittany settled behind me again, this time I faced her. I rested my head on her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around me. The steady breathing of Brittany calmed me down and in a few minuted my mind drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
...
"San, where are you?" Brittany called me over the phone. We were supposed to visit the next house on our list. We've visited two houses already over the past week. Brittany and I didn't seem to like the houses we've seen so our house hunting escapade continued.
"I'm on my way to pick you up, babe." Okay, that was not exactly the truth because I was still in my office scribbling some notes to the documents, Marley, my secretary handed me a while ago.
Brittany sighed sensing my lie. "I know how much you wanted to go. I promise I'll be there as soon as I can okay? I'm just caught up in the middle of something here. I'm so sorry." I apologized sincerely.
"You told me the exact same thing yesterday, San. You know what? Let's just cancel the whole thing."
"No, no, no! Britt, I swear I'll be there soon, okay? I'm just writing some notes here. I'm almost done."
"It's okay, Santana. Let's just do it tomorrow if you're not busy."
Disappointment was evident in her voice. Brittany's been always patient to me and I couldn't afford to disappoint her. I was about to answer when there's a soft knock on my door. I was about to snap at whoever that was when blonde hair poked into the door.
"Is this a bad time?" She asked in a low voice. I held up one finger to signal for her to wait.
"Britt, baby, I'll be there. I always have time for you. But, right now I have to go. I'll pick you up in a few, okay? I love you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, of course. Do you want anything? I could drop by at your favorite restaurant to pick up something you like?"
"No, just come in here and I'll be fine. Mami prepared some roasted chicken and salad you requested yesterday. I have them here with me."
"Now I'm starving." I heard her chuckle on the other line. "Britt, I have to go."
"Okay, okay. I love you too! Tell Marley I said 'hi'."
"Sure, bye." I ended the call and cleared my throat. "What's up?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Angel apologized and walked in front of my desk.
"It's fine, you didn't interrupt anything. So?"
"Oh, right! I need to get the files I gave Marley the other day. Have you signed them?"
"Yeah. I signed them already. I was about to give it back to you yesterday but I forgot." I handed the folder back to her.
"It's fine. I understand." She smiled and checked over the papers. "Well, everything's good now. Thanks."
"Is there anything else?"
"No, I've got this. Thanks again."
She was about to leave when she turned around before she opened the door.
"I almost forgot. The whole team is celebrating tonight. I wish you could come." She said excitedly but her smile immediately dropped when I shook my head.
"I'm sorry, I can't. Wife duties." I shrugged and smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah, I heard. But, just in case you change your mind we'll be at Bossa Nova."
"Okay, thanks for the invite."
"Well, you are a big part of this success, Ms. Lo- I mean, Mrs. Lopez-Pierce." She nodded her head and smiled. "You can bring your wife if you want. Everybody deserves a break."
I laughed at her. "Yeah, and you are one of them. Have fun tonight. You've worked so hard on this project. Congrats, Angel!"
"Same to you, boss! Well, I guess I'll see you around."
"Definitely."
I sighed and turned back on the papers on my desk. I folded the folders and fixed everything in my desk before I took my coat and sprinted towards the elevator. My secretary followed suit as I waited for the lift.
"Miss Santana, you have a meeting at one thirty followed by a dinner meeting with your father in Grand Hyatt."
"Cancel them."
"But – "
"Cancel them. I'll call my father. Don't worry." I told her as the elevator doors closed. My wife deserves all the time in the world after all. I promised to always put her first and this time I will not disappoint her.
The drive to Brittany's café was fast. I immediately saw her behind the cashier giving an old man his change. I got in the line holding a box of tulip in my hand.
"Hi!" I greeted her as I stepped forward in line. "Can I take my hot wife to go, please?" I pushed the box of tulip in the counter towards her.
Brittany bit her lip to stop her laughter. She's just so adorable. "Coming right up." She replied with a wink.
We went straight to her office to have our lunch together.
"Thank you for this, it's so pretty." She placed the box gently on her table. I sat down while she laid our lunch on the table.
"You didn't have to do this, San. I told you it's okay. We can do the house hunting over the weekends."
"But I want to do this with you… now. I don't want to wait for another weekend."
"Okay, but I hope this will not affect your work."
"I promise."
"So, Bash and I were talking about the house we are about to check today. He seems to be just around the area so he offered to check it together with Kurt and their friend who is a home inspector."
"So they're really getting serious? Are they exclusive or what?" I took another bite of Brittany's sandwich. I was practically finishing her food so she's playfully giving me death glares.
"Stop eating everything. And no, they're not dating if that's where you're getting at. They are just being them."
"Yeah, you say that a lot. But action speaks louder than words, Britt-Britt."
"So anyways, they've checked the house and it's all good." She said getting us back on track of our topic. "They told me that it's a perfect house to start a family because it's kids friendly plus the location is also very convenient for both of us."
"Well, that's cool. Let's just see for ourselves and if it really gives us the feels then we'll take it."
"Okay." She nodded excitedly. "I'm really excited about it, San! I hope this one is the one. I've seen the pictures and all but I don't want to be disappointed."
"Don't worry, Britt. That's why we are here to check it out." I took the final bite of her sandwich swiftly.
"Hey! That's the last bite!" Oops! She pouted and I immediately leaned in to kiss the pout away.
…
Thanks for reading. See y'all again next chap! Xxx