A/N: Hi, everyone! Thank you for all your continued support and I hope to continue to earn it. I am putting so much love into this story and it's so rewarding that the story receives it back (:
Chapter 13
"So, what's the plan?" Alfred asks me as I sit across from him. I pass him the file I've worked on with Lou this morning outlining all the changes we plan to implement over the next few months to Morgan Accounting.
"See for yourself" I tell him as he takes it from me with some reserve.
I have never seen Alfred so skeptical about my abilities and it unnerves somewhat. I don't know why it's so important to him that we make so much profit out of this company. He is always so clever about this things- taking risks where they are worth taking but not just for the sake of it. Prolonging our ownership of this company for extra money where we may end up losing it is out of character for him.
I watch him scan my proposal and he frowns.
He isn't pleased.
I feel myself becoming uneasy like I so rarely do in my job. The business plan we have prepared isn't flawless and quite risky but it's the best chance we've got. Lou and I have contemplated every possibility and scenario and this is the best chance we have.
He drops the papers carelessly on top of the desk and sighs as he runs his hands over his face then rests his elbows on the desk.
I can't decide if he is disappointed or merely exhausted.
"I expected better from you" he says looking at me straight on. This stings me but angers me more. I am his best employee. I bring in more revenue than any other by far. I work harder than anybody and even in my free time I dedicate myself to this company- even letting it affect my personal relationships… and he expects better?
I keep my composure with a silent deep breath.
I am a professional above all.
"That is the best we can do under the circumstances, Alfred. You must see that" I tell him firmly.
He says nothing as he picks up last paper again only to give it a quick glance and set it back down.
"Get working on this. And keep thinking of ways to raise the market value of Morgan Accounting. Forget about advertising in Miami. Buy something else- find me a jewel, Will" he says leaning forward over the desk- his eyes betraying his anxiety.
"You want me to work on one more company?" I ask him even though his meaning is clear. But I must have misheard.
"I do. Come back with another investment from Miami and make it a good one" he emphasizes.
I take a few seconds to analyze my words before I say them.
"Alfred, this is risky" I remind him. I don't want to seem like I can't take orders but I have to warn him this is out of my comfort zone. And those are thoughts I didn't think I would ever have.
"You've got that wonderful assistant… put her to work, then" he tells me and hands me back the closed file as he leans back in his chair again.
That is my cue.
I stand up and close the button of my suit jacket. I give him a respectful nod and with that I turn around and push open the glass door and step out of his office.
I check my face for composure. No need for the rest of the office to know my business.
"Will" I hear my name called out as I am walking back. This is so not the right time.
I turn around and see Rupert approach me. I push harder the worrisome thoughts from my head and try to appear put together.
"Andrew talk to you yet?" he asks me. I shake my head lightly. "Switzerland. Skiing. Three weeks from now" he tells me excitedly.
I know he expects me to react with equal excitement but right now I just can't muster it.
"Not that I'd ever question a skiing trip but what's the occasion?" I ask trying to hide how it's not really as good news as he thinks it will be. I don't need to be away from work right now. Quite the opposite- I need to give it all I have.
"Does there need to be one?" he asks right back enthusiastically.
"Of course not" I say back in a less serious tone.
"Alright, then. We're counting you in!" he says and pats my shoulder as he continues to walk. This is so the wrong time for this. I am going to be splitting myself into two pretty soon with so much to do.
Then again, it might be just the thing I need. I don't remember the last time I had felt this overwhelmed by this job. Anything that came my way, I could handle it. But the stakes have been raised. Perhaps some time away may be just the thing to help me get my mojo back and help me think outside the box.
I begin walking back to office with a confident pace. I can't betray how unsettling this meeting was.
But seeing Clark sitting there at her desk, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she eats the screen in front of her with her eyes, make me realize how lucky I am to have an assistant worth her salt.
As she feels me approach, she looks away from the computer with excitement written in her features. Her smile is wide and infectious and her expressive eyebrows shoot up in her forehead. She is practically jumping on her chair.
"So…? Did he love it?" she asks me with emphasis on the 'love'.
"Not exactly" I say simply, not wanting to crush her excitement.
"What?" she says, her face having morphed into disappointed shock and her shoulders slumping forward. "But it was so good! I dare anyone in this office to have come up with something better!" she adds.
I can't help a small laugh escaping my lips.
"It was very good, Clark" I assure her. "I feel there may be something else going on that we are not privy to. But nonetheless, we have to do our job. He has given us the green light to go forward with the plan but wants to invest in another company in two weeks' time when we are in Florida".
"What? Another? So soon? On top of the dating website?" she asks me confusion. It still caught me by surprise how she seemed like she had been working here forever when in reality it hadn't even been two months yet.
Usually around this time my assistants had just learned how to put a call on hold…
"That's what he wants. So we need to look into any other possibilities" I reply putting my hands in my trouser pockets.
"I'll get on it right away" she says with her ever positive smile.
"Oh, and set up a video conference with the other shareholders of Morgan Accounting for first thing tomorrow morning. I want to update the them on the new changes" I add.
"Done and done" she replies immediately.
Just feeling like I have support in this and that I am not pulling all this weight by myself is already helping. It was a feeling I wasn't used to. I realize I should have stopped hiring my secretaries based on their looks and fancy Golden Triangle degrees a long time ago.
"…Thank you" I catch myself saying and before I realize it, the words are out.
She looks at me somewhat surprised but soon smiles and simply says: "You're welcome" and with that, turns back to her computer- to get working on the new tasks no doubt.
As soon as I am sitting down, my brain shifts into overdrive.
Thankfully, I have learned to ignore the brightness of Lou's clothes even as she sits directly in front of me with only a glass wall to separate us.
I needed 100% of my thinking capabilities for this.
Alfred was pushing for more and more and I needed to do this right if I didn't want to fail.
I turn my chair around to look out the glass and over the city. It has always helped me to think.
We might need to stay longer in Miami than originally thought… there was no way around it. If I'm aiming to buy Imprint . com plus something else, then I will need to juggle all the meetings around each other and our business won't be done so quickly.
I'd need to advise Lou of this. And I'd ask Alfred for the company jet. He couldn't say no. He was asking much of me already and he knew it.
It was the least he could do.
0-0-0-0-0
It was becoming the norm that I be the last one to leave the office. Often times I'd be kicked out by the cleaning crew who needed everyone out so they could get started.
And I was used to working late- that was nothing new. But it being everyday… that was.
However, I had faith this would only be temporary. Whatever reasons Alfred had for what he was asking, I was sure I could fix it by doing what I always did- beating the odds and delivering when no one else thought I could.
I had thought Alicia would be less supportive but she had been complacent as of late. She'd been very understanding of my late hours and long phone calls on the weekend- even of the less active sex life.
I wish I could claim to be the super man I wanted to be but I wasn't and the last two weeks since Alfred had officially asked me to purchase another company this weekend had stolen all my time and energy.
And Alicia had been great about it. She hadn't complained once. And far be it from her to cook but she always had something from one of the places I liked ready and warm for me, which was a nice change of pace than arriving at the flat only to have to leave it again in search of food.
The change was so extreme; it was actually unsettling. I was constantly in expectation of the real reason she was altering her behavior but it never came.
I was onto her though. It was coming- I knew it.
There must be something or other she wanted that she was pampering me for.
But I didn't have the time to figure it out at the moment. I'd deal with it when she decided to ask for it.
Lou and I were leaving in two days' time and there was still much to be done.
Of course, it hadn't helped that she had asked to leave early last Friday. Something about having to visit her boyfriend back home.
I won't lie. It shocked me. Not that she had a boyfriend- that was completely in the realm of possibilities. But the fact that he was a longtime boyfriend from wherever she came from and that they had both agreed it was a good idea to have a long-distance relationship.
Those never worked. I should know. I'd been there with one of my college girlfriends who had gotten a job in Dublin after graduation. We barely made it past the first month. Then again, no one would have called us a long time relationship regardless.
"Will?" I heard Lou's voice interrupt my thoughts, coming from the door.
"Yes, Clark?" I ask her lifting my face away from the list of the top 3 companies we had decided were the best candidates to aim for in Miami.
"You've just received a very posh looking envelope" she says with a dance of her eyebrows.
She turns it over in her hand and then walks towards me to hand it over.
I look at it with curiosity. I wasn't expecting anything like this. The invitations to the gala had arrived last week already. Thankfully, Jeff had come through.
"Thank you, Clark" I say and she takes the clue to leave. Once she is back in her desk, I decide to open it.
It feels heavy in my hands. The paper is thick and lined in gold. There is even a red wax seal with a coat of arms insignia on it.
On closer examination, I realize it's familiar. I had seen hanging over my uncle's office when Clara and I used to sneak in there, back before she became too 'old to play silly games'.
Which was quite a shock to hear at the time being that I'm three years her senior…
I had a feeling I knew what this was now.
The lavish wedding invitation inside confirms my suspicions. I had forgotten I had received the save-the-date for this six months prior.
The delicate font cordially invites its subject and a plus one to the union of Clara Dashwood and Eduard Wright in three months' time.
At least Alicia would enjoy this. I check the 'will attend' card, write Alicia's full name on it, and seal it in the provided envelope and hand it back to Lou to put in the mail.
"Wedding invitation" I say once I see the livid curiosity in her eyes.
"Oh, how lovely!" she responds in awe. What was it with girls and weddings?
"Yes, quite. And don't forget to bring your luggage in tomorrow. We'll depart after lunch. I want to arrive with plenty of time to catch up on our sleep when we get there. We need to look sharp and refreshed come the weekend" I add as an afterthought.
"I remember" she replies with less excitement and I can't hide that I find it a bit odd. She had seemed to be looking forward to the trip before but not since she got back from visiting her boyfriend.
Perhaps he hadn't wanted her to go.
If that was the case I was sorry for her to have to stay even longer now but there was nothing I could do. I absolutely needed her on this trip.
"Great" I said with a tap of my finger on her desk and return to my own office to continue studying the three options we had come up with. It wasn't a sure thing they would even want to sell, though the chances of them having already considered the possibility was higher than most.
Two of them were helmed by men whose health demanded they retire soon- if rumors were to be believed- and the other was stepping on thin ice at the moment. That was the riskiest of the three but a good candidate, nonetheless. It would be easy to convince the board that their best chance was to sell before they lost more value and credibility. But that also meant I had more risk of not being able to pull it out of the quicksand it was in.
It was a pharmaceutical company that had pushed for approval from the FDA for one of their leading drugs, when it should have revisited its formula, and was now in some serious debt from lawsuits from consumers who had experienced a rare side effect that they had chosen to keep to themselves since only one test subject had experienced it.
It was a common mistake these companies often made in desperation to get their product out there, though more often than not, it actually backfired.
However, it wouldn't be my first time going through these motions and I felt confident I could do it again. True, I had never done it while juggling two other companies but I had to believe I could do it. I had no choice.
That was why the two preferable choices were the more secure purchases from the older gentlemen who might retire. But those were harder to land. They often wanted their sons to follow in the family legacy regardless of how little those sons wanted the job.
One of these three should bite the bait though, and if they didn't, I wouldn't be too displeased either. It would give me the chance to push forward Morgan Accounting a little more while not taking my hands off the dating website completely- that one was almost a sure buy already.
I had contacted its creator- Gideon Horowitz- last week and hinted at my intentions and didn't receive a discouraging response.
More than likely, it wasn't the first time he considered the idea.
I spent the rest of the afternoons working on my pitches for all of them and ended up getting home past 9 o'clock again.
I fumbled with the keys in my hazy and tired state and finally managed to get the door open.
Alicia was sitting at the counter in a satin robe reading one of her magazines.
"Oh, good, you're home" she said, not exactly pleased to see me but not upset either. Almost in a passive aggressive tone.
I tried to think of a response but my brain was as exhausted as my body.
I set my briefcase and my helmet down and went to the kitchen for a glass of whiskey. The stress had been keeping me from sleeping well as of late and I needed to sleep well tonight.
As great as being able to decide the time we left by having the company jet available to me, there was always some jetlag that couldn't be avoided, and I was hoping not to have my system too messed up by the lack of sleep.
"A parcel has arrived for you… from Hurlingham Travels" she said softly.
Ugh… I'd forgotten to tell her of the skiing trip.
"The boys and I are taking a holiday" I said in as few words as possible. Even speaking coherent sentences was a hardship at this point.
"During your business trip?" she asked incredulously.
I took a deep breath and let it out before replying.
"I didn't choose the date" I explained simply.
"Were you going to tell me?" she asked, her tone rising in hostility.
I shook my head in disbelief.
"Do you think I was keeping it from you?" I asked, not able to check my own anger. I had too little energy not to be easily irritated.
"It certainly looks that way" she said and paused. "Don't tell me… your new assistant is coming as well, I bet. What does she need to assist you with now?" she asked, her jealousy coming out at last, after these few days of delicious absence.
"No, in fact, she is staying behind to run things while I am gone" I said tiredly as I took a shot of whiskey. I was going to need it. You never knew how long these fights with Alicia were going to last. Sometimes they were over in less than a minute but they could last a whole hour.
"Oh, how lucky you are to have her then" she said, her words overflowing with bitter sarcasm.
I really was not in the mood for this.
I picked up the bottle and the shot glass and made to leave the room.
"Indeed, I am" I said, hoping the shock of my reply would silence her enough to allow me to escape into the bedroom.
And thankfully, it worked.
0-0-0-0-0
They'd been talking for over twenty minutes now.
Not that I worried that Lou wasn't efficient at her job, she was very good about meeting deadlines actually, but their facial expressions were bothering me some.
Miriam looked like a grandmother reprehending her granddaughter and Lou looked actually worried, maybe even a little scared.
It hadn't started that way, but it had certainly escalated there.
Lou had looked concerned as Miriam spoke and seemed to be trying to defend herself but eventually stopped- at which point Miriam became more passionate in her plea.
I knew they were somewhat friends- however unlikely- as they often ate lunch together and always said 'hello' and 'goodbye' to each other.
But I didn't like the look of this conversation or how uncomfortable Lou looked- almost ashamed? Miriam's face I couldn't see, however.
I decided to put a stop to it. We were leaving in a few minutes and I didn't need Lou to have more pressure on her than she already had.
So I decidedly stood up and began walking out of my office and towards them.
As I walked into her line of sight, Miriam stopped midsentence and looked at me horrified but not before I had heard her say: "…may not like to hear-" then stopped abruptly.
She excused herself immediately and walked back to her office.
I looked on as she retreated and decided I didn't like the way she had been directing herself at Lou. And what had she meant by that?
"Everything alright, Clark?" I asked her, giving her a look I hoped told her I expected to hear more than a 'yes'.
She looked down before looking at me and nodding with a forced smile.
Lou… not replying with a myriad of words? That was never a good sign.
It was going to be like that then.
"What was that about?" I said in my boss-tone, meaning a thorough answer was not optional.
However, she was hesitating to answer.
"And don't lie" I said firmly. "I am your boss and if anything is going on here, I need to know".
"Um… can we talk about this later?" she asked almost in a whisper. This was not normal behavior for her.
"We will discuss this" I said as I looked down to her. "Be ready. I am gathering the last of what I need from my office and then we'll depart. The car is already waiting" I said in a kinder tone.
I didn't enjoy being harsh when I didn't have to be.
"Of course" she said and got to it, as I walked back to do the same.
Once in the car, I remained silent, giving her the choice to speak or not. After all, we had plenty of time to talk about her conversation with Miriam, what with a ten-hour flight ahead of us and all.
.
A/N: And that's chapter 13! You might have noticed he is starting to refer to her as Lou in his head now. I know that is a big change, however it is only taking place inside his mind and it is doing so without him realizing that he is doing it, as he slowly takes down his walls around her and becomes more comfortable with her. Hope that explains any confusion.
As always, thank you for reading and any feedback of any kind is, oh, so appreciated. Thank you so much, everybody! (: