X. Almost, But Not Quite
We used to dream about them. We used to do a lot of things. Put your hand to the knob, your mouth to the hand, pick up the bread and devour it. I'm in the hallway again, I'm in the hallway. The radio's playing my favourite song. Leave the lights on. Keep talking. I'll keep walking towards the sound of your voice.
-Richard Siken
Maerke Baumer Group Exec Caught in Prostitute Scandal
Rupert Albertson, one of Maerki Baumer Group CEO Kathryn Merteuil's chief advisers, was recently photographed having sex with a sixteen year old prostitute in a public bathroom last week. Albertson has been the vice president of Operations at Maerke Baumer Group for seven years and is responsible for several key mergers that catapulted the Zurich-based communications and media empire into its current stature in the industry.
Sebastian's brow furrowed as he scanned the article, momentarily diverting his attention from the newspaper to take a sip of coffee. Given his company's partnership with Maerke Baumer, he knew his public relations department must probably be already working on a way to make sure that Valmont Enterprises didn't get negatively impacted.
He glanced at his watch, faintly hearing Annette preparing breakfast for Andrea in the kitchen. Although they had a full time staff at home, his wife still insisted on a more hands on approach when it came to raising their children. He had already received an email from the Director of Communications assuring him that the company's image was intact and that it was Maerke Baumer Group that was currently facing a lot of furious stakeholders. After having read that email, he knew that he had nothing to worry about and he could spend the rest of the day going about his daily routine.
Still, he felt restless.
His phone beeped, and he received a text message from his secretary informing him that his meeting with Maerke Baumer had been canceled. He glanced at the breakfast that the cook had set in front of him and felt his appetite vanish.
The next thing the stepbrother did, he did as if on autopilot.
Read about Albertson. Anything I can do to help? He pressed send before he could stop himself.
Her reply arrived 40 minutes later, just as he was about to enter his office.
No. Sorry the meeting today was canceled. Can we move it to Friday?
There it was again. That sudden drop in his stomach, that sharp pang of disappointment. Her terse reply was understandable, of course, given the amount of stress that she must be going through.
"Mr. Valmont, here are the contracts for Maerke Baumer. We're having them delivered to their office immediately, but you told me you wanted to look it over first before we did."
He took the folder, scanning the content without really seeing it.
"I'm going there right now, I can give to Kathryn then."
The Maerke Baumer Group's New York headquarters was only ten minutes away from his equally palatial office. As soon as he entered, it was business as usual but the employees looked tense. Heading straight to Kathryn's office, he was stopped by her secretary.
"Ms. Merteuil isn't taking any visitors right now," she announced primly.
"I'm Sebastian Valmont."
"I know who you are, Mr. Valmont. She specifically instructed me not to—"
"Marcia, can you get me a meeting with our lawyers, please?" Kathryn's voice on Marcia's intercom interrupted their conversation, and before her secretary could react, Sebastian brushed past her and went inside Kathryn's office.
He found her seated down, typing. Her green eyes were as sharp as ever, and for what seemed like the millionth time, he marveled at the way her brown hair contrasted against her pale skin. Kathryn's face bore the same expression as her younger self had whenever she was trying to think of ways to punish someone. It was a memory he often returned to in her absence, and he had done it so many times that the details remained accurate despite the passage of time. He never even forgot the way her lips slightly parted when she was in deep thought, or the way her forehead would slightly wrinkle. The only thing that was different was the loud clacking of the keys as she typed or the steaming mug of coffee that sat ignored beside her laptop. When they had been younger, her beverage of choice had been scotch (although she would always say it was wine since it was more appropriate for a 'lady of her standing') when she was in the middle of sorting out a problem.
"I'm busy," Kathryn said without looking up.
"I know," he replied.
The typing stopped. She looked up, glancing at the folder he held and then back at his face.
"I'm assuming that's the final draft for our partnership," she commented. "You do know you have someone who can deliver contracts for you, yes?"
"I was in the neighborhood."
"Were you really?" she replied dryly, resuming her typing. "What can I do for you, Sebastian?"
"I want to help,"
"Thank you, but I don't need your help."
"Let me help you, with Valmont Enterprises backing you up, Maerke Baumer can—"
The typing stopped again. She closed her laptop, slamming her open palm against the table. The sound startled him, it was one of the very rare instances he'd seen Kathryn lose her composure since her return.
"Goddamn it, Sebastian," she hissed, glaring at him. "I said I don't need your help. Who do you think you're talking to? This little crush of yours is amusing but I cannot deal with this right now."
Her words stung, but he kept his expression calm. "Fine," he replied coldly, placing the folder on her table. "Suit yourself."
He made his way to the door, mentally cursing himself for being so stupid. What had he hoped would happen here? She was right. She didn't need his help, and he'd always known that. She never needed it when she left, and she certainly didn't need it now. He wondered why it bothered him so much.
"Wait," she called out, sighing. "I'm sorry, Seb. This Albertson debacle is just really fucking up my day."
Seb. She had called him Seb. There it was again, that annoying thump in his chest, like a sledgehammer was used for a light tap against his heart.
"Had we been back at Manchester Prep, I would have offered a very fun way of helping you relax." He replied, his anger having dissipated at the mere mention of her nickname for him.
She smirked, "Ah, there he is. I was sad to see the seventeen year old pervert disappear, but apparently, he's still in there somewhere."
"Yes, he is. Now let me help you with Albertson. I know you don't need my help, but be quiet and let me help you anyway. We've always had fun working together."
"I really can't let you, Sebastian. There are certain details here that must remain confidential."
"I'm not asking as CEO, Kate. I'm asking as Sebastian."
She remained quiet, studying his expression.
"Trust me," his voice was soft, yet his words seemed to echo in her ears. That tone. It was the same voice he had used when he held her after she had visited her father all those years ago.
"If you use whatever you're going to find out in order to damage this company in any way, I will bury you." She replied after a long pause. "I mean it, Sebastian. If you're carrying some sort of grudge against me, don't even try. You have no idea what I'm capable of now."
Her voice remained still, yet he could feel the weight of her words. He met her gaze, and once again, the entire world seemed to only be consisted of him and her. He held up his hands, motioning his surrender. The stepbrother smiled, his blue eyes warm as he took his blazer off and carefully laid it on one of her couches. He rolled up his sleeves, pressing his hand against his flat stomach in order to keep his tie from moving as he sat down.
"You've been good for my company." He said. "Let me show you how I could be good for yours."
"Just your company?" Kathryn cocked her head, smiling for the first time since that asshole Albertson made a mess of things.
"No, not really just my company. I just thought it would be inappropriate to tell you that you've been good for me, too."
"Since when have you ever worried about telling me something inappropriate?"
"Since I started worrying that I'd make you leave again." He stared at her expectantly; his blond curls and full mouth looking better than she'd remembered.
As the vixen stood up, it was as if they had been transported back to their old house. The windows seemed to reflect the view from her room, and the shelves seemed to be stocked with books and trinkets instead of folders and files. She carried a stack of papers and sat beside him, her knee touching his. Her scent reached his nostrils again, and he briefly wondered what shampoo she used. He was rendered helpless, wanting, waiting for the next coincidental contact of any part of her with his. These feelings were strange. He had never felt this way about her even when they had been having an affair, and yet now she flooded his senses in a way that left him wondering what on earth was happening.
As Kathryn began explaining the predicament she found herself in, he struggled to listen. Every time her fingers would point at a certain part of a document, he would half look at the content and half look at her hand. The thin wrist, the slender fingers, the structure of which never to be mistaken for fragility. He was well aware what that hand could do. In the more animalistic moments of their coupling as teenagers, he had grasped that hand as he pounded against her. Her fingers had curled in between the spaces of his own fingers and she had moaned in his ear, her sweat mingling with his, her teeth nibbling against his earlobe. It was strange that these moments now seemed to be a bigger part of his life than it had been before, that he still remembered everything down to every single detail.
"… Albertson's been using company funds to pay for underage prostitutes," she continued talking, having absolutely no idea that his thoughts lay elsewhere. "Since he had been the one overseeing the financial reports, no one ever noticed anything odd. This makes us look like we've been aware of what he was doing all along, which leaves us vulnerable to our competitors. It also makes our current business partners uneasy."
"You'd have no problem with Valmont Enterprises," he cleared his throat, shaking his head slightly in order to clear the fog that was currently impairing his thoughts. "The partnership continues as planned."
She smiled at him again, "Thank you, Sebastian. It brings me to my next problem. I need to take Albertson down without implicating the company. He was with Marvin Baumer and Thomas Maerke even before I came onboard, it's going to be tricky."
"Not for us." He answered, looking around the room in order to stop himself from staring at her too much. Her office reflected her personality (elegant, all white and steel and made of glass), and there were very few personal items on display, except for the same framed photograph of her with a man he had yet to know. The image of Kathryn with someone else reminded him of the fact that they had spent so many years apart and now knew very little about each other's lives. Of course, it also reminded him of Annette and their daughters.
"Not for us." She repeated, her eyes following his gaze. They stared at the mysterious photograph but she offered no explanation. "Are you sure you don't have anywhere else to be?"
"Nowhere but here," he answered.
And with that, the two spent the next two hours discussing strategies and plans. Three hours later, they had an outline, which they shared with Kathryn's key executives and crisis management team. By the end of the week, they knew that Albertson would be successfully extricated from Maerke Baumer like a tumor that had been mercilessly sliced off. Those who were present in Kathryn's office that day would often retell the story with a sense of wonder, commenting as to how the two worked as though they had done it for years. They built on each other's ideas with such speed and precision that they wondered how Maerke Baumer would run if it had been run by the brilliant pair.
It was these same thoughts that occupied the stepbrother's mind as he watched Kathryn during Maerke Baumer's press conference. He knew her speech by heart, having helped her create it, and he couldn't help but grin at the masterful plot that they had concocted. The press kits Maerke Baumer provided the media were filled with revised financial statements, as well as the sordid details of Albertson's illegal activities during his stay in the company. Kathryn played her role well, looking appalled and dejected at the betrayal of one of her trusted employees.
In one swift move, she had shifted the blame entirely on Albertson without bringing the company's history into question. It was a long 2 hour press conference, but when it was over, he was the first person she approached.
"How did I do?" She asked, her grin showing him all too well that she already knew the answer to her question.
"I'm proud of you,"
She held out her hand, "Thank you for helping me."
They shook hands but he held longer than he should, and when he didn't let go, her smile disappeared.
"Don't," she said.
"I'm not doing anything,"
"Yes, you are." Kathryn said quietly, all traces of mirth now gone from her expression. "Don't start, Sebastian. It wouldn't end well."
He let go and when she started walking away from him (it seemed as though it was something she liked to do these days), he found himself wishing that he hadn't.
A/N: Thank you for the warm welcome back, everyone! I am still adjusting these days, but I do hope I've done them justice despite my long absence. It was very nice to hear from most of you, thank you very much for your support. This is my favorite part of updating. As always drop a review and say hello. I like hearing from you.
Wing: Thank you, I will try my very best to give it a good ending, although based on experience at times my version of 'good ending' doesn't necessarily coincide with the readers' expectations. But let's see if they'll stay together in this one, yes? :)
Uni: Wish granted. At least, for now...
Katie: Yes, I am back but I don't know for how long. It's been six years since I started this, how crazy is that? A lot of changes since then!
Dimonyo-anghel: You're welcome for the upload. :)
Vivss: I'm pretty sure he will... I just wonder how he'll take it. Dun dun duuun!
Kay8abc: My appreciation for brevity these days doesn't necessarily mean I'll complete do away with the descriptions, don't worry. :)
SalvaVeritatefan: Oh, how cool. I have a fan! :P I will try my very best to stay.
Caroline Spencer: Thank you. I'm also happy that you're contributing to the community.
Pot: Yes, they have grown up, and I will try not to stop! :D